Career "Mentors". Worth it?

Hey guys, so I have been talking to some of my friends who's going into this recruiting season, about their plans and goals.

Out of four, three of them are now in contact with "career mentors", or career service companies. Companies say they will help students land dream IB/consulting jobs, with their strong network, employee referrals, and their experience on interview. They usually publicize themselves using workshops, screen shots of "offer letters", etc.

"Mentoring" Fees are in the $6k - 10k range.

I always doubt if such a thing exists? It seems that there are quite a few students who get their dream offers according to those people. But again, the authenticity is worth proof.

I appreciate the insights.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

The value of the service really depends on what's preventing you from getting the job. They might be able to help get your resume in front of firms and groom you to answer questions better than before, but expecting a job on a platter in return for the $6 - 10k payment is pretty foolish. At the end of the day, there are tons of candidates who know the tricks of the trade given all the resources out there today. Assuming you got the basics of recruiting down (solid resume, answers to common interview questions, fair share of networking), the rest comes down to your personality, persistence and a smidgen of luck.

With that being said, I believe that there's value in addressing your shortcomings yourself as opposed to looking for a band-aid or "quick-fix". If you plan on pursuing a career in professional services, having a career mentor isn't going to set you up to earn 7 figures for the rest of your life. I believe the best way of learning is by doing, and if you suck at getting in front of people, you won't last long in the industry that the $10K investment got you into in the first place.

You should look at your own career development from the perspective of a consultant.

  1. Diagnose the issue and ask yourself, why am I not where I want to be?
  2. Brainstorm ways to address the aforementioned issues.
  3. Identify the optimal way to get to where you want to be, factoring in criteria such as time, cost, etc. Options could include self-prep guides, career mentors, networking, and so on.
  4. Actually buckle down and do it. Don't lose focus.
  5. Profit.
 

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