Client: Advik was senior director of manufacturing engineering at a San Francisco-based consumer electronics company.
Industry: Consumer Electronics, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management
Function: Corporate Leadership, 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opportunity without going through standard channels, like browsing the internet for job postings, so TBG’s focus on the unpublished market appealed to him.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
