“Nothing to hide” for most suggests, genuine, honest, reputable, all good and no bad. The obvious transparency that is inevitable with the exploding advent of social media will have a huge impact on those who do have something to hide. Of course there will always be those who will work at avoiding detection but this will also become more difficult in time as an online presence becomes an expected representation and disclosure for all professionals and businesses.
No industry is immune to those who are willing to accept huge sums of money and provide little in return, including the career industry. The most important advice is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Often these organizations send out a generic email which may sound somewhat personalized but read it again. It is sent to thousands of people with the same reference to your interesting online resume. If following up results in someone asking for thousands of dollars in return for finding you a job, run! If you accept an invitation to meet and are asked to come back with your spouse, run! You have an opportunity to acquire the services of many credible professionals to assist you with job search strategies, career coaching and resume writing but none of these certified professionals will guarantee you a job. The only one who can get you a job is you! Finally, the easiest way to discover the reputation of any company is to google it. If they don’t exist, you should be concerned. Look for testimonials and review all results. If the results include sites like rippoff.com and complaints.com, run!
A career transition can be a difficult time impacting not only the job seeker but also their families and friends so it is imperative to make every effort to stay focused, maintain a positive outlook and resist the influence of those who will prey on the vulnerability of others with promises that can not be fulfilled.