Testimonials

Home Programs Principal Coaches NeXT Media Giving Back

Our Candidates' Testimonies

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Paul and Leena for all the guidance and encouragement during this outplacement support program.

Paul is a very patient and motivating coach, who provides customized outplacement support based on my key focus areas for career development. From the initial stage of how to structure my CV, handling of interviews, mock interview sessions and asking me to stay confident of my own abilities, all these were useful for me to develop myself professionally and navigate through tough interview sessions.

In particular, I truly appreciate the flexibility in consulting the team. There were situations where I required his advice urgently late in the evening or over the weekend. Paul is always easily contactable and responds very promptly to any inquiries.

Once again, thank you Paul and team for all the help given in guiding me on the next step of my career. 

Mid-level laboratory professional
European Chemical Giant

I had the pleasure to work with Paul as my coach for the past 8 months and he is by far, the best career coach I have worked with . He has been instrumental to help in my job search as well as preparing me well for my interviews . I truly appreciate his expertise and valuable advice as a coach with close follow up on a regular basis. Paul goes above and beyond his scope as a coach , being very responsive to my queries at all times. He has a high level of EQ and regularly checks in on me to see how I am doing. Furthermore, he is a morale booster for me when I face difficult situations. 

I am thankful for having known Paul and to have had the opportunity to work with him. I strongly recommend him as a coach to future or potential clients.

Senior HR Professional
Chemicals Industry


“Your role is no longer required, thank you for your service…” After 8years, 6 months and 12 days with the Company, they ended my career and livelihood with above line via a Zoom meeting. It was not unexpected due to the Pandemic but still hit me hard and still shaking at the thought of it until today. A week later, at a 1 on 1 meeting with the HR Director to review my final pay, I am encouraged me to meet Mr. Paul Heng from Next Career Consulting Group. I was reluctant because I do not need to talk to a Career Consultant, I need a job!

In the end, I am convinced that this Career Consultation service is well received by many ex-colleagues and consider it as a parting gift from the Company. On the same day, I had received a call from Paul. He made clear that he is aware of my situation and would like to offer his services to help me get back on my feet. laughing inside.. Help me find a job la!

Feeling sceptical about Paul, I told him all kinds of big plans about upgrading myself... how lowly educated I am and worked my way from a Jnr Secretary to a Senior Executive Assistant of a MNC. I don’t know why I told him all that, perhaps it was his calming voice that makes one want to talk to him. Perhaps it was me trying to tell him I am not a hopeless cause and definitely have the ability to find work on my own. Paul was there listening to my crap all those times and also shared some really useful materials me which I never bothered to check his email as I was busy crafting and shooting some 80-100 resumes at various job sites. Stupid!

Fast forward 1 month later, ZERO response from all the companies I had applied. I have had lowered my salary expectation to 60% of my last drawn. My resume is concise and I have a strong testimonial from my ex-boss. What went wrong? Depressed.

Paul was still there... Finally, I started paying attention to his existence, I opened his email and read through all the materials he had shared before. Those materials helped coped with my emotional burden and fear, and also highlighted my silly move to have broadcasted my resume out in the open, potentially hurting my opportunity with future Employers. A week later, Paul shared contacts of a couple trusted recruiters and advised to share my Resume with them. I did. Subsequently went through some super-thorough-unfiltered-interviews with these Recruiters. They were COMPLETELY honest/BRUTAL when comparing my abilities and experiences to other candidates. Painful.

I started spending more time listening to Paul’s work and hearing him sharing stories of other retrenched folks like myself. I tossed my old Resume and written a new one. Same stuffs but crafted to the Paul’s and Recruiter’s approval this time. In less than a month, I have landed myself 3 interview appointments. Yay!

Paul did not pack and go, he asked for another zoom meeting on how to further present myself in interviews. Sian.

But this time round I am determined to heed Paul’s advice 100% and thank God I did. Caught up with Paul before my first interview. I found myself not so eloquent when explaining my functions and strengths. Naturally he offered pointers, tips…..

2 weeks later, of the 3 interviews, I have received 2 direct offer (5-10% increment to last drawn) and a 2nd interview appointment… The rest is history.

