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December 2004
After his position as General Counsel for a U.S. division of a global engineering firm was eliminated, John Attanasio made the decision to seek a new career in the nonprofit sector and needed an outplacement firm that was right for him.
How did you choose Kelleher Associates?
My wife had a colleague who had worked with Kelleher in making a career change and had been very pleased with the experience.
Although my previous company had a contract with a national outplacement firm, and would have covered the full cost of working with that firm, I chose instead to accept a partial reimbursement for the Kelleher program and pay the rest myself, because I felt that Kelleher was a better choice.
You switched from the for-profit to non-profit sector. How did you come to this decision and how did Kelleher assist in the process?
Even before my position was eliminated, I knew that I eventually wanted to make a change to the non-profit sector. I had always volunteered and served on advisory boards and was very interested in giving back to the community in a full-time position.
Mitch Wienick, my Kelleher consultant, helped me identify more concretely my areas of interest and then guided me in the strategies and techniques needed to find the right job. We started by spending many weeks working together to identify and describe my relevant skills and accomplishments and then putting together what I think turned out to be a powerful resume. This step was particularly important because I was seeking to switch not only sectors, but also career areas: from law to more general management. Mitch also helped me develop a deeper sense of who I was and how that could be translated into articulating my strong career interests.
What key strategies and techniques did you use to position yourself for the non-profit world and what help did Kelleher Associates give you in that process?
While working with Mitch on evaluating my interests and creating my resume, I also immersed myself in researching and learning about Philadelphia-area nonprofit organizations and their leadership. I also stepped up my volunteer activities to take on new projects that would expand my skills and experience. Mitch also introduced me to Leadership, Inc., which is a training program focused on developing leaders for the non-profit sector.
Most importantly, I started networking aggressively. Mitch was great as a networking coach. He did everything from showing me how to go out there and do it, to giving me names of some specific contacts. He put me in touch with some key people in the local non-profit sector.
What is your current position and what rewards and challenges are you discovering in your new role?
My title is Director of Planning, Policy and Public Engagement at United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Among my many tasks, I have a key role in planning how the United Way invests money in the local community and in evaluating the results.
The reward is obvious to me—I feel that I am doing work for the common good. As for challenges, it is sometimes difficult to determine how to optimize the work you do at a non-profit, but my background in law and business is proving to be very well-suited to the analytical work I am doing at United Way. Also, the information I learned and the contacts I made during my search are proving to be helpful now that I am in this position.
How do you feel about Kelleher in general?
It would have been very difficult for me to get the type of position I have without the help that Kelleher offered. Mitch focused me, and encouraged me, and offered everything from coaching to networking contacts. He really helped me figure out how to translate my skills and experience into a position that was right for me. I would recommend Mitch and Kelleher Associates to anyone looking to make a career change.
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