Success Studies

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:

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:

Dennis Green was an accounting manager for a large distributor of automotive replacement parts.

Industry:

Accounting, Auditing, Automotive, Business Consulting

Challenge:

Corporate staff changes limited Dennis’ growth potential and spurred him to seek better opportunities elsewhere, but he felt he was getting little traction in his search.

Process:

Dennis plumbed his contacts and learned the importance of always framing his accomplishments as a value-add for the company. 

Landing:

Within a few months, Dennis had two job offers, and accepted one that offered him great growth opportunities and a 50% improvement in his base salary. 

Study:

As a transactional accounting manager for a large distributor of automotive and industrial replacement parts in Georgia, Dennis Green led and managed a team of 25. He had come to the position two years earlier with an MBA and impressive experience, including working for one of the Big Four accounting firms. Dennis was keen to keep his career momentum going, so, when his company made some major staff changes that limited opportunities for upward mobility and stretch assignments, he decided to leave. 

“The staff changes made the work blow up, and I was doing work that staff would normally do, which was not work that would allow me to grow,” said Dennis. “They also started encouraging early retirement for senior positions and they were not backfilling them. In the next two years I thought my growth opportunities would dwindle. I’ve invested a lot into my career, and I don’t want to stay somewhere if there are better opportunities elsewhere.”

Dennis reached out to recruiters for help, as he had done in the past, and job searched on his own. After two months, however, his search was not going the way he wanted it to, and he turned to The Barrett Group.

“I felt that I’d risen to a level where I needed more information about how to be seen as an executive, including job search methods, interviewing, executive presence, and exposure, said Dennis. “If I continued down the road I was on, I knew I might accept less than I was worth.”

Dennis first spent two to three weeks reflecting on himself and his goals in the Clarity Program. 

“Clarity was good. It confirmed what I knew about myself, but it also made me sit down and ask myself, ‘What do I want out of my career, and where do I want to be longer-term?’ It was very informative and made me think more deeply about what I am doing and where I am going than I ever have. In the past, my job searches were reactionary, but this time I felt I was being proactive in my decisions.”

After the Clarity Program, Dennis began working with his career consultant, Greg Emslie.

“Working with Greg was good – very informational,” said Dennis. “He told me things I didn’t know about LinkedIn. We did a full-on interview prep, which I found very helpful. Greg coached me to answer interview questions differently than I would have in the past – in a more positive, constructive way.”

Dennis also learned useful tips about executive presence, which he was quick to implement, and how to put metrics to all his achievements.

“Translating things I’d done into a value-add for the company and figuring out how the things I do impact the company financially (Greg called this ‘being a profit center’) – I found that perspective and way of thinking very valuable,” said Dennis.

Ultimately, the most beneficial aspect of the TBG Program for Dennis was learning how to connect with people better.

“The way I landed my new position is basically thanks to one step: Putting awareness out there. In the past, if I reached out to anyone it was recruiters, not family, friends, or former colleagues, unless I needed a reference. This time I reached out to people on a much higher level than I’ve ever done.”

Dennis admits that it was sometimes uncomfortable – even difficult. But Greg laid out the steps to follow and he coached Dennis weekly on the process, discussing missed opportunities and what more he could do to improve. 

“Greg made it simple. He coached me through it and told me things I could say and how to present myself,” said Dennis. “It was really good to connect with people I hadn’t talked to in a while. I realize now I should keep doing it!

Not only did the process turn out to be a good experience for Dennis, but also it yielded considerably more interviews than he’d been getting, two of which turned into competing job offers.

“I spoke to a woman I know that is an internal recruiter at a small business consulting firm in my area and told her I was looking for my next opportunity,” said Dennis. “About a month later, one of the principals of the company left, so she sent my resume to the CEO of the company. I had actually worked with him eight years earlier, so he called me right away to ask if we could talk about the open position at his company.”

Just before receiving an offer from this firm, Dennis received an offer for a role as an assistant controller at another company. He very much appreciated having Greg as a resource to negotiate the terms of the two opportunities before making his decision. 

“Things moved so fast. We went over both offers and Greg coached me on how best to handle the situation,” said Dennis. 

Ultimately, Dennis opted for the role at the consulting company because it was a new industry with new experiences to explore and better long-term opportunities. 

“Consulting is a different industry for me. I’ll be doing things I haven’t done in the past and working with a lot of different types of people, so there is better growth potential. I like to try new stuff, so I feel really good about this new position.”

Dennis was also delighted to get a significant improvement in his compensation. His base salary, alone, is 50% more than it was previously, and he will be making seven times as much in bonus, not to mention a sales commission.

“I learned a lot from The Barrett Group. I felt more confident in this job search and appreciated the support I got from Greg. With his help, I ended up exceeding my compensation target. The Barrett Group program is an investment, but I will now make five times that, thanks to their help. It was a short-term investment with a long-term gain. The Barrett Group Program was a great experience overall.”

