Success Studies

Client:

Ashley Turner was regional director of operations for an Indiana-based, health care company providing autism therapy.

Industry:

Hospitality & Leisure, Healthcare, Hospitals

Challenge:

After working 11 years in her family business, Ashley left for a job that was a poor fit, but she lacked the job seeking skills and confidence in her business credentials to find a more suitable one.

Process:

After identifying her goals, Ashley built her confidence by reaching out to her network and learned how to parry awkward interview questions about her reasons for leaving her family business.

Landing:

Ashley accepted a job as corporate director of hotel operations for an international firm that offered her more money, flexibility on her home base, and a great team of colleagues.

Study:

Ashley Turner was regional director of operations for a health care company providing autism therapy to children. She came to the job less than a year earlier after deciding to step away from her father’s hotel management and development business in Indiana where she had worked for 11 years – her entire post-college career. Working for her father, Ashley developed great experience in every position, from sales to vice president. So, when her father expressed an interest in stepping back from his business, Ashley was ready and began assuming his responsibilities. But then Ashley’s father changed his mind. 

It got challenging to have two people with two different visions leading the company, and Ashley concluded that it was time for her to leave. She took a director position overseeing autism centers, thinking that it might stimulate other professional interests, but it was not a good fit. 

“I thought I’d love working with kids with disabilities, but I didn’t like the business structure of the new organization. It wasn’t a financially-driven model, and it didn’t play to my strengths,” said Ashley. 

Ashley’s strengths, she knew, were overall business perspective and creating a guest experience – namely, hotel management. She was dissatisfied in her new job but felt that returning to hotel management was not an option. The hotel world in Indiana is small, and Ashley didn’t think her dad’s competitors would ever hire her. At the same time, getting a job outside the state didn’t seem feasible either because family commitments tied her to Indiana. 

Feeling directionless, Ashley hired The Barrett Group.

“I had never thought about looking for another job until I left my father’s company. I hadn’t written a resume since I was 22,” said Ashley. “I needed professional guidance to get my head straight, and I needed help job searching.”

For the next four to six weeks, Ashley worked with her Clarity coach to think through the industry and job function she wanted to pursue, the size of company she preferred, and to understand the value that she offered employers. 

“I had a great experience with Clarity. I was feeling insecure about whether I was truly good at things or just thought I was because my dad had made work easy for me. But here was an unbiased person telling me what she saw as my strengths based on various assessments and our personal interactions. It was great validation to me.”

After Clarity, Ashley began working with Julie Mathern, her career consultant, which she valued very much. 

“It was really good working with Julie. Not only was she a great sounding board, she gave me accountability. We had a call every week, and I would make sure to do the things she asked me to do before the call. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. She kept me on track more than I would have done on my own.”

The first thing Ashley tackled was her resume and cover letter. Next, she updated her LinkedIn profile.

“Julie showed me how to find first-, second-, and third-degree LinkedIn connections and properly use them. Then I set up references,” said Ashley.

Setting up references required Ashley to reach out to her network, a task she found uniquely uncomfortable.

“It was very hard to contact people because everyone knows my dad and we have always been a package deal. I knew it would be difficult to talk to them about us splitting up,” said Ashley.

To her surprise, Ashley found that her contacts were quite receptive to her and had a high regard for her as a businesswoman. Many were quite happy to provide a good reference for her. The more people she spoke to, the more comfortable she became, and the exercise proved to be a valuable means of building confidence. 

Looking for a job in hotel management was particularly hard during Covid – the industry was hit hard by the pandemic. Ashley had reasonable expectations, though.

“The folks at TBG said it normally takes six to twelve months to find a job, and during Covid it might be longer. In the beginning, the hotel industry was dead. My job search produced no interviews in January or February of 2021. In March, however, I saw a job post for corporate director of hotel operations in my inbox. I was pumped because it was a lot faster than I had anticipated!”

The position appealed to Ashley because it was similar to the role she’d had at her father’s company, but this time for a global company with different levels of luxury than she was used to. She’d be visiting properties around the country. Best of all, it was a remote job, so Indiana could be her home base.

“I was very excited because my experience with hotels is mostly in the Midwest,” said Ashley. 

Ashley started with a phone screening and ended with flying to Atlanta for two days of in-person interviews. Within 30 days, she had the job. She credits her career consultant with many aspects of her successful search. 

“Julie’s help on the back end is a huge part of why I got this job. She set me up with a great resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile, and she is the one who showed me how to navigate Indeed and set up the alerts. If she hadn’t, I would never have seen that job posting.” 

Ashley also thanks Julie for the excellent interview prep she received. 

“Julie coached me to discuss leaving my family’s business. I didn’t want to overexplain. Her help was important because it was one of the first questions I got. My boss told me later that I’d answered that question really well.”

When the offer was in hand, Julie also coached Ashley to negotiate a higher compensation, resulting in $10,000 more in base salary.

“I was nervous to ask for more money, but I knew Julie would be disappointed if I didn’t try. My boss just said, “Sure!” 

Ashley loves her new job, and she couldn’t be happier with her TBG experience. 

“Your mental state is so important when you’re looking for a job because you’re putting yourself out there. Julie gave me the tools I needed to reflect who I am and what I can do and the confidence to go out and get the job I deserve.”

Most clients give TBG permission to use their first and last names and their photo with their success study. In some cases, however, clients are not at liberty to disclose this information publicly, therefore, some identifying details must be omitted or changed to protect the privacy of the client and/or their organization. Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Vijay Sardeshpande was director of global IT business excellence for a large, private provider of healthcare for patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease. 

Industry:

Hospitals, Healthcare, Medical, Software, SaaS, Property Management

Function:

Process excellence, Operations, Quality assurance, Information Technology

Challenge:

Vijay was a contract employee and when he began job seeking near the end of his contract, his efforts yielded frustratingly slow progress. 

Process:

Vijay enhanced his appeal with hiring managers by polishing his brand – from resume to LinkedIn – and improving his overall job search skills.

