anyone had experience of outplacement consultants following redundancy? did they help?

I was made redudant about 10 years ago and got access to one as part of the package - in short promised more than it delivered. initial conversation was useful in terms of helping structure an approach, but after that it was really just provision of access to research (ie not hte active proces that the term outplacement suggests)... remember that they make their money from the company making you redundant as a one off fee - they typically have no financial stake in you getting a job... if you're being offered it as a freebie, fine, but don't pay for it or sacrifice a cash alternative...

I agree with humbug, outplacement firms are mildly useful. I won't go into gory details of my situation as each person's career/market will differ.The main thing I spotted is how much they, particularly HR types, use sweeping generalisations and generic advice. If you just need the same job again they are ok - they will point you to ways that you may not have used to get a job, but for career change there are strong limitations, which is pot luck. The biggest dissapointment was CV advice, which was panned by a few people I met (at one point I was asked "Does this outplacement firm do CV advice?") and the aggressively manupalative nonsense I got from their business manager when I finally flipped and complained about how crap they were. To top it off, this clown now refers to the call centre job that I had to take to plug the gap (thanks in large part to their uselessness) as "contracting" and witters on about it being a "stepping stone", which is overgeneric BS marketing he uses to sucker people into using their firm.I could tell after 6 months of their tricks and cons that the way they work is by overselling and marketing - any talk of action plans is to be taken with a pinch of salt and they will find whatever flimsy excuses they can to make it look like you haven't done enough when their work fails.

I would happily see these outplacement firms driven off the cliffs of Dover. You do not need 'bespoke' CV advice - they are not bespoke documents. Applying some simple, quite generic, rules to writing a CV will produce results. There are numerous (free) resources online which provide advice on CV writing. And when you have written it, fold the first page in half (print it obviously). If you cannot win an interview based on what you can read above the fold, re-write it. Same for interviews. This coaching malarky is transparent - I can easily tell if someone has been coached, because they come across like the last one who was coached. Best interview coach is...yourself. Take a BS filter to how you explain or sell your experience - even record yourself explaining something. Listen to it the next day. Not convinced by yourself? Re-think how you explain the circumstances of that redundancy etc. If you are going into interviews in a state of depression etc, then you need a Doctor not an 'outplacement consultant' to 'coach' you on how to smother your distress in jargon.And finding a job - yup, all about you. Contact HHs, recruitment firms, be nice - offer something in return. Believe it or not there is a lot of opportunity for experienced hires - sometimes in places you aren't looking. Transferable skills? Extensive contacts? Got what it takes to go out on your own? It doesnt have to be that megabankconsultingsystems inc - could be a start up.

Harsh words, but it's a harsh situation... very true advice from mars there!