Jim
Jim came to our office having just completed his degree at age 45. He wanted a new career which fulfilled his passion for medical service. His current job as a purchasing agent for a high tech company was at a dead end. After completing his assessment testing and validation research, Jim indicated that he always wanted to be a surgeon, but, did not want to go to medical school. We began research into the medical professional field and discovered that manufacturers of medical supplies, specifically hip joints, required the salesperson to be present in the operating room directing the surgeon during the operation. Jim had found his ideal job without going back to medical school.
Betty
Betty wanted to supplement the family income since recently becoming an empty nester. As a career homemaker, she had a few college courses, but no marketplace work experience. After completing her assessment and validation we discovered that she had a strong potential for sales as well as an interest in the hospitality industry. In two months Betty had discovered a hotel which wanted to expand its market share. This was a hidden job. She made contact, they hired her. Later she found that she had replaced a sales manager who has a master’s degree in marketing.
Mike
Mike was a recent Portland, Oregon college graduate with a degree in journalism. He had been unsuccessful in getting a job and for two years met expenses by house painting contract work. His talent for writing was confirmed by his aptitude testing. Among the several writing outlets he considered, magazine publishing was on the top three list. Within three months he secured a hidden job, full time writing position with a prominent magazine in Chicago.
Denny
Denny came to us hoping we could help him. For over ten years he had only been able to secure short term carpentry jobs. He was disillusioned that there could be anything better. After completing his aptitude testing we found a talent for writing and a passion for political advocacy. One of his top ten suggested career goals was a market research analyst for a market research company. Denny researched the field and within 3 months secured a hidden job with one of the largest market research companies in his city.
Ann
Ann was released from a very secure job with a large city government department. She was a single mother of three and had only held clerical office positions. After her assessment testing we discovered her aptitude for inter design. She had no college, nor experience in that area with exception of decorating her own home. The potential of being an interior designer fulfilled her passion and directed her to research local home developers. She found a hidden job with one of the most prominent developers in her area who needed an office administrator. After getting the offer, she negotiated her job duties to include interior decorating for the spec homes the developer built.
Charles
Charles was terminated from a position in the accounting office of a large organization. He stated that as long as he had to look for a new job, he might as well find something that really fit his passion and talent. After completing his assessment testing we discovered that he wanted to pursue a start-up science based company which had a unique eco friendly product. His research identifies several companies which led to a new venture which made water heaters with no moving parts. Although this was the ideal product, the company had failed to turn a profit in its first 3 years. There was no money to hire him. We coached him to explore further and found that the company’s strength was engineer, not accounting. Charles also discovered that the company’s product was selected as the “science discovery of the month to be featured on the front cover of Popular Science magazine in 6 months. Charles proposed an offer to assist the company to help balance their finances in exchange for a nominal contractual fee. If successful, his agreement allowed for a renewal, leading to full time employment. Within one year he became vice president of finance and was given a competitive salary.
Bill
Bill was a manufacturing CEO and wanted to transition into the non-profit community. He had no experience in that field, yet had a passion to serve the public interest. After testing we discovered that he had a passion for history. His love for history led to a search of the Historical society for his state and discovered a hidden executive position with that organization. Because of his past success as a businessman he was offered a position, yet, his research had identified that a prominent former politician was a dominant presence on the board. Bill felt that his ability to lead might be compromised by this person. After coaching Bill around this barrier, he was able to negotiate an agreement with the board member that would allow him the freedom to lead the historical society through the changes needed in the years ahead.
Janette
Janette at 45 was the granddaughter of a nationally recognized minority rights advocate. As an African American, she was frustrated that she couldn’t follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as she had only been able to achieve traditional office administrative positions. After her assessment testing, we discovered that she had talent for public speaking and encouraged her to seriously consider developing this aptitude. For three years we did not hear from Janette. One day we received a thank you email from an African American businessman whom we had assessed and coached in a similar manner. To our surprise, he had met Janette in another state through an independent contact and somehow IDAK came up in the conversation. He reported that our time with Janette had been the spark to give her the conviction to mobilize her talents. She had advanced to a position of prominence on her own in keeping with her grandfather’s legacy.
Debra
Debra felt like a misfit at 46. She had recently held a senior management position in a dental lab and due to ownership change was transitioned out. She said that she had no interest in returning to the dental industry. After her aptitude testing, we discovered that one of her passions included helping men and women in drug/alcohol recovery. Debra only had one semester of community college, and felt that this was too distant a dream. After researching local area employers, she discovered a prominent agency which sponsored its own counselor training program. If she was willing to complete the program, she would have a job at the end as an agency counselor. She took the job, finished the internship and began her counseling career.
Phil
Phil had spent all of his work life, 30+ years working for one company in manufacturing quality control. When management changed, he was transitioned out with a one year settlement package. As we reviewed his assessment results, he stated that he wanted to pursue one of the options recommended, Youth foster care. Phil had no college education and the position he wanted had individuals with masters degrees in line to fill application forms. Phil almost gave up hope. We coached him to research further, specifically looking for any state agency internship training programs which might exist. After several meetings with department heads, Phil did find an internship program which was designed to train individuals for the very position he was seeking. He completed the training and entered his dream position.
