Further, outplacement firms have responded to the demands of a very competitive environment by lowering their prices along with the quality of their services. With companies and outplacement firms not concerned about the right thing, clients are complaiming of mass-produced resumes, canned job advice, slipshod counseling and standard cover letters that don't show any personal interest in a job opportunity and that are often loaded with errors. One user of the service referred to it as "grief counseling." Certainly, the job seekers want more than a pap rally to aide their job search.

This article is an excellent review of outplacement services because it helps to understand not...

Human resources in companies need to start caring about whether or not the laid off employees are actually getting help. Outplacement may meet basic needs of less adapt job seekers who need services such as help putting together a basic resume, but most job seekers are looking for individual attention to their needs and value-added services over and above what they could do for themselves. Otherwise, why should they bother and why should employers waste their money? In this regard, the article would have been better if it had attempted to explain what customers are looking for in addition to what they are unhappy with.