Success Studies

Client:

Lindsay was senior territory sales manager for south Florida for a global manufacturer of dental and orthodontic solutions.

Industry:

Health Care, Medical Devices, Hospitals, Pharmaceuticals, Sales

Challenge:

After 13 years in the industry, Lindsay aspired to new challenges that were unreachable without making major career changes and enlisting professional help.

Process:

The interconnection of various job search activities, plus a strong coach keeping the process moving forward, was the perfect recipe for Lindsay’s success.

Landing:

Lindsay is director of business development for a startup dental management company, an opportunity that marries the career advancement she sought with her dental industry experience.

Study:

As the south Florida senior territory manager for a global manufacturer of dental and orthodontic solutions, Lindsay was responsible for sales and strategic planning for a $2.9 million, top North American territory. She worked with existing customers, sought new business, and streamlined workflow efficiencies – in short, she was the “CEO of the territory.” After 13 years in the industry, she was ready to take her career to the next level. The problem was that her company offered no opportunities for career advancement to people in her position, even top performers like her. Lindsay had little hope that other companies in the industry would offer her them, either. 

“Two years ago, I asked about internal programs to cross-train for other job opportunities, but they had nothing in place and weren’t willing to help me grow. It was clear there were few options for advancement there and, frankly, it would have been the same situation at another company. To move out of sales and make a big career change I knew I would need to advance my skills,” said Lindsay. 

That’s when Lindsay decided to get an MBA. Continuing at her job full time, she spent 18 months taking classes. Driven with ambition to kickstart her new career, Lindsay enlisted The Barrett Group to start job hunting even before she’d completed her MBA program. 

“Going back to school for my MBA is the best decision I ever made. You learn so many different aspects of business, how to think like an executive, and how everything connects together,” said Lindsay. “It’s also how I found The Barrett Group. One of the guys in my cohort recommended them to me.” 

Lindsay’s MBA program contracted the services of a well-known recruitment firm, but after six months she realized that they were too narrow in scope for her needs. She hoped The Barrett Group (TBG) would provide her more support and help her create a solid career strategy. 

“I needed help with all aspects of a job search, including rebuilding my resume, using LinkedIn, interview prep, as well as sorting out what it is I wanted to do,” said Lindsay. 

Lindsay knew she wanted change, more challenges and better compensation, but she didn’t have a clear idea of what her ideal job looked like. She considered leaving the healthcare industry entirely but saw the difficulty of shifting job type and industry simultaneously. 

Lindsay spent the first few weeks of the TBG Program working with Scott Henderson, her Clarity coach.

“He was very, very good! We had great conversations. We really clicked and he really helped me work through a lot when I was reeling from Covid stuff,” said Lindsay. “Scott gave me confidence in knowing what my strengths are, the management style and culture of the company I’m looking for, and that I need opportunities for leadership and stretch projects. He brought it all together.” 

When Lindsay, who was the first client to use TBG’s new service delivery system, Asana, started working with her career consultant, Julie Mathern, she found it a seamless shifting of gears from the internal work of figuring out what she wants to finding a job. 

“Reworking my resume was the first thing to tackle. Julie had me start by putting numbers to my achievements. Working with her and TBG’s resume writers took my resume to a whole new level. The way they word or position something I did in my job was really thoughtful and creative,” said Lindsay. 

The next task was to redo Lindsay’s LinkedIn profile. 

“We worked on reaching out to people and building up my social capital. I’m pretty good at networking already, but Julie challenged me to do more and get out of my comfort zone. You never know what will lead to a job opportunity. If nothing else, it’s great practice!” said Lindsay. 

Lindsay already felt confident with interviewing, but the work she did on her resume improved her interviewing skills, too. 

“I had to get very specific about the metrics I wrote on my resume, which I then used in my interviews,” said Lindsay. “Julie also helped me prepare for the types of questions I might get.” 

The pandemic created some challenges in Lindsay’s job search – she was hard pressed to find companies that were hiring – but an unanticipated benefit was that it gave Lindsay time to finish her MBA and work on her career strategy. 

“Covid was actually the best thing to happen to me because I focused,” said Lindsay. “I never lost my job, but all my clients shut down for two months. I spent that time working with The Barrett Group. No one was hiring between October and December, but people were willing to talk. I had great exploratory conversations. Julie helped me with that.”

When companies started hiring in January, Lindsay knew it was just a matter of time before opportunities would emerge for her. And they did.

In quick succession, Lindsay found herself interviewing with four different companies, all in the dental/healthcare space. 

“People told me all along to stick within dental, but, at first, I didn’t want to hear that. Julie never told me that. She just kept guiding me so I could realize my own path,” said Lindsay. “Had the hiring manager of the job I took approached me last summer, I probably wouldn’t have responded. Since then, however, my thinking has evolved, and I am very glad it did!” 

Lindsay’s great opportunity found her thanks to her revamped LinkedIn profile – and a bit of good timing.  

“My new company is a dental management startup that provides nonclinical support to dental practices and wants to expand into Florida. I’ll be the director of business development handling the M&A new market development work in Florida, and leveraging the relationships I’ve built with dental owners to help them make their businesses more efficient. It is a brand-new business role for me in an industry where I have 13 years of experience. This is a perfect fit for me! The stars have aligned!”

Lindsay has no doubt that she will be successful in her new position and credits The Barrett Group a lot for her successful landing. 

“The services The Barrett Group provided were so thorough, and Julie helped keep it all together and moving forward,” said Lindsay. “I’m a very motivated person, but it was the interconnection of all these services that helped me get the job. I realize how important it is to work with experts sometimes!”  

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

André was CFO and COO for a Washington DC-based trade association. 

Industry:

Non-Profit Finance

Challenge:

André’s position was eliminated after a major reorganization, but after 15 years in his position, his job seeking efforts were unsuccessful and he needed help. 

Process:

André learned how to discern what employers are looking for, tailor each application, assertively follow up on every prospect, and say as much as – and no more than – was necessary.

