14 Oct Providing a real value for the reluctant and the doubtful
How Dise & Company helped an already qualified job-seeker see the benefits of outplacement services and find a better job faster.
Candidate Profile: VP Sales & Marketing, Early-Stage Technology Company
Originally from the New York City area, I had worked in the medical device industry my whole career, which took me from New York to Chicago, to Boulder, and eventually to Toronto—where I was a General Manager with P&L responsibilities, and oversaw sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution for a $35 million division of a multinational corporation. That position then led me to an executive role at the Cleveland headquarters for this corporation.
It came as a shock when my position was eliminated. Still somewhat bewildered, I met with Dise & Company to discuss the benefits of their outplacement services. I have to admit that I was reluctant, and I needed convincing about how they could help me, because I had been unemployed before, and I honestly thought I knew the drill about finding a new position.
Dise & Company offered me much more than a pat on the back and a resume service. They put me through a very rigorous process that helped me:
- Define the job that was perfect for me
- Create a target list of companies
- Repackage myself
- Make the most productive use of networking meetings
- Use and expand my network
- Stand out in interviews
In short, with Dise & Company’s guidance and assistance, which I never could have done on my own, I was able to re-package myself, and in relatively short order turn a meeting over a cup of coffee into a truly productive networking meeting, where I was receiving concrete suggestions, expanding my network, and making it easy for people to help me.
The end result, I found a position much faster than I ever could have found one on my own.
Several years later, after discovering that I was being laid off from another firm, through no fault of my own, I discovered that they had included outplacement as a benefit, but it was with another firm. So I asked if they would let me use Dise & Company instead—and they did.
So I went through the Dise & Company Outplacement process again, only this time focusing on finding a position with a smaller company, and I landed on my feet in a relatively short period of time. It is my honest opinion that every time I have had to go through this process, it has made me more effective at what I do. I guess it depends a lot on your attitude, but I see that in retrospect they’ve helped me make a step up each time—turning the unpleasant experience of losing a position into an opportunity for personal and professional improvement.
Takeaways:
- If you’re offered outplacement service, take advantage of it—you’ll become better at what you do as a result.
- No matter how much you think you know—it’s always good to have a helping hand.
- Sometimes you can re-negotiate your severance package to include outplacement services—you don’t know if you don’t ask.