To other job searchers like me, I sincerely hope all of you will be so fortunate to have Paul to walk with you through this journey of healing and making a comeback. Paul said this may not be my last retrenchment. Choy! But I am no longer afraid and have saved your number in my phone.

Thank you, Paul!

Mid Level Professional
Property Services



Paul is a very kind and structured coach, who shows compassion with strong emotional support, provides step-wise career development plan from career inspiration -> job searching -> resume & interview tips -> package negotiation -> on board preparation.

Instead of a standard fit-to-all approach, Paul and his team work very closely with the client to provide customized service which fits into client’s particular situation. His team has long experience in career consultation with extensive industry networks, which not only gives client professional advice but also connects client with useful resources in the job market. 

I also very much appreciated the flexible way to consult with Paul. There were situations that I need his instruction or advice urgently during night time or over the weekend. He is always easily reachable and very prompt to respond to any inquiries. 

Overall speaking, I really enjoy the time working with Paul together to reach my next career stage. His constructive suggestions and guidance are very useful and valuable to my career development. I would sincerely thank him and his team for all the support in past 3 months. And I highly recommend his service to whomever is facing career challenge or considering career change.

Senior commercial leader
Chemicals Industry

 
I've had a good experience with Paul's outplacement support. He was engaging during my search for new employment, nudged and motivated me to gain traction in my job applications. He would share tips on interview answering & questioning techniques and areas that candidates should be mindful of.

Mid-level Procurement Professional
Global chemicals giant

Paul has been instrumental in supporting my career transition and it was great that the outplacement program was customized based on a discussion on my key needs / focus areas. The support materials provided helpful guiding pointers along the way.

The interview preparation, mock interview sessions, constructive feedback and coaching were useful for me to work on my improvement areas to navigate tough interview questions and conversations.

I appreciated the times when Paul for was readily available to bounce ideas and clarify my doubts amidst short notice.

He has a vast network in linking me to recruitment agencies, good market insights and providing contacts to know more about a particular industry/region. 

It was also through Paul who has helped me increase my self confidence, and express the value I can bring to the table.

I appreciated most the times when he was able to challenge my way of thinking, and times when he provided a different perspective. 

As such, I am thankful for Paul and Leena's support, encouragement and coming out of this journey with an improved career situation.


Professional 
Global Chemicals Organisation


Dear Paul,

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and Leena for all the support, guidance and encouragement, which kept me highly motivated, engaged and determined to come out from one of the lowest point of my professional life. After breaking the news of my redundancy, my ex-employer informed me that NeXT Career Consulting would be supporting me in preparing to explore my next career options. I thought it would be just another outplacement consulting organization which would go through usual process and stop supporting me at the end of the official contract. However, after first meeting with Paul and Leena, I felt that I was in safe hands.  The first thing Paul worked with me was to bring my confidence back by asking me to establish my professional goals and develop action plan to achieve that. He also coached me how to go about developing my professional CV, develop network and prepare for interviews.

Paul was always available to discuss and rehearse with me for job interviews, even on short notices. One thing I like most about his coaching style is that he would not give prepared answers, he would ask me to think over and prepare my own responses. It made me think deeper and discover my strengths.

Once again, thank you Paul and team for supporting me to manage my career transition successfully. 

Executive (Singaporean)
Top Global Chemicals Organization


Paul has a very positive, motivating coaching style. He reaffirms my thoughts, as well as, propose different points of view in looking at a situation. I appreciate that Paul always make time whenever I needed to discuss, even after office hours.

It would have been good to have face-to- face discussions. However the Covid-19 Circuit Breaker, did not allow it but Paul ensures he connects frequently to check in on progress.

Paul is a very patient, authentic coach and has the ability to bring his point across subtly and professionally. I can feel his genuine concern to help me achieve my goal. Paul provides a good balance in my decision making as I can sometimes be impatient and impulsive and makes very quick decisions with little thought process. Definitely appreciate him always being available to align thoughts and bounces ideas.