Landing:

After just two months working with The Barrett Group, André was quickly recruited as CFO and COO of a nonprofit organization with an “amazing” mission. 

Study:

As chief financial officer and chief operating officer for a $15 million international nonprofit, André strategized and directed operations of the finance and administration departments. He concurrently served as the CFO and COO of an affiliate nonprofit in the last two years of his 15-year employment there. Due to a reorganization, André’s position was eliminated in early 2020. 

André was stunned but undaunted. He wasted no time pounding the pavement. He reached out to contacts, connected with recruiters, updated his resume and sent applications. He was unsuccessful in landing a job, however, for two main reasons. First, he had little job seeking practice – he’d been 15 years at the same organization, and before that he had always relied on a recruiter friend to facilitate his career transitions. Second, two weeks after losing his job, the Covid pandemic befell the country. 

“After six months I’d sent out 150 resumes and got only eight interviews. I thought I was the perfect fit for some of those opportunities and managed to get into the final round of interviews, but I was never offered a job. At first, I thought I knew what I was doing, but I was clearly doing something wrong,” said André. 

Because he had little luck on his own, André decided to go with Plan B – engaging with an outplacement service. He reached out to The Barrett Group (TBG). He was convinced that TBG could help him market himself better, but before committing to the program he waited to see how things would pan out with three organizations at which he was actively interviewing.

“Those interview processes stretched out over three months! I thought I was getting somewhere but, ultimately, they all fell through. That’s when I signed on with The Barrett Group,” said André.

André started by launching into TBG’s Clarity Program. 

“I started by doing an assessment of who I am and what I’m looking for,” said André. “It was very valuable. It reinforced that my career path makes sense for me, but it also identified other industry options for me that I’d never considered, like art or the entertainment industry. It was eye-opening.”

After about two weeks André was ready to work with his career consultant, Jerry. 

“The first thing we did was deconstruct and then reconstruct my resume. It looked completely different from how it looked before, and it presented me so much better,” said André. “For example, I’ve been in the workforce for 30 years, so I stripped out all the stuff that might put me at risk of ageism. Also, whatever the title of the position I was applying for is what I put at the top of my resume. I had six or seven versions of my resume.” 

Next, Jerry helped André with mock interviews. 

“Jerry broke down what I needed to work on and how to be more concise,” said André. “I had developed an interview script for myself when I was job seeking on my own, but Jerry helped me tighten it up. I had thought I should provide detailed responses, but he told me to limit my comments to 30 seconds because after that interviewers aren’t listening. My working mantra was ‘More than a soundbite, less than a narrative.’”

André really valued how Jerry taught him to understand what hiring managers are looking for and to market himself specifically to the position he was applying for. 

“You need to treat each potential employer as a unique entity. That was very educational!” said André. 

And though he thought he was already assertive, Jerry made André even more so, urging André to carefully craft cover letters, send follow-up letters strategically, and anticipate job vacancies and apply for them before the jobs go public – the better to get his foot in the door at one stage or another.

“Things went quickly once I signed on with The Barrett Group,” said Andre.

André learned from Jerry that there was a lot more to do on the job seeking front than he had been doing on his own. 

In the end, André didn’t need to do a lot. Within a few short weeks after signing on with TBG, André spotted a job posting that appealed to him – a position for chief financial and operations office at a 40-year old charitable foundation. He sent an application.

“I heard back from the recruiter 40 minutes after sending the application!” said André. “We set up a call to discuss the position and then she forwarded my credentials to the executive director. She wanted to talk to me even though she was on vacation.”

André went through several rounds of interviews and was offered a job within five weeks over the year-end holiday season. He’s excited by the amazing mission of his new employer and is thrilled to start the next chapter of his career.

“The Barrett Group got me over the hump. Jerry, in particular, was a wealth of information. I would recommend him and The Barrett Group to anyone. I’m one for one after working with The Barrett Group. I’m sure that isn’t a coincidence!”

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Erik was a regional sales manager of an international plywood production company.

Industry:

Medical Devices & Equipment

Challenge:

Furloughed during the Covid-19 downturn, Erik couldn’t wait for an economic bounce and needed help making himself more marketable in a tough job market.

Process:

Working through each step of TBG’s methodology, Erik boosted his market appeal and job search preparedness, while aggressively cultivating his network.

Landing:

In two months, Erik scored numerous interviews and three offers, ultimately landing a position in a field that is both growing and insulated against the pandemic.

Study:

Erik was the western regional sales manager for the world’s leading producer of birch plywood when the pandemic hit. Sales dropped 65% globally and the company was forced to cut costs.

“I was a Covid-19 casualty,” said Erik. “The company cut my salary, making my position commission-only with a base, and said they would re-evaluate the situation in 90 days. I just couldn’t afford to wait that long without any guarantees.”

Under normal circumstances, Erik would have conducted a job hunt on his own. But this time was different. After sending out some resumes and getting no responses at all, he knew he needed a new approach.

“Sending out resumes and waiting for responses wasn’t going to work this time. Not in this market,” said Erik. “I needed to do something different to make myself marketable in an unmarketable market.”

When The Barrett Group popped up in a Google search, Erik was intrigued. He felt that hiring a career management consultant was an investment in himself.

“No one wants to spend money when they’re unemployed, but I took a long-term approach. My way of job seeking wasn’t working, and I had nothing to lose,” said Erik. “I would have been upset with myself if I hadn’t taken this step and 90 days later had no more opportunities than I did at the outset.”

Erik was nervous, but felt reassured knowing that if in six months he didn’t yet have a job, TBG would reevaluate its strategy for him.

“They don’t give up on you. They take you all the way to the end,” said Erik. “Knowing that made me feel more comfortable.”

After a week of assessing his career goals, Erik launched into his job search as if it was a full-time job. He developed a detailed road map for his job search, learned how to utilize LinkedIn in ways he never imagined doing, and learned the value of leveraging second and third connections, reaching out to people he knew and didn’t know. He was exhausted at the end of each week, but he developed a profound respect for the process.