Landing:

A referral from a former colleague helped Vijay land a role as director of process excellence with a multinational company that provides property management software, and new negotiation techniques boosted his initial offer by $20K.

Study:

Vijay Sardeshpande was director of global IT business excellence for a large, private health care provider that specializes in treating patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease. In his role, Vijay developed global business processes for large transformation implementations and led a group of business analysts in launching new software system initiatives. 

Vijay was a contractor and came to his position thanks to the referral of a former colleague who ended up becoming his manager. He enjoyed his role and hoped it would go full-time. Due to budget concerns, however, that didn’t happen, and Vijay began job seeking a few months before his contract was to end. 

He updated his LinkedIn profile, talked to people in his network, and started submitting job applications for interesting job openings. He targeted director-level roles similar to those he had had in the past: business excellence, process excellence, supply chain, and operations. He was indifferent to industry and company size. His search was purposely broad. Nevertheless, progress was sluggish.

“I sent 40-50 applications per week. I got a couple of interviews, but the feedback loop was slow. I got an interview at the end of April for one job that I applied to in early February. I was getting frustrated,” said Vijay. “I actually appreciated the rejection letters I got because at least I knew where my application stood, rather than floating around in the ether.” 

Vijay started to consider professional help in his job search. When a close friend recommended The Barrett Group (TBG), he made the jump. 

“I started with the Clarity Program, which was good. My coach, Julie Holifield, had me do the DISC profile. I have taken a lot of personal assessment tests before, but I’ve never taken one like that. I learned a different side of myself,” said Vijay. “What was interesting is that it shows how you adjust your natural behavior depending on whether you are at home or at work. I found the results surprising at first, but my wife helped me see how they made sense.”

Vijay also found his Clarity experience eye-opening because it demonstrated to him how his values and priorities had evolved from 10 years earlier. But it also confirmed that he was pursuing the right job function and that he was right to be targeting a variety of companies and industries. After two weeks, he moved to the next phase of the TBG program.

“I really liked working with Barbara Limmer, my career consultant. She coached me through the whole job search process from beginning to end,” said Vijay. 

The first thing they tackled was Vijay’s resume.

“The resume change was very helpful. It reads much better, and it’s easier to adjust to whatever role I’m applying,” said Vijay. “Even though I had paid someone to redo my resume before I hired TBG, I like this one better. The team made it look like an executive’s resume. I have even gotten compliments on it!”

Next, Vijay learned how to write a good cover letter and when to follow up after applying for a role or doing an interview. He found the lessons on how to use LinkedIn effectively and how to handle third-party recruiters super helpful. He also worked on bettering his interview skills.

“When I told Barbara that I don’t much care about geographic location or industry, she cautioned me against playing that up in interviews. Employers care about their industries and might be turned off if they think I am not committed to their industry, too. I think that may have hindered my job search previously.”

Vijay’s biggest challenge in the TBG program was the exercise Barbara gave him to expand his social capital. But Barbara talked him through how to make it easier.

“I felt awkward reaching out to people. I’m not the greatest at expressing myself through words. But Barbara assured me that is normal and that I will get more comfortable and confident with practice. She coached me on what to say, what not to say, and to focus on how we can mutually benefit each other. It’s a much better approach. I really needed help with that, and I did get better at it. Barbara helped a lot.”

Overall, Vijay found great value in everything the program covered.

“Barbara helped me tweak all the ways that I could make my job search better. She was a great sounding board. She walked the path with me and had my best interests at heart. She worked on everything. That is exactly what I needed. That is what coaching is all about – to make yourself better.”

Vijay saw his job search results improve while working with Barbara. He got more interviews, better feedback from those interviews, and more feedback from third-party recruiters. Within two months, Vijay was offered a position as director of process excellence at a multinational company that provides property management software for various real estate applications. He credits a referral from the same former colleague as before for opening the door to the opportunity and facilitating the hiring process. 

“My former colleague knew the hiring manager at the new company and advocated for me. She put me in touch with the hiring manager directly, which actually enabled me to skip a few steps in the typical hiring process. The same day that I met with the senior VP, they made me an offer.” 

When it came to negotiating that offer, Vijay surprised himself with how easily his TBG training paid for itself – and then some. 

“I have flubbed compensation negotiations in the past, but this time I was prepared! Barbara told me about several different ways to approach them. She said, ‘If they say this, you can say that.’ Just by following what Barbara coached me to say, I got an additional $20K!” 

Vijay is excited to have joined a great company with a great team doing what he enjoys most.

“What TBG offered me was great,” said Vijay. “It was money well spent and I’m definitely happy.”

Client:

Chris Burger was global director of sales and order fulfillment for a large company at which he had worked for 20 years.

Industry:

Software Development & Design

Challenge:

When new leadership proved to be a poor fit, Chris decided to pursue alternative opportunities. But after 20 years in the same job, he didn’t know where to start.

Process:

An overhauled LinkedIn profile quickly yielded multiple leads, and professional preparation for interviews and salary negotiations proved invaluable.

Landing:

Chris is excited that his “final gig” before retirement is at a diverse startup with intelligent, young people who value the experience he brings.

Study:

As a global executive, Chris Burger had enjoyed a long career of managing people from around the world and from different cultures. He was happy in his position until a change in leadership prompted him to wonder whether his company would remain a good fit for him.

“The company wasn’t going in the direction I thought it should,” said Chris. “When the initial support I was promised did not materialize for a key project I was leading, I knew it was time for me to move on. I’m not that young anymore and I want to control my own destiny.”

Chris wasn’t ready to retire – he figured he had one more gig left in him, and he wanted the last gig to be a good one. However, he recognized that a lot had changed in the 20 years since he had last looked for a job, especially at the executive level. He decided to work with an advisor.

Chris ultimately hired The Barrett Group because its methodology addressed the exact areas where he needed help. As a global executive he had always customized his management style to the culture and personalities of the individuals he managed, and he appreciated that The Barrett Group, likewise, customizes its services to each client.

“The Barrett Group’s process is very complete. They began by assessing my personality, my communication style, and my goals. Then they tailored their process to my needs,” said Chris.

