Endeavor Agency Inc

09/01/2026

Being too polite can actually hurt your networking efforts at events.

Our CEO, Cord Harper, met with a COO client last week who told him about a networking event that hadn’t gone as planned.

The client went into the networking setting hoping to meet several new people. Instead, he spent most of his time talking with a good colleague he already knew.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the conversation. He did. The problem was that he didn’t want to hurt his colleague’s feelings by walking away from the conversation. So, he stayed, and stayed, and stayed.

By the end of the event, he realized he’d barely met anyone new.

Cord told our client there’s nothing wrong with ending a networking conversation. In fact, knowing how to do it gracefully is an important part of networking.

For the next networking event, if in the same situation, Cord suggested the client try something as simple as, “I don’t want to take up your whole evening. Let’s reconnect soon.”

It’s honest, polite, and gives the other person a natural way to move on.

There are other ways to handle it, too. The client could introduce his colleague to someone else, mention that he wants to make a few more connections, or simply say that he’s going to grab something to eat or drink.

The point isn’t to rush through conversations or treat people like names on a list.

Good networking is about having meaningful conversations. But if one conversation takes up your entire evening, you’re limiting your opportunity to meet the people you came to meet.

And many people struggle with this.

They worry that leaving a conversation will make them look rude, uninterested, or even self-centered.

It doesn’t have to be like that.

A little preparation can make it much easier. Before your next networking event, have a couple of polite exit lines ready.

That way, when the time comes, you won’t have to figure out what to say.
You can leave the conversation, thank the person for their time, and move on to the next one without burning a bridge.

That’s good networking.

08/25/2026

A client we’ll call Andrea is a healthcare COO who spent six months searching for her next role on her own. She brought strong experience and clear qualifications to her job search.

Like many senior leaders, she turned to AI tools for support, thinking it would be enough. Those tools rewrote her resume, updated her LinkedIn profile, and generated practice interview answers. The early results looked promising because she started landing interviews.

Then the process stalled. She advanced through the first rounds only to watch the opportunities fade. Feedback remained vague if it arrived at all. Committees selected other candidates to move forward with.

Andrea had prepared thoroughly with AI, and the answers seemed polished during practice sessions. Yet those same answers fell flat once she sat across from the hiring team and other people.

She contacted Endeavor after experiencing more frustration with the same lack of results over and over again during her job hunt.

✅️ We began by examining her actual leadership story rather than polished scripts.
✅️ We explored the decisions she made during hospital system changes and practiced how she describes leading under pressure.
✅️ Our interview sessions mirrored real committee dynamics, complete with interruptions and quiet moments when the room assessed more than the words she spoke.

She learned to respond as herself instead of delivering prepared lines.

Andrea has worked with us for more than five months. In that time, she has reached the final round twice. The second of those final interviews is still pending. She continues to use AI for early drafting work, yet the real progress came from human coaching.

Someone listened carefully, challenged her answers, and helped her present the leader she already is.

Many executives reach interviews but miss the final rounds for the same reason. Tools handle surface preparation well. Real conversations with a coach close the remaining distance. We are glad Andrea chose that path.

08/19/2026

Sometimes the problem with your current job isn't the job. It's the fact that your next job isn't there.

We recently started working with a VP of Finance we'll call Michelle. She had been with her company for several years, was well respected, and was happy in her role. She wasn't looking to escape a bad situation.

She did, however, want to become a CFO.

There was just one problem. Her company's CFO was not going anywhere. Michelle could continue doing good work, take on more responsibility, and earn more money, but the position she ultimately wanted was not likely to open up anytime soon.

For years, Michelle had told herself she would look when the timing was right. But there was always a reason to wait. She liked her company. She had a good relationship with her boss. She wasn't sure she was ready for the next step.

Then she realized that waiting wasn't helping her become a CFO. It was simply keeping her in the same place.

Michelle recently became an Endeavor client, not because she needed to leave her job, but because she wanted to start preparing for the job she does want.

