Client Case Study

FROM PARALYZED TO HIRED.

Andre spent a decade away from merchandising and worried his resume would never measure up. Once he named the perfectionism underneath the delay, it took nine days from first call to offer.

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The Challenge

A 10-year gap on the merchandising side, a family health crisis pulling at his focus, and a lifelong perfectionism that made him "the poster child for procrastination."

The Shift

Naming the self-limiting beliefs rooted in childhood and a toxic former CEO, then physically stepping away from the day-to-day to act on them.

The Outcome

9 days from first call to offer for a DMM role at Nebraska Furniture Mart, in his hometown, with 6 buyers reporting to him.

Olivia Gamber

A Note From The Founder

Olivia Gamber, CEO

Andre came to us mid-search, carrying more than most people carry into a job hunt. His mother's health was declining. He was weighing whether to take a lower-tier role just to keep cash flow steady while he waited for the real opportunity to surface. And underneath all of it sat a quieter fear: that a decade on the planning side of retail had left too big a gap for anyone to take him seriously on the merchandising side again.

What made Andre's story stick with me wasn't the outcome, though the outcome is remarkable. It was watching him trace his own procrastination back to its root. A father who never once said "well done." A former CEO who made perfection the price of survival. Andre had been carrying both of those men into every job application, every delayed outreach, every reason to wait one more day.

The breakthrough wasn't a tactic. It was a light bulb. He realized he had been using his mother's situation as a reason to avoid the work he needed to do. Once he saw that clearly, he moved. And moved fast.

THE WEIGHT HE WAS CARRYING

Andre

I just was worried that someone would look at my resume and not necessarily feel that my recent work experience would match up... I haven't been on the merchandising side for 10 years or so, I've been on the planning side in retail. They're interrelated, and it's kind of like riding a bike, once you know it you don't lose it. But I just was worried.

“It's my perfectionism. I couldn't get past my perfectionism to the point where I would avoid, I would put off. I was the poster child for procrastination.”

Andre

My dad was a great guy, he's now passed away, but he never issued any approval on anything. There was nothing that was ever celebrated, there was never a finish line. There was never you accomplished this goal, congratulations, let's celebrate. It was always well, it's the next goal, what's the next goal.

And then the other thing is I worked for this company, Gordman's... every meeting was just almost torture. You always had to be perfect. And I think that bubbled over into my life after Gordman's and probably led to some of the problems that I was experiencing in my previous job.

THE LIGHT BULB

Andre

Well, I think the main thing that the program helped me with was really the self-limiting beliefs.

“I think it finally took that light bulb going off that I was letting my mom kind of be a reason for me to avoid what I needed to do.”

Andre

As soon as I got back to Philadelphia and was away from the day-to-day, I just put my head down and worked through both my internal network... and I'm gonna keep that up because this, while this is a great job, it's in a great location. I couldn't be happier about it.

NINE DAYS

Andre

I had a friend of my wife who is a VP at a company in Omaha in HR. She happened to have a very good friend who's a VP in HR at Nebraska Furniture Mart, so I called my wife's friend and got in touch with the VP at Nebraska Furniture Mart... and I got everything in, got my cover letter written specifically for them, changed my resume so that it was more of a match for the job.

It turns out that my supervisor who I had the second interview with, I was his wife's DMM at one of my earlier jobs at Gordman's, she was one of my buyers. So when my name came up she gave me a glowing recommendation. I don't know how much more valuable a recommendation could be coming from a spouse.

“I basically got the call and in nine days got the offer.”

Andre

I know I probably wasn't your poster child for the exact [Career Evolved] process... but I certainly wasn't the 10 emails a day guy.

Ready to Stop Applying?

Andre carried a decade-old gap, a family crisis, and a lifetime of perfectionism into his search, and still landed an offer in nine days once the real work started. Your breakthrough is closer than you think.

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Read the full transcript

Andre: i just was worried that someone would look at my resume and not necessarily um feel that my recent work experience would match up

Andre: it's my perfectionism i couldn't get past my perfectionism um to the point where i would avoid i would put off i would you know i was the uh poster child for procrastination

Andre: my dad was a great guy he's now passed away but he never issued any approval on anything there was nothing that was ever celebrated there was nothing that was ever you know um the more i did the more he expected and there was never like a finish line there was never uh

Andre: but i think it finally took that i think that light bulb going off that i was letting my mom kind of be a reason for me to avoid what i needed to do

Andre: well i think the the main thing that the program helped me with was really the the the

Andre: of as soon as i got back to philadelphia and was away from the day-to-day i just kind of put my head down and and worked through both my internal network

Andre: so i did some research i did some research on the ceo he happened to they did an internal company podcast so it actually was narrated by the cmo and the the interviewee was the ceo so i got to even see how the two of them interplayed together in their conversations and found out some really cool stuff about the ceo i i was able to you know really figure out that his things that he values were very similar to the things that i value so it it not only gave me information but it gave me some confirmation that i was on the right path and that i felt really confident going to this interview because

Andre: yeah i'll be the the dmm uh i'll have six buyers that report to me

Andre: i basically got the call and in nine days got the offer

Andre: i had one company string me along for almost two months before they um made their final decision well

Andre: stepmom went over there met with him they did the video thing and i mean it's a it's a modest house but it's a three bedroom with a really nice backyard and it's fenced for our dogs and um he's like i'll give it to you for two thousand a month and he goes oh and by the way no dog deposit no uh no security deposit i know you your family and you know that like my first paycheck's coming in like the third week of april we're gonna move in april 15th i start on march 30th and he goes you

Andre: it comes down to my one of the things two major things in my life my parents were divorced when i was very young i was

Andre: i think that that bubbled over into my life after gordman's and probably led to some of the problems that i was experiencing in my

Andre: it turns out that my supervisor who i had the second interview with i was his wife's dmm at one of my earlier jobs at gordon she was one of my buyers i

Andre: i plan to do is to make extra connections there keep in touch with people that i've kind of reconnected with so that i i keep as many you know spokes leading back to to me um of the people that i know