Chris also recognized that The Barrett Group consultants are experts where he is not – job search.

“What you don’t do often, you don’t do well. For me, that was job seeking,” said Chris. “I’d made only three or four career changes in entire life, but The Barrett Group does this for a living. They know all the tricks in the book.”

Developing his LinkedIn profile alone turned out to be hugely valuable. It prompted calls from numerous recruiters who wanted to know what he had to offer. TBG helped him field these calls by readying full company reports before every conversation.

TBG coaches fully trained him to effectively respond to recruiter questions, including using results-oriented language and good examples of his experience, and how to handle questions about compensation most effectively. They even followed up on his references to ensure they were good enough.

“That in-depth preparation instilled confidence in me during my conversations and interviews,” said Chris. “That is crucial to a successful job search – being confident about who you are and what you can do.”

TBG’s expert coaching didn’t end when Chris was offered a position by his current employer, a San Francisco startup. “The initial offer was a little below what I was expecting, so I told them I’d think about it. Then I called my consultant to discuss. In the end, the company raised the offer to a number I was glad to accept.”

With the help of The Barrett Group, Chris has embarked on the final chapter of his career – and it’s a great gig!

Photo: 123rf.com

Client:

Jothy Rosenberg was founder and CEO of a Massachusetts-based, cybersecurity startup that protects processors from the exploitation of software vulnerabilities. 

Industry:

Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Software

Function:

Entrepreneurship, Leadership 

Challenge:

After passing the torch to a new CEO, Jothy wanted to explore career options outside of working at a big company or creating another startup. 

Process:

Cleaning up his LinkedIn connections and strategically rekindling relationships with people in his network proved very effective in producing new opportunities for Jothy.

Landing:

In addition to landing an exciting and lucrative 12-month contract position, Jothy was also offered a new book contract.

Study:

Jothy Rosenberg was founder and CEO of a Massachusetts-based, cybersecurity startup that provides a platform designed to protect processors from the exploitation of software vulnerabilities. It was the ninth tech startup that Jothy, a self-professed “serial entrepreneur,” had either founded or run in his career. The company ran into hard times, however, especially during the pandemic. The company almost failed five times, but Jothy kept pulling rabbits out of his hat to keep it going. Eventually, Jothy realized that the best way to save it was to lay off the entire company and target a new customer base – Department of Defense customers instead of commercial customers. He passed the torch to a new CEO with the skillset to serve that base, then turned his attention to seeking new professional opportunities for himself.

Exhausted from the travails of his previous company, Jothy was not interested in creating another startup of his own. Nor did he want to work at a big company. Knowing there must be other avenues he hadn’t considered, he decided to hire professional help to explore his options.

“I know recruiters work for a company and, if you match their criteria, you might be in luck. If you don’t, well, maybe someday they’ll call you,” said Jothy. “I assumed that there must be another type of job search entity – one that would work for the jobseeker. Searching for that is how I found The Barrett Group.”

Starting in The Barrett Group’s (TBG) Clarity© Program, Jothy was prompted to consider aspects of his career that he hadn’t spent much time reflecting on.

“My Clarity coach, Laura Leaton, was awesome. She got me to think broadly about what I wanted to do. But she also gave me a reality check,” said Jothy. “Entrepreneurs are ridiculous optimists, and they don’t necessarily plan well for retirement because they expect a windfall payday someday that doesn’t necessarily happen. As I don’t want to work too much longer before I retire, I realized that I should focus on finding a well-paying job.” 

In the next phase of the TBG program Jothy saw even greater value than in Clarity.

“My career consultant, Barbara Limmer, was great to work with. She was enthusiastic and had lots of energy. Our working sessions were very informative,” said Jothy. “In one session, for example, she taught me the right way to create a LinkedIn profile. Like probably 99% of people, my profile was a copy and paste of my resume. Barbara convinced me that it shouldn’t be a resume repository – it’s a business network and they shouldn’t look the same!” 

Through Barbara, Jothy learned best practices for interviewing, how to use LinkedIn Analytics, and the importance of building social capital. As he moved through the program, Jothy was impressed with the variety and efficiency of the services that he received.

“My resume was rewritten, documents appeared in my digital folders…Barbara was this face in front of a back office of people scurrying around making things happen and producing really valuable content,” said Jothy. “The content is so great that I will use it forever.”

For Jothy, the most useful aspect of The Barrett Program turned out to be nurturing his social capital because doing so unlocked the unpublished market in surprising ways.

“I had a lot of 1st degree connections – more than 1,800,” said Jothy. “So, the first thing I did was to go through them all and delete obsolete connections. Next, I invited people from my Rolodex to connect if we weren’t already connected. When that was done, I created three lists: A) People I definitely wanted to reach out to, B) People I would reach out to if I had the time, and C) People that I probably wouldn’t have time to get to.”

Jothy created a spreadsheet of all these contacts and started emailing people to schedule 30-minute Zoom calls with them. Adamant to reach as many people as possible, and as quickly as possible, he scheduled two meetings per day for about two months. 

“It was fun!” said Jothy. “I am usually great at keeping up with people and I told them I was reaching out to check in because I’d been too busy during the past seven years running my startup to do so. I asked how their careers were going and they always asked the same of me, so I got a chance to tell them about my situation.”

Most of Jothy’s contacts politely said only that they’d keep their eyes open for suitable opportunities, but a few of them jumped into action.

“One of my calls resulted in a book contract! I had published a book in 2011 and called the publisher to catch up. He asked me what I’d been up to and I told him I’d been doing startups. I proposed writing a book about the experience. He asked me to send him details and, two hours later, he emails me a book contract!” said Jothy. “The book will be called Anecdotes of an Incorrigible Entrepreneur. Barbara helped me negotiate the terms of the contract.”

Jothy was pleased, too, that his calls produced three more solid leads, one of which turned into the role he has now. 

“One of my contacts works at a large government contractor. Three weeks after we spoke, he called to tell me that he spotted an opportunity that sounded right up my alley. He offered to make an introduction,” said Jothy. 