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:

Lynn Duke was chief human resources officer for a major school district in Georgia.

Industry:

Education, Human Resources, Hospitals, Healthcare

Challenge:

After spending her entire career in the education sector, Lynn wanted a change, but she hadn’t looked for a new job in 30 years and didn’t know where to start.

Process:

After exploring her options and her goals, Lynn learned how to communicate her value proposition to prospective employers through her resume and during interviews.  

Landing:

Lynn accepted a position as human resources director for a regional nonprofit that advocates for the needs of senior citizens. 

Study:

As chief human resources officer for a major school district in Georgia, Lynn Duke oversaw the HR needs of 2,500 employees and provided strategic direction and support across operations. She fell into her career at age 19 when she began working for the school district, worked her way up, eventually becoming head of the HR department. After a 30-year career in education, and a particularly challenging final year during the pandemic, Lynn decided to seek a role in a different industry. 

In preparation for her departure, she hired a firm to write her resume and develop her LinkedIn profile. The firm didn’t offer coaching on any other aspects of job seeking, however, and Lynn still felt unprepared to enter the job market. So, when she gave notice to the school district in the fall of 2020, she hired The Barrett Group (TBG).

“I didn’t know how to approach a career change. I’d never actually looked for a job before and, while I’d conducted hundreds of interviews as the interviewer, I’d never been on the other side. I wanted to know what was important to communicate to a prospective employer,” said Lynn. 

Lynn began her TBG experience with the Clarity program. She was skeptical at first, but she wound up quite enjoying the work she did with her coach.

“You don’t understand what Clarity is until you’re in it. I thought it was enlightening. It wasn’t surprising so much as affirming. It helped me know better who I am, and it framed what is important to me. It made me see that the highlights of my career have not been promotions and raises, rather the times when I was helping people. So, I knew that I wanted to find a job where I could help people and feel good about the work I was doing.”

When Lynn began working with her career consultant, Lori Chevalier, she reworked her resume and LinkedIn profile again, improving on what she’d done months earlier. After that, Lori asked Lynn to develop her social network – a task that Lynn began with trepidation but ended up appreciating very much. 

“I hated the idea of reaching out to people. It’s so funny how the things you hate turn out to be the best parts. Life is busy, so I never made the time to do it before. But reconnecting with people I hadn’t talked to in a while and building our relationship was great. People were happy to give me their time. When I started with The Barrett Group I had only 50 connections on LinkedIn. Now I have about 250.”

Lynn spent a lot of time prepping for interviews, too.

“I wanted to know how to explain how I could go from 30 years in public education to a totally different industry. It was because of The Barrett Group that I was so well prepared for the interview process. Lori coached me on skills before every interview. We’d get job descriptions and come up with examples of what I could say. She asked me potential questions and provided feedback on my answers,” said Lynn.

Something that became clear to Lynn is that, in addition to always gravitating towards human resources work, she wanted to work for an organization whose mission was also to help people. That journey didn’t come without some frustration, however. 

“My area of Georgia is booming in manufacturing, and I thought working at a plant would be appealing. Manufacturing companies didn’t give me the time of day, though. I never got a single interview.”

Lynn suffered an even greater disappointment when an offer for an attractive job in events and hospitality that she felt certain to get did not come through. But Lori helped Lynn to keep things in perspective.

“In hindsight, Lori and I realized that the job was probably earmarked for someone internally,” said Lynn. 

It was discouraging when that door didn’t open either, but Lynn recognized in retrospect that in both cases the positions didn’t align with her new-found purpose: helping people. She restarted her search and within days she had a winner – a job for a human resources director of a regional nonprofit that advocates for the needs of senior citizens.

“I hadn’t been looking to work in this field, but when I saw the job post it hit home because we recently had to put my mother in a home and I had been thinking how important it is to take care of the needs of the elderly.”

Within 15 minutes of applying, Lynn was invited to interview. Soon afterwards, she was offered the position.

“I interviewed and it felt so right for all of us. Everyone there is someone who wants to help people.”

Lynn has thrown herself into her new job and is excited to put some much-needed new processes into place, including developing an employee handbook and implementing good leave policies. She has found her journey with The Barrett Group to be a fascinating and enjoyable experience.

“I went from having no confidence in conducting a job search to feeling very confident. I wish everyone could do The Barrett Group program. When you’re going through the process, you don’t realize how it will all come together for you. I found it to be worth every penny.”

Client:

Advik was senior director of manufacturing engineering at a San Francisco-based consumer electronics company.

Industry:

Consumer Electronics, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management

Challenge:

Although Advik had a job he liked, he wanted a VP level role and one that he could do fully remotely.

Process:

Advik honed his interview and negotiation skills and practiced strategies for developing and leveraging his social network.  

Landing:

About a year after launching his job search, Advik was promoted to a VP role at his own company with an agreement that he could work fully remotely.

