Outplacement First Reviews 

It can be a lonely business seeking a new job opportunity. It's when you need support the most as it's when self doubt and imposter syndrome can kick in. Having a key contact from someone outside your friendship group and family means you get impartial support at a time when it really counts. Having Matthew with me on the journey meant a lot. I had someone to bounce ideas off, to help me prepare for interviews, to give advice, to listen to me moan, to check in on me and to keep me on track.

Mark Coleman at Outplacement First was massively helpful in my job search. He and Outplacement provided plenty of resources and time to prepare for every stage of the search. I felt supported throughout, resulting in a quick, successful search.

Outplacement First have been a fantastic support, guide and coach through the redundancy process and onto a successful onboarding into a new role! Moving at the client's pace, I have appreciated consistent support and guidance with practical steps to maximise your success, top tips...and a great sense of humour at times, just when I needed a pick up! Thank you Bill, its been an honour and pleasure to work with you!

I had Bill as my contact to help aid & guide me after my role had been made redundant.
Bill was welcoming & I felt no judgement as this was a new experience for me personally. He was extremely helpful in the advise to search for a new job with tips & tricks.
Any questions I had were answered & always responded quickly.
Bill also appreciated & understood the process I was facing which always helps throughout this time.
I would recommend Bill as his guidance sure works as I landed a new role within a month!

Matt D couldn’t have been more helpful to me during the process. Friendly, prompt, patient, impressively strategic, very knowledgeable of the job market and reassuring at times when the chips were down a bit. I can’t thank him any more for his assistance

Excellent service. Lots of useful information particularly for mid-senior career professionals.

Special shout out to Matthew D for the advice and support.

Bill provided a reassuring, informative and confidence inspiring service. The advice provided was valuable and extended well beyond the agreed engagement due to some long term life changes.

I’d happily recommend a conversation, a potentially difficult time of transition for many. Anyone can benefit from a safe pair of hands as guidance no matter the circumstances.

If you are looking for an intelligent, effective career coach, talk to Bill McKeown. He is personable and applies real-world knowledge to the process, ensuring that your takeaways have genuine value.
Thanks Bill.

I undertook three on-line coaching sessions over the course of 8 months with Bill McKeown; two sessions pre-retirement and one having retired.

I wanted to understand if I was making the right decision to retire (and leave a company I loved working for), how to manage the change of leaving, and some of the challenges I might encounter after retiring.

Bill was an excellent coach and advisor, and his knowledge of what others who had retired had experienced was also really helpful.

Thoroughly recommended!

From the outset of joining a retirement course I have had a positive experience of professional assistance from Bill, enabling me to engage with the joys and be wary of the pitfalls of the changes coming to my life. Manageable tasks , open conversations, praise and clear thinking enabled me to avoid being overwhelmed, to approach the transition with confidence and enthusiasm. Bill's steady approach , offering possibilities for consideration, honest and appropriate advice, assisted me in shaping my thoughts and laying a firm foundation for the coming years. I am glad that I signed up for the course.

Matthew was an incredible source of support, advice and guidance. I always had something to work on after our sessions as a result of his clear and concise advice. I found his style and behaviour to be empathetic and reassuring. I wont hesitate to work with Matthew again and to also recommend him should you be in the need of outplacement support.

The outplacement support provided by Bill McKeown has been excellent. Working with Bill over the course of 5 months has been a particular positive experience, and one that has left me with a range of new skills, resources and confidence in approaching fresh employment opportunities. Our discussions were always productive and thought provoking (particularly in terms of reassessing my strengths and goals), and led to tangible change in how I approached job searching, interviews and developing new professional connections. I would certainly highly recommend Bill, and the wider resources available within Outplacement First's virtual learning platform. Happily secured a great new job as part of engaging with the service!

Matthew was an incredible support function for me when I found myself in search of the next role. Not having to look for a role for a number of years was a fairly daunting experience, especially given the constantly changing recruitment market. Matthew’s experience and calm coaching approach fitted really well with my outlook and he helped me navigate the complexities of finding a new role. If you’re a senior level professional looking for an experienced head to guide you, I would highly recommend Matthew. Thanks again.

I was recently made redundant from my job and my company referred me to Outplacement First. I've never worked with an outplacement support service before, so wasn't sure of what to expect. The support and advice I was given was incredibly practical and useful. For example, I was guided on how to optimise my CV with relevant keywords, to ensure that AI-based search systems are selecting my CV on behalf of prospective employers. My support consultant also completely rewrote my CV, helping me to highlight skills and experience which I previously hadn't considered to be very important. I would highly recommend this service.

Matthew Dunsmore was a real help when I was looking for a new job. He was clear, concise and targeted in his advice and the resources he made available to me were extremely useful.

Matthew Dunsmore worked with me over a 3 month period (until I found employment), providing loads of assistance and advice about applications, interview techniques etc.
I was able to call him anytime and get a prompt response on a specific matter.
Matthew himself was excellent in terms of his knowledge, and his manner, which was very supportive, but also entirely realistic. He helped me with interviews, company research techniques, understanding the various job sites and types - allsorts. It also felt like I was not doing it alone, which was super important.

I received fabulous support from Matthew Dunsmore. He has been highly professional and friendly throughout, His support has been invaluable in determining a job hunt strategy, plans and preparation, which ultimately enabled me secure a new role.
Matthew kept in regular contact throughout the period that I was looking for a position, and provided support and encouragement, which was highly motivational.
I cannot recommend Matthew highly enough.

Outplacement have been great from the start of the process to the finish. Special thanks to my consultant Bill McKeown who has been friendly and professional throughout and has given me some amazing advice and also helped me secure an exciting new opportunity. Would strongly recommend!

Great support received by Matthew Dunsmore. The insights I've gained were important to get me 3 offers in one month. I've literally nailed all the interviews and I've always had an outstanding and reliable support with on demand video chat with Matthew. Highly recommended.

After having been made redundant, Bill McKeown from Outplacement First supported me in getting over my initial confusion and helped me navigate through my options which included finding a new job or retiring earlier than expected. Bill is highly professional and experienced not only in coaching but also in the corporate world. He is down to earth, a good listener and truly empathetic. It was invaluable to have his support in organising my thoughts and priorities and eventually setting a new course. The sessions with him were very useful and a thoroughly positive experience. I cannot recommend Bill highly enough.