The role was to use his skills and experience as an entrepreneur to help the government contractor take an innovative technology, developed with government funding, and create an independent startup that could commercialize the technology. 

“The assumption is that it will take a year to get all the technology working and create the spinout. The startup will have some funding, but it will have to hire a team, find investors, and find its own way. I will do all that.”  

Jothy was thrilled by the opportunity and delighted to learn that he had been the top candidate of their five finalists. Although it was not the full-time job Jothy was looking for – it is a 2-day-per-week, 12-month contract position – the compensation offer was incredibly generous. Moreover, the role has the potential to become a full-time role if the launch of the startup goes well.

“I’m not worried. Towards the end of my contract, if another opportunity hasn’t fallen out of the sky, I will call TBG again. That is so obvious to me,” said Jothy. “I was very stressed in the beginning of my job search because I tried to use my personal network on my own and I wasn’t getting anywhere. Working with TBG, I learned how to use my network more wisely to make something good happen.”

Client:

Lawrence spent nine years as corporate counsel for a private firm that provides IT solutions for the digital workplace. 

Industry:

Legal, Information Technology

Function:

Leadership, Legal Counsel 

Challenge:

Lawrence sought an exit when a failed merger roiled his company, but after nine years in the same job, he needed professional help to be successful in his career transition. 

Process:

A natural introvert, Lawrence found executive coaching support invaluable in building and strengthening his network and beefing up his interview and negotiating skills.

Landing:

After a year of job hunting that included many disappointments, Lawrence landed a more senior position offering greater responsibilities and better compensation at an exciting, growing company.

Study:

Lawrence was contract counsel and project manager at a firm providing IT services that enables digital workplaces. He created multimillion-dollar agreements, counseled leadership on contract compliance and policy, and oversaw monthly reporting. He enjoyed the position, but, after nine years at the same job, he faced few new challenges and little opportunity to advance. When the loss of one of Lawrence’s largest accounts coincided with the aftershocks of a failed merger, Lawrence knew it was time to formulate an exit strategy.

After so many years at one company, Lawrence knew that his job searching skills were rusty and that he would probably benefit from professional help. His suspicions were confirmed when two to three months of job hunting on his own yielded few leads. He started researching executive coaching firms and found The Barrett Group (TBG).

“I tried job boards and LinkedIn, but what I was doing wasn’t working. I was concerned that I wasn’t prepared for a hard job hunt that would require good interview skills, an impressive resume, and finding the right people to talk to,” said Lawrence. “The Barrett Group offered services for everything I needed!”

Lawrence’s journey started with TBG’s Clarity Program. 

“Clarity highlighted goals of mine that I hadn’t prioritized, and it compelled me to consider what a career change could mean for me and my family. It made me step back and realize where I was going wrong,” said Lawrence. “I hadn’t thought about how best to advance my career to ensure my family and career were secure. If I had stayed on the path I was on, I could easily have ended up with a career that I was unhappy with.”

Lawrence had always thought it would be easy to advance his career but, he realized, it wasn’t happening. Clarity forced him to think about what he wanted and to design a plan to achieve it. 

“I asked myself, ‘Do I want to take any job coming down the pike, or do I want to make my own path?’” said Lawrence. 

In TBG’s Phase 2, Lawrence enjoyed working with career consultant, Greg Emslie, who was very thorough. Greg helped Lawrence understand and improve on all the elements of a good job hunt, like using LinkedIn effectively, interviewing well, crafting a good resume, and especially connecting with people. 

“I didn’t fully appreciate the need to leverage my network. I have always thought that education and accomplishments should stand on their own. It was hard for me to understand that the job market isn’t a meritocracy. Greg showed me that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” said Lawrence. 

Despite that lesson, Lawrence’s initial efforts to build social capital were seriously hampered by his natural introversion.

“I’m very introverted and it’s hard for me to reach out to people – even former acquaintances. I needed someone to help me step out of my comfort zone. Greg was very patient with me, and he pushed me when I needed it. He convinced me that I have to get my accomplishments in front of the right people if I want to be successful, and friends can point me in the right direction,” said Lawrence.

It took a while for Lawrence to follow through with the tasks Greg assigned him, but when he finally began putting in earnest effort, he saw results. He felt more comfortable connecting with people and the number of interviews he got really picked up.

Job hunting was much harder than Lawrence had expected, and doing so during Covid didn’t help. Throughout his search, Greg imbued Lawrence with confidence, which helped him stay the course of TBG’s program. 

“There were a few heartbreakers. I went through multiple rounds of interviews and felt like it was a good fit, only to lose the job to someone else,” said Lawrence. “That was rough.”

Then one day, after nearly a year of searching, he saw an interesting job on LinkedIn at a small, dynamic fintech company. He noticed that an old grad school acquaintance held a senior level role at the company and he reached out to her. 

“The fact that I could say to someone who worked there, ‘Hey, I know who you are!’ gave me an edge. I didn’t know her well, but having that connection really helped. She helped me get my resume on the desk of the right people,” said Lawrence.

Before long, Lawrence was offered an interview and then a job at a more senior level and a higher compensation than he had had previously. He is thrilled to have landed at a company with great people and close proximity to the executive team. 

“The company is not just interesting, it’s also growing. I’m in a higher position with more visibility, and I’m involved with some big deals with large companies and brands. Plus, the people at the company seem really happy to have me joining them!”

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

Client:

Derek Maxwell was global technical support manager of electrical, mechanical, marine and drilling systems for an industry-leading, offshore drilling company.

Industry:

Energy, Oil and Gas, E-Commerce, Retail, Supply Chain

Function:

Technical, Maintenance, Systems, Process, and Quality Engineering; Management; Training

Challenge:

When the pandemic roiled the industry where he’d spent 30 years and cast his company into bankruptcy, Derek was laid off with little prospect of finding similar work. 

Process:

Self-reflection prompted Derek to consider different industries and to build out his social capital.

Landing:

Derek landed as senior manager of engineering and supply chain and site manager for a distribution center of a multinational retail corporation.

