Client: Bob Meara spent 20 years coordinating and developing advertising and marketing needs for New Jersey auto dealers.

Industry: Software Development & Design

Challenge: When new senior leadership made corporate changes Bob disagreed with, he decided to leave. But after 20 years at one company he didn’t know where to start.

Process: Bob prepped his resume to circumvent ATS filters and positioned himself as the ideal candidate for a job even in the absence of social capital.

Landing: Despite the economic toll of the pandemic, Bob landed an exciting position in a related industry that has much more growth and compensation potential.

Study: As an automotive account executive in the advertising sales division of a major cable company, Bob Meara coordinated and developed digital marketing needs and video solutions for local automotive advertisers in New Jersey. He managed a team of marketing experts and a portfolio of over 25 clients. He’d spent 20 years with the company, but when changes from new senior leadership were no longer working for him or his clients, he knew it was time to move on.

It wasn’t long after Bob first began looking for new opportunities that he decided to hire a professional.

“I hadn’t written a resume or been on an interview in 20 years,” said Bob. “I wanted help getting my head together and to talk to someone with job market experience.”

Bob was drawn by the breadth of experience offered by the The Barrett Group (TBG). He launched into the program and started networking, even as he continued to work, and quickly saw some promising leads develop.

Then the Covid-19 crisis hit.

“All the people I had talked to went on a hiring freeze,” said Bob.

Consumer purchases for cars plummeted, auto dealers cut their local advertising – in short, the auto industry took a hammering. Bob remained committed to a career change, but he discovered some surprises in the job market.

“Everything is different. People don’t read resumes, computers read them. And computers weed out resumes by key buzz words,” said Bob. “You’re competing with many more people.”

Bob appreciated that TBG was prepared to help him navigate all these changes, starting with the Clarity program, which confirmed what he wanted to pursue – digital retail marketing. He launched into the TBG process. Bob found his weekly meetings with George Schulz, his personal career consultant, to be the most valuable part of his experience.

“George took the time to understand my current business and circumstances. He made the effort to learn what motives me – what makes me tick,” said Bob. “He told me all about the unpublished market. I never thought about that stuff before. It was very instrumental.”

Bob also found the expert help on rewriting his resume and LinkedIn profile to be very helpful.

“I don’t know what people are looking for in a resume or in a LinkedIn profile, but The Barrett Group showcased my attributes in a way that was very appealing to recruiters,” said Bob.

When it came to interviewing, Bob felt totally prepared.

“They told me all the questions I should expect to be asked so I would never be surprised. Then we rehearsed my answers,” said Bob. “By the time we were done, I had my pitch in my head and nothing felt too hard to answer.”

Bob ultimately found his ideal job – in digital retail marketing – from a job posting. And all of his coaching prepared him to know what to do to land it. He’s thrilled by the new opportunity. The company is relatively new, the territory is untapped, and he faces no internal competition. As for compensation, “The sky is the limit!” he says.

“The Barrett Group helped me know the right timing of when to follow up on things,” said Bob. “And the really important thing I learned is to be sure to pick the keywords out of the job description and put them on my resume. Playing that game gets you to the head of the table.”

Quotes: “The Barrett Group helped me know the right timing of when to follow up on things. And the really important thing I learned is to be sure to pick the keywords out of the job description and put them on my resume. Playing that game gets you to the head of the table.”

“They told me all the questions I should expect to be asked so I would never be surprised. Then we rehearsed my answers. By the time we were done, I had my pitch in my head and nothing felt too hard to answer.”

“The Barrett Group provided me a lot of resources to get to the plate and know what to do.”

“George Schulz took the time to understand my current business and circumstances. He made the effort to learn what motives me – what makes me tick. He told me all about the unpublished market. I never thought about that stuff before. It was very instrumental.”

“Everything is different. People don’t read resumes, computers read them. And computers weed out resumes by key buzz words. You’re competing with many more people.”

“I hadn’t written a resume or been on an interview in 20 years. I wanted help getting my head together and to talk to someone with job market experience.”

“I don’t know what people are looking for in a resume or in a LinkedIn profile, but The Barrett Group showcased my attributes in a way that was very appealing to recruiters.”