Client Case Study

FROM TITLE TO VALUE.

Amy left a 13-year role unsure how to describe herself without it. Three months later she was VP of Operations, negotiated above the stated salary cap, through a single relationship in her network.

← Back to All Client Results

The Challenge

Amy left Live Ops after 13 years and struggled to describe her value outside a title and a company. One recruiter told her that same tenure would 'really hurt' her.

The Shift

Three months from layoff to signed offer, sourced entirely through one network relationship and a single coffee conversation with the company president.

The Outcome

VP of Operations offer negotiated about 5% above the stated salary cap, with no pay cut and no other candidates considered.

Olivia Gamber

A Note From The Founder

Olivia Gamber, CEO

Amy came to us right after leaving Live Ops, a company she'd been with for 13 years. She was navigating networking events and happy hours, and kept running into the same question: so, what do you do? For most of her career the answer had been easy, because it was tied to a title and a company. Now that both were gone, she felt lost answering it.

One recruiter told her outright that her long tenure would hurt her in this market. That's the story a lot of people carry after a layoff, that loyalty and depth somehow become liabilities. Amy didn't fully believe that story, but she didn't yet have the language to argue with it either.

What changed wasn't a stack of applications. It was a relationship in a peer group she'd belonged to for years, a role-play session on positioning right before the conversation that mattered, and Amy's own willingness to name her value plainly instead of performing enthusiasm. Three months later she had a VP offer, above range, from a president who never looked at another candidate.

BEYOND THE TITLE

Amy

And one of the hardest things, whether it's a business oriented gathering or a social one is, oh, so what do you do? That question for me was always tied to a title and a company. And so I felt lost when I answered that for a while.

But through this program, I really helped to nail down my X, Y, D statements... I'm a growth oriented operator. Most recently I was here, here's where I'm going next. And so it provided me just a much better way to define who I am.

“I learned that I'm bigger than one company, than one title, than one role.”

THE CONVERSATION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Amy

This will come as no surprise, but it all came through my network... when Lynn was telling this gentleman about me and said, Amy's no longer with live ops and his immediate response was, my gosh, she's available. Immediately that was the seed planted.

You were doing the role plays talking about when you're talking with the CEO, you've got about 15 minutes to captivate them and you want to be the doctor and diagnose, but you also have to have some confidence behind it... We had that session on Wednesday and I'm out with him on that Friday and it just gave me a different edge and confidence to the conversation.

Olivia Gamber

Clearly you picked up the doctor framework, you dove in and you positioned yourself... when you became the only viable solution, he didn't even, yes, for him to not even want to look at other options, just demonstrates how well you executed in that... You just killed the competition with one shot. That's incredible.

“The best way to beat him is not have him.”

NEGOTIATING FROM VALUE

Amy

So they provided this range, which was slightly below where I'd want it to be. So I countered with something that was closer to where I wanted... I said, I think we're close. I'm really excited about this. I've not seen the full benefits, but here's where my value is. And we really wordsmith that to say, it's not where I want it to be. It's this is my value and I know it. So let's talk about how we get there.

I have a call in three hours with this second company. I would love to let them know that I've already accepted your job, but we've got to get through, I want to make sure we're there.

“It's this is my value and I know it. So let's talk about how we get there.”

CHOOSING PURPOSE OVER A BIGGER PAYCHECK

Olivia Gamber

So I saw you clearly used one of the companies as leverage to create urgency and demand. So what made you go with one company over the other?

Amy

Values is probably one of the biggest things... I really liked that purpose oriented work. That's a big thing for me.

The second thing was the other role would have kept me really in the BPO contact center space. And part of why I wanted the help from [Career Evolved] is to pivot to a different industry... I wouldn't have had my own team to help nurture and mentor. I wouldn't have had a seat at the table that makes the main decisions. Yes, it was a much larger company. So I could have perhaps gotten more money or there could have been growth down the road, but I felt like I could make a much bigger impact at the organization I selected.

“It's not a good use of time... it's much better to be hitting the ground, making connections.”

