Would it matter to you if your doctor, dentist, auto mechanic, or tax preparer was an expert in your industry? Probably not. You most likely see their fields of endeavor and experience as being distinct and separate from your own industry experience. Yet, sometimes prospective clients ask us in effect whether we are an expert in their particular industry, to which I say…
“Oh, I see. You are suffering under the misconception that industry expertise and contacts are important to how we deliver our career change service. In fact, they are pretty much irrelevant.
“We have now helped 92 clients land executive jobs since Covid-19 got serious in April. In descending order, they landed in the health care industry, consulting, technology, retail/wholesale, financial services, on-line retail, pharma, IT, etc. Do you think we are experts in all of those fields? Of course not!
“We do have a powerful network of past and present clients, but only about 2% of our clients actually land directly through our contacts, whereas 75% of our clients land through the unpublished market by finding positions that have not been advertised.
“We have certainly helped numerous clients in your industry in the past but that is pretty irrelevant to how we work. You know the adage “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will have food for a lifetime.” Over the last 30 years and thousands of successful clients we have evolved a process that between our deep data resources and our understanding of social capital (all the people who know the people you know), we can help you connect to relevant people in almost any industry or geography.
“In fact, your best bet may not be in your current industry at all.
“Numerous industries are suffering–including hospitality, hotels, restaurants, aviation, cruise lines, commercial real estate and many more. Many people come to us fully aware that they need to change industries and demonstrate the transferability of their skills across industry and functional lines.
“That’s another part of our core competence.
“Our Targeting sub-process is called “the Clarity Program©.” It’s the first step in our career change process. The Clarity© program allows executives to reflect. They learn whether they really are in the right industry for their current (and near-term future) needs. Many decide to steer toward a different industry or role so as to be optimally fulfilled and compensated.
“Our Packaging step (step two) helps executives assemble the arguments required to demonstrate transferability of skills and experience.
“The Market Access step (step three) provides the information resources to crack the three markets we work in (the recruiter market, the published market, and the unpublished market) as well as teaching clients how to “fish” by actively leveraging their social capital.
“The Preparation step (step four) helps them prepare for interviews and practice the arguments we have helped them to develop to make it clear that, regardless of their past experience, they are the best candidates for the job they are applying for…
“So, in a nutshell, we’re not sure you are in the right industry in the first place.
“And whether or not we have contacts and expertise in your industry is completely irrelevant to our success in helping clients land executive jobs.”
For evidence of our success, please visit the Hiring Line where we enumerate all of the activity our clients are having in the executive job markets (such as 17 job interviews in the latest week), including of course reports of their successful landing and more detailed success studies on their Barrett Group experience.
Here’s an excerpt from one of our Success Studies summarizing what a recent client says about our service:
“I did not interview well when I started,” Barry admits. “But after coaching, I went into interviews more confident and better prepared. I probably improved my interview skills by 30-40%. That makes a big difference in a competitive job market.”
“I lacked some important qualifications for the job, so chances were not high that I would get it. Still, they considered me! That’s thanks to the Barrett Group interview skills.”
Barry G. – Financial Services
Beset by the Covid-19 downturn, Barry’s job search took longer than he anticipated. But, he figures, without The Barrett Group the job hunt might have taken another six months. He is thrilled to have landed – not least, because he won’t have to relocate. That’s worth celebrating for both Barry and his seven children (Read More).
In short, we do not need to be an expert in your industry because you already are.
We just need to be extremely competent in our industry (career management), as 92 successfully landed clients in the past few months can readily attest.
Are you wasting time sending resumes with no response? Have you bombed out in interviews? Are you repeatedly told you are over-qualified?
Perhaps it’s time you turn to the expert in the field of career management. The experts at the Barrett Group look forward to hearing from you!
Peter Irish
CEO
The Barrett Group
