The CareerZeus Origin Story

The CareerZeus Origin Story

A blog post by The CareerZeus. Posted on July 22, 2024.

For over two decades, I worked as a headhunter. Ran my own firm. The money was good. But the work was often frustrating. Couldn't help most of the people who crossed my path. That was part of the frustration. The executive search business model is driven by hiring companies and their incentives. We focused on the best fit for the client. There was no room to assist job seekers who didn’t fit.

One exception to this reality: the private advice I gave to those close to me. My wife stands out as the prime example.

Her story is, in small part, a testament to the power of good career and job-changing advice.

Kyoko graduated from The Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, a well-regarded institution in Japan. This pedigree landed her a position at Honda Motor Company, one of Japan's most coveted employers. In Japan, joining such a prestigious company often means a job for life.

Not for Kyoko, though. Within months, she realized Honda wasn’t for her. The culture was stifling, processes and IT antiquated, and her assignments seemed random and disconnected from her background and interests. Many would have stayed, resigned to their fate. Not Kyoko.

On my advice and with my support she made her move. She left Honda without another job lined up. Didn't even tell her family. They would have freaked. Camped out in my Tokyo apartment and started her job hunt from there. (We weren't married at the time, so this added to her reluctance to reveal to her parents what she was up to.)

After some months, she joined Indigo, a startup tech company that was Honda's polar opposite. No corporate structure. Pure chaos. They put her in charge of public relations. At age 23, with no prior experience. No qualifications at all. It was sink-or-swim.

This chaos became the foundation of Kyoko's future success. She had to learn fast, acquire new skills on the fly, and constantly adapt to the unexpected.

Two years of adventures in anarchy apparently made her an attractive hire for one of the world's top PR agencies, Gavin Anderson. She joined and over the next seven years, she climbed to the position of Director. From there, she moved through a couple of corporate PR roles before landing as global Chief Communications Officer at Dai-Ichi Life, one of Japan's and the world's largest life insurance companies.

Kyoko's stellar career is her own achievement, built on her intelligence, hard work, and ambition. I am proud of her and admire how she has grown throughout our twenty-five years of partnership.

Which brings us back to me. Kyoko often credits my advice at critical junctures. It helped shape her trajectory.

Here are some of the ways I helped her:

- Crafted and updated her résumé

- Reviewed her LinkedIn profile to steer her away from common pitfalls

- Advised on headhunter relationships, drawing from my 20+ years as a recruiter

- Offered clarity on confusing recruiter or hiring manager requests

- Guided responses to interview hiccups

- Eased her stress by providing perspective, and sometimes shifting it

- Decoded job offers and advised on negotiations

- Advised on role specifics and negotiating them: seniority, title, responsibilities, and timeline of the job change

- Helped prepare references for success

As my interest in executive search waned, Kyoko encouraged me to turn my advisory skills into a new business venture.

That's how The CareerZeus was born.

I also offer interview prep and training, and advice on job-hunting strategies that transcend the usual recruiter channels. You can find the details on my Services page.

This post is also available on my LinkedIn feed. Feel free to leave questions and comments there.

The CareerZeus Origin StoryA blog post by The CareerZeus. Posted on July 22, 2024.

The CareerZeus Origin Story

A blog post by The CareerZeus. Posted on July 22, 2024.