Clients
We are pleased to have served many of the Am Law 100 and Am Law 200 law firms (most of which fall within the top 50), as well as many major corporations, over the years. Progress in Work’s philosophy is to practice discretion and respect its clients’ privacy, particularly in the outplacement/career transition area. This is why we do not publicly list the names of our corporate clients or the individuals we have served on the website with the exception of business development coaching clients, a less sensitive area. Corporate client references can be provided when appropriate.
Testimonials
The following are representative Progress in Work client testimonials categorized by service offering:
Outplacement | Career Transition Counseling & Coaching Testimonials
“I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with Sheryl Odentz. She is just fantastic. The contact and the job actually came through her! She really went above and beyond my expectations. She was very responsive to my needs and was always available for my many questions. She motivated me to go on when I would have just given up. She is a great coach. She was there for each and every phase of the job hunting process and made me feel confident about the things that I had to do. But even more than helping me find a job is that she taught me how to network. It is a skill that is both essential and hard to learn without the right teacher. She taught me how to fish. This was definitely the silver lining.”
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with Sheryl Odentz of Progress in Work during my search for a new position. During these past few months, Sheryl and I have developed a strong bond and understanding due to the fact that we worked so closely. Sheryl not only helped me as a professional, she really cared for me as an individual. We would spend countless hours talking about my personal well-being as well as the personal situation that I was confronting during my job search. She really gets to know the individual in order to know the best course of action and follow through with specific action steps to focus on targeting and landing a position that will be just right for the individual. In addition, Sheryl is very well connected in the legal recruiting industry. Not only does she have direct contact with various firms’ legal recruiting departments, she has a pool of legal recruiters which she keeps constant contact with in order to be abreast of the hottest areas of law at any particular time. Her network of legal recruiters is constantly growing. Sheryl’s people skills, her direct and indirect contacts as well as her genuine interest in the well-being of her clients make her an excellent career coach. I wish her and Progress in Work much success and hope that others have the opportunity to work with her in order to experience what I’ve experienced in the short time that I have worked with and known her. She is a hard worker who is dedicated to helping her clients reach new heights in their new ventures. I would strongly recommend her to other attorneys looking to make a similar transition.”
“I want to put into writing how much I appreciate working with Sheryl Odentz. Thanks so much for recommending that I call her and making it possible. I am thrilled about my new position as and I can’t stress enough how helpful Sheryl has been from the moment I spoke to her until now. She has worked tirelessly to understand my professional and personal history, identify my strengths and weaknesses, thoroughly brainstorm about goals, opportunities, paths and dreams, and put it all together to pinpoint the position that capitalizes on my strengths and fulfills my needs. She has also provided friendship and support. It is incredibly valuable during this time to have had an ally with her depth and knowledge about life as a lawyer, the legal field, the financial world, the opportunities available to lawyers in and out of the law as well as outstanding counseling skills. It seems so obvious now that this is the perfect position for me, so it might appear that there was very little work that went into getting to this point. Quite the opposite! I have not been an easy client for Sheryl – I subjected her to constant questions, emails, and phone calls, requests for advice and affirmation, not to mention constant mind-changing and swervy feelings about every aspect of this difficult process. Or perhaps I should say Sheryl has not been an easy counselor for me – she subjected me to honest and rigorous analysis, held me to being truthful with myself and doing the hard work required to identify what it is that I want and need. Thank you for making that connection for me. I am enormously indebted.”
“I’d like to say that I’ve had a wonderful experience with Sheryl Odentz of Progress in Work. Thank you very much for providing her services to me. Throughout our periodic meetings, and through these skills and work style/personality assessment tools she uses, I’ve been able to pinpoint my best skills and weaknesses; assess what I need in a job and work environment; and determine how to focus my career objectives in the immediate and distant future. I am a believer in career coaches and think everyone should have one at some point in their lives. I can’t say enough wonderful things about this service. And Sheryl has a particularly pleasant personality and tailors her assistance to the needs of each client. No cookie cutter at all and she does no corner cutting.”
“I want to let you know how fantastic it was working with Sheryl Odentz. She was professional, available, had a great plan of attack for me, and was a real champion for my cause through the past three months. I highly recommend the firm continue to use her services for other ‘transition’ attorneys.”
“Although it has been awhile since we worked together after my dismissal from [prior law firm], I remain grateful for the support you gave me during that trying time. You helped me identify my thoughts and feelings about pursuing a career in the law and guided me through the networking process that led to my current position at [new law firm]. In addition, to helping me get the right job, you have kindly made yourself available to me more recently to discuss some of the issues that have come up in my now not-so-new job and in the months and years to come. Your knowledge of the world of work combined with your exceptional listening skills and insightfulness are indeed invaluable resources of which I am fortunate to have been able to avail myself. I have no doubt that yours are gifts that could benefit a wide range of clients.”