Study:

As senior director of manufacturing engineering at a San Francisco-based consumer electronics company, Advik managed the engineering and quality & compliance groups. Although he liked his job, there were two aspects of his professional life that he wanted to change. The first is that he wanted a higher-level position. He’d progressed normally in his career, but he saw more and more of his peers assuming VP and CEO positions, and Advik felt that he was ready for a VP level role, too. 

The second aspect was geography. Advik’s company was located in San Francisco, but his “home base” was Houston, Texas. To do his job, Advik was renting an apartment in the Bay Area and traveling back and forth between the two cities. When Covid hit and Advik was able to work full-time from home, the heavy toll of the long-distance commute on him became very apparent. He decided that he no longer wanted to work in the Bay Area. 

“At the onset of Covid is when I signed on with The Barrett Group. With everyone working from home, I thought it was a good opportunity for me to look for something different,” said Advik. “I figured I could interview from home and find another position that I could do remotely so that I wouldn’t have to return to the Bay Area.” 

Advik wanted to find a better opportunity without going through standard channels, like browsing the internet for job postings, so TBG’s focus on the unpublished market appealed to him. He also appreciated that The Barrett Group understood his unique skillset and wanted to help him find the right position for him.

Advik started with the Clarity Program and appreciated the chance to step back and reflect on his goals.

“I liked the Clarity sessions. They were good. I have taken those assessments before and I always value taking the time to figure out what kind of person I am and what I’m looking for,” said Advik. 

After Clarity, Advik transitioned into working with his career consultant, with whom he revised his resume, worked on interview skills, and created a job search plan. 

“The Barrett Group is very helpful when it comes to helping you set your goal objectives and organizing your job search. They are good at helping you to revise your resume, practice interview skills, and market yourself through various channels, like LinkedIn. All that creates a great foundation,” said Advik. 

Next Advik learned strategies and tools for developing and leveraging social connections. 

“The Barrett Group is very good at teaching you to navigate LinkedIn to find primary and secondary contacts. If you want to apply for a job and you can identify someone at the company that you know and have worked with in the past, that will strengthen your position during the application process. You will have a much better chance of pushing your candidacy forward,” said Advik. “That’s the key. The Barrett Group is good with identifying and employing these strategies.”

It was in these latter steps, however, that Advik encountered challenges. 

“Barrett Group clients really need to have drive. I’m more of an introverted person. I am not talkative and have never been one for going out in social gatherings. If those things don’t happen, people sometimes don’t remember you when you reach out to them,” said Advik.  

After nine months, Advik decided to step away from job searching for personal reasons. Ironically, however, not long afterwards, Advik found exactly what he was looking for – right in his own company.

“I got promoted to VP of global supply chain and manufacturing at my company. I was managing the engineering and quality & compliance groups before. I still have the same function, but now I am also overseeing planning & purchasing, global supply, management, logistics and trade compliance,” said Advik. “I’m doing pretty well!”

That’s not all. Advik is also now working fully remotely, just as he’d wanted.

“When I was offered the promotion, I made it clear to my company that I could not move back to the Bay Area, so they agreed to write into the offer letter that I will be formally based in Houston.”

Ultimately, although Advik’s journey did not go at all as he’d planned, he ended up with everything he wanted. 

“Obviously, the whole thing is a process – it takes time. I came away feeling that The Barrett Group genuinely watches out for their clients’ best interests.”

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

Client:

Martha (Marti) Anderson was senior manager for HR Learning and Development at a large management and IT consulting firm. 

Industry:

Consulting, Human Resources, Change Management

Challenge:

Marti’s skills were poorly employed at her firm and her efforts to advance were unsuccessful, so she sought a better job and wanted professional guidance to optimize her efforts.

Process:

Marti reassessed the direction she wanted to go, maximized LinkedIn tools to job search, and utilized her career coach as a sounding board as she fielded opportunities that arose.

Landing:

Marti landed as a senior consultant at a small consulting firm where her work and compensation properly reflect the value she offers the organization

Study:

As senior manager of human resources learning and development at a large management and IT consulting company, Martha (Marti) Anderson spent two years leading ethics, security, and compliance training. Although her tenure in the position was short, Marti had a long history at the company, having worked eight years at the company earlier in her career. Her second tour, however, proved to be unsatisfying. Marti found that the job she was hired to do was different from advertised and sought an internal transfer within months of starting it. She applied for a position with the firm’s leadership team and got it. Just then, however, the pandemic hit, and the firm froze all internal transfers. When it was clear that leadership was not going to honor the original transfer position, which she had competitively landed, Marti decided ten months later to apply for another position in leadership development. The second time, she did not get the position, a decision that Marti found unacceptable. 

Marti resolved to find another job that would better align with her talents and ambitions. She started job searching and, this time, decided to enlist professional help. 

