Success Studies

Client:

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

Industry:

Information Technology, Consumer Electronics

Function:

Technology, Software Engineering 

Challenge:

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

Process:

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

Landing:

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

Study:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:

Ray White was co-founder, VP of marketing, and executive coach for a small, business consulting firm providing companies executive coaching on business growth.

Industry:

Business Consulting, Executive Coaching, Wellness, Eye Care

Function:

Administration, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Marketing, Executive Coaching

Challenge:

A year after starting a coaching business, Ray realized that coaching didn’t interest him nearly as much as hands-on marketing and growing companies, but he struggled in finding a new job.

Process:

Ray learned that showcasing the talents that meet specific needs of a company, versus advertising the breadth of his talents, is a much more effective strategy in a job search.

Landing:

Within four months, Ray landed as VP of marketing operations for a young, digital marketing agency providing services to eye care professionals – becoming the company’s first-ever executive hire.

Study:

Ray White spent over a decade of his career overseeing operations, performance, and marketing at a multinational digital marketing company before giving rein to his entrepreneurial side. In his first venture, he created, co-launched, and developed a mental health and wellness app for large businesses. His passion for emotional health also prompted him to start a business consulting firm focused on coaching companies to improve organizational performance by reducing personal stress. 

Ray’s work with his largest client went exceedingly well. In addition to executive coaching, Ray shouldered the company’s marketing responsibilities, as they lacked a leader. Marketing wasn’t what he was initially hired to do, but Ray loved it. When the company fell on hard times some months later, it terminated Ray’s contract. Ray realized then how much he liked having a hands-on role in growing a company. 

Ray decided to make a career change.

“Losing that client was a major decision point,” said Ray. “I enjoyed being a coach, but it was not as fulfilling as the marketing aspect of the business and working with a team. I talked to my business partner and, ultimately, decided to pass my clients to him and seek a role at a marketing agency.” 

It didn’t go well. Ray looked for jobs on LinkedIn and reached out to people in his network with few results. 

“I stumbled across one or two interviews, but they weren’t what I was looking for. I didn’t have any other good leads, either,” said Ray. “It’s funny because I’m a marketing guy and you’d think I’d be better at marketing myself. But I’d never had to look for a job before, so I wasn’t any good at it.”

Having heard of The Barrett Group (TBG) from a friend, Ray resolved to engage the company for career management help if he was unsuccessful in landing a job on his own. Soon after, that’s exactly what he did. 

“Getting coached was refreshing! It was the first time for me, and it felt good to be the person who was learning,” said Ray. “I started by meeting with Marsha Foster in the Clarity Program. She was awesome! She took me step-by-step through an examination of myself, making me think about me and what I want to do.” 

Ray decided that he wanted a job where he could continue to coach as well as have input into the growth and strategy of that company – and it had to be a growth company, either in Dallas or full-remote. He targeted four industries.

“Marsha’s coaching gave me a good foundation for my job search. Working with her made me feel like I was on the right path,” said Ray.

Ray saw even greater benefit from the next part of TBG’s Program. 

“Barbara Limmer was my career consultant,” said Ray. “She provided a lot of really good information – content, training, and clear steps. She didn’t just say, ‘Go do this.’ She said, ‘Here are all the pieces to the steps you need to take. Here are the challenges you will encounter, the steps on how to get through them, and the plan for what to do next.” 

Such counsel proved helpful for the toughest element of the program for Ray – building social capital. 

“I have always been someone that people come to for help, so it was very hard for me to ask for it,” said Ray. “The TBG angle, of course, is NOT to ask for help, rather to offer support to others or just connect with them. It took a while to get my head wrapped around it, but it got easier. Barbara pushed me through it, and it was rewarding.” 

What turned out to be the most valuable aspect of Ray’s career campaign was re-branding himself. He began by rewriting his resume with the help of the TBG writing team, understanding that he would adapt his resume to every opportunity. He and Barbara also discussed the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS) in screening resumes.