“I wanted to thank you for all your help in December, especially providing the opportunity to work with Sheryl Odentz, founder of Progress in Work, as a career counselor. She was a wonderful help. She was responsive to my needs, making herself available even after hours, and providing practical, savvy advice. Her folder on the whole outplacement process was an enormous aid – it provided just enough information so that it wasn’t overwhelming, but had enough depth and breadth to be very helpful. I’m grateful to her for helping me get through a difficult time in my life with grace and perspective and for helping me to develop my skills in communication and networking, which I know will be used throughout my career. I strongly recommend her services to other attorneys.”
“I wanted to give you some written feedback (in addition to what I said to both you and [the name of human resource professional] before leaving) regarding the outplacement services and Sheryl’s work in particular. Sheryl far exceeded my expectations. I guess what impressed me the most was that she did not just go through a standard routine but made great efforts to add value to my distinct set of circumstances and my particular job search. Although she spent a significant amount of time with me, she also worked on my job search when I was not around including getting in touch with her own contacts and even making a number of “cold calls” to see who was hiring. I had a very positive experience with Sheryl (Progress in Work) and recommend that, should the need arise, you continue to utilize her services.”
“Recently, I had the pleasure of working with the founder of Progress in Work, Sheryl Odentz, who provided me with the best service I have ever received in my life! Although attorneys from big law firms in New York City have to be amongst the most difficult people to impress, I think anyone seeking outplacement, executive/professional coaching and career management services will be highly impressed by the prompt, professional and individualized attention that he/she receives from Ms. Odentz and Progress in Work. In addition to providing stellar service, Ms. Odentz was extremely savvy when it came to the legal market, allowing her to work with attorneys at different points in their career. Most significantly, Ms. Odentz taught me to focus my job search by taking into consideration my professional and personal preferences, desires, and goals in a manner that enabled me to control the job search process rather than letting it control me.”
“I had such an incredible experience with Sheryl Odentz from Progress in Work. We spent a significant amount of time revising my resume, reviewing employment wants and needs and preparing for interviews, etc. Sheryl really knows a lot about the legal industry and was an incredible resource for information on different firms and the key people in those firms as well as alternative career options for an attorney. After the initial assessment, which included a personality test and general career counseling, I met with Sheryl weekly. During our weekly meetings, Sheryl would go over the action steps that we came up with at our previous meeting and then help me to prepare new action steps geared toward finding the right job for me. Her counseling and experiences were invaluable to my job-hunting process. In addition to helping me with the nuts and bolts of finding a new position, Sheryl would assist me in addressing any concerns or anxieties I had about looking for work. I learned so much from Sheryl and was extremely pleased with all of her efforts.”
“Sheryl is a gem. She is great to work with. She is efficient and extremely knowledgeable, and she has already given me many leads that I wouldn’t have thought of.”
Business Development Training & Coaching Testimonials
“Sheryl was recommended to me by another professional as a business development coach. She is a talented and inspiring “partner”. Very experienced and expert in her field. She uses a methodical approach to business development and rainmaking that is both motivational and highly effective. She is organized and an excellent listener. Equally important, because she is very knowledgeable about the practice of law, particularly at large law firms, her advice is practical and useful immediately. She has great ideas about how to develop business and enhance one’s profession, both within and outside one’s firm. Plus, she is a nice person. I would enthusiastically recommend Sheryl to any attorney wanting to generate more business and revenue.”
“Sheryl is great to work with. She is highly organized, persistent, and creative. Sheryl provides valuable insights that lead to measurable results for attorneys who want to increase their business development success.”
“I started working with Sheryl after she was recommended by a friend. She provides keen insights on the best (and proven) ways to market both your firm as a whole and your individual practice area. She is easy to work with and always available to discuss matters that arise “out of the blue.” One can tell she cares about her clients and their careers. She helped me a great deal in choosing the best kind of events or conferences (especially those involving significant travel) to attend, and then worked with me on the best ways to prepare for them. She also keeps clients laser focused on the specific goals they seek to achieve.”
“Sheryl was a great sounding board and a great teacher. She introduced me to her basic tenets of business development and how to distinguish myself in a crowded marketplace. I went to Sheryl soon after leaving public service for private law firm practice. With her advice and lessons, I understood the nuances of starting my private legal career. She provided me with the tools and the confidence to attract clients and to create a practice of my own.”
