Below you can find some of our recent client stories. To protect confidentiality, all names have been changed. We will add a new story every couple of weeks.
Client Story 1 – Michael
Michael is a senior finance professional in his late 30s, who was experiencing doubts and confusion about his career focus and direction. He had a strong feeling of dissatisfaction, generating a strong desire to do something totally different.
Through our assistance Michael engaged in a process of reflection and assessment of his past career choices and possible focus for the future. This highlighted that Michael was working in the wrong corporate culture for him with people that drained both his physical and emotional energy.
By identifying this Michael was able to realistically assess other career opportunities in his chosen profession, rework his resume to market himself effectively and very quickly found a new position with a 50% increase in salary, working in an environment that invigorates and motivates him. We continue to provide executive coaching to Michael in his new role.
Client Story 2 – Chris
Chris is a senior IT professional in his 50s, who took a package from a major financial organisation a year ago after a period of change and upheaval in his workplace. Because of the negativity he had experienced he took an extended break to re-evaluate his career focus and direction. After a break of 6 months Chris re-entered the job market, but consistently found himself running second and just missing out on opportunities.
Through working with us Chris was able to recognise the choices in his recent career and the culture of the organisation that contributed to the negative experience. By engaging in the reflection and assessment process it became clear that Chris’ performance in interviews was the main issue preventing him from getting the next role. While he was applying for good positions through his network and the advertised job market, the problem was his inability to talk about himself and his achievements with ownership and conviction.
With focused and targeted interview coaching and preparation from CCM, Chris secured a new position doing what he really enjoys working in an environment that values trust, respect and excellence; the elements that were missing at his last employer.
Client Story 3 – Kate
At 30 Kate has been 5 years in the public sector, after a successful career as a Legal Administrator in a Law firm. The working environment over the past 2 years has been particularly negative and when packages were offered as part of a restructure Kate decided to take the offer, which included an amount of money to engage career transition and coaching services. Working with Complete Career Management (CCM) Kate set about making sense of her past career and focusing on the future. With a passion for make-up and beauty she wanted to explore how she could incorporate this in her career plan.
Through the Reflect and Assess process with CCM it became clear that the legal work gave her the greatest satisfaction. By formulating an effective job search strategy that included a combination of networking and advertised roles, and with a new resume, Kate very quickly secured a position. At the same time CCM assisted her in developing a business plan to start her own beauty business, beginning in a part time/weekend capacity leading to full time if that’s what she wanted. Working though the issues and having clear options for the future mediated and removed the negativity and anxiety that had accumulated in her last role.
Client Story 4 – Gordon
In his late 30s, with a successful career in project and production management, Gordon decided he wanted a career move that would position him in more mainstream business leadership roles, providing a challenging career path for the future. Working through the Reflect and Assess module with Complete Career Management it became clear that Gordon had a talent for leadership and organisation. Reflecting on his recent career and achievements gave Gordon a boost of confidence, which he directed to a networking approach to see what was in the market.
This resulted in an offer of a General Manager position with a technology start up that needed his strong project and organisational skills and provided a good environment to grow and develop his business management capabilities. With continued executive coaching from Complete Career Management Gordon is able to add immediate value to the organisation while he builds and consolidates his skills.
Client Story 5 – Robert
With 20 years experience in the IT industry in senior technical engineering and software roles in Australia and the US, Robert felt it was time to evaluate his career to date and determine his future direction and focus. While working though the Reflect and Assess process with Complete Career Management, Robert was retrenched for the second time in his career, without career transition support from his employer.
Robert’s program with Complete Career Management was redirected to focus on re-employment with a specific emphasis on accessing the hidden job market. A comprehensive networking plan was developed supported by powerfully written resumes that articulated Robert’s career achievements clearly and by interview coaching. As Robert was still keen to continue with his career evaluation he targeted senior contract opportunities and within 8 weeks had secured a 6 month contract which gave him the financial stability to continue his career assessment.
Client Story 6 – Jonathon
Jonathon, a recent Arts graduate, approached Complete Career Management for coaching to find career focus and direction. Having left school at 16 he developed his natural ability as a builder into a successful small business. After four and a half years he decided to embark on a University qualification, which he completed very successfully, but on sufficiently narrow subjects that did not provide solid career options.
Being recently graduated there was an immediate urgency to find employment while at the same time getting clarity around career direction. Working with the coaches at Complete Career Management Jonathon was able to quickly build a resume around his recent student jobs and his university achievements, ramp up applications from the advertised job market and be coached to perform well in interviews. Within 4 weeks Jonathon had found a good job that suited his skills and aspirations with a salary that exceeded his expectations.
Client Story 7 – Craig
Craig, a state general manager in his early forties, responsible for 800 staff, 12 direct reports and $50million revenue was ready for the career move. Unsure whether this should be within the same industry or in a totally new environment, he approached Complete Career Management for focus, clarity and direction in his thinking. Earning $150,000 plus bonuses he was also looking to improve his earnings while getting greater satisfaction from his work.
Working with Craig over time we were able to identify a number of options, both within his current industry and alternatives that built on his experience and transferable skills. By focusing his thinking and approach we were able to prepare him to have positive and effective conversations with recruitment professionals and potential employers, which ultimately lead to an offer managing a much larger operation in the same industry, paying $200,000 plus bonuses.
By coaching him to approach his resignation respectfully and sensitively, Craig was able to engage in a conversation with his current company that lead to a counter offer with much greater potential for future growth and development, which he accepted.