“Initially, I expected them to do all the work for me. They didn’t. Instead of handing me a fish, they taught me how to fish,” said Erik. “Thanks to the career skills I learned, I feel much more knowledgeable and confident about any future job changes I might face.”

Thanks to the new tools he was given and his own tenacity, Erik had three offers within two short months. Ultimately, he accepted a position as a regional sales manager for a company that makes Personal Protective Equipment, which has seen 25% growth since last year. Moreover, he successfully convinced the hiring manager the value in paying him $20K more than they had budgeted. Erik couldn’t be happier with his experience with The Barrett Group.

“To be able to land a job in two months in this market with so many other qualified candidates – it was money well spent!”

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Diane had a distinguished corporate career when she decided to launch into a consulting role.

Industry:

IT

Challenge:

After two years in a consulting role, Diane realized that she preferred and wanted to return to a corporate environment.

Process:

Focusing on tools to leverage her social capital, Diane quickly saw successes but was holding out to find the right job – when an unexpected development demanded her attention.

Landing:

After an extensive assessment of an exciting opportunity, Diane found her path forward and negotiated a better salary, better perks, a better title and a sign-on bonus that more than covered her career management fees.

Study:

Long before engaging The Barrett Group, Diane had an exceptionally distinguished career, working with some of the most exclusive brands in the world. She had been a senior vice president for a designer and marketer of luxury tableware and then a luxury goods corporation, serving as a chief information officer for prestigious luxury brands. Eventually, a friend of Diane’s convinced her to make a change. “A good friend of mine owned a consulting firm and was preparing for a crucial launch. He was looking for someone to handle the operations side and to actually execute the launch. I thought it would be very interesting and was excited about it.” So, Diane made a leap.

And Diane landed. “We successfully launched the product.” But like with any leap in life, it’s not just about the jump and the landing, it’s also about where exactly you find yourself in the end. “After two years in the consulting world, well, it was something that just didn’t appeal to me. I realized I was more cutout for corporate positions.” And so, Diane determined that she needed to summon up the strength and courage, and time and energy, to make another leap.

From the beginning, Diane recognized that she needed certain skills—skills that she felt she lacked. “I was all over. I was in my late fifties, and for all of my career I had never had to network or seek employment. I was always sought out or retained by search agencies or whatever. So, I really didn’t have the skills or know-how to use products like LinkedIn and those kinds of things.”

Diane recognized the true value of such skills. She did not need to be convinced that better marketing, promotion, and use of technology can determine the success or failure of a brand. “So, I started to do some research, and I looked at a few different companies. The Barrett Group was one of them, and, basically, after speaking with two other companies, I chose Barrett. I liked what they had to say. I liked the process they described. And I thought they could be beneficial, helping me seek what I wanted to do.”

Diane quickly got to work together with her consultant. “So, I became very active. On a weekly basis. I did my homework with my consultant.” First, they focused on the tools needed to promote her brand, including her resume and her LinkedIn. “Learning how to use some of the more sort of hidden or secretive features of LinkedIn was extremely helpful.” They then used those tools to promote her brand through leveraging her social capital. “I re-established contact with a lot of my former coworkers and such, which was extremely helpful. I networked with people who were peers at the time I worked with them, but who were now in executive roles like CEO.”

Diane quickly got results. “I landed an interview with a sporting goods company in New York.” But the purpose of The Barret Group is not to find a job for their clients. It is to find the right job for their clients. Diane rejected the opportunity with the complete support of her career consultant. “I ultimately decided that it was not something I was interested in, based upon their structure and things of that nature.”

And then came a twist. “In the middle of all of this my friend sold his consulting company to a firm that specialized in SAP consulting.” The new management showed they appreciated Diane and offered her a new opportunity. “They asked me if I would stay on as the VP of operations.”

Diane and The Barrett Group pivoted immediately—together and in sync. “I spoke to my consultant about it, and we looked at the pros and cons of continuing my search or moving forward with the new management.” Diane was now at least tempted to stay. “In the end, I considered a variety of factors, like some of the things that were promised to me, some of the opportunities that I would have, and the fact that I would now be part of a much larger organization with more structure. So, I decided to stay.”

Although a decision had been made, neither Diane nor her consultant lost focus. “So, my consultant at Barrett and I switched gears and she helped me negotiate the package with the new ownership. She was extremely helpful, taking me through the steps to do that successfully.”

Diane’s consultant had proved her value to Diane during the decision-making process, and she proved herself again during the negotiations process, a necessary step to making her decision a reality. “I probably would not have negotiated the salary and everything else I ended up with, you know, the perks that came with it, the terms of the contract and all those other things. I can't thank The Barrett Group enough.”

“I had been a chief information officer. The operations officer role was something I had never really been in before. It was new and exciting, and I looked forward to it.” And, finally, like many Barrett clients, she of course had a better salary, better perks, and a better title, as well as one other outcome. “You know, I received a sign-on bonus that more than covered The Barrett Group’s fees.”

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Vincent Capodicci was a longtime foreign service officer at the U.S. Department of State and a director of operations and security of several high-risk embassies and consulates.

Industry:

Federal Government, Nonprofit, Government Contracting, Technology

Function:

Operations, Security, Management, Training, Compliance

Challenge:

After spending more than 30 years in the federal government, most of it overseas, Vincent wanted to be a full-time husband and father to his young family, which required leaving government for the private sector.

Process:

Vincent learned how to brand himself, then a resume and LinkedIn profile overhaul and a lot of work to develop his network helped him garner abundant recruiter attention.

Landing:

Vincent landed an exciting position as security program manager for a large government contractor at a compensation level that exceeded his expectations.

Study:

Vincent Capodicci had a long, rich, and exciting career in the U.S. government. After 10 years of military service, he spent the better part of two decades in the U.S. State Department where he worked as a foreign service officer in high-risk posts. He rose to the level of director of operations and security in the U.S. embassies and consulates of Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Over that time, Vincent became an expert in the greater Middle East region and in security and protective operations – and he loved it.