Senior HR Director-level candidate (Singaporean)
Automation Solutions Industry


Dear Paul, 

I just wanted to share a note to let you and Leena know that I appreciate the professionalism, help and guidance that I am benefitting from you for the outplacement service. 

When I first heard that I was being made redundant, the real shock didn't register until sometime later when I contemplated "what next" and how prepared I was to face the future. As the Covid-19 unfolded, my thought process took a nosedive especially when I exited my ex-company without securing any success with job leads. 

In the last few months, I was really fortunate to have your number and advice within easy reach. From the initial sharing of how to structure my CV, handling of interviews and proxying my profile to your contacts, to triggering my thought process deeper to consider what I wanted to do, staying positive and confident of my abilities, all these add up to tremendous support that you have rendered to make the transition easier for me. 

The most impactful interaction for me was when I asked you about the end of engagement (according to the outplacement terms) and your response was simply that you "Never looked at the clock...."

Thank you, Paul. I am grateful for your help.

Senior Manager, Info Tech (Singaporean)
Medical Care MNC (Household Name)


I was privileged to work with Paul Heng in an outplacement program. While he offers a comprehensive range of support (from initial emotional support to final negotiation), I appreciated his ability to listen, evaluate and immediately adapt to my personal needs. We managed to establish a partnership where we agreed on objectives with clearly defined roles.
Coming from a rather specific industry, I did not expect Paul to generate opportunities for me (but he still managed to leverage his strong network to generate at least one clear opening) but rather to focus on a coaching role, enabling me to rethink my expectations, and plan for success. Looking back at this successful process, I believe that Paul's input was decisive in several ways. He lead me to transform my career pause into an opportunity to stop and think about the long term rather than frantically focus on the satisfaction of immediate needs. Using his invaluable experience and empathy, he helped me prepare for interviews by foreseeing my interviewer's expectations and by defining objectives for me to meet every time. I must say he was highly effective in that coaching role, as he clearly helped me anticipate and therefore be ready for complex situations. In the end, when I had to choose between several opportunities, he was again the voice of reason what drove me to select what was best for me, incorporating considerations way beyond sole professional aspects. I appreciated Paul's serious, constructive and above all human approach to individual issues. He quietly and efficiently prepared me, defined and find a better suited job, by understanding my real needs and my way of thinking. I can only thank him for that.

Senior technical leader (French)
Chemical Industry


Getting retrenched was one of the most challenging experiences in my career. Nevertheless, I was determined to ride over this setback and get back to a good job again.
Working with Paul as my coach was definitely the right decision. Paul conducted 1:1 sessions with me to understand my plans going forward and contributed multiple ideas and options on the future career journey.
Whilst being strategic, his coaching was also very practical and he helped with immediate tasks which included preparing a solid CV and interview tactics. as well as connections to recruiters. Paul is highly professional, listens well and give clear feedback.
I am now happy back into the working world and continue to value Paul's views on office dynamics.


Senior commercial professional (Asian)
Global German Pharma Organisation


Paul was my coach for approximately 12 months, when I moved to Thailand to take the new challenge of General Manager role. Paul was always available, a good listener, asking relevant questions to help me develop my own solutions. I did appreciate to have access to a supportive and strong professional to test my ideas, and to have a partner in time of doubts.

I particularly valued Paul’s ability to challenge me in my leadership style with my very senior and well-established management team; he helped me stretch and explore different avenues, asking “Have you considered another option?” when I was conservative, or challenging me with “Who is the boss?” when I was hesitant to disrupt the team’s modus operandi.

Among the many topics we worked on, our endeavor on people’s development is noteworthy: with Paul, I laid out the road map to develop our talent pipeline and succession plan, from initiating the thinking process and communication flow, to rolling out workshops to let every employee in the organization take ownership of his/her own career.

General Manager is indeed a lonely role, I was glad to have Paul by my side. I believe his support was key to accelerate my learning as well as my ability to deliver results.

Country Head, Thailand (French)
Global European Healthcare


More Testimonials
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




 Print Version 
 
 
© Copyright 2011. NeXT Career Consulting Group, Asia. All Rights Reserved