Client Case Study

FROM RESUME RECITALS TO DIAGNOSIS.

A veteran HR director spent months doom scrolling LinkedIn and applying like everyone else. He landed his next role the moment he stopped reciting his background and started solving the room's problem.

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Matt, Career Evolved client

Watch Matt's story

The Challenge

115 applications in about three months converted to only three or four interviews. Outplacement support was built for cookie-cutter roles, not an executive-level search.

The Shift

Traded doom scrolling and resume-first applying for a value proposition statement and the doctor framework, built through structured mindset and strategy work.

The Outcome

A panel interview that never touched his resume, closed over an in-person lunch an hour and a half from home, and an offer he calls phenomenal and earned.

Olivia Gamber

A Note From The Founder

Olivia Gamber, CEO

Matt came to us with almost thirty years in human resources and a resume that could speak for itself. That was part of the problem. He'd been laid off in October, handed to an outplacement firm built for manager-level, cookie-cutter roles, and left to run his own search at a level it wasn't designed to serve.

So he did what most senior candidates do. He doom scrolled LinkedIn every day, applied to whatever fit, and watched the numbers not work. 115 applications in three months. A handful of interviews. He knew the math wasn't going to get him hired again, but as a certified executive coach himself, admitting he needed outside help was its own hurdle.

What struck me on our first call wasn't desperation, it was fatigue. He'd been the person giving this advice to other executives for decades. Now he needed someone to hand it back to him differently. I told him plainly: join if it helps, don't if it doesn't, I'm not going to sell you on it. He talked to his wife that weekend. She told him what he already knew.

The Grind Before The Turn

Matt

I got outplacement from my previous position back in October of 2025. So it was a long process... I don't think they're good with positions that I was looking for. They're great with cookie cutter type jobs, maybe manager type roles, support type roles. But that's not what I needed in my career and where I was at in my stage.

So I was doing the proverbial doom scrolling on LinkedIn, looking for jobs. And every day it gets very tedious... So it comes very mind numbing. And it's very frustrating to do that doom scrolling on LinkedIn all the time.

Matt

I think at one point, I think I had employed for 115 jobs in probably three months... let's say 85 are realistic, right? But out of 85, I was getting maybe three or four interviews. That's not going to get you a job.

“It's hard sometimes to step back and realize that you need to look at something differently, and swallow your pride and realize that what had been working five, ten years ago is no longer going to work.”

A Low-Pressure Call, A Hard Look In The Mirror

Matt

I came across [Career Evolved]. I listened to Olivia's podcast. I listened to see, what was it all about? Did I need something different? Was this something that I could leverage better for my abilities and what I was looking for?

She's like, listen, you want to join? That's great. You don't want to join? That's great, too. I'm not going to strong arm you. I'm not going to twist your arm and tell you that you have to join... So I took that to heart and I thought about it over the weekend. Talk to my wife. She's like, I think you just need to do it. You need to change. And I recognize you need to change.

Swapping The Resume For A Diagnosis

“At a certain level, everyone has the same background. Everybody has the same degrees, the same certifications, the same basic experiences of work. It really comes down to your mindset.”

Matt

Work through the 50 reasons why. Work through a step-by-step process to ultimately build to your value proposition, which I think for me was really critical... It's something that really goes to the core of who you are and what value you're going to bring to the organization.

I need to set myself apart. I need to do something different and it needs to be, how can I help you and how can I be positive and how can I really have my personality really shine through.

Matt

During the panel interview when I had the four of them around and they were all just bombarding me with like, okay, I have this problem... I'm like, oh, well, this is what I would do. This is what I've done in the past.

They really didn't talk about my resume at all. It was all about, okay, here's our problem. What would you suggest we do here?

The Offer, Sealed Over Lunch

“I know I can do this job. I can be successful in this role. You're just going to give me the chance. As long as you give me the chance, if it's not this job, there'll be something else.”