Study:

As the global manager of technical support for an industry-leading, offshore, deep-water, drilling company, Derek Maxwell oversaw all the maintenance engineering projects for seven drill ships. His responsibilities included maintenance of the drill ships’ electrical, mechanical, and marine and drilling systems, as well as offshore personnel training. His career in the drilling industry spanned 30 years and multiple countries, ranging from his native Scotland to his current home in Houston, Texas. He felt lucky to have never faced significant unemployment in all that time. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Derek’s luck ran out.

“My company got hit hard by Covid and went bankrupt. It was acquired by another company and after a six-month transition, they laid off most of my team and me,” said Derek.

Derek took two months for himself before launching a job search. When he finally did, he found the job search to be intolerable.

“It was very difficult,” said Derek. “I redid my resume and prepared a cover letter. I tried LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. I reached out to people I knew in my industry, but they were in a similar situation. The industry was having such a terrible time. There were no contracts being awarded, no new work going on. People in my network were focused on keeping their own jobs and couldn’t help me in my job search.”

After four months of job searching with few results, Derek hired The Barrett Group (TBG).

“What I liked about The Barrett Group is that it focused on a lifestyle change versus a job change,” said Derek. “The Barrett Group program begins with a self-evaluation. You work on yourself first before going out into the job market.”

It was a great change for Derek because the status quo was no longer an option.

“Initially, I thought I would stay in the same industry, but it became quite evident that the industry would not improve for a couple years,” said Derek.

Derek derived enormous value from the Clarity Program and the self-reflection he was encouraged to do.

“I really like the Clarity Program and my Clarity coach, Scott Brown. He is very good at what he does,” said Derek. “He got me to look internally. He got me to consider the social and financial parts of my life, my goals past and present, and where I see myself in the future. He made me think more than I’ve ever done in other similar courses. To be honest, it’s probably one of the most valuable things I’ve done in a long, long time.”

Derek had typically attended to business first in his work and social niceties second. In Clarity, however, he came to see things differently.

“Scott taught me to better balance my desire to get on with work and important social skills. I realized that it is more advantageous to your business if you first take the time to ask someone ‘How are you? How’s the family? Can I help you in any way?’ Even better is when you allow yourself to enjoy that conversation rather than doing it as a perfunctory exercise.” said Derek. “Think of a garden. You’ll get much better results when you prepare and plow your field before sowing your seeds than just walking across a field chucking seeds around.”

In the next phase of the TBG program, Derek worked with his career consultant to build social capital beyond his contacts in the oil and gas industry.

“In my discussions with Barbara Limmer, I realized it was not sensible to be narrowly focused. I would have to get out of my comfort zone. At first, I thought I’d target chemical plants – I live near a lot of them. But Barbara encouraged me to think of other industries where my skills would transfer, too. With that perspective, I could pursue a job in any industry in the engineering world, or any company with manufacturing processes,” said Derek. “My one restriction is that I was unwilling to move from Houston because my wife has a high-level job there.”

With the help of the TBG team, Derek overhauled his resume and produced several versions that he could use in different circumstances. Barbara taught him to do advanced searches on LinkedIn and play around with search terms. Then he got busy reaching out to friends, family, and business contacts. It wasn’t easy at first, but it turned out to be the key to his success.

Two weeks after reconnecting with an old friend on LinkedIn, an article popped up on his LinkedIn feed that Derek’s friend had ‘Liked’. The article highlighted some impressive aspects of the multinational retailer where his friend worked. After Derek read it, LinkedIn’s algorithm began ‘feeding him’ more content about the same company – including a job ad for a role of senior manager of maintenance and supply chain operations. Intrigued, he applied.

After two interviews, Derek was told that he was overqualified for the role – but then he was invited to apply for a more senior role.

“The role was for senior manager in engineering and site engineer for a distribution center in Houston with 5 million square feet and over 2,000 workers. After another three interviews, a site visit, and a discussion with the senior VP, they gave me an offer.”

Derek credits Barbara with prepping him well for those interviews and TBG’s compensation negotiation reading materials.

“Barbara and I reviewed interview techniques and how to ask for the best possible offer. I ended up negotiating a better base rate, a signing bonus, and more PTO. It was a bit nerve-wracking, of course, but I felt comfortable using the language from the TBG worksheets. I used them almost word for word.”

The process and quality engineering at his new company are very different from what Derek has done before, but after several weeks of training, he was ready to start his new role.

“I was about one and a half steps outside my comfort zone, so I had to push myself. But I feel really confident now. They said they’d see what I can do in this position over the next year. If all goes well, they will have me take over for the general manager.”

Derek is delighted with his new career path. His new worksite is closer to his home than he’s ever been, and he’s very pleased with how nice and helpful the people and leadership team are at his new organization. He is also now a true believer in the benefits of social capital.

“I did not find this job opportunity through social capital directly, but I did indirectly. I never would have seen the recruitment ad from my new company if I hadn’t reached out to my contact two weeks earlier. This opportunity didn’t match my LinkedIn search terms. I found it to be quite astonishing that social capital works!”

Client:

Divesh Singh was vice president of delivery management for a leading financial services provider. 

Industry:

Financial Services

Function:

Technology Solutions

Challenge:

After five years in his role, Divesh wanted a change, but his job search was hampered by his need for work visa sponsorship.

Process:

Divesh attributes his success to a nuts-and-bolts review of his job search efforts, from reworking his brand to learning how to build social capital to intensive interview preparation.

Landing:

Divesh landed a role as director of software development for an award-winning equipment leasing company that ticked off every one of his boxes.

Study:

Divesh Singh was the technology strategist and delivery manager of a securities lending trading platform for a leading financial services provider. He led and directed three teams, first, in engineering a real-time, global trading desk to replace the organization’s legacy system, and then operating the new platform for the firm. Over five years, Divesh prided himself on restoring his company’s business competitiveness and delivering operational excellence. But he was ready for a change. 

