Client: Arturo Núñez performed two roles, senior manager of asset monitoring and substation reliability Center of Excellence manager, at a large provider of solutions for protecting the integrity of critical industrial and civil infrastructure.
Industry: Engineering, Energy, Nondestructive testing, Infrastructure, OEM
Function: Project Management, Technical and Strategic Leadership, Operations, SME
Challenge: Arturo became frustrated after corporate management assigned him a new division – in addition to his current role – without modifying the existing company culture in which people focused on working only within their silos. He decided to change jobs, but his job search yielded no viable opportunities.
Process: Narrowing the focus of his job search, highlighting his personal brand and accomplishments, and leveraging social capital helped Arturo garner attention from hiring managers.
Landing: After several slow months of job hunting, Arturo got two attractive job offers and a potential third offer – all in the same week. He landed as R&D/Innovation division director for a leading manufacturer of wire and cable used in the transmission and distribution of electricity.
Study: Arturo Núñez was a field test engineer at the beginning of his 22-year long stint at a large, East Coast provider of solutions that protect the integrity of critical industrial and civil infrastructure. By the end of it, he was coordinating two divisions and wearing two hats: senior manager of asset monitoring and substation reliability Center of Excellence manager.
It was a unique, important role because Arturo was tasked with creating a model of collaboration between the products and services teams. It was to be an example for the rest of the company on how divisions might target the good of the company, rather than the good of the division, in their operational goals. As it turned out, it was also a frustrating role because Arturo felt that he never got the management support required to be successful.
“I got tired of trying to make changes for which I was given no authority,” said Arturo. “I was asked to be patient. I waited two years, but still nothing happened. So, I decided to leave.”
Arturo launched a covert job search. Immediately, he got two offers, which made him think that finding a new job would be easy. As both opportunities required a relocation, however, which, for family reasons, was a nonstarter, he turned them down. To his dismay, things got very quiet after that.
“I applied daily to lots of jobs, but I got few responses and no follow ups. Feelings of doubt starting creeping in. I started to think I was too old to look for a new job.” said Arturo.
After six months of futile searching, Arturo began researching professional career management firms and decided to give The Barrett Group (TBG) a try.
“I read the testimonials and success stories and I identified with many of the struggles people said they had,” said Arturo. “I thought, ‘If those people went through what I am going through and found jobs, then maybe this is the right step for me.’”
As Arturo had spent a lot of time reflecting on his circumstances, he was happy to find that working with Marsha Foster, his Clarity coach, jibed well with his own efforts to figure out what he was doing wrong.
“I enjoyed the Clarity Program, and I liked Marsha’s approach. It clarified a lot of things for me – what I wanted to do, what I didn’t want to do, as well as my long-term objectives. It gave me the structure I needed to get a complete picture of what I wanted from life personally and professionally.”
Most important, Clarity helped Arturo realize that what he wanted most from a job was to feel appreciated.
“I achieved a lot at my company, but I didn’t feel recognized for my work. I wanted to find an organization that showed appreciation for its employees.”
With that fresh understanding, Arturo began working through elements of the TBG Program with career consultant, Larry DiBoni. Arturo was surprised to find that one of the most fundamental aspects of the program turned out to be one of the most valuable in his career transition.
“Reworking my resume produced the biggest change in my job search,” said Arturo. “I hadn’t changed my resume much in the past 22 years and the TBG resume writers did a great job on it. They had me add a lot of metrics and home in on my accomplishments and results. I noticed an immediate difference in the response I got from hiring managers after I started using my new resume.”
Arturo also benefited from learning how to leverage LinkedIn better.
“I have always been very active on LinkedIn, but I definitely learned a lot about LinkedIn analytics and how to customize a job search,” said Arturo.
It was at this point that Arturo realized a major mistake he’d made in his job search prior to joining The Barrett Group: His search had been too broad.
“I was very selective in the beginning on where I applied,” said Arturo. “But as time went on, out of desperation, I started applying everywhere – even to positions that didn’t come close to what I was looking for. Finally, it all made sense to me. The reason I didn’t get responses to those applications is that I didn’t fit the profile of the jobs.”
From that point on, Arturo was careful to apply only to jobs that truly aligned with his interests and his talents. Even then, it was slow-going for several months, but the seeds he planted eventually began to bear fruit – and all at once.
“Between July and November, I applied to fewer roles, based on the criteria I’d formulated with Larry. I was not getting a lot of responses, but in November I started interviewing with three interesting companies. And in January, to my surprise, I ended up with two job offers and a budding third offer in the same week!”
The offer he accepted is an exciting R&D/Innovation director position of a leading manufacturer of wire and cable used in the transmission and distribution of electricity, where he is charged with developing a new division focused on innovation, new business opportunities, and new technologies. It promises not only attractive growth potential, but also a significant boost in compensation.
Arturo credits a combination of leveraging social capital and re-branding for his successful landing.
“The recruiter for the position had seen my profile on LinkedIn and called me. What she didn’t know is that I had already applied! After that, I reached out to an ex-boss who knew the company well and gave me good background information on the company’s culture and leadership. He was also one of my references and provided very positive feedback about me to the executive team during the hiring process.”
Arturo is happily settling into his new role and says that his career transition has inspired a new perspective on career management.
“I like to stay in touch with people, but I realized during this process that, often, we reach out to people only when we need something. I have since made a conscious change of mindset to reach out to people in my network regularly. It’s a good practice for personal as well as professional life!”