“I was not energized about any aspect of my work. I started wondering why I had taken the role in the first place. I wanted to find a new job where I could thrive, do great work for clients, and see an impact,” said Marti. “At the same time, I also had a lot on my plate personally and professionally and wanted help. As we all know, it’s a lot of work to job search.”

Marti had never used a career coach before, but she knew others did to great success. So, why not her? She felt she’d sold herself short during her two previous job transitions and wanted to find her true value. She also wanted help reassessing which direction to go. After some research, she hired The Barrett Group (TBG) and was immediately gratified at their willingness to rearrange the standard program for her specific needs.

“My experience was a little different. When I signed on with The Barrett Group I had already been looking for jobs and had an interview lined up,” said Marti. “So, before I started the Clarity Program I requested a coach to help me prepare for that interview. TBG’s responsiveness and flexibility to go out of order from their normal processes to accommodate me was great.”

Soon afterwards, Marti followed up with her assigned Clarity Coach, Justin Hellman, and was equally impressed by the grounding he gave her. 

“All of the Clarity Program resonated with me. Doing the personality assessments and crafting a strategic plan was extremely useful in helping me articulate what opportunities would fulfill me and how I could bring value to an organization. My experience is of especial note because I have a background in leadership development coaching and am usually the person administering assessments. It was really nice to be on the receiving side of the benefits for a change.”

When Marti began working with her career coach, she found the experience even more valuable.

“Sue [Mitchell] taught me about LinkedIn filtering – there is so much more to it than I had realized! She also helped me improve my LinkedIn profile, how to get endorsements and recommendation stories on my page. I thought my LinkedIn profile was already good, but we definitely elevated it.” said Marti. “We did practice interviews, which were terrific. She coached me to rephrase things in a way that tied in buzz words from a job posting.” 

Marti was delighted with the revisions the TBG team made on her resume, too. 

“We restructured my resume in a way that made my top skills clear and easy to tailor to whatever job I applied for. It was an efficient way to market myself and I definitely noticed an uptick in responses to my applications afterwards,” said Marti.

Above all, Marti valued the relationship she developed with Sue – who was an excellent resource on Marti’s job search journey. 

“Sue was phenomenal! Extremely helpful! She never led me to a decision, but it was a relief to have her there as a sounding board. I was grateful to be able to talk to her during the recruitment process for one particular role that was right in my strike zone, but my intuition was telling me that the company’s culture would not be a good fit,” said Marti. (She ultimately withdrew from the process.)

After three months of constant interviewing and job searching, Marti found the opportunity that she had been looking for when she connected with a former colleague at a webinar. The colleague recommended her to a small, women-owned consulting firm that specialized in change management. Intrigued, Marti reached out directly to the CEO of the firm and was immediately struck by the achievements of the company and by the CEO’s warmth and approachability.

“It was so apparent from our initial conversations that I belonged and that I could thrive. It was a place where I sensed I could feel joy and reward and know that I could add value for clients.”

Within two and a half weeks, Marti was hired as a senior consultant in change management with a government contract where she could build a leadership effectiveness program directly with and for their executives. The compensation is a significant raise, and Marti was assigned to lead a 5-year federal contract in Organizational Effectiveness.

“I never thought I’d want to do contract work again, but it was an easy decision to accept this job offer. I love the work I’m doing now. Within my first two weeks I designed a whole new leadership program that was approved by the CIO.”

Marti says the job is a strong resume builder, too, so if she wants to jump back into a salaried position in the future, she will be able to do so at an executive level. 

“It was worth every penny I paid to The Barrett Group to have someone look out for me, help me with my search, and finetune what matters to me. I knew a job like this could exist and Barrett Group helped me find it.”

Client:

Cameron Carnegie was the senior technical advisor specializing in aircraft conceptual design at Safran, a French multinational aerospace company. 

Industry:

Airline, Aerospace, Entrepreneur, Consulting

Challenge:

When the pandemic forced major layoffs at Cameron’s company and devastated his industry, he sought help finding an executive position commensurate with his experience. 

Process:

Through the Clarity Program, Cameron realized he would find the greatest fulfillment not by finding an executive position at a large firm but by starting his own consulting business.

Landing:

Cameron has launched an aerospace engineering & consulting business, Carnegie Aerospace LLC, and keeps busy with one client while he explores with his TBG consultant how to grow his company.

Study:

Cameron Carnegie was a senior technical fellow specializing in aircraft conceptual design for a multinational systems supplier of airlines, Safran based in Paris. Consulting at the executive level on state-of-the-art design and prototyping methods and reporting to the chief technology officer, Cameron was midway through an exciting 3-year assignment when the global pandemic hit. 

Cameron’s employer, along with the global airline industry, was devastated. Not only was Cameron one of many who were laid off, he was one of the many who caught Covid. After several tough weeks, Cameron recovered, but he and his wife, who are dual U.S. and Canadian citizens, wanted to move back to North America. Although his company offered temporary financial support, Cameron faced bleak employment prospects. 