Accustomed to job changes throughout his career, Divesh started looking on his own. Despite his experience and talents, however, his efforts went nowhere. For months Divesh observed his peers land plum senior roles in their job searches while he struggled to get an audience for the roles he sought. He had a pretty good idea what the problem was. 

“I had a lot of difficulties in my job search because I have immigration requirements,” said Divesh. “I submitted applications to roles that felt like a good fit for me, but I wouldn’t get responses. Job applications often ask whether you need a visa sponsorship. If you mark “yes,” I think you get excluded from a lot of senior roles.”

Reaching out to executive recruiters didn’t help. So, Divesh decided to engage professional help. He discovered The Barrett Group (TBG), and started working with a coach in the Clarity Program.

“I found the conversations with my Clarity coach to be very helpful,” said Divesh. “I have gone through coaching and assessment programs before, but not from a job seeking perspective. With The Barrett Group, I discussed specifics of my situation with my coach relative to recruitment, and it was definitely good. I learned about my strengths, where I’m less confident, and areas where I need to change. I became aware of things that I didn’t know, and it was useful insight for me.”

Through the results of the various assessments he took, Divesh came to see how rebalancing elements of his personality would make him more effective, both in his job search and in the workplace. 

After Clarity, Divesh transitioned to working with his career consultant, Vivek Agarwal, whose skill in identifying Divesh’s unique needs and coaching him in those areas, turned out to be the most valuable aspect of Divesh’s TBG experience. 

“Vivek was brilliant!” said Divesh. “He is a very down-to-earth person. He was able to understand my situation, pick up on issues that were very specific to me, and adapt the coaching program to guide me through them. Whatever concerns I had, I was able to talk to him.”

With Vivek’s help, Divesh learned about all the different market access channels. He learned how to leverage his network and do better LinkedIn searches. He learned how to craft cover letters and respond to leads that came in. He was also pleased with the changes to his resume and LinkedIn profile.

“We reworked all the information on my resume and LinkedIn profile. The last time I’d changed the structure of my resume was more than 10 years ago. The new structure is good! I will continue to use it. On LinkedIn, I changed the summary statement based on Barrett’s suggestions and added recommendations to my profile, which I didn’t have.”

Divesh faithfully executed all the strategies and assignments that he and Vivek discussed. His progress felt slow initially, but he stuck to the program.

“I started working with Vivek from early or middle October,” said Divesh. There didn’t seem to be a lot of available senior roles, and the response rate was quite low at first. The end of the year is not always a good time to look for a job. But, by the end of November, I started to get responses. We set goals for me to get one or two interviews by the end of December.”

Using what he learned from Vivek and various TBG study materials, Divesh succeeded in getting two interviews scheduled by the end of December via targeted LinkedIn searches. He managed to line up interviews at two additional companies soon after that. He leaned heavily on Vivek to prepare for them. 

“Vivek guided me through every conversation I had and prepped me for every interview. We did a lot of role-playing,” said Divesh.

Divesh was delighted when his interviews at one of the companies resulted in a job offer. The company, a small, established, equipment leasing company, was looking for a director of software development. Divesh had a great series of interviews, including with the CEO. And again, Vivek’s coaching was invaluable.

“After the compensation number was agreed on, we discussed my visa requirements. I wanted them to sponsor my work visa with the goal of attaining a Green Card, and I asked them to pay for the costs. At first, HR said they couldn’t do it but, after consulting with Vivek, I pressed the issue. Ultimately, they escalated the issue all the way to the CEO, who approved my request.”

Divesh is quite happy with his new position and responsibilities. In addition to having his immigration requirements met, he is enjoying a higher compensation and a stress level that is halved. Best of all is his great new work environment.

“I’m part of the leadership team in technology, working with the CEO and reporting to the CIO. I work very closely with the CIO, and he is very easy to work with. It’s a good community!”

Client:

Paul Cabellon was senior manager of corporate communications for a privately funded organization with a mission to invent technologies that solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.

Industry:

Private Equity, R&D, Artificial Intelligence, Aerospace, Enterprise Software

Function:

Corporate Communications, Public Relations

Challenge:

Paul spent nearly 10 months job seeking after circumstances forced his employer to shutter operations, but he found himself coming in second place with every job opportunity he pursued. 

Process:

Through the Clarity Program, Paul was inspired to embrace the extraordinary and unconventional aspects of his career in his job search instead of conforming to traditional expectations of job candidates.

Landing:

Paul landed an exciting offer within about a week of finishing the Clarity Program and, emboldened by his experience, negotiated a significant hike in compensation from his new employer.

Study:

Paul Cabellon was senior manager of corporate communications for a humanitarian, private equity fund with a bold mission to invent technologies that solve some of the world’s most challenging problems, such as Ebola, malaria, and cold chain management for vaccines. Many inventions, including a mosquito zapping laser, bordered on the fantastic because they were created by some of the world’s smartest people who were given free rein to pursue their wildest ideas for the sake of saving lives. Paul’s role was to lead all branding and publicity for the organization – media relations, advanced technology and product launches, crisis management, VIP and celebrity engagement and more…and he loved it!

The organization was unfortunately closed in September 2020, and Paul found himself in the job market. With a career as rich and exciting as his had been, he never anticipated the trouble he would have in landing a new job.

“I took a deep breath because of the pandemic and started job searching. I was pretty aggressive, but the story of my job hunt is that I always came up in second place,” said Paul. 

Paul felt that he was doing all the right things. He sent out dozens of resumes to large companies where he had close contacts. He estimates that 75% of his introductions were networked, and he found it easy to get in the door and line up interviews. But his efforts weren’t yielding job offers.

“I eventually got some feedback from a recruiter that made me realize that I needed help in my job search. He said, ‘Paul, you are clearly the person who would take the company brand and communications to another level, but your approach would probably be too innovative for the average marketing team. Most companies are designing the next fly swatter, and you’re talking about mosquito lasers.’ I felt helpless,” said Paul.

Finally, nine months into his job search, Paul engaged The Barrett Group [TBG].

“I wanted an expert’s perspective on the situation. I knew I was missing something, and I was ready to do the work to figure out my problem,” said Paul.

