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Lisa Bailey, 53
100% Increase in 3 years
Title: Executive Administrative Assistant
Situation: Three years ago, Lisa was working as an Executive Administrative Assistant, supporting eight Department Directors. Alongside her administrative duties, she took on HR responsibilities and managed several of the city’s major IT projects. Her performance was far beyond her job title, and she aspired to a higher-level position within city government. We collaborated on refining her resume, which led to an interview and a new job offering $70,000—a 40% salary increase. After just two years, Lisa enlisted my help again to pursue an even higher position.
Her involvement in local professional associations provided valuable connections, but the competition for city jobs was intense. Following two challenging rounds of interviews, Lisa secured a new position with a salary of $103,000. In just three years, she had more than doubled her salary. Even better, she is now poised to advance to an even higher level within the next year.
What made the difference:"Her work with the local professional association gave her lots of visibility. Plus, we created a great resume that really showcased her skills for the next level job. And, prepping for the interviews gave Lisa the confidence she needed. Brava!"
New Position: Assistant City Clerk
Old Salary: $50K
New Salary: $103K (100% Increase)
Her Investment in Coaching: $2500
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Jake Mooreland, 53
From stagnant for 8 months to a job offer in 12 days!
Title: Sales Engineer
Situation: Jake had willingly left his position because he just didn’t like the culture. For 8 months, he searched for a job. There were quite a few interviews, but he always came in second, or not at all.
Working together:"We explored every line of his resume, adding in results – money saved and client contracts won. In the process, we identified many STAR stories for his interviews, plus Jake’s superpower: understanding BOTH the technology and the sales process. He also took on the idea of asking for the job. He was hired after a team interview when one of the salesmen said, “We need Jake on our team. He’s a closer."
New Position: Sales Engineer
Days in Search: 12
Old Salary: $150K
New Salary: $150K
No increase; but more headroom, fair commission structure, and a much better culture
His Investment in Coaching: $1800 (62% of one week’s base salary)
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Cecilia Adams, 57
54% Learning & Development Leader
Title: Sr. Training Specialist
Situation: Cecilia was working as a Senior Training Specialist for a home loan company. Each quarter, she was given more responsibility, more employees to train, more locations to cover, and difficult subject matter like home mortgage underwriting. She was harried, over-worked and under-paid. Her resume lacked real achievement statements. We expanded the statements for her current responsibilities and added the substantial load she had taken on being a business advisor to top management. We also gave her credit for revamping dozens of courses to include new regulations. Her keywords were upgraded to reflect the higher-level work she was already doing, and the higher-level job she desired. Her 54% income jump came within 2 years of starting her new job.
In her words:"I just celebrated my second anniversary with the company and I’m still really enjoying it! I started with a base plus bonus totaling $115,000 and ended with $131,000. Not bad for 2 years in! Thank you again for helping me get unstuck in my career."
New Position: Training Program Manager
Days in Search: 131
Old Salary: $85K
New Salary: $115K (35% Increase)
New Salary after 2 Years: $131K (54% Increase)
Her Investment in Coaching: $1500
Her increase in income: $60,000 in 2 years; $46,000 each year from now on.
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Kerry, 51
25% Project Manager
Title: Program Manager
Situation: Kerry and her husband created an IT start-up and struggled for several years to make a go of it. When she came to me, she had been looking for 6 months, without much success. The family-owned business hadn’t been able to pay her a salary for more than 3 years.
Strategy: Kerry’s resume had job titles that were all over the map. We revised some of the titles to reflect what she was actually doing—Program Management. We also added a summary at the top, speaking to her project management achievements, and added Core Competencies that were program management specific. We also highlighted her new PMP designation and added information about Smartsheet, a project management tool in high demand.
In her words:"I searched for 6 months without much to show for it. After Catherine rewrote my resume, the recruiter calls came pouring in. I had a firm job offer in 43 days. Our family-owned online business wasn’t paying me a salary at all. Now, I’m making $100,000 with bonuses, 11 paid holidays, 3 weeks of vacation, and a 3% 401K match. It feels wonderful."
New Position: Program Manager (Consultant Position)
Days in Search: 45
Old Salary: $0 (Years before: $80K)
New Salary: $100K (25% increase)
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Anthony, 40
88% Controller
Title: Controller
Situation: Anthony’s career derailed when he was lured into a start-up consulting firm. He was acting as CFO to clients, while also teaching junior accountants on his team. He needed experienced staff, but his company refused to pay more than $15 per hour for new hires. He was caught on a 60-hour-a-week treadmill, with no hope in sight.
