by Marci Reynolds, CEO of J2B Marketing

Online Job Search, Social Media Educator For NEJS

Careerbrander.com is a new web destination for job seekers to manage their career transition, personal marketing and online identity management. Consider the company a new breed of outplacement service, delivered 100% online and purchased by individual job seekers, for a very low monthly fee.

What are Outplacement Services?

When we think of outplacement or career transition services, we usually think of services paid for by an employer and offered at the time of a layoff or job termination. These services are provided by vendors such as Lee Hecht Harrison, Monster or Right Management and include skills assessment, career coaching, job skills training, networking and resume writing. They are usually delivered in person, either one on one or in group settings.

Between 60-70% of companies involved in a layoff offer some type of outplacement service, which range in length from one month up to six months. (Sources: The Working Kind Blog, The Hewitt Report, Personnel Today)

What options does a job seeker have if they were not offered traditional outplacement services or if their services have expired?

A new Boston based company called Careerbrander.com, is trying to fill that void with a new, online product.

Per their website,  “CareerBrander.com provides individuals in career transition the best personal branding tools and content available on the Internet. Take control of your career identity. Build resumes, order business cards and establish a personal website in minutes. Learn how the Internet’s social networks, resume keywords, online identity, and job sites impact your job search.”

I had the opportunity to interview Career Brander’s founder and CEO, Ian Levine, to learn more..

1) Ian, what inspired you to launch the Career Brander website service?

Ian Levine

My background is in document management technologies and I saw a way to help job seekers by bringing efficiency to a portion of the career transition process. I committed to create an online service that would accomplish 3 things: 1) make job seekers’ lives easier, 2) save them time and 3) educate them about Internet job search.  At first I sold the service only to corporations as an outplacement service.  Then this past summer, I opened up the application and service as a direct to consumer offering under the Career Brander name.

» Read more: Careerbrander.com- A New Online Branding Tool For Job Seekers