“I started my job search in July and landed several interviews, but the situation was bleak,” said Cameron. “Boeing, alone, laid off 30,000 to 40,000 people. The amount of talent going out the door was shocking.” 

Cameron started looking at aerospace startups, but he had little luck. 

“In general, I found I was overqualified,” said Cameron. “Even though I don’t put my age on my resume, people can tell when I interview that I have a lot of experience and that I am older. Startups want poor, starving graduates. They don’t understand the challenges ahead of them, and they don’t have the money to hire experts with experience to guide them.”

Cameron looked for several months on his own before deciding to enlist professional help.

“I had done well with LinkedIn in the past, but I knew from observing how executives move around that a lot of them are using a back channel,” said Cameron. “So, I hired The Barrett Group to better understand how that works.” 

Cameron had little time, initially, to devote to the tasks assigned him by The Barrett Group. His job search was complicated by a pressing need to find a place to settle with his wife and to move his possessions out of storage, which were spread across three countries.

“My former French employer was willing to store our stuff in Paris for six months, but we also had stuff in Seattle, and we were staying in Canada until we could sort things out,” said Cameron. “We had to choose a place to live or else take on the cost of storage, so the clock was ticking. We wanted to live in Florida, but we worried we would have to move again after I found a job.” 

Fortunately, the Clarity component of TBG’s program was a great help to Cameron at this crossroads in his life. 

“The most valuable part of working with The Barrett Group was figuring out what I want. I’d worked with Boeing Commercial Aircraft for 14 years, rising from a Level 3 engineer to a Chief Engineering position where I had exposure to the executive level. I love engineering, and I saw that being an executive would have taken me too far from the analysis & design,” said Cameron. “At Safran, the bureaucracy wasn’t as bad, but there were other challenges. So, with those two big companies in the back of my mind, I wondered, ‘Sure, I’d be better paid as an executive, but would I be happier?’”

Ultimately, Cameron decided two things. First, he wanted to live in Florida, and, come hell or high water, he’d figure out a way to make that work. Second, he would shift his career objective from becoming an executive at a large company to working for smaller companies where he would have freedom and nimbleness to pursue the kind of engineering work he loved.

Cameron’s new objective dovetailed nicely with a shift in the aviation industry whereby small startups now challenge larger companies. 

“I began thinking about starting up my own company and using my own patents,” said Cameron.

As luck would have it, Cameron had developed a relationship the year before with a startup that had asked for his expertise on a project. He had helped them on a volunteer basis at the time, and when they reached out again during his period of soul-searching, he began doing paid consulting work. It was part-time, at first, then it ramped up to full-time. 

“Our relationship kept growing. By December we discussed whether I should be an employee or a consultant. I decided I’d rather be a contractor on an hourly rate so that I have the time and freedom to pursue my patents,” said Cameron.

Since then, Cameron has registered a new company, Carnegie Aerospace LLC, to focus on consulting and developing aerospace patents. 

Cameron admits that he has a lot to learn about starting up a business.

“It’s risky to have only one client, but I’m fully engaged right now and I don’t know if I’m solid enough to hire employees to take on more work. I’m either on the verge of starvation or a booming business,” noted Cameron. 

Cameron worries how he will balance the work of pursuing his own patents, raising money for his startup, and doing consulting work on top. He looks forward to working with TBG on these concerns.

“Over the past several months, I have figured out where to seek funding and how to write proposals for that funding,” he said. “I helped the startup find its direction and decided to reduce my consulting hours to focus more time on developing my company. It’s a bit of a risk, but I really need to follow my passions and develop the airliner & UAV concepts I envision. I know they will be game changers.”

Cameron has responded to three R&D solicitations from NASA and the U.S. Air Force to develop advanced airliners and VTOL UAV’s. He has also established a network of companies and university consultants to collaborate on the funding proposals and projects.

“I think The Barrett Group will be a great resource for me,” said Cameron. “My consultant, Paula, is quite knowledgeable, and if the company doesn’t have the answers, it can connect me with people who do.”

Cameron is the first to admit that his story is still being written and that he still needs the services of TBG to find his way to success. But he is very appreciative of the counseling he has gotten to date.

“Both Clarity and Paula helped me come to the conclusion to start my own business,” said Cameron. “Running my own company is terrifying, but it gives me the freedom and the lifestyle I want to have.”

Client:

Alhassan was regional manager for Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia for an Indian multinational hospitality company. 

Industry:

Hospitality, Travel, Government

Challenge:

Hit hard by the pandemic, the company had to restructure and Alhassan yielded to growing pressure at the company to leave. 

Process:

The Clarity program helped Alhassan develop the right mindset for his search, and his coach helped him handle a delicate compensation negotiation during the hiring process.

Landing:

Alhassan landed an exciting position in the government sector that aligns with his professional goals and offers long-term job stability and growth potential.

