Firm Helps Execs Get Their Job-seeking Groove Back

Veteran executives may find the job-seeking experience more frustrating today than expected.

“It’s a different world,” says Steve Spires, managing director of the BPI Group, which coaches executives seeking new positions.

Speaking with FBN’s Jeff Flock for this edition of Conference Room, Spires says executives who have gotten comfortable at one company may find the hiring process disorienting.

“The longer you’ve been with a company, the more difficult it is, because change is not easy. So we have to help them develop a new skillset … and assimilate to a new company,” says Spires.

Lisa Bretones, vice president at Brunswick Bowling and Billiards, says she knows firsthand how challenging it is to leave an executive position at a great company. For a dozen years, Bretones worked in human resources at McDonald’s, where she reached the director level.

“In HR, I see other people go through it all the time, but it’s very different when you’re going through it yourself …The tools are different, the tech is different, the expectations are different -- which is why having someone guide me through each step … was really helpful,” says Bretones. She says it was crucial to have advice from an unbiased expert – someone with whom she wasn’t personally or professionally connected.

“It really is priceless … I don’t know if I would have ended up making a change [otherwise],” says Bretones.