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:

1. Define the job that was perfect for me
2. Create a target list of companies
3. Repackage myself
4. Make the most productive use of networking meetings
5. Use and expand my network
6. 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.