Study:

As regional manager for a fast-growing, Indian multinational hospitality company, Alhassan was responsible for all the company’s operations, finance, and business development in Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. In the 18 months he was there, he devised strategies to make the company’s activities more effective in the region and implemented business development plans to open the Bahrain market. When the pandemic hit, however, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain went into lockdown and the company went into survival mode. Alhassan was very creative in keeping his books in the black, nevertheless, the company decided to restructure and initiate layoffs. Feeling the pressure, Alhassan opted to leave the company and search for his next opportunity. 

Anticipating the pandemic’s threat to his job, Alhassan actually had begun job hunting months before he gave notice. He hired a company to rework his resume and upgrade his LinkedIn profile, began using online job search sites, and reached out to recruiters. Despite all his efforts, however, he had no success – not even an interview.

“I understood the situation. Things were tough in 2020 and no one was hiring at the senior level. They were cutting their losses,” said Alhassan. “I figured they would begin hiring again in 2021, though, so in January I started pushing hard in my job search.” 

Alhassan’s challenges weren’t over, though. January yielded no interviews, nor did February. But about the same time, Alhassan came across The Barrett Group and decided to take a leap of faith and enlist their help. 

“I started in mid-February with the Clarity Program. The purpose of Clarity is to make sure you know what you want in your career. It is also really valuable for flipping your mindset from negative to optimistic before you start with the career navigation phase,” said Alhassan. “Clarity really helped me to be forward-thinking.”

For Alhassan, regaining his optimism was very important because job searching unsuccessfully for so long had taken a toll on his spirits. 

When Alhassan began the career navigation phase of the TBG Program, his coach, Isabelita Castilho, gave him a thorough training on the best practices of job hunting. 

“I learned many new methods of hunting and nailing down a job that were different from what I had been doing. I learned a lot about how to use social capital in the job search, what to tell recruiters and what not to tell them, and how to use second- and third-level contacts on LinkedIn. Isabelita gave me so much knowledge about the job-hunting process that I hadn’t known before hiring The Barrett Group.”

Before long, Alhassan began to see some developments. In March, a recruiter helped to connect him to a mining company that interviewed him and extended a provisional offer for a COO role. By then Covid was raging in India, however, preventing him from obtaining hard copies of crucial employment documents from his former India-based employer that the new company required. Although the offer fell through, Alhassan was buoyed to see his job-hunting efforts beginning to fruit. 

After that, another company, a start-up that provides online car service that sought to break into the Saudi market, began to court Alhassan for a role as a regional manager. 

The opportunity that most excited Alhassan, however, was one in the government sector that Alhassan had been nurturing for over a year. In March 2020, a friend and former colleague had broached Alhassan about his interest in doing work for Vision 2030, a major strategic framework of the Saudi government to diversify its economy and develop investment projects in Saudi Arabia. 

“I’ve had a long-standing interest in participating in Vision 2030. The job my friend was proposing to me would be a director-level position helping to attract investments to Saudi Arabia. It would be a big deal,” said Alhassan. 

Alhassan had an initial interview for the role, but his hopes were thwarted when Covid cases soared and hiring shut down as a result. Alhassan’s friend suggested they reconnect in a year. They did, at which point his friend started promoting Alhassan’s candidacy from the inside.

“Two weeks later I got a call from HR for a preliminary interview. More interviews followed and they collected my salary history and other documents. Finally, I received a verbal offer.”

The offer turned out to be much lower than what Alhassan had hoped. Public sector jobs are typically lower paying than private sector jobs, but, even so, Alhassan was dismayed. His first instinct was to come back with a strong defense for a better offer, but his career consultant offered him counsel that helped him navigate the situation perfectly.

“Isabelita told me not to play hard ball because, without a job, I’m in a vulnerable position. She advised me to play it nicely – to tell them that the offer is much lower than my former salary, that it would be a big hit to me, and I would be very thankful if they could meet me in the middle. Isabelita was with me step-by-step.” 

To his delight, the strategy worked. The hiring manager met Alhassan’s proposed number exactly. In addition, Alhassan came to appreciate more fully the significant value of the non-salary perks. The new position offers challenge, job stability, regular salary increases, tuition payments for his children, and, of course, the opportunity to participate in Vision 2030.

“I was even able to design the compensation package with him!” said Alhassan.

Working in the government sector will be a different experience from the private sector, where Alhassan spent nearly 20 years, but he feels this new opportunity is perfect for his current needs. 

“I feel like working on Vision 2030 is the right thing for me to do right now. And if I want to change jobs in the future, I now have the right tools to hunt for the right job. If you take the TBG Program very seriously, you acquire the know-how to do a job hunt very effectively on your own later. I tell people it’s a little like college – but for C-level jobs!”

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

Client:

David Ludwig was executive director of a network of state agencies in Iowa that provide educational support services to schools. 

Industry:

Education, Government Relations, Cybersecurity

Challenge:

David’s position was eliminated when Covid hit, but during the pandemic he struggled to find an appealing new position.

