Client: Elizabeth was national director of patient experience for the healthcare division of a global provider of food and facilities management services
Industry: Hospitality, Healthcare, Hospitals
Function: Leadership, Programming
Challenge: After working more than a decade with the same employer, Elizabeth wanted a change, but her job search was not yielding results.
Process: Elizabeth overhauled her resume and LinkedIn profile, built up social capital among her contacts, and capitalized on interview opportunities to highlight her professional successes.
Landing: Elizabeth accepted a senior patient experience role with a large, private healthcare system that enables her to directly impact patient experience.
Study: Elizabeth was a national director of patient experience for the healthcare division of a global provider of food and facilities management. Her job was to standardize programs across the enterprise that would improve patient experience and drive improved patient satisfaction in food and housekeeping services.
After nearly 11 years with the company, Elizabeth was ready for a change. Specifically, she wanted a position that would allow her to have a greater influence on the patient community that she serves.
“As a service provider, I felt a part of the healthcare community, but also not part of it. I feel passionate about the service I provide to patients, and I wanted to find a job where I could have a more direct impact on their experience.”
In early 2020, Elizabeth began looking at job postings and getting the word out about her interest in a career transition. Although she got some interviews, they didn’t go anywhere. Then, when the pandemic hit, her job search took a backseat to new demands within her current role. It wasn’t until the new year that she decided to accelerate her job search efforts. She found The Barrett Group (TBG) and allowed them to guide her career search.
“I know how to work and drive results in my field, but I didn’t know the job market or how to market myself,” said Elizabeth. “I had been out of the job market for 10 years, and I felt like I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to structure my resume and have my competencies stand out or create a value proposition for myself.”
Elizabeth began with the Clarity component of TBG’s program, finding it fun and helpful, but it was working with her career consultant, Julie Mathern, in the next stage that she reaped the biggest rewards, beginning with revamping her resume and LinkedIn profile.
“My LinkedIn profile has never gotten so many views since Julie and I reworked it. At every interview I was told that my resume looks great. The metrics just popped from the page!” said Elizabeth. “I was impressed with the results even before the revision was complete. I used a draft resume to apply for a job in Philadelphia and landed an interview. Wow! And when the final draft was finished, the interviews starting rolling in.”
Elizabeth’s branding campaign electrified her confidence and affirmed her belief that good self-marketing was essential in drawing attention to her candidacy.
“Rebranding myself made my expertise in patient experiences much more visible. It was a real self-esteem booster to see employer interest in me grow after that,” said Elizabeth.
Next, Elizabeth’s career consultant had Elizabeth develop her network of contacts.
“It was challenging to reach out to people because I didn’t think they would want to talk to me. But I came to realize how important it is. Julie impressed on me how crucial relationships are – not just now while I’m job seeking, but throughout my career. The resources that The Barrett Group provided me were really helpful. They detailed the standard things to do and say when engaging with people, which made me feel less awkward.”
When it came to interviewing, Elizabeth credits her career consultant and the resume team with making the process easier.
“Because my resume spoke for itself, I didn’t have to exert myself a lot during the interview process. All I had to do was give examples of how the metrics tied to my professional experience.”
Still, Elizabeth was well-prepared for interviews.
“Julie and I spent time going through sample questions and we laughed when, in one of my first interviews, I was asked four questions from TBG’s guide,” said Elizabeth. “I give a gold star to The Barrett Group for preparing me so well for interviews.”
When Elizabeth received a rejection one day, her consultant coached her to send a gracious response back to the hiring manager. To Elizabeth’s surprise, the hiring manager followed up with a different opportunity that turned into a job offer.
“I ended up turning that job down, but I give The Barrett Group another gold star for coaching me to reply to a rejection email that yielded a job offer!” said Elizabeth.
Throughout the program, Elizabeth valued very much how comprehensive TBG’s approach is to job seeking.
“The TBG program doesn’t just target job postings, it shows clients how to leverage a resume and LinkedIn profile to create a brand and market themselves, it teaches them to create new contacts and develop relationships so that hiring managers know what they bring to the table.”
Most valuable for Elizabeth were the discipline acquired via the career consultant weekly meetings, and the support rendered by her consultant that pushed Elizabeth beyond her comfort zone.
“Julie told me to get in touch with an executive that I’d formerly worked with who is now the CEO of a company. I was nervous, but I did it. He then connected me with someone who is now serving as my mentor. I’m not sure I would have done that on my own. Julie was the push I needed.”
When it comes to landing her new job, Elizabeth gives significant credit to her career consultant, too.
“During the initial screening, I learned that the job’s salary range was significantly lower than my minimum requirements. Julie counseled me to continue the process, saying that ‘everything is negotiable.’ In the end, they offered me the job at the compensation level I wanted. I even asked for relocation assistance, and they were happy to do it.”
Elizabeth is now the System Director of Patient Experience at a large, private healthcare system where she will oversee the entire patient experience for 24 hospitals and 200 satellite sites. In this role, she will have a direct impact on patient experience.
“I’m excited to have more of an influence. At this point in my career, it was time to make an investment in myself – and this was an investment well worth making. I felt that the coaching was so directed. I don’t mind telling anyone that The Barrett Group got me results!”
Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.