We're helping her look at how her experience is positioned, strengthen her resume and LinkedIn profile, expand the right relationships, and understand what companies will expect from a CFO candidate. She can do all of that while continuing to succeed in her current role.

That's an important part of a successful career change.

You don't have to be unhappy to start preparing for something different. You don't have to quit your job. And you don't have to apply for every opening you see.

Sometimes you simply need to recognize that the next step you want isn't available where you are.

When that happens, preparing early gives you options.

And when the right opportunity comes along, you'll be much more ready to take it.

08/13/2026

Endeavor’s CEO Cord Harper is featured in a new article from MoneyLion where he discusses how job seekers who take the time to become better communicators and relationship-builders will stand out from others, even with all the advances in technology.

Discover 3 free courses from Stanford, HubSpot, and Vanderbilt to upskill this summer. Balance AI and soft skills to stand out and earn the raise you deserve.

08/12/2026

Another week, another well-known company announces layoffs.

Last week, it was Zillow. Before that, it was other recognizable brands. Layoffs aren't just happening during recessions anymore. Many organizations are continuously restructuring to improve efficiency, invest in AI, or realign their business priorities.

At Endeavor Agency, we've seen what happens after those headlines disappear.
One executive who came to us this year had been laid off about eight months earlier. When it first happened, he was confident he'd find another leadership role on his own. He had a strong track record, an impressive resume, and years of executive experience.

He updated his LinkedIn profile. Polished his resume. Applied for leadership positions.

But the interviews didn't come.

Month after month, the search stalled. As his severance package continued to shrink, the financial pressure and uncertainty started to grow.

About three months ago, he decided it was time to try a different approach.
That's when he reached out to Endeavor Agency.

We didn't tell him to submit more applications. We helped him build a strategy.
Together, we refined his executive brand, identified target employers, expanded his network, strengthened his interview approach, and focused on opportunities that never make it to a job board.

The difference was noticeable.

Instead of wondering why nothing was happening, he is having meaningful conversations with decision-makers. Instead of chasing job postings, he is uncovering opportunities that aligned with his experience and goals.

Layoffs can happen to anyone, even accomplished executives. In today's business environment, continuous restructuring has become part of how many organizations operate.

What happens next is what matters.

You can't control a layoff. You can control how you respond to it.

If your executive job search isn't moving forward, changing your strategy may be more valuable than sending another application. That's what we help executives do every day.

08/06/2026

Many professionals believe career coaching is only for executives. We see it differently.

Some of the biggest career decisions happen before someone reaches the executive level. That's when professionals are trying to move from individual contributor to manager, manager to senior manager, or senior manager to director.

Those transitions can be challenging because employers begin evaluating different qualities.

Technical skills still matter, but leadership, communication, judgment, and business impact become even more important.

Recently, we spoke with a Project Manager who had successfully led complex initiatives for years. She had the experience to take the next step, but employers weren't recognizing it.

The issue wasn't her ability.

The issue was that she was presenting herself based on what she did rather than the value she created.

That small difference can have a big impact on a job search.

One of the questions we often ask new clients is simple:

"If someone read your resume for 30 seconds, what would they remember about you?"

Many talented professionals don't have an answer.

That's why we believe career strategy matters just as much as career experience.

Intrepid Professional Services was created for experienced professionals who want expert guidance before opportunities pass them by. We help clients strengthen the way they communicate their value, prepare for interviews, and approach their careers with a clear plan instead of guesswork.

Experience helps you qualify for the next opportunity.

A strong strategy helps you earn it.

08/04/2026

Last August, Brenda went to the Missouri SHRM Conference as a talent acquisition specialist. She's returning this week as an HR Director.

She didn't advance her career because of one lucky break. She got there because she was intentional about where she wanted to go and how she was going to get there.

When Brenda came to Endeavor and started our Intrepid career coaching program, she wasn't looking for another recruiting job. She wanted to lead an HR department. Together, we developed a strategy to strengthen her resume, position her experience for leadership roles, improve her LinkedIn profile, and create a networking plan that supported her long-term career goals.