Process:

David reassessed his interests, cultivated his network on LinkedIn, and allowed himself to consider opportunities outside the education world where he’d spent his career.

Landing:

David was hired by a long-standing business contact to be VP of sales and a founding member of a cybersecurity startup company.

Study:

As state executive director of a network of state agencies that provide support services to public and nonpublic schools in Iowa, David Ludwig was charged with establishing and coordinating the equitable distribution of educational support services to all students in the state. The position combined principles that David had spent his career championing, notably the education of children and building efficient and effective organizational systems. He had performed the same role successfully for five years in Nebraska and hoped to continue the same work in his new job in Iowa.

Within a year, however, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and David’s job was eliminated. It proved to be a difficult time to launch a job search. 

“I was looking for a role as a district superintendent. I had a good resume and a lot of experience at the local, state, and national level, but when Covid hit they weren’t hiring for a lot of these positions,” said David. “So, I started to think about transitioning to the business sector.”

That’s when David stumbled across The Barrett Group (TBG) and realized that its services were exactly what he needed at this point in his career.

“That period was a transition for me. The more I learned about The Barrett Group’s services and its team, the more I realized that the company’s goal is to build a system for me to effectively transition my career from education to business. I felt that The Barrett Group’s mission wasn’t just to get me a job, it was to help me find the career I wanted – and to be a partner in my job search.”

David found TBG’s Clarity Program sessions exceedingly valuable both in helping him decompress after a stressful year and in teasing out strengths and interests of his to which he’d previously paid little attention.  

“Laura Leaton and I really hit it off well. Laura got that spark back into me. Working with her, I was able to refocus. I learned from the personality assessments she had me take that technology is one of my fortes. She got me thinking about how I could incorporate it into my life.” 

Although David didn’t have a formal background in technology, he came to see how he’d often incorporated it into his work.

“As state executive of Nebraska, one of my initiatives was to build a database for all the staff and student records in the state and a statewide data ecosystem. We wanted to build a single sign-on system and a portal. We wrote – and won – a grant to get funding for the project,” said David. “Working with Laura, and later Jerry, my career consultant, I started to realize that technology is where my love is even though my background is special education.” 

After the Clarity Program, David worked with Jerry Fronczak to revamp his resume and tailor it for the business world. Then he redid his LinkedIn profile and learned how to use the platform more effectively in a job search.

“I was active on LinkedIn before, but I learned a lot more about the depth and breadth of what you can do with it through Jerry,” said David.

Jerry showed David how to build up his LinkedIn connections, and then they began interview coaching sessions.

“Jerry has such tremendous business background. It was great to be able to pick his brain about how best to set a direction forward.” 

With Jerry as a resource, David applied for dozens of jobs, most of which were in education, but they either went nowhere or were unappealing. He came to realize that he had less and less interest in working with school boards and even within a school system. Although he had little experience and few contacts in the technology space to leverage, he continued to develop his base of contacts and waited for the universe to respond. 

On December 31, 2020, the universe responded.

“I got a call from an entrepreneur I’d known professionally for four or five years. He had started three successful businesses and was launching his fourth– a cybersecurity business,” said David. “The company assesses the cyber health of major organizations and makes recommendations to them on how to improve it. Their target clientele includes businesses, government, health care agencies – and educational organizations. He thought someone with my background could be very helpful in developing the business.”

David was offered the position of VP of sales, a role that sounded perfect…almost. In truth, the commission-based-only compensation gave him pause at first, but David has full confidence in the founder’s ability to create another great company, not only because of his record of success, but also because of the caliber of the team he’s bringing in. David is also very excited about the financial potential and the numerous future opportunities the job offers.

“The services provided by my new company are exactly what I was working on with my initiative in Nebraska. And now I’m in a position to help my former colleagues fulfill the grant we were awarded.” 

Best of all for David is that he now has the greatest office of his career.

“We bought a vacation home on Lake of the Ozarks a few years ago, planning to retire here. Now it is home and I get to start a new career from here.”

David couldn’t be happier to be launching an exciting new career in technology.

“If I didn’t have The Barrett Group, I’d probably still be looking for a state superintendent job somewhere. This transition is exactly what I needed. The Barrett Group has done a phenomenal job for me.”

Client:

Agata Lewandowska was head of administration and facility management at the Polish affiliate of a multinational engineering and technology company. 

Industry:

Administration, Engineering, Technology, Finance, Health, Non-Profit, Audit

Challenge:

When her husband was offered a job in Geneva, Agata quit her own job in Warsaw and looked for a new one in Switzerland, but job hunting was challenging in another country.

Process:

Agata revised her CV and LinkedIn profile and worked hard to develop a network of contacts in Geneva where she knew no one.

Landing:

Within about three months, Agata was offered a position as an operational efficiency consultant at a major non-governmental organization with a much better compensation package than she’d expected.

