After being laid off from my job, my former employer provided me with a 6-month outplacement program. I thought it might be helpful, so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, I found it to be completely useless. The advice I received felt generic and outdated, almost like going to a therapist who suggests, "Have you tried not being poor?" It was frustrating to see how much emphasis is placed on having a perfect résumé when the reality is that job searching often comes down to networking and luck. I noticed many others have had similar experiences with these programs, particularly with LHH. It seems like they post jobs that aren't even available, and it's just a way for them to make money while pretending to help people. I even tried their résumé services, but it ended up making my résumé worse. I reverted back to my original résumé and started getting more traction. It really drives home the point that connections matter more than anything else in this job market.