As a foreign service officer, however, Vincent moved to a different country every three to four years, which is hard on a family. To maintain stability for his children, his family remained in Connecticut where Vincent would visit them every few months. Ultimately, Vincent wanted to find a balance that enabled him to pursue work about which he was passionate while living full-time with his family.

“I’ve always been overseas for months and visiting home for a couple of weeks at time. I missed my family, and they missed me. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to be closer to them, and that meant leaving the State Department for the private sector,” said Vincent.

Soon after, Vincent resigned from full-time employment with the State Department. But he was able to line up a consulting contract with their Foreign Affairs Security Training Center, which enabled him to keep his security clearance and draw a paycheck as he looked for work. Then he dusted off his resume and began job seeking. 

“I hired a resume writing service to redo my resume and help me create a LinkedIn profile. I began sending resumes through a service recommended to me, but I wasn’t getting the jobs leads I wanted,” said Vincent. 

Fortunately, Vincent had time on his side. He began researching career management services and found The Barrett Group [TBG]. On the recommendation of a friend, he hired them and, before long, was meeting with David Black, a coach in TBG’s Clarity Program.

“I really liked Clarity and I enjoyed working with David. I didn’t feel pressure to hurry, so I went through the program at my own pace,” said Vincent. 

Vincent learned a lot about his work and leadership styles thanks to the activities he did in the Clarity program, and he was able to easily identify his goals.

“You benefit the most from the personality assessments if you are honest and truthful. When I got the results, it was scary how spot on they were! They gave me specifics about my personality and work ethic that helped me design my LinkedIn profile and my approach to networking.”

Vincent determined that he wanted to stay within the world of security because he liked the challenges. He also wanted to work for a company that enabled him to maintain his sense of service to the bigger picture.

“Clarity helped me think beyond ground-level, physical security, which had been my focus before, to a higher-level, more overall, management of security. It broadened my horizon under the security umbrella.”

Just as Vincent began working with his career consultant, Larry DiBoni, next, he scored an interview for a great role with a renowned defense contractor. He told Larry that he wanted to pivot.

“Before I even got my first updated resume from the TBG team, I got an interview for a director position. Larry was essentially introducing himself and I told him, ‘We need to change the plan and focus on that!’ So, he juggled things around to help me prep for it.”

That hiring process took two months. Vincent was disappointed when he was turned down for the job, but he chalked it up to bad timing.

“I learned a lot from Larry and The Barrett Group program that I applied later in my job search, but I didn’t know how to sell myself well yet at that stage. If that opportunity had come later, I think I would have gotten the position.”

Undeterred, Vincent re-focused on job searching. He and the TBG writing team restructured his resume, stripping out unnecessary details and making important elements eye-catching. At Larry’s suggestion, he highlighted skills that are in greater demand in the private sector, like cyber and tech security, which opened a new range of opportunities to him. He learned from Larry about the power of social capital and how to use LinkedIn to develop it, and, within a month, he had lined up more interviews.

“I used the unpublished market in my prior line of work, but the foreign service community is tight knit. The private sector is a much larger scale. So, Larry taught me how to set up lines with people and follow up with them – he helped me map out a networking strategy. Because I knew few people in the private sector, the key was to get referrals from someone who knew someone who knew my reputation. That required a lot more research and connecting, which took time.”

Vincent was happy to find organizations that wanted to recruit veterans or former federal workers for the experience they bring to the table. But he also faced skepticism by some hiring managers that he could adapt to a private sector environment.

“I struggled with that attitude, but Larry and I worked on developing a good counterpoint response.” 

After taking his time to find the right job, Vincent was thrilled to land a role as the security program manager for a large government contractor in what he describes as a “textbook” case of unpublished market success. 

“Several months ago, I got an email from a person who was searching for a candidate with my skillset for a role at a major government contractor. He saw that I was connected on LinkedIn to someone they had recently hired that had previously worked at the State Department and he wanted to schedule a time to talk about the position.”

After several weeks of interviewing, Vincent was offered the position, in which he would oversee all security aspects of the organization’s government defense contracts. The compensation package was everything he had wanted and more. 

Three weeks into his new job, Vincent couldn’t be happier – and he gives large credit for his success to his career consultant.

“The most valuable aspect of the TBG program for me was the interaction I had with my coach. Larry and I got along really well. Even after talking business, we’d talk about hobbies. I felt that he was personally invested in me, and that helped him guide me in the right direction.”

Thanks to that guidance, Vincent anticipates an exciting, new career in the private sector.

“The way TBG broke everything down was phenomenal – not just Larry, but the whole support team behind him. They show you how to find the cracks and back doors into an organization by leveraging the thousands of people that are connected to you in some way. And if you have any problems with recruiters, TBG can give you the point of contact for the position you want so you can follow up with the hiring manager directly. That opened a lot of doors!” said Vincent. “And even though I’m no longer looking for a job, I’m still networking with people. My network has exploded in multiple directions. These are opportunities that will continue to grow.”

Client:

Laura was a long-time employee of a financial institution in Silicon Valley. By any measure, her tenure was a success. She appreciated her company, and her company appreciated her.

Industry:

Banking

Challenge:

When her superior left, she asked for a promotion to his open position. She was told something vague and discouraging, like, “You’re not quite ready.”

Process:

Laura made improvements to how she presented herself to the marketplace, particularly LinkedIn, and became a dedicated and effective networker.

Landing:

Laura became a director and then a global director. Her new employer allowed her to grow and, to this day, encourages her to grow.

Study:

In some cases, our focus is on protecting already maximized value, like when The Barrett Group helps a c-level client who has been downsized as part of a merger find a similarly lucrative and powerful role with another company. In other cases, our focus is on helping a client unlock their value, like when The Barrett Group helps a client who is a high-level manager move from a company that undervalues her to a company that recognizes her potential and true value. This is such a story, told at the client’s request without names to protect employer and employee alike.

Our client was a long-time employee of a financial institution in Silicon Valley. By any measure, her tenure was a success. She appreciated her company, and her company appreciated her. She received raises and promotions through the years. Beginning as a project manager, she was promoted to a full management position overseeing the project managers and then promoted again, this time to a senior manager position.