“I knew of ATS, but I was completely unaware of how big an influence it has in the hiring process and how strict the filters can be,” said Ray. “I thought my new resume turned out great. It was a big change from before.”

Ray also learned how to create an effective LinkedIn profile.

“I was really active on LinkedIn before, but I haphazardly threw stuff out there, not understanding the impact it had on recruiters. I didn’t view it as a means to match me to a job. I had many different professional experiences, and my LinkedIn profile did a HORRIBLE job of matching me to marketing jobs. I was an author, I had my own business, and I had lots of different titles. No one would look at my profile and think that I wanted to be a VP of marketing.”

With Barbara’s help, Ray reworked everything to brand himself as a VP of marketing. That included interview practice.

“During one interview, I spoke in great detail about my experience because I wanted them to know how broad my background was. What I learned from Barbara is that I should tell them only about talents that relate to the job description – be very specific in my responses to what they need. I found that to be surprising, but it made all the difference. The next interview went much better!”

Before long, Ray was getting about two interviews per week. He ended up in the final stages of three leadership opportunities at small- to medium-sized digital marketing agencies. His preferred role, at an eye care agency, involved a rigorous hiring process with eight interviews for which Barbara prepped him well. His efforts paid off. Ray was offered the role of VP of marketing operations in a brand-new industry at the maximum compensation range. 

“The company is a leading, 40-person, marketing agency, and I’ll oversee both marketing and operations. I’m the first executive hire for this company. It is a great niche in a high growth company and it’s an excellent fit. I already love it!” 

Ray is especially delighted to have landed so quickly.

“I thought it would take me 12 months to find a job, but it took only three or four. Landing even a month earlier than 12 months would have made investing in TBG worth it, so landing this quickly was fantastic.”

Reflecting on his quick success, Ray credits TBG and his coaches for showing him how to navigate the employment market and how best to demonstrate the benefits he offers an employer.

“Looking for a job is scary. I’ve done well in my career and thought I was on a very clear path. Then, suddenly, I realized I was going to have to take a different path. Having executive coaches helped me do that.” 

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:

Ned was general manager of a sustainability solution provider startup in the agricultural industry.

Industry:

Agricultural, Startup, Advertising, Marketing

Function:

Leadership, Product Launch, Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service 

Challenge:

When the startup he led shuttered during the pandemic, Ned embarked on a job search that stretched out much longer than he ever expected. 

Process:

Ned consistently came in second place during his job search for reasons he couldn’t identify until he did a deep dive with his coaching team about specific areas he should work on in interviews.

Landing:

After 10 months, Ned received two job offers simultaneously and accepted a role of VP of business development for a small software company offering a digital advertising platform for pro sports teams.

Study:

When Ned’s employer, a manufacturer of adjuvants for the agricultural industry, decided to commercialize a new-to-the-world technology in 2019, it funded a spinoff to launch the product. Ned, director of marketing for the parent company, spearheaded the effort and applied, and was selected, for the role of general manager for the new startup. He built and led a small team, engaged with growers and brands, created demand, and expanded sales to 12 countries. They hit several key metrics, but the pandemic stymied sales in 2020, and the company folded.

“I put in a year and a half, but Covid was one of the main reasons that impeded the success of that product. We weren’t able to engage with customers face-to-face, which created problems,” said Ned. “The parent company didn’t want to support it anymore.”

Returning to the parent company was no longer financially attractive to Ned, so he began job seeking. He had a varied background, having worked in marketing on both the consumer-side as well as B2B, for public as well as private companies. He also had prior experience launching new technologies, so he felt optimistic about his prospects. He talked to his connections and headhunters and pursued some unique opportunities. After a few months, Ned took a contract position for a PC gaming peripherals company with potential to go full-time. It didn’t go well.

“I worked there for three months, but I knew after three weeks that it wouldn’t be a good fit,” said Ned.