That networking plan didn't stop with LinkedIn or email. It included the Missouri SHRM Conference.

Before she arrived, Brenda made a list of HR leaders she wanted to meet. She researched their backgrounds and thought about the questions she wanted to ask. Instead of hoping to "bump into the right person," she created opportunities for meaningful conversations.

One of those conversations happened while people were waiting for the next breakout session to begin. Brenda introduced herself to an HR director whose career she admired. They talked for only a few minutes, but Brenda followed up after the conference, stayed in touch over the following months, and eventually that relationship led to an introduction to another organization that was looking for its next HR leader.

Was that single conversation the only reason she became an HR director? Of course not.

But it was one piece of a larger strategy. Every conversation, every follow-up, every connection helped move her one step closer to the role she wanted.

That's why we encourage our clients to think differently about conferences. The educational sessions are valuable, but the relationships you build can continue creating opportunities long after the conference ends.

If you're attending the Missouri SHRM Conference this week, don't just plan which sessions you'll attend. Plan who you'd like to meet, what you'd like to learn from them, and how you'll follow up afterward.

We wish everyone attending a successful conference. We hope you leave with more than notes from great presentations. We hope you leave with relationships that help shape your future.

07/22/2026

Work history and experience don't always land you your next role, which surprises many job seekers.

A recent conversation with an Operations Manager highlighted this challenge. On paper, he looked like an ideal candidate. He had years of leadership experience, excellent performance reviews, and a history of delivering results. Yet after months of applying for Director-level positions, his job search had stalled.

His first question was simple.

"What am I doing wrong?"

As we reviewed his job search strategy together, several patterns quickly emerged. His experience wasn't the issue. Neither was his work ethic. The challenge was that employers weren't seeing the value he had spent years creating.

That's an important distinction.

Most professionals spend years building skills, leading projects, solving problems, and delivering measurable results. But hiring managers don't automatically know that. They only know what they can quickly understand from your resume, LinkedIn profile, interviews, and conversations.

When those pieces don't clearly communicate your value, opportunities can pass you by, even when you're highly qualified.

One of the first things we evaluate with every client is whether their career story is being understood the way they intend. More often than people expect, there is a gap between the value they bring and the value employers actually see.
Closing that gap can change the trajectory of a job search.

That's one of the reasons we created Intrepid Professional Services. It's designed for experienced professionals who know they're capable of more and want a strategy that helps employers recognize it.

Experience may help you qualify for your next opportunity.

A thoughtful strategy can help you land it.

07/17/2026

Most executives read leadership announcements as news. The best executive job seekers read them as signals.

Last week, headlines announced executive leadership changes at organizations including OpenAI, J.Crew, and Denny's. This week, Walmart will have a new COO.

Most readers saw an executive stepping into a new role. Experienced executives often see something else.

They ask, "What opportunities did this announcement create?"

Think about a company the size of Boeing. When one senior executive changes roles, the impact rarely stops with that individual. Succession plans are activated. Leaders move into expanded responsibilities. Business units are reorganized. New priorities emerge. Internal promotions create vacancies, and those vacancies can lead to even more leadership movement.

One executive transition can create a ripple effect throughout an organization.

That's why executive appointments matter, even if you're not interested in the specific company making the announcement.

Leadership changes are often an early signal that new opportunities are developing. Some will eventually become public searches. Others may be filled through executive search firms, internal succession plans, or professional networks before they're ever posted online.

That's one of the biggest differences between the executive job market and the professional job market.

Professionals often begin their search by looking for open positions.

Successful executives also pay attention to the business events that create those positions in the first place.

The next time you see an announcement about a new CEO, COO, CTO, or division president, don't stop at the headline. Ask yourself what that leadership change means for the rest of the organization, and where it may create opportunities for other executives.

At Endeavor Agency, we encourage our clients to look beyond the announcement itself. Understanding how executive careers and organizations evolve can help you recognize opportunities long before they become obvious to everyone else.

When was the last time you saw one executive appointment set off a chain reaction of leadership changes?