After becoming a senior manager, she did as she had always done—she sought out added responsibilities, something her employer no longer encouraged. And when her superior left, she asked for a promotion to his open position. She was told something vague and discouraging, like, “You’re not quite ready.” or “You’re not there quite yet.” She decided that she needed to find somewhere else to work if she was to grow, somewhere with more light and less shade. What good is the potential for growth in a place without the room or resources to grow?

Initially, our client tried to find a new position entirely on her own. It didn’t work. She decided she might need some help. Like most clients of The Barrett Group, she did not simply rush to us for help. She looked around, talking to a number of firms, and she shopped around. And only then did she decide that The Barrett Group would be the best bet for helping her unlock her value.

The Barrett Group does not sell magic. It sells a process that works. That process, especially the beginning of that process, can be difficult, as The Barrett Group and clients work, as partners, to build the foundation of a successful search. In this case, the beginning of the process was helped by something worthy of relief and elation. Our client discovered that she was not alone in her valuation of herself. In finding The Barrett Group, she found not only an ally, but a team of allies, who, unlike her current employer, agreed with her valuation and were determined to get the marketplace to recognize that valuation.

Our client went to work to prove the truth of her valuation, and The Barrett Group to prove that their encouragement of her valuation was not bluster. Together, they revised her resume and her LinkedIn profile, The Barrett Group persuading her that her LinkedIn image shouldn’t be an online version of her resume—that the two serve different purposes. And they convinced her that she had even undervalued herself in a few specific ways. For example, when accounting for her implementation experience, she should count not only her years in charge of implementation projects, but also her years working as part of implementation teams. And so, she began making subtle improvements to the way she presented herself to the marketplace.

Perhaps most importantly, The Barrett Group convinced her to become a dedicated and effective networker. They explained to her that they would be willing to network on her behalf—but only as a last resort, that for her job search to be the very best job search she needed to try networking herself. And she did. Because she engaged The Barrett Group, she networked in ways she would not have networked without them and with a previously unimaginable level of dedication, in part inspired by the financial commitment she had made to her search.

In the process, she not only became an effective networker, but a zealous convert. When she reached out to former colleagues, with the encouragement of The Barrett Group, she was pleasantly surprised. And when she contacted a former supervisor, who she hadn’t talked to in 15 years, she was also pleasantly surprised. She discovered that people were not only willing to help her, but that they were happy to help her. She had a nice lunch with her former supervisor. And, with the help of and a little bit of pushing by The Barrett Group, she discovered that networking isn’t so bad.

During her job search, her employer, perhaps sensing something, offered further evidence that it did value her, as she was offered a retention bonus. She accepted, as the bonus required her to stay with her employer until a specified date but in no way prohibited her continuing her search for a better place to grow. And she continued to search as before, with energy, intelligence, and the help of The Barrett Group.

Soon, she had a number of interviews and multiple offers. When a hoped-for offer didn’t materialize, The Barrett Group supported her. When a good offer materialized and she decided she should decline, The Barrett Group supported her—fully, as The Barrett Group recognizes that the goal of a job search is not job offers, but the right job for their client. Despite her present situation, working for an employer who did not recognize her true value, she remained patient.

And then, something—something so fortuitous that a reasonable person would not even dare to wish for it—happened. An offer began to materialize as the date for her retention bonus approached. One day, she received her retention bonus, having fully honored its terms. The next day, she left.

In the end, she had not only a retention bonus, but a better salary, a better title, a better employer, and, bottom line, a better job. And so, what began as a story of one manager believing in her valuation of herself, continued as a story of her finding someone else who believed in and supported that valuation. And it ended as a story of a third party, her new employer, recognizing both her present value as an executive and her growth potential. Together, the three of them, the client, The Barrett Group, and the client’s new employer, succeeded in unlocking her value.

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Kia Banisadre served as an acute care consultant for a large healthcare platform based in Dallas that develops value-based healthcare payment programs. 

Industry:

Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Hospitals, Veterinary 

Function:

Optimization, Operations, Consulting, Sales & Marketing, Business Development

Challenge:

After getting laid off for the third time, Kia wanted to learn how to gain more control over his career.

Process:

During the exercise of “paying it forward” to people in his network, one professional contact proposed an unusual opportunity to Kia that was a great match for his skillset – and one he never imagined doing.

Landing:

Kia was invited to develop a new division, as VP of sales and business development, for an accounting firm that had identified a lucrative new market in the veterinary services world.

Study:

As an acute care consultant for a large healthcare platform based in Dallas, Kia Banisadre consulted with hospital groups and post-acute care facilities on how to get better patient outcomes while saving money. During a reorganization, which involved a mass layoff, however, Kia found himself out of a job. 

“This is the third time in a row for me to get laid off,” said Kia. “I decided then that I needed to have more control over my career.”

For Kia, there was a silver lining to getting laid off. He’d come to realize that many of the responsibilities he had been tasked to do didn’t play to his strengths. He’d spent most of his career doing sales and business development or running entire sales divisions, and he resolved to get back to his roots. 

To Kia’s surprise, it didn’t go well.

“It was interesting. I couldn’t land a sales job in pharma. All the hiring managers told me that I was up against people with 10-15 years of experience. By comparison, I had four years running entire sales divisions and a decade of selling deals worth millions of dollars in the healthcare field. That kind of work involves selling products to doctors that cost a lot of money and present a far greater risk to them than asking them to try a new medication for their patients. Yet, despite my success in far more challenging sales environments with the same customer base, the hiring managers couldn’t seem to appreciate that and never considered me a serious candidate for pharma sales. It was really frustrating to be considered under-qualified for jobs that I was more than qualified to do.” 

Four months into his job search, Kia still didn’t have a job. Initially, he hadn’t been interested in pursuing executive jobs because he had gotten burned out by them earlier in his career. However, when a few recruiters began reaching out to him about executive opportunities, he had a change of heart. 