The Clarity Program was eye-opening for Paul. Working with his coach, Lisa Levesque, he began for the first time in his career probing the question of where he would fit best.

“I’ve had coaches before, but they’ve always tried to change me to conform to the picture of what employers want. Lisa, however, encouraged me to embrace the distinctions in my career and to feel free, frankly, to show them off.”

“The value of the TBG program outweighed the cost in the first three days! Through Clarity, I recognized that I want a job in which I can have higher altitude conversations about vision, depth, architecting, and ‘What is the 5- and 7-year outlook for this company?’. That goal, alone, eliminated half of the positions that I applied for,” said Paul.

“There were at least two moments where I teared up because Lisa helped me admit against some of my own doubts that I have an amazing background. Yes, I have managed communications around plane crashes, bioterrorism attacks, nuclear disasters, and executive indiscretions. Yes, I do have a strong rolodex. And yes, I should flex that distinction,” he said.

Lisa coached Paul to target jobs that were in the unpublished market where job descriptions are less defined and where Paul would have more latitude to shape a role to his strengths.

To his surprise, within a week of completing Clarity, Paul had a job offer to be the communications director of a small, rapidly growing, pre-IPO startup in the geospatial intelligence industry. 

The opportunity stemmed from ‘irons in the fire’ prior to hiring The Barrett Group (and, ironically, came to Paul’s attention through a job posting), but Paul credits TBG both for helping him get the offer after he applied and for negotiating a considerably better compensation package.

“When the recruiter asked me to explain why I’d been unemployed for so long, a streak of boldness came out of me, thanks to TBG. I told her, ‘Everyone is looking for a normal, status quo, person. That’s not me. I’m the one who will take the brand to the next level. If your company launches rockets with your satellites on them and they crash, can your other candidates handle that? If you are looking for a truly innovative communicator, I am the guy you want.’ It’s because of Clarity that I could say that,” said Paul.

Paul knew he was taking a big risk to respond that way, but he didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. And it paid off. Over the next week, with the help of career consultant, Jerry Fronczak, he participated in multiple rounds of interviews, culminating with several members of the C-suite.

“I was meeting with all these very visionary people – who all had a different view of what they wanted from the new communications director. Jerry helped me think deeply about my broader conversational architecture for those discussions.”

When the initial offer came in much lower than Paul had hoped, Jerry helped Paul outline how to negotiate a compensation that better reflected the value that Paul felt he brought to the table. The final offer was more than 30% higher than the original. 

Paul is thrilled to be part of his new team. He thinks the culture is great and he is excited to help build the company. Meanwhile, his Clarity experience continues to inform the conversations and interactions he has at his new job. 

“Every week there is a flashback from my coaching where I’m demonstrating a newfound diplomatic energy in my work. In a startup everyone seems to have opinions about how PR should be done. But I’ve done a good job bringing my peers and leaders along. That came from Clarity,” said Paul. “I really wish I had known about The Barrett Group in week 1 of my job search. If I ever transition again, Barrett will be a part of that transition. Period!”

Client:

Vinod was a customer success manager for AI solutions at a young tech startup in Canada.

Industry:

IT

Challenge:

After a new job in a new field went badly, Vinod sought a better fit. However, job prospects were limited.

Process:

By reworking his resume and LinkedIn profile, and learning interviewing best practices, Vinod learned to better market himself.

Landing:

Despite increasing competition in the wake of the pandemic, Vinod landed a 6-month contract as director of intellectual property at a higher annualized salary with the potential to go full-time.

Study:

After working eleven years as a solutions provider in the intellectual property (IP) and technology space in Ottawa, Vinod felt that growth potential was exhausted at his company, and even in Canada. He decided to explore opportunities in a new field with better long-term prospects and took a position as an artificial intelligence (AI) solutions manager at a young startup outside of Toronto. Soon after starting, Vinod realized the company was a poor fit and he wanted out. Only seven months into his new job, Vinod negotiated his departure and began jobhunting again – but this time he found himself at a big disadvantage.

“I was stuck. Most of my experience is in the intellectual property space. I was successful there, but in Canada there are few opportunities at my level. Meanwhile, I didn’t have enough experience in AI to target senior-level positions, and I wasn’t interested in junior-level jobs,” said Vinod. “In the U.S. there are more opportunities, but in the U.S. I need H-1B sponsorship.”

Although under pressure to land a job before eating up his savings, Vinod struggled to get his resume past applicant tracking systems (ATS). He had some good initial interviews in Detroit, but after he was ruled out of contention for several jobs by his need for an H-1B visa he decided to seek professional help. Vinod hired The Barrett Group (TBG).

“Working with Vivek [Vivek Agarwal, Vinod’s Executive Career Consultant and Program Manager] was fantastic,” said Vinod. “He gave me weekly assignments to work on, such as identifying my strengths and weaknesses in interviewing, improving my social capital, and identifying work experiences that might be valuable to a hiring manager.”

With the help of the TBG team, Vinod also polished up his LinkedIn profile and rewrote his resume to improve its chances of getting over the ATS hurdle. Vinod especially valued the experienced feedback from his interview coaching sessions.

“Vivek explained how to better market myself,” said Vinod. “He gave me great perspective on my mock interview responses and how to strengthen them. With his help, I learned how to discuss a weakness and make it sound like a positive attribute. I now feel more savvy and confident about how to answer interview questions.”

Like so many others, Vinod’s job search was stymied by the Covid-19 pandemic. An offer in March was quickly revoked. Another pending offer was postponed, then revoked. Just when he was on the point of panic in June, his networking efforts from months earlier finally bore fruit and Vinod was offered a 6-month, full-time contract position for a firm based in Seattle, for which Vinod’s skills align very well, with the intent to become permanent when the pandemic’s grip on the economy eases up.

“I am grateful this worked out. This position was very competitive and I feel lucky to have gotten it. I’m back in IP and, so far, it’s great!” said Vinod. “With luck, this job will turn into a full-time position. If it doesn’t, I will sync with Vivek again. Regardless, his coaching was valuable and will continue to be valuable.”