Ready to Stop Applying?

Amy's VP offer came from one relationship and one well-prepared conversation, not a stack of applications. If you're ready to find out what that looks like for you, let's talk.

Book Your Career Diagnostic → Watch More Results
Read the full transcript

Amy: I was in his kind of peripheral, I think that gave him confidence to start to put the wheels in motion for a reorg and some needed change. So I waited a couple of weeks until I was in the right mindset. So I do give credit to this group and this program for helping me prepare and get in that mindset. Um, especially after a layoff that is never easy, um,

Amy: And one of the hardest things, whether it's a business oriented gathering or a social one is, Oh, so what do you do? That question for me was always tied to a title and a company. And so I felt kind of lost when I answered that for a while,

Olivia: do that and get it done in 90 days without having to take a pay cut. That's huge.

Amy: I talked to one recruiter early on and he was like, tell me your story. And I was like, well, I've had this company for the past 13 years. And he was like, Ooh, that's going to really hurt you. Um,

Amy: when Lynn was telling this gentleman about, uh, me and said, you know, Amy's no longer with live ops and his immediate response was, oh my gosh, she's available. And so immediately that was the seed planted.

Amy: you were doing the role plays talking about when you're talking with the CEO, you've got about 15 minutes to captivate them and you want to be the, uh, the doctor and diagnose, but you also have to have some confidence behind it. I'm an actually curious person, but I wasn't always thinking of how do I put the, Oh, and by the way, what you're solving right now, I've done that before too. So timing was great. We had that session on Wednesday and I'm out with him on that Friday and it just gave me a different, I think, edge and confidence to the conversation.

Olivia: where it was not, he didn't see the need and you created such a trust. And I mean, you had everything lined up. So congratulations. Seriously, I'm so proud of you. This is just amazing.

Amy: it's not a good use of time. It's much better to be hitting the ground, making connections,

Amy: It was above the range. And part of the reason is it's a community owned company by the salt river, uh, community. And so there's certain, uh, rules and structures they have to follow with grades and pay scales. Um, but the fact that he's able to go above and beyond was a really good gesture for me.

Olivia: Wow. That's awesome. You got the purpose and you, it sounds like you're pretty, you're pretty satisfied with your compensation. Do you feel like you got your, the value you were expecting?

Amy: this is about a quarter of the size of my last company.

Amy: through this program, I really helped to nail down my X, Y, D statements. So those social gatherings, those minglings, it was far easier to say, I'm a growth, uh, growth oriented operator. Most recently I was here, here's where I'm going next. And so it provided me just a much better way to define who I am. And I'll probably continue to do that because I learned that I'm bigger than one company, than one title, than one role.

Amy: this will come as no surprise, but it all came through my network. Um, one of, uh, the people I'm close with, I'm in a group called Vistage

Amy: A lot of people don't have positions right now, but once you're in their, their brains, like they don't let that go. Then it's like, whenever they see something that they can make a move. In fact, the contact I reached out to that introduced me to Media Alpha, which was the second company I was talking to. She reached out for her own company and she was like, Hey, I know you might still be talking to them, but I want to talk to you about my opportunity. Then here's what I'm looking to do. Would you be interested? And at that point I'd already had two ones and I was like, not really my thing, but here's a few candidates you might want to consider. But she didn't stop thinking about me, even though she, you know, referred me to another organization.

Amy: I positioned it around how I've seen a company evolve and grow, get, I've been there through growth spurts. I've been there and had to dig through the muck when things were hard. And I think that has been more of an asset than, uh, than anything else, but it's all in the perspective. So

Amy: It's this is my value and I know it. So let's talk about how we get there.

Olivia: what made you go with one company over the other?

Amy: it was a much larger company. So I could have perhaps gotten, uh, more money or there could have been growth down the road, but I felt like I could make a much bigger impact at the organization I selected.

Amy: said, I have a call in three hours with this second company. I would love to let them know that I've already accepted your job, but we've got to get through, you know, I want to make sure we're there. He's like,