Gary B. – Industry Change – Promotion – 2-Week Job Search – More Money

Gary began his SC&C journey in a conversation with Laura Gabel, Senior Executive Consultant with Stewart, Cooper & Coon. According to Laura, “Through our initial conversation Gary recognized that this was a critical move for him given his age and experience level. He wanted to leverage his background into the best possible position and he recognized that career management, with strong branding and marketing would be an important ticket for him to realize his goal of Plant manager in a tight market.  Our conversations centered on job satisfaction, advancement, a bump up in income and title. He was motivated and decisive, and ready to move ahead with a solid campaign.”

Gary started his career in manufacturing as an Engineer, making good use of his BSME. The plant where he was assigned was closed, but Gary was lucky; he landed an Engineering and Design job with one of the top 5 engineering/manufacturing firms in America. During his 10 years there Gary achieved the position of Manufacturing Manager, earning his MBA along the way.

When his division was sold, he decided to not to relocate, but rather to feed his entrepreneurial spirit. Gary started what would become a successful landscape design business. After 13 years, and having satisfied his need to “go it alone,” Gary decided to re-enter the corporate world to develop his expertise in Lean Six Sigma. A Director opportunity in that discipline became available with a Fortune 100 company and Gary jumped on it. After only one year, he was promoted to Operations Manager.  

Life at a large government contracting manufacturer is tied to the mood and budgets in Washington DC.  Recognizing this, and believing he had learned as much as he could in his job, he felt the need to grab his career by the horns once again rather than wait for what seemed inevitable cuts that would affect his job. Gary was ready to elevate to the next level as a Plant Manager, ideally with P&L responsibility while driving continuous Improvement agendas. While he had done a fair job managing his career to that point, Gary realized making a change in a declining job market would require a different approach and maybe a little help.

As soon as Gary partnered with SC&C to help him achieve his objective, he began working with George Stecyk, his SC&C Campaign Director. Together they launched the process of branding and positioning by first establishing the value that Gary could bring to a prospective employer. This early effort in developing his successes and the ability to relate them in the form of compelling stories served him well.  We never know exactly when an opportunity will present itself during a campaign. In Gary’s case, this happened very early on, but the confidence he gained working with George made a difference. As he put it, George’s coaching “…really helped a lot in getting me to focus on how to communicate in the interview the value I could bring to the company. The reason they hired me was leadership, continuous improvement, and my operations management skill set, and my top 3 top core competencies.

Thanks again, George, for the help; you gave me a lot of confidence to go forward and accomplish this.” Because Gary believed in Career Management and recognized that in tough times some help would be needed to overcome the competition, he was successful in achieving his goal. We share in Gary’s appreciation of his success; well done.

But, the story does not end here. When a client engages SC&C, we make a commitment that extends beyond the placement date. We will continue to make our on line resources available and continue to updata and host Gary’s Resueme and WebFolio. Additionally, Gary will have the benefit of being able to consult with his Campaign Director at any time, as needed, for career advice in his new position, or to strategize his future career goals.