“That is what led me to The Barrett Group [TBG]. Once I realized I still have a passion for leading a team and shaping business strategy, I decided to partner with someone who would look out for me and my interests in my job search,” said Kia.

Kia started his TBG experience with the Clarity Program and enjoyed it enormously.

“Clarity was incredibly eye-opening to me. I loved it! My coach, Lisa Levesque, had very positive energy and was so helpful. I had never taken the time to do a deep dive into myself and explore what I am really looking for. Things are so much easier after that,” said Kia. “The Clarity exercises focused me. Before I started the program, I was considering numerous things that I might do. By the time I finished, it was really clear to me what I wanted to do.” 

Kia’s focus was to get an executive role in sales or business development, one that allowed him to be in a hybrid working environment, and one that allowed him to talk to people versus being behind a screen all day. Within two weeks, he was ready to begin work toward that goal with his career consultant, George Schulz.

“George has been wonderful. He really gets to know you and what you’re looking for, and he is always responsive.”

With George, Kia worked a lot on interviewing skills.

“Working with George was super helpful. I gave answers to sample interview questions and George gave great feedback, saying whether they were too short or long, good or bad, and how best to respond to tricky questions.”

The two also covered a lot of information about LinkedIn.

“My opinion of LinkedIn has changed so much after doing these Barrett Group exercises. I didn’t used to think much of LinkedIn, but now I think that if you’re not on LinkedIn, you’re not serious!”

When it came to social capital building exercises, Kia initially had doubts. Not only was it more work than he expected, but also, he questioned their value. 

“One exercise was to call people I know and trust and offer my expertise to them. I asked George, ‘Is this a mistake?’ Everyone I know well already knows what I do, and they know that I’m always willing to help them. So why would I call them to tell them something they already know?”

Kia did what he was asked, though, and he soon learned two important lessons. First, his assumptions about his friends were not necessarily correct. Second, the point of the exercise was as much to trigger fresh conversations with his friends as it was to offer them help.

“I was surprised to find that my friends didn’t really know what my expertise is. I assumed they knew what I do, but they didn’t!” said Kia. “We ended up having some really good conversations.”

One discussion with a close friend turned out to be Kia’s ticket to a brand-new career in an industry he never imagined working in.

“My friend told me he wanted to expand his business and needed accounting help. So, I told him I would refer him to a former colleague who runs an accounting firm. When I reached out to the colleague, he and I started catching up. Then he told me about some interesting market trends in the veterinary industry that his firm had benefited from. He had gotten several referrals for some high-margin business deals and wanted my advice about whether hiring a salesperson might help him to get more.”

Kia offered his perspective and, before long, Kia’s colleague asked whether Kia would consider helping him build out a sales program for his firm and, eventually, a department to capitalize on this attractive new market opportunity. Ultimately, Kia was hired as VP of sales and business development.

“I didn’t think of my conversation with my accounting friend as an interview, but that is the power of being well prepared. An interview feels like a conversation. Next thing you know, I have a job that I love that plays to my strengths! I have a leadership and administrative role, building out a department and processes, and I also get to be in the field, talking to people. I could not have asked for a better fit! The only difference is that I am in veterinary healthcare, not human healthcare. I’m really enjoying it!”

After landing, Kia thought that his TBG program was finished, but he was pleasantly surprised to find otherwise.

“Even though I’ve landed, it hasn’t been the end of my TBG services. George has been great about suggesting ways that TBG can be helpful even now that I have a job. I feel like I still have someone in my corner.” 

Because Kia is in sales, George offered to provide him with a TBG-generated lead list of veterinary practices.

“Within three days, The Barrett Group provided me with a list of veterinary practices with owner names and phone numbers throughout all the states that I requested. It was amazing! I’m soon going to have a client meeting with a guy in Florida that I never would have reached out to without these lists. Having that information is creating so much efficiency for me. I can’t emphasize enough how important that is for someone who is brand new to an executive leadership role.”

Within two months of joining TBG, Kia had landed a brand-new career, and he couldn’t be happier. 

“Engaging The Barrett Group has been well worth it. I wanted to find the exact job I wanted but I didn’t even know what the exact job might be. I certainly never considered that it would be in a completely different industry!” said Kia. “How much you put behind your slogan ‘We are here to help’ is not just lip service – the value you give back to clients is probably more than clients anticipate they will get.”

Client:

Justin Kinney was senior manager of robotics at an American multinational that provides equipment, technologies, and expertise to oil and gas industry customers.

Industry:

Energy, Industrial, Oil & Gas, Utilities, Manufacturing, Robotics, Supply Chain, Distribution

Function:

Robotics, Software, Industrial Controls, Management

Challenge:

Justin felt that his team was neither supported nor valued as much as it deserved by management, and he wanted a more fulfilling career.

Process:

Learning how to align his resume and his interviewing skills perfectly to each opportunity was critical in helping Justin land his new role.

Landing:

Justin not only landed a higher-level role, but also in a new industry – and at a higher compensation level.

Study:

Justin Kinney was senior manager of robotics at an American multinational that provides equipment, technology, and expertise to oil & gas industry customers. For four and a half years, he grew and led a team that invented and developed robotics for oil & gas applications, becoming a leader in that space. He was proud of the work, but he felt as though management was not providing the professional development, support, nor rewards that the team merited. So, Justin took measures to advance his career into his own hands.

“I thought my career wasn’t going anywhere. So, I decided to take the next step, myself,” said Justin.

Justin launched a covert job search while he continued working. Although he had spent the bulk of his career in the oil & gas industry, he wanted to get out of it. 

“Most robotics development is in the manufacturing and distribution industries, so that was my focus. But it was hard to break out of oil & gas. I have spent so much of my career there that hiring managers in other industries didn’t see how I could do any other kind of work. That was my biggest hurdle,” said Justin. 

For three months, Justin job searched, using LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed, but he had little success. He got a few interviews, but none of them resulted in an offer. On one occasion, he made it all the way to the final round of interviews for a director-level position only to be informed that he didn’t get the job. 

Four days later, he hired The Barrett Group.