After his contract job ended Ned pursued some other opportunities but, when nothing worked out, he decided to get professional help. 

“I had been using headhunters, but they don’t work on my behalf. They work on behalf of their corporate clients,” said Ned. “I wanted to find someone who would champion me. I needed to make an investment in myself.”

Ned engaged The Barrett Group (TBG) and began working through the elements of the Clarity Program with Justin Helman, his coach. 

“I was very happy with it. I liked the structure. I reviewed various documents, filled out very detailed information about myself, and took some tests. Clarity gave me an opportunity to evaluate myself in a ‘this-is-your-life’ moment and consider where I want to go. I have a diverse background, and Clarity grounded me. I decided I like small to midsize companies. I also realized that I’m happy to market any kind of product as long as it is not a commodity, is higher quality, and is something that is differentiated in the market.” 

After the Clarity Program, Ned was paired up with career consultant, George Schulz. Ned found him to be a good partner, and they soon realized, to their surprise, that their lives had previously overlapped. 

“I had met George before. We have some common friends,” said Ned. “George has a natural gift to make you feel comfortable. He is very creative and thoughtful, and I always looked forward to talking to him. I always got something out of it. He comes prepared and is always available. And if you seem to be going down a wrong path, he makes you take a step back and think.”

Ned valued working through the program with George. 

“First, we worked on my resume. It’s always a good investment to have a professional re-write it. TBG made some good enhancements. Then we worked through LinkedIn. I used LinkedIn a lot in my prior job, so I was already well-versed with it for finding sales opportunities. But I learned a lot from George about how to use LinkedIn to find job opportunities,” said Ned. 

When it came to building social capital, Ned learned to expand outside his comfort zone. 

“I am used to networking, but within my immediate social circles. George made me feel more comfortable pushing a few degrees outside of that – for example, with people from my alma mater. I was reluctant to call someone who might disregard me, but George convinced me that, if so, that person just isn’t the right person to find a job through. But you never know. He said, ‘Don’t be embarrassed. If you hold back on reaching out, you may be missing opportunities.’ George helped build my confidence lot in networking.”

As part of Ned’s overall market access campaign, George helped Ned connect with hundreds of recruiters, some of whom turned out to be good connections. Ned scored several interviews and, as his job-seeking efforts picked up steam, he relied less on George to prepare for them. But then he noticed a frustrating pattern. He consistently came in second in the hiring process.

“I had seven or eight “silver medals” in my job search. I never got the gold. Invariably, someone had more years of experience than I did, or the hiring manager liked me, but the CEO had a different vision of who should occupy the role. At one point, I was closing in on three different job opportunities and felt that I didn’t need the weekly calls with George as I prepared for the interviews. That was a mistake. All three jobs fell through, and I was back to ground zero.”

At that point, Ned re-engaged with George, who brought in a senior TBG consultant, Waffles Natusch, for a deep dive on Ned’s situation. 

“The three of us sat down to talk and Waffles asked pointed questions. We drilled down to some areas to be mindful of during an interview. For example, I should listen more, answer questions more succinctly, and take care not to talk over people.”

Shortly thereafter, Ned got two job offers in the same week, with a budding third potential offer. 

“Those meetings were really helpful. I was pretty down on myself, but George kept me going,” said Ned.

The offer Ned accepted was a VP of business development position for another startup, this time a small software company offering digital billboard services for pro sports betting. It’s a newly created job in a newly created market for the company. Ned thanks his brother-in-law for making a key introduction.

“I don’t have experience in this field but, thanks to the skills I worked on with George, I felt confident and was able to portray myself in the best possible light.” 

After working the TBG Program for 10 months, Ned was thrilled to have landed an exciting job at the right level, with great compensation and potential.

“A month and a half in, things are going pretty well! There were times where I felt in a rut during my job search, but regular engagement with George kept me energized and on path. That was the most helpful aspect of my job search experience.”

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