Study:

Agata Lewandowska was head of administration and facility manager at the Polish affiliate of a multinational engineering and technology company in Warsaw. She loved her job and was highly valued by the company for her skill in optimizing processes and creating efficiencies. However, she and her husband hankered for adventure, and they knew that they were unlikely to come by it unless they actively took steps to make it happen. 

“I adored working at my company, but we wanted a change. Our life was very comfortable, but if you don’t consciously change things, you could do the same thing for your whole life,” said Agata. “So, my husband took a job in Switzerland, and we moved to Geneva.”

The move was good timing for Agata who was pursuing an MBA at the time and was stretched thin by the demands of her intensive academic load on top of work and family responsibilities. She left her job and spent her first year in Switzerland concentrating on completing her degree. Although she welcomed the relative break it afforded her, Agata’s new normal required her to fly back to Warsaw each weekend for classes and exams and left her no time to develop relationships in Switzerland.

As soon as she graduated, Agata was eager to get back to work. She had been out of the workforce for 10 months, by that point, but figured that having an MBA would open new doors for her. She underestimated the hurdles she would encounter, however.

“In Geneva they speak French. To work as a head administration or facility manager again, I’d have to speak fluent French, which I don’t – I speak French at an intermediate level. So, I thought I would target a role as a business analyst or project manager at an international company because I have solid experience in those two areas and, at an international company, I could use English,” said Agata. 

Agata was industry-agnostic, which should have made her job search easier, but no matter how many jobs she applied to, no matter how well she fit an advertised position, her search went nowhere. 

“I updated my CV and applied for numerous positions, but I got no responses at all. Nothing. It was like I was sending applications into the depths of the universe,” said Agata. “Many people told me I should forget about my experience and apply for junior roles, but I didn’t want to take a huge step back in my career. After three months, I knew I needed help.” 

That’s when Agata found The Barrett Group.

“I had a list of top-level headhunters from my MBA program, but I didn’t want a headhunter. I wanted a job. Headhunters just try to fit people into jobs that are available. I wanted an organization with a different approach. The Barrett Group was the only company of this kind that I found.” 

Agata started the Clarity program in December and valued the confirmation it gave her of her strengths and attributes. 

“I have undergone lots of training and development programs, so I wasn’t surprised by the outcomes of the Clarity assessments, but after being out of work for so long I had started to doubt the value that I offer employers,” said Agata. “Clarity not only affirmed that, but also it gave me a good idea of how to leverage my strengths and discuss my weaknesses in a realistic and positive way.” 

In the next phase of TBG’s program, Agata worked with her coach to revise her CV, her motivation letter, and her LinkedIn profile. At the same time, her coach gave her exercises to begin building her network. 

“It felt like the revision of my documents took a long time, but I realized later that it was designed that way to give me time to do the networking exercises. I had little experience with that, and I had very few contacts at all in Switzerland – 95% of my network was in Poland,” said Agata. 

Agata’s coach, Rebeca Gelencser, had her start by reaching out to contacts in Poland to get used to the process. Then she showed her how to reach out to people in Switzerland.  

“I didn’t have a lot of confidence at that point, but Rebeca was so supportive of me. She seemed more confident in me than I was in myself!” said Agata.

As Agata developed her network, Rebeca showed her how best to communicate her skills. 

“After about a month, I could see things starting to roll. I would talk to someone, who gave me the contact information of someone else. It was a really precious exercise,” said Agata. “To be honest, I never got to the point where I felt entirely comfortable with it because then I found a job!”

Agata’s coach learned of a great opportunity and brought it to Agata’s attention. 

“Rebeca saw a position for process optimization at a major non-governmental funding organization and connected me with the recruiter. This was the first job I applied to for which I felt my skills matched 100% and which also matched my requirements. It seemed perfect for me.”

After submitting a CV, Agata was invited to interview and take an assessment. She was delighted when the recruiter then invited her to apply for a second position in a different department.

“I was pursuing opportunities in two different departments. I finally got an offer from the first one, which I preferred. The offer was way higher than I expected, and I accepted it without waiting to hear about the second position.”

Agata is delighted to be back to work and in a role that offers challenge commensurate with her experience. The uniqueness of her success isn’t lost on her.

“It’s really hard to get a job if you arrive unemployed in a country where you have no network. All the immigrants I know in Switzerland said it was inevitable that I would have to take a lower-level position.”

Agata credits The Barrett Group program, and especially her coach, for helping her to forge a new path.

“I used to wonder who on earth would pay for a coach. I felt that I could always motivate myself – but that isn’t always the case. I often felt so discouraged. But Rebeca gave me strength and optimism after every conversation. She made me feel that I could do it,” said Agata. “The Barrett Group was so valuable because it offered me a different approach. I’m not yet comfortable with networking, but I’m sold on the process, and I’m going to keep working at it.”

Photo: 123rf.com