“When I lost that opportunity, I decided I needed help. Robotics is a competitive market, and my oil & gas experience was hurting me,” said Justin.

When he began the Clarity Program, Justin tried to learn everything he could. 

“I started by having weekly meetings with Stacy Ballinger, my Clarity coach, for a few weeks. I liked working with Stacy. She was always available, and we had good conversations,” said Justin. “Clarity confirmed that I was headed in the right direction, and it highlighted things I needed to work on.”

Clarity also helped Justin think through parameters of his job search, such as salary, and geography. 

In the next part of the program, Justin worked through elements as quickly as possible, starting with the social capital building exercises. 

“I struggled with the social capital component at first, but I knew I needed to make all those calls. My network was really weak in my target industry. My contacts were mostly in oil & gas. In the end, I did expand my network to a lot of people in robotics and automation and grew it in a way that I wanted to grow it,” said Justin. “I really see the value in it, and I enjoy those conversations. I plan to continue reaching out to people going forward.”

Justin found his career consultant, Joan Sebring, to be responsive to his questions and needs as she took him through the program, but also firm.

“Joan was good, but she didn’t coddle me. I can be hard-headed and sometimes I didn’t want to do what she asked me to do. She would sometimes tell me to stop doing something and do something else. I had to keep telling myself, ‘I need to just listen to what TBG is telling me to do, even if I think I know better, because what I was doing before didn’t work for me!’” said Justin.

Justin determined to have faith in his career coach and everything that she requested of him. Some of the tasks she assigned him, Justin found easy. Others were challenging.

“I did not have a good resume, and updating it was hard because the resume writing team asked me to give metrics for everything on it. That information is hard to track down! But the writing team and I went back and forth on it, which was helpful because now I know how to manage my resume for the future. “Now,” Justin added, “My resume is really good!”

Justin learned a lot of good interviewing skills, too.

“I didn’t interview well, but I thought I did! That was a problem I had to work on as I went through the program. At one company I had three interviews. The hiring manager narrowed the candidates down to me and another guy – and then chose the other guy.” 

Accepting that there was a lot he could learn about job seeking – and making a concerted effort to improve in those areas – made all the difference in Justin’s job search journey. Although he still faced some rejections, Justin found that with his new resume and his interview skills, he got much farther along in the hiring process. 

“Before, I would apply to jobs and get few responses. After working with The Barrett Group, though, I made sure to align my resume with the job description and consistently got past the screening interview. That became almost automatic.” 

In the end, Justin credits his improvements in exactly the areas where he was weakest with his eventual landing. He saw a job posting on LinkedIn for a director-level position that, ironically, was at the same company where he had been an unsuccessful finalist just prior to engaging The Barrett Group. The company, a developer of innovative robotics and software for the supply chain, offered Justin fantastic career growth.

“I kept following this company because I knew they would grow. Six months after failing to get a job there, they posted another job that lined up with my experience and was an even better role than the one I didn’t get. I applied through LinkedIn – this time, with a better resume, because I aligned it perfectly with the role.” 

Justin sailed past all the normal obstacles.

“The hiring manager was the same person as before! Then I met with managers I hadn’t met before, including the CTO. I nailed the interviews because I went into them understanding what they needed for the role. For every question they asked, I aligned my answers with the position. I didn’t make anything up – I just focused on things that were important to the role.

When the job offer came in, Justin got everything he wanted and more.

“I didn’t even try to negotiate because I thought the offer was so good. They even gave me a sign-on bonus!” 

Justin is delighted to have transitioned not only to a director position, but also to an exciting new industry.

“The job I got positions me well for future career growth. It was hard to both move up and into another industry, where I didn’t know anyone, simultaneously. But practicing how to frame my experiences properly helped me. For me, the best value of The Barrett Group program was in the resume writing and interview coaching. I didn’t know what I didn’t know! Aligning yourself perfectly with the role – it all comes down to that.”

Client:

Heather worked 15 years overseeing multi-billion-dollar projects as a construction scheduler for a major developer of resorts in Las Vegas.

Industry:

Construction

Challenge:

Heather wanted a change of both corporate environment and geography, but her job search efforts failed to gain traction.

Process:

Plumbing her LinkedIn profile revealed valuable connections to an ideal job at a major construction firm in the unpublished market.

Landing:

Before she even completed the TBG program, Heather was offered, at a whirlwind pace, a position as scheduling executive in Seattle.

Study:

As the director of corporate scheduling at a world-class developer of resorts in Las Vegas, Heather successfully managed upwards of 50 construction projects at a time, spanning multiple locations, each worth millions or even billions of dollars. She loved being a scheduler, but after 15 years with the same company she started to feel that her values were no longer aligned with the values of the company. She craved a change.

Heather started her job search by using Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and many other job search tools. But her search went nowhere. She just knew there had to be a firm out there that could help skilled, experienced executives transition to new positions, and she scoured the internet looking for it. Finally, she found The Barrett Group (TBG).

“It was obvious that I would not be able to find a new position doing what I wanted to do without help. I had never heard of The Barrett Group before, and I was so happy that I found it,” said Heather. “The Barrett Group process is incredible.”

Heather derived a lot of benefit from the Clarity program at the outset, not least of which was a realization that she wanted to move someplace with trees.

“The personality testing was wonderful. It was amazing to see how I’m perceived by others, and it has helped me be more cognizant of my strengths and weaknesses,” said Heather. “It was clear to me that the TBG team was using the information they gleaned from the test to tailor the program to me.”

A steps-driven person, Heather valued the very logical methodology of the TBG program. She appreciated that it was flexible enough to enable her to work through it at a pace that suited her. She learned a lot about how to manage LinkedIn, and spent much of her time working with it. And she was delighted by her resume makeover.

“The TBG team did an incredible job with my resume. My new resume makes me look like a million bucks!” said Heather.

Before Heather had even finished Phase 1 of the program, an opportunity popped up on LinkedIn that she thought would be ideal for her. To her delight, Heather found that 10 of her close connections had direct connections to the company in question. She started making phone calls and, though the Covid pandemic was in full swing, found herself, within a day, interviewing for the position. Within two weeks the hiring manager asked her how soon she could start.

