From time to time we interview a client or former client about his or her career transition and their experience with Kelleher Associates. 

Ned Gordon was in the midst of outplacement with another company when he met Mitch Wienick, of Kelleher Associates, at an ExecuNet meeting. Ned shared his experiences in his career transition with us as he began the second week of his new job as Director of Global Marketing for Laboratory Automation with Dade Behring, Inc. the world's largest company solely dedicated to clinical diagnostics.

Would you summarize your career to this point?

I’ve been in the laboratory and analytical instrument industry for the past five years, most recently with Mettler Toledo, Inc. where I was the General Manager for the chemistry solutions business area. I’ve been very interested in life sciences, and find it to be a very exciting area rich with innovation, product development and growth. It’s also important to me because life sciences improves the quality of life in many ways. Prior to that, I had worked Rohm & Haas for nine years. It was a great experience, with several management development assignments.

Why was your recent career transition so unusual?

I had never been in this situation before. When I left Rohm & Haas for Mettler Toledo, it was because I had been identified by a retained search firm. I was laid off by Mettler Toledo due to a management restructuring, but they gave me a separation package that included outplacement services with a company other than Kelleher Associates.

How did you find out about Kelleher Associates?

I had been working with this other outplacement firm for about three months when I met Mitch Wienick at an ExecuNet meeting. I had a number of job leads I was working on through the other company, but what I found missing there was a dedicated person who could brainstorm with me and help me in developing my campaign strategy--which is what Mitch does at Kelleher Associates. In my fourth month of working with the other company, I made a decision to work with Mitch at Kelleher Associates. The other company did a good job of helping me put together the basic tools like my resume and cover letters, as well as ways of developing job leads. But what I found to be the critical difference, and the reason for a successful landing at Dade Behring, was Mitch. No one at the other company had an in-depth relationship with me; Mitch took time with me personally, over the course of several months, to meet one-on-one with me every week. Mitch helped me refine my strategy, he brainstormed with me, and he coached me. He had critical insights that were instrumental in moving the interview process forward.

What were some of those insights?

One was about leadership, how the role of a leader at Dade Behring might be considered differently than other leadership roles I had held in the past. Mitch hit the nail on the head when we talked about relational leadership, how working in a matrix organization with people who are not directly reporting to me can work. We discussed building coalitions, gaining support, setting priorities, communication with the organization, and rewarding team achievements. It was extremely helpful in one of the six rounds of interviews I had with Dade Behring. He also helped me prepare what my strategy would be when I had the job, what I would do next in the job, and prepped me for my interview with the company’s CEO.

Are there lessons you learned you would share with others in your place?

You have to have perseverance and stay positive. It’s a lot of work, but you have to stay positive and upbeat. You also need to pursue many leads and opportunities and it’s helpful to have a lot of opportunities at different stages. It’s almost like a sales pipeline. You never know what might happen with one of the opportunities; in many cases it is out of your control. The key is to pursue as many opportunities as possible. I would also emphasize networking, which for me was truly enjoyable. I will never forget the generosity of people with their time, expertise and advice. I developed some strong relationships and I believe in giving back, so I plan to continue my relationships with the people I met along the way.

Would you recommend Kelleher Associates in the future?

Yes, because Mitch Wienick took the time to understand my personality and background, and developed a personal relationship with me when the previous company did not. I was four months into the process with the other company, my time with them was winding down, and I felt something was missing. I had met Mitch a month before, and while the other company had helped me with most of the backdrop, it was the one-on-one relationship with Mitch that had the greatest impact on my successful landing.