question about sdcajobs.com - San Diego Jobs Career management and placement service

It looks to me that that site is going to want to charge your friend for their efforts.  This is similar to a company I have long found distasteful, Haldane.
I cannot be sure this is the case, because I couldn't find anywhere on the site where they listed fees.  However, they have a place where they say they do not take fees from companies or recruiters.  The only party left to bill is the candidate.
ANY firm that charges candidates for their work - with the idea that they will introduce them to companies - is IMMEDIATELY SUSPECT.
Tell him to read Rites, and then contact some recruiters.  Ask his co-workers what recruiters they know.  If none of his mates know anyone, tell him to jump to the highest executive in his firm with whom he has some connection to ask which recruiter he or she is using that specializes in their field.
Mark

I have a family member in San Diego who also asked me about this company and whether or not it was worth paying them to find him a position. They stated they could accomplish several things, including procure a security clearance for him, but they would not put it in writing and they do not even guarantee the candidate will be employed. They merely state they "CAN" do these things. To find out whether they "CAN" do them for him, they wanted an upfront payment of $5,000.00....That is unconscionable. I was a contract engineer/designer for many years and never had to pay my contract firm (head hunter) a dime. They get paid when and if they find you a position, so you find out quickly which firms have people who want to get you hired and who are getting paid hourly. The largest contract firm at the moment is Volt Technical Resources. They do not have the best track record, nor do they seem to work to get anyone hired. They are a, "give me your name and resume and I will call you, don't call me", kind of company. Many of the best companies have gone out of business, or have cut back so much they cannot be tracked anymore. For professional contract to direct services you will have the most luck in 2 places; your local Work Source (unemployment) and Contractor's Weekly. You can google CE Weekly and peruse their site, they are very good. You would be surprised how well some of the local Work Source's are at getting connections and keeping you connected in many ways. Other than that, Job Fairs are excellent methods of getting your name out and networking. Dice.com is a decent site to at least find out who is hiring, much like monster.com, usajobs, etc...
Good luck, and god bless!!

 I'm not a microbiologist, but I am in the pharmaceutical field, and I can think of about 10 things I would do before paying that much money. Like joining various associations, listening to Manager Tools and other podcasts, checking out a number of job boards.

Most companies like this will want a flat fee in exchange for doing a laundry list of things to "market" you.  These include things like re-writing your resume, contacting recruiters on your behalf, coaching you through mass mailings, cold calls, etc.  If their only product is a flat fee ($5k for all these things) then your friend should skip it.  If the service lets you order off a menu then your friend might find some of the services worthwhile. 
I recently had one of these companies tell me I should remove 12 years of experience from my resume because it was too easy to calculate my age!
--Michael