Here are some of the most interesting feature sets from outplacement firms that you should be on the lookup for when talking to their sales teams.  Make a list of the 5-6 that are important to you, and then ask point blank how these are part of the offering you’re considering:

Virtual coaching: Meeting in person can be tough, especially with social distancing policies in place.  Also, meeting in person requires a commute, child care, and scheduling. Virtual coaching over video can be a great way to get going quickly in anew job search, or fast answers to questions that come up around cover letters, interviews, etc.

Resume Review: Resume writing, help with cover letters, and LinkedIn profile reviews are essential features for job seekers to put their best foot forward.  Most offerings will have examples that job seekers can follow, and consult active advice from job coaches.

Job search: Look for solutions that have portals that allow people to search for jobs, and setup job alerts for a given position type in a given geography.

Career Coach feedback scores: Career coaches need to be empathetic, tactic driven, and experienced.  Look for outplacement firms that are constantly collecting feedback on their coaches, and keeping the bar high.

Assessments: Look for an outplacement partner that can provide skills and personality assessments to your ex-employees so that they can better plan where to go next in their career and how to tell their story.

Interview practice: While coaches can help you prep for interviews in 1:1 sessions, some of the top outplacement firms also have video based interview prep.  These solutions allow you to record answers, review them yourself, or have your coach take a look.

LinkedInReferrals: Some outplacement firms will allow ex-employees to connect their LinkedIn account and look at who at a given company could refer them to a position.  This is a great way for people to find a new job.

What are outplacement services?

Outplacement services help recently terminated employees find a new position elsewhere.

How does an outplacement service benefit my company?

By providing outplacement services, your company will see heightened employee morale, better employer branding, decreased risk of lawsuits, and generally more equitable practices.

How does an outplacement service benefit my employees?

By providing outplacement services to employees, your company builds a strong brand of being a partner and not just an employer. It shows that even when your company has to terminate someone as an employee, you value them as a person. Therefore, former employees get all the help they need to find a new job.

What features do outplacement services and software provide?

Outplacement services provide virtual coaching, resume review, job searching tools, interview practice, assessments, referrals, and more to terminated employees.