INTOO’s on-demand coaching was instrumental in guiding Steven McIntosh to accept his role of Chief Officer for Education at the Tenement Museum.
Steven’s first experience using outplacement gave him in-the-moment know-how to proceed confidently with each step of his job search.
On taking his next step
When I was first laid off, I felt the weight of having to take charge of my job search process. There was stress around not wanting to approach things the wrong way which created a level of apprehension and doubt. One worry I had was that I’d been out of the job search game for nine years. Thinking about my resume, LinkedIn, and cover letters, I knew I needed to learn the current best practices, which is why I took the step of registering for the outplacement program my former employer offered me through INTOO.
“The coaches really helped me develop a level of confidence that allowed me to take the next step.”
On the emotional part of the job search
It was helpful to always have an expert available when I needed someone who could speak to my particular needs—and encourage me along the way—which helped me stay motivated and gave me more confidence that I wasn’t overlooking anything.
On the program’s live webinars
It was funny because it always seemed like whatever step was next for me, I’d get a coaching webinar invite from INTOO that covered that topic. The coach leading the webinars was great. She fielded a lot of questions and I learned things that I didn’t anticipate I’d learn.
On the interview process
I was in the candidacy process for three jobs. I had a job offer from one company, I was a final candidate and moving towards the last round of interviews at a second, and then was waiting for an offer for this third job that I was most interested in. Talking through it with a coach was helpful. I wondered if the offer was a leverage point. Do I go back to this employer who I’m excited for, but I don’t want to put pressure on? The coach was really helpful with plotting out the best course of action. She said, I know you really want to get an answer, but just write to them first, see how they respond, and if you don’t get a response by tomorrow, try giving them a call. All that proved to be really great advice. I wrote them, received a follow-up call from HR the next day, and in that call learned that I was a high-interest candidate. That gave me the confidence to decline the one job offer and pull myself from consideration of the second.
“Every time I followed the coach’s advice it turned out really well.”
On getting help to get out of his own way
When I got this job offer, I contacted a coach about whether to negotiate my offer or not. She asked me how I felt about the company and job. I said, I love the people—they’re super. She asked how I felt about the compensation and benefits. I told her they were in the range of what I was looking for. She said, if you’re feeling good about all this and you know there’s a trajectory to grow at the organization, it sounds like you got a really great opportunity. It was really helpful to have an external voice to confirm that.
“The coaches’ expertise, insights, and wisdom were really helpful—answering questions I didn’t even know to ask.”
INTOO offers a variety of outplacement programs suitable for every member of your organization. Our caring approach helps individuals take the next meaningful step in their careers. Contact us today to learn more.
Robyn Kern is a seasoned business writer who has written in the HR, education, technology, and nonprofit spaces. She writes about topics including outplacement, layoffs, career development, internal mobility, candidate experience, succession planning, talent acquisition, and more, with the goal of surfacing workforce trends and educating the HR community on these key topics. Her work has been featured on hrforhr.org and trainingindustry.com.