Heather credits The Barrett Group for channeling the special kismet that produced such a rapid, successful career transition.

“It was thanks to the coaching I got that made this job opportunity come to fruition,” said Heather. “Before I hired The Barrett Group I would have seen the job ad, applied, not gotten it, and moved on instead of first reaching out to my network, asking them to talk to their connections, and have them put me in touch with the right people. That’s what The Barrett Group did for me.”

Some identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Dave was a senior software engineer for a small, private technology startup.

Industry:

Information Technology, Consumer Electronics

Function:

Technology, Software Engineering 

Challenge:

Dave had a history of getting jobs and not liking them, including the job where he was at the time, so he enlisted professional help to break the pattern. 

Process:

In-depth conversations with his TBG coaches helped Dave understand what he truly wants from his career and exercise the discipline necessary to pursue it.

Landing:

Within three months of starting his job search, Dave eschewed tantalizing opportunities at startups and accepted a role as software architect for a traditional, multinational consumer electronics company.

Study:

Dave was senior software engineer for a small, private, technology company based in Silicon Valley. When he took the job, he thought he would develop software and write code but, as often happens at small startups, he ended up wearing other hats. Within a few months, it was clear to Dave that the company was not a good fit.

“It wasn’t work I liked or what I wanted to be doing with my life. I felt unsuccessful at my job and that I wasn’t moving my career forward,” said Dave. 

Dave started thinking about leaving his job. As a software developer (a title very much in demand in today’s job market) with 30 years of experience, he was accustomed to getting four to five queries from headhunters each day. So, he kept an eye out for interesting prospects. But one day, a digital ad for career management services at The Barrett Group (TBG) popped up on his screen and caught his attention. 

“I clicked on the link and looked at the company’s website. It got me thinking. I have a history of getting jobs and not liking them. What is it about me and the jobs that I take that don’t work out? I wanted to understand, so I booked a call,” said Dave.

Dave recognized that throughout his long career, he’d never stayed longer than four years at any company – often he lasted only one or two years. He wanted a job that was different. He was also intrigued by the executive focus of TBG’s career management program.

“Because I’ve worked mostly at startups, I’ve always been a manager or director in practice, but not in title, because I’m the most senior person in the room. I would attend all the money meetings and the client meetings. I acted as the CTO but never had that title. I thought that The Barrett Group could help me get to the next level.”

Before long, Dave was meeting with TBG Clarity Coach Natalie Bybee. 

“Natalie was excellent! She was personable, smart, a good listener, and really helpful at clarifying things for me. Best of all, she called me out on my bull. Working with her, it finally dawned on me that, despite spending a lot of my career working at startups, I don’t actually like startups. I was going from startup to startup wondering why I was unhappy. At my age, you’d think that I would have figured that out by now,” said Dave. “That was a huge ‘Aha’ moment for me. That alone was worth the price of The Barrett Group Program.”

Dave admits that he finds startups to be exciting, interesting places, with lots of energy, youth, and money. That’s what always attracted him to them. But, once there, the pace of work and the expectation of long hours doing urgent tasks across multiple job functions is exhausting.

“I’ve had about 20 jobs in my career, but I’ve had a clear job description in only three of them,” said Dave. “I’ve spent a lot of time maturing companies but what I realized, working with Natalie, is that I don’t like doing that. I don’t want to be the one to mature the company. I just want to work in a mature company with guidelines and processes where there are clear boundaries and where people stay in their lanes. That’s what I crave at this point in my life.”

In his final Clarity session, Natalie coached Dave to think about what it is that he really wanted to do, keep perspective, have patience, and to try to see his goals through. 

“That sounds simple and obvious, but when you have lots of people calling you every day to invite you to work for them, it’s hard not to jump at all those opportunities,” said Dave.

Dave discussed these issues further with his executive career consultant, Barbara Limmer, in the next part of TBG’s program. 

“Barbara was great, too. I really liked her. She really seemed to care about my doing well and finding what I was looking for,” said Dave. “Barbara helped me break my job search pattern by reminding me of the goals that I had established for myself in the Clarity Program – that I wanted a more established company. That I didn’t want a startup. That I wanted a management position. If I told her about a position that interested me, she pushed back and asked me how it fit into my goals. I always felt that she had my best interests in mind.”

It was well-timed advice because Dave garnered recruiter attention as soon as he and the TBG team changed his LinkedIn profile.

“If you change a space on your LinkedIn profile it triggers recruiters to look at it. That was great, but I valued reworking my resume and LinkedIn profile more for the process than the product because it gave me the opportunity to talk about myself and my experience in a way that I would not have done otherwise.”

At first, Dave held back on engaging with recruiters until he was further along in the program, but Barbara coached him to respond to all the queries he received because timing is crucial in a job search. In these conversations, he found himself getting more interested in software architect positions and less excited about management positions.

“I started getting interviews immediately – for software people it’s crazy! In a week I’d have six or seven first calls and one or two first interviews. Barbara was awesome. She stayed on top of all my opportunities and gave me a plan for each one. She accelerated the course to keep up with me and customized it to meet my needs.”

Dave heard from recruiters from numerous startups, but one message came in from a large, well-established, multinational consumer electronics company looking for a software architect. Dave sent his resume. Within a week he had an interview. He interviewed a second time the following week. The day after that interview, he got a job offer. 

“What’s funny is that I tried to stall to buy time for a second interview at another company – which was a startup! Despite an offer in hand from an established company with a clear role that ticked all my boxes, I was tempted to follow my old pattern. I was given only 24 hours to make up my mind, however, and I accepted the offer. Barbara helped me navigate that emotionally.”  

Dave is excited to explore this new path in his career.

“My new team seems like the team that I’ve been craving,” said Dave. “I really valued the in-depth conversations I had with Natalie and Barbara about my career because they kept me from repeating the same mistakes.”

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Photo: 123rf.com