Strategy: We focused his work history on a prior consulting job where Anthony felt he had truly grown his clients. We crafted great STAR stories, proving his experience as a controller. He landed a new job as CFO with an investment firm, managing a staff of experienced accounting professionals.
New Position: Director of finance
Days in Search: 34
Old Salary: $85K
New Salary: $160K (88% Increase)
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Lindsey, 59
31% Interior Designer
Title: Interior Designer
Situation: Lindsey lost her job when her boss decided to retire and close his architectural business during Covid-19. She had been an interior designer in many settings, plus as a business owner. She was looking for a way to sail into retirement with a good, stable, salaried position.
Strategy: We branded Lindsey as an Interior Designer with substantial Construction Management experience. After discouraging interviews for retail and sales positions, I urged her to keep working the Construction Management angle. She was able to land a job, with her alma mater University, working a variety of construction and design jobs.New Position: Project Manager, Construction
Days in Search: 95
Old Salary: $65K
New Salary: $85K (31% Increase)
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Ted, 62
122% Paralegal
Title: Paralegal
Situation: Ted was in a very lucrative kind of law: personal injury. Instead of making big bucks, Ted was isolated, working 50-60-hour weeks for a demanding, unreasonable team of lawyers in another city. He not only prepared disclosures and support documents; he even wrote legal briefs– all for $20 per hour! When a big case came up, he worked non-stop, sometimes topping out at 18 hours a day!
Strategy: We investigated salaries and found he was well qualified for the job of Paralegal Manager. He even had a career history of teaching and coaching. His task was to successfully network into the right law firm.
New Position: Paralegal Manager
Days in Search: 112
Old Salary: $41K
New Salary: $91K (122% Increase)
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Empowered Networking Career Course
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Helen, 54
38% Learning Specialist
Title: Learning Specialist
Situation: Helen’s Program Management job was switched to Sales. Her task: building business in a distressed industry, with non-profit clients who were losing their funding. Her new, commission-only job not only was a bad fit, it felt like a demotion. She truly feared losing 30-60% of her income.
Strategy: Completely rebrand Helen, showcasing her Project Management skills in highly technical environments. Reconnect with colleagues who know her outstanding IT and customer success skills.
New Position: Program Manager for government clients, managing highly- complex software integration projects.
Days in Search: 54
Old Salary: $65K + 3K bonus
New Salary: $85 + $9K bonus (38% Increase) -
Brandon, 38
25% Quality Engineer
Title: Quality Engineer
Situation: Brandon had been searching unsuccessfully on his own for 5 months. He was tired of doing a great job, then getting laid off because the company had no long-term commitment to quality.
Strategy: We rebranded Brandon from Quality Assurance to Operations—a job that is much more stable, and better paying. We reworked his resume, combining short-term jobs under the banner of “Contract Projects.” With coaching, his career story switched from “woe is me” to the positive changes he had created in former jobs. We even negotiated a $4,000 signing bonus to clear up the debt he incurred while out of work!
New Position: Plant Manager
Days in Search: 112
Old Salary: $67K
New Salary: $84K (25% Increase) -
Robin, 46
40% Medical Practice Manager
Title: Medical Practice Manager
Situation: Robin felt stuck after working 23 years for the same surgeon. She wanted to completely change careers, perhaps move abroad, and increase her income to pay for her daughter’s college education.
Strategy: We rebranded Robin as a Chief Operating Officer, emphasizing her financial, marketing, and HR experience with the current practice. We wrote new achievement statements for each facet of her all-encompassing job. We showcased her volunteer work as if it were all paid experience, calling her a Non-Profit Executive. She won a job in another state – with easy access to flights to see her daughter at college.
New Position: Executive Director
Days in Search: 90
Old Salary: $75K
New Salary: $105K (40% Increase) -
Jake, 36
86% Curriculum Designer
Title: Curriculum Designer
Situation: Jake finished his Master’s in Educational Technology and was eager for more pay. When he updated his LinkedIn profile his manager wondered if he wanted to leave. He loved the company and his coworkers, so he wanted to stay.
Strategy: Instead of launching a job search, we created a new position at a higher level within his current company. He sold it to his boss, explaining how new technology could save training dollars and pay for his job within the first year. It took a full month of negotiating, but the company eventually added a Director of eLearning position paying 86% more than his old salary.
New Position: Director eLearning
Days in Search: 35
Old Salary: $45K
New Salary: $84K (86% Increase)