“Sheryl provides the critical tools necessary to succeed in going out and bringing in business. Her materials, contacts and experience are excellent in giving you what is needed to develop and implement a business plan. Her one-on-one coaching skills are invaluable. Her insights on how to understand and put yourself in the potential client’s shoes help you establish instant credibility. Sheryl takes over where law firms typically fail – teaching lawyers, young and old, how to get out of their comfort zone and go out and ask for business. If you happen to be interested in career transition coaching, Sheryl is excellent in helping you find your next challenge in life. Her materials and coaching help you prepare for and survive a career transition. Her business coaching skills are particularly helpful in preparing for the interview process and making sure you are responding to what the potential employer is actually looking for in a new hire. I would recommend Sheryl unconditionally for your business coaching and career transition needs.”
Executive & Leadership Coaching Testimonials
“My weekly meetings with Sheryl were wonderful. She is practical, has great insights and is a superb coach. I can’t thank her enough for helping me get to the next level.”
Professional Colleague Testimonials
“Sheryl is someone I think very highly of, a first-rate coach, well trained and highly experienced in working with lawyers, and a delightful person of the highest integrity. I can’t recommend her highly enough. She’s a great resource for you and the firm and I’m sure you’ll enjoy her.”
Workshop & Webinar Testimonials
“Sheryl was gracious enough to conduct a Personal Branding session for the ALANYC C-Level/Director Level Special Interest Group. Members are the most senior administrative level person at their firms. They report directly to the Managing Partner or Executive Committee and are involved in leading the strategic direction of the firm. Some of the comments on the evaluations were “Great session! Wish it was longer! Come back!” and “Great use of time, very informative”. By attending this session, you are choosing to invest in your future! This has changed my perspective on what is needed to succeed. The stories and examples used throughout the session brought the concepts home for me. I learned so much about myself and my personal brand. I highly recommend this session.”
“I have worked with Sheryl in two capacities: first, as a client engaging her for outplacement services and second, as the host of an ALA special interest group where Sheryl presented. With regard to outplacement services, Sheryl is an expert in her field. She has a wealth of resources at her disposal and a strong network of contacts. She takes the time to understand the needs of her clients and works patiently with them to achieve their goals. Sheryl is organized, efficient, and effective, and a pleasure to work with. As a presenter on the topic of career planning and development, Sheryl is also a standout. She spoke to the ALA special interest group about personal branding and leadership and engaged them with relevant research studies and practical exercises that left the attendees wishing there was more time to spend with her. The reviews of her program were all consistently outstanding, and the attendees all agreed that the session was time well spent. I would highly recommend Sheryl both for direct client services and for live group presentations in the areas of her expertise.”
“Hello Sheryl,
I was wondering if you would consider doing a webinar for ALA? I would love for you to present, “Personal Branding Can Make You a More Effective Leader” from this fall’s Regional Legal Management Conferences. Your session was received so well at the conference that we thought it would be great if you could present the subject matter for those that did not attend?”
Comments from participants at the Regional Legal Management Conference held in Las Vegas are as follows:
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- “Very interesting session.”
- “I liked the implementation of group effort. Met new friends while learning.”
- “Great speaker, kept everyone engaged with interactive exercises. ALA has to get her for future conferences.”
- “Would attend this speaker again- thank you.”
- “Great session. Loved the interaction with other participants. Session helped to determine what your strengths are what needs improvement.”
“Thanks again for yesterday’s presentation at Tannenbaum Helpern’s regular attorney marketing skills development meeting. The social style, personal brand, and general guidance about relationship-based business development provided practical tips and food for thought for both junior associates thinking about client development for the first time and experienced rainmakers at our firm. Notably the tools you offered have practical application to both in-person and today’s Zoom-based interactions, and, in fact, provide useful skills for lawyers collaborating together in their day-to-day projects. As you indicated, knowing the social style of your colleague allows you to modify your approach to make communications clearer, more effective and more likely to achieve consensus.”
Career Counseling & Coaching Testimonials
“Sheryl’s passion and genuine interest were evident to me on the first day. Incorporating myriad resources, Sheryl helped me to unearth insights both on the personal and professional levels. The Crossroads Career Counseling and Coaching Program promises tangible results, which Sheryl herself prioritizes and delivers upon. After working with her for several weeks, I have attained a renewed confidence in myself and my career path moving forward.”
“When I started working with Sheryl, I was very unhappy with my job. I had graduated from a top business school with an MBA one year earlier and took a job that I thought would be a perfect fit for me. After one year working at that job, I knew it was all wrong. The Career Crossroads Program helped me better understand myself with respect to work and life in general. Through the various career assessments self-exploration exercises provided in the program, I was able to identify a new field that is a better match for me. I am now optimistic and excited about my future. I also found a new job fairly quickly through networking, which Sheryl also discussed. Furthermore, Sheryl is a nice person, compassionate, and very easy to talk to. I highly recommend Sheryl and The Career Crossroads Program to anyone who is unhappy with their current job and unclear about what to do next.”