This is a response that I wrote for someone in a linkedin group, reposted here with some slight modifications and added links.
Q: I have a friend in the Rochester area whose job search has gone nowhere for too long. He is willing to pay someone to find him a job – not just resume advice but an advocate actively connecting him with jobs. Can someone recommend a company that provides this service?
A: I thought I would respond as I was for many years a ‘headhunter’ running my own business, and there may be others that have the same question.
Yes headhunters, and any staffing agency (I will lump them together for the purposes of the rest of this response), are paid by the hiring company. When I got into the business I was told that it was illegal for a headhunter to ask an applicant for a fee. I do not actually know if that is true or not, but for ethical reasons a headhunter should not take fees from an applicant. I think that it may also be illegal for a company to extract the fee from the candidate’s pay, because that amounts to the same thing.
In my opinion it is probably not a headhunter that you are looking for. Headhunters are paid to fill the job. They are not in the business of finding jobs for candidates. They may coach candidates (to help them fill a particular position), and may submit a given candidate to multiple positions (to improve the odds of filling any one position). But in general if odds are low that the candidate can be placed, then the headhunter will not work hard for the candidate. And here is the harsh reality: as a headhunter I placed at best 5% of my candidates. I would bet that most others are about the same.
The exception to this is the MPC (Most Placeable Candidate). When a headhunter finds a superstar, they will actively market that candidate. They do this for two reasons. 1) The odds of placing this candidate and earning a commission are high and 2) they can use this candidate to open doors and get contracts with new clients.
I am not saying that you should not use an agency or headhunter. I found jobs for a good number of people, and I know others that do quality work. Consider this to be one aspect of your job search.
That said what I think the friend really needs is a coach. These come in three major flavors.
The first is a company that inverts the headhunter model. They charge a fee to the candidate, but not to the client company. They will help the candidate with all aspects of the job search, including contacting clients on their behalf. The client companies like this because they can get quality vetted candidates without paying a fee. However these companies are not cheap. 15 years ago they cost $3000, and they would only work with candidates they felt they could successfully place, but they also gave no guarantee. I did some quick searches today, and claims of scams about these companies abound, including the one that I knew. So I cannot recommend this presently.
The next option is an hourly career coach. I would guess that fees range from $60 to $120 per hour. If you are unemployed these costs can be written off on your taxes as part of a job search. These people are typically well connected, so in addition to coaching on resume creation, interviewing, networking, etc. they can often provide contacts at companies. There are few people in the Rochester area I know that do this that I would recommend including Kathleen Pringle, Hannah Morgan, and Fred Dewey (probably more – I apologize to those I have missed…).
The last option is to use employment services and open networks. RochesterWorks is a great place to start, and I know they have some excellent people there. I would also suggest networks like ABCPNG (Always Be Connecting Power Networking Group), Peernet Rochester, RUNG (Rochester Unemployed Networking Group), The August Group, Digital Rochester, at least 3 Rochester job related linkedin groups, and more. The great reality here: networking is still the most effective way to find a new position. Any HR person worth their salt puts internal referrals on the top of the stack (because statistically internal referrals provide employees that have the best productivity and longevity…).
I hope this helps!