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

Client:

Keith Brown was executive pastor and administrative consultant for a large, multicultural Baptist church in California.

Industry:

Religious Organizations, Nonprofit, Charity, Healthcare

Function:

Operations, Administration, Business Development, Fundraising

Challenge:

Keith wanted to move to Houston and transition to a new industry, but he didn’t know what industry, and he had no local network to facilitate such a move. 

Process:

After thoughtful introspection, Keith decided on a new career in nonprofit business development, tailored his resume and LinkedIn profile to reflect his new brand, and actively cultivated contacts in this new field. 

Landing:

Within three months, Keith landed as director of development for a small, charitable nonprofit in the healthcare field.

Study:

As executive pastor and administrative consultant for a large, growing, multicultural Baptist church in California, Keith Brown led the administrative and financial teams supporting the congregation, oversaw capital generation planning, and was responsible for the overall strategic financial health of the organization. Keith’s job capped a 20-plus-year-long career in church administration. But he had begun focusing on another priority: Family. Keith’s close-knit family planned to relocate to Houston together. Timing was a variable in the plan and was dictated, at least in part, by the Houston housing market.   

“The Houston housing market is crazy. We looked at over 20 homes and bid above asking on two, only to be told that we were not even among the top bidders,” said Keith. 

Keith was prepared to stay in California until he and his wife could find a suitable home in Houston and Keith could find new employment. But then an opportunity for a great house at an affordable price arose that they couldn’t refuse. They snapped it up! The home purchase compelled Keith to put his search for a new job in Houston on turbo drive.

Anticipating this moment, Keith had begun months earlier laying the groundwork for a job search in Houston. He hired a resume writer because he hadn’t used a resume for over 20 years. 

“I benefited from personal relationships leading to job offers throughout my career,” said Keith. “I never even went through an interview process for the most recent position. I was consulting for the church, and they offered me a full-time position.”

Keith faced several challenges this time, though. First, he did not want to advertise his job search out of concern for how it might be perceived by his current employer. Second, he knew that career advancement meant eventually becoming head pastor of a church, for which Keith did not feel a spiritual call. He felt that his best skillset was fundraising, administration, and operations, not pastoring. Therefore, he decided to leave the faith community. But after 20 years working in a church, where should he go?

“I had no idea what I wanted to do, and I didn’t know how to begin. Yes, I had been an executive in a church, but does that translate into being an executive in corporate America?” said Keith.

Keith sought professional help and ended up hiring The Barrett Group (TBG) because TBG’s core methodology – to focus an executive job search on the unpublished market – resonated with him. Keith’s entire career has been a series of unpublished positions born of relationship-building, and he knew this approach had merit. 

Keith told the team that he needed to find a job in a hurry, so they accelerated the program, beginning with the Clarity Program©.  

“I enjoyed working with my Clarity coach, Julie Holifield. She was easy to work with. She had me take some personal assessments that revealed surprising details about how I come across to people and how I could communicate and lead people better,” said Keith. “That was very helpful. That kind of self-assessment is important when you are looking for a new position.”

In the next part of the program, Keith learned about the different elements of the job market.

“My career consultant, Anne Lipsitz, was a joy to work with. She taught me a lot about the unpublished job market. She also shared the power of LinkedIn with me. Oh, my goodness! I didn’t realize that LinkedIn had become a replacement for networking in person. I had a LinkedIn profile, but never used it, so I was starting at zero. Anne said my goal should be to get to 500 contacts, so I had to be aggressive about connecting with people.”

As Keith built out his LinkedIn profile and his network, he also researched industries for himself.

“As I spoke to people, they observed that I’d done a lot of fundraising at my church and exposed me to new terminology,” said Keith. “I realized, for example, that “development” is just another word for “fundraising” in the nonprofit arena. I could connect with that! So, I started looking for job titles like “director of development.”

With the feedback he got, Keith re-branded himself, changing his resume and LinkedIn profile. He began looking for opportunities in the nonprofit industry. Anne encouraged him to connect with people who are important in the industry, and she showed him how to use LinkedIn to reverse engineer his job search. Keith’s efforts paid off quickly. 

“Anne said many people don’t like to reach out to people. That is NOT one of my problems. I made phone calls to ask questions and offer my services to people in hopes they could help me. It only takes one person! At one point, I was introduced to a woman with a lot of experience in the development industry in Houston. She hit me with a lot of questions: Why do you want to move? Why do you want to do this kind of work? It was a sort of interview. Ultimately, she decided to mentor me. She said someone had done it for her years ago and she wanted to pay it forward.” 

Keith’s mentor championed him in his job search. She explained the big picture of how to be successful in his new career, how to revise his resume to gain notice from employers, and how to achieve his professional advancement goals. She made a commitment to connect Keith with key organizations and people. She even solicited private feedback on one of his unsuccessful job applications and shared it with him.

Before long, Keith landed a position as development director for a small, charitable nonprofit in the healthcare field. Ironically, the landing came about not from a personal referral, but from a LinkedIn job alert. Nevertheless, Keith credits the TBG program and everything he learned from it for the success.

“Weeks before I saw the job posting, I had reached out to the organization because of the reverse engineering I had learned from Anne and asked the CEO to be a networking partner. So, when I saw the job posting, instead of sending an application, I reached out to the CEO directly and asked for a Zoom call. She accepted. That call turned into an interview – the first interview she did for this role.” 

Keith got the job offer and leaned on the TBG team to negotiate a counteroffer, which ended up garnering him a better package. 

In his new role, Keith will be responsible for raising funds, expanding the organization’s reach, and gaining it greater exposure. He will also take classes on professional fundraising to earn additional accreditations in his field. 

“I’ll go out, meet new people, ask them for money, and have fun.” said Keith. “I’ve really enjoyed the TBG process. Because of it, I have landed in an industry with a lot of upside potential that I would never have considered before and met a lot of important people in the industry – not least my mentor who has the potential to open many doors to me in the future. Trusting Anne and the process made my efforts work.”