(okay, this ended up way longer than I expected. Sorry about that.)
I’ve dealt with placement agents/recruiters like this: unimaginative trolls who can only peddle people who have the right key words on their resume. I stopped using them to find a job (I’m lucky to be in a position where I can create my own jobs now), and I won’t use them when I’m recruiting new people. I want substance, and these people only EVER care about the surface. Sadly, there are enough companies out there willing to deal with them that, like the humble cockroach, they will live forever. There are good recruiters, people who will dig below the surface and provide meaningful help. But they are few in number, although they are slightly more numerous than unicorns in the wild.
Most employers don’t give a crap how many jobs you’ve had, and that woman is living in a different era. The days of someone signing up for a job for life with a company are a long, long way in the rearview mirror. What they want to know is what you did while you were there. Companies know that someone sticking around for more than a few years is more the exception than the rule (and long-term hangers-on can be a sign of deadwood, not a sign of dedication. Think Wally from Dilbert). But multiple, short-term jobs isn’t the impediment it was before 1995. And it is to be expected when someone is a student.
And a liberal arts degree is a liability? Any post-secondary education is what you make of it. People who look on it as “trades training” don’t get the point (no, I don’t have an arts degree, I have a science degree. But I’ve worked with a lot of talented people with all kinds of educational backgrounds). A bachelor’s degree says “I can sign up for something long term and succeed at it”. Okay, you’re probably not going to get hired to design spacecraft or research a new cancer treatment,. But a psychology background for things like HR, marketing/PR, training or user interface/experience design is very appropriate.
And don’t ever, ever, ever, EVER cut your hair (unless you decide you want to, of course. It’s your hair after all). Just because that short-haired reptile thinks that everyone needs to look like her to succeed means exactly zero, zip, nada. Yeah, appearance matters to a degree (don’t show up looking like a homeless person is a good start), but any organization that cares more about your clothes or hair than your potential or proven talent isn’t worth the effort. As a newbie, err on the side of “more conservative”, no question. But unless you’re in a “I’ll take whatever you offer me right this second” situation, you have to be you as well. Job interviews for decent positions are a two-way interview: you’re evaluating them as much as they are measuring you.
This person was never, ever going to be your mentor and guide unless you were willing to make yourself into a clone of her. She’s has a limited and outdated worldview, but not bad enough to harm her business (although she’s probably coasting on brand momentum she created decades before). You’ve already figured out you don’t want to be her. Good.
And strong female mentors/bosses: Judi Dench’s ‘M’, Commander Lewis from The Martian, Galadriel from Lord of the Rings, and Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager are few that come to mind. They don’t have the same “brand recognition” as the guys, and there certainly aren’t nearly as many as there are male characters. Hollywood is very slowly figuring it out, but very, very slowly.