Matt

I'm like, yeah, I've got this job. If they don't hire me, I don't know who they're looking for because there's nobody else who can do this.

Ready to Stop Applying?

Matt spent three months proving that 115 applications wasn't the answer. If you're running the same math with the same result, let's talk about a different approach.

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Read the full transcript

Matt: I got outplacement from my previous position back in October of 2025. So it was a long process. So I think we all know the fourth quarter is a rough time to be looking for a job for anybody because companies really, they dial it back. It's not a time to be looking for a job.

Matt: I don't think they're good with positions that I was looking for. They're great with cookie cutter type jobs, maybe manager type roles, support type roles. I think they do probably a good job with that. But that's not what I needed in my career and where I was at in my stage. So I was looking for something

Matt: So I was doing the proverbial doom scrolling on LinkedIn, looking for jobs. And every day it gets very tedious. Right. Because I think we've all done that. Right. You see the job just like, well, I'm qualified for that job. And and why are they not hiring? Why are they not calling me back? I understand this. I could do this job. You know, I did this job 10 years ago. What was going on? Like, why? Why are they not hiring? So but it comes very mind numbing. Right. And it's very frustrating to do that doom scrolling on LinkedIn all the time.

Matt: It's hard sometimes to step back and realize that you need to look at something differently, right? And swallow your pride and realize that what had been working five, ten years ago is no longer going to work, right? Five, ten years ago, when you're

Matt: And I think at one point, I think I had employed for 115 jobs in probably three months, which I think most people will probably do, right? Because you apply, you see them, they're out there. I don't necessarily know if they're all being filled. I don't necessarily know if they're actually actual jobs because I've worked on the other side. And sometimes you post a job just to get some applicant flow. So I understand that some of that. So maybe, let's say 85 are realistic, right? But out of 85, I was getting maybe three or four interviews. That's not going to get you a job. That's not going to get your next career. And that's going to get you what you

Matt: I came across Brewery Vault. And, you know, I listened to Olivia's podcast. I listened to see, you know, what was it all about? Did I need something different? Was

Matt: She's like, listen, you want to join? That's great. You don't want to join? That's great, too. I'm not going to heart. I'm not going to strong arm you. I'm not going to twist

Olivia: was just, but you guys are also top performers that know there's just millimeter tweaks that can make all the difference. So what would you say that millimeter tweak was for you that made all the difference?

Matt: of it, I'm like, yeah, I've got this job. I, if they don't hire me, I don't know who they're looking for because there's nobody else who can do this.

[Question shown on screen]: So what would you say that millimeter tweak was for you that made all the difference?

Matt: I think it's really, it's not really, it's a mindset. And I get the positivity, I understand, but it's just, it's having it all the time, right?

Matt: I think it's something I'm just swallowing your pride. You're like, listen, I know I can do this job. I can, I can, I can be successful in this role. You're just going to give me the chance. As long as you give me the chance, if it's not this job, there'll be something else. Right. And I think other people in the community are like, it's once you, once you kind of make that switch in your head that, hey, listen, I can be successful in this job, but if it's not this job, there's something else coming down the pike. Listen, I'm too talented and I'm too good. And I've been around way too long that I'm going to land something. Right. If it's not this, it's okay. And I'll move on to the next one. Right.

Matt: Work through the 50 reasons why. Work through kind of a step-by-step process to ultimately build to your value proposition, which I think for me was really critical, right?

Matt: It's something that really goes to the core of who you are and what value you're going to bring to the organization.

Matt: I need to set myself apart. I need to do something different and it needs to be, how can I help you and how can I be positive and how can I really have my personality really shine through, right? I think that's probably where the change occurred. And that's really where the change for me really had to happen. It was really kind of focusing in on what are your issues? What are your challenges? How can I help you

Matt: talk about my resume at all. It was all about, okay, here's, here's our problem. What would you suggest we do here? Here's our problem here. What would you suggest was here?