Patrick Alo

CMO Audio Network
Former CMO DAQRI & Head of Brand Virgin UK, Europe & The Americas

"It's like having the best career coach in the world, right at your fingertips."

Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee

Head of External Relations
Newcastle University Business School

"Leading Business Schools are a vibrant mix of visionaries, academics, innovators and instigators, where our principal aim remains to educate the next generation of global business leaders and pioneer ethical and sustainable leadership. Whether seeking employment or entrepreneurial success, every player must position themselves and their message on how distinctive their personal offer can be for the organisation and teams. The Obvious Candidate approach is tried, tested and proven. In Sam Waterfall, our ambitious students, staff and alumni have found their troubadour."

Anita Bolger

Company Director
Non-Executive Director; Entrepreneur; Former Tesco Director

"Sam offers an amazing and unique level of support."

"He gives you the tools to challenge your thoughts and direction, he allows you time to breathe and rework Your ideas and thoughts whilst giving clarity and focus using the methods he has created. He then takes your career via your CV and adds the ' waterfall effect'. You receive it back, you don't recognise the person you've always been!

There are numerous levels to the work that Sam does , all of them offer guidance when you need it. Those words of wisdom, those ' silver bullets ' Any time, any place, anywhere. Thanks, Sam."

Keith Ramsdale

Chief Commercial Officer
Terra Virtua; Non-Executive Director; Former VP Electronic Arts

"A very professional approach"

"I was considering my next career step after 18 years at EA, 10 of which at VP level. After that length of time, I needed some help in what direction to take my career next.

Richard Robinson

Sales Lead EMEA
Amazon Web Services

"Helped me land my dream role."

"Sam helped me when I was at a career crossroads. I had been working in pure sales roles, across different industries, for over a decade and wanted to elevate my career prospects. Sam helped me envision where I wanted to get to and a roadmap to achieve it. Sam advised on what educational focuses to have and which companies to approach. Specifically, he coached me to really study the roles and companies that I interviewed with and his coaching really did help me land my dream role at my number one target employer." 

Kelly Greenwood

Superdrug Area Manager;
Former Tesco Regional Manager

"Such a brilliant help to me"

"Sam was such a brilliant help for me, really put me at ease and made me feel comfortable to talk through my current situation. Sam really listens and understands your position and the correct steps to help you move forward. Some great advice offered on my CV, how to understand what’s the right career move for me, and how to approach applications. I really liked the ad-hoc programme we created to suit my needs rather than a course which wasn’t quite right for me. Thanks for all your help Sam!!" 

Izabella Lee

Sales & Marketing Graduate
Reckitt Benckiser

"Would recommend to anyone"

"Having never had a mentor before, I decided to give it a go with Sam. Honestly couldn't have had someone better to help me out! Very adaptable and really went out of his way to make sure that I got the most out of his time. He made me feel very confident and prepared for my applications, and I managed to land an amazing graduate scheme opportunity! Couldn't have done it without his help, would recommend to anyone who feels stuck with applications. Don't let the cost of the sessions put you off, will be worth it in the long run I promise!"

Paulette Jones

United Nations World Food Programme,
Humanitarian Public Affairs Leader
Geneva, Switzerland

"You really do feel that anything is possible, anything."

"I challenge you not to feel energised and empowered working with Sam! Patient, generous, smart and witty, he holds your needs, aspirations and dreams dear. He takes you on journey along the road less travelled, but somehow when travelling this road you really do feel that anything is possible, anything. He shares time-honoured tips and advice to kick-start your journey of transformation, and just as importantly, to make the new and glittering changes stick. Trust me. Here's one example: I was a LinkedIn no-hoper, and in just one hour of tuition from Sam, I grew from LinkedIn Novice to masterful Ninja. Highly recommended!"

Cristina Aldea

Scrum Master

"I cannot recommend enough Sam's work"

"Sam takes a holistic approach to career coaching. It's not just about getting you a job, any job. Sam helps you evaluate what you really want to achieve from your next career move, either boosting your salary or accelerating your way to that sought after executive role. It's not just brushing up on your old CV, it's designing the most important thing that represents you professionally and making sure you get invited every single interview you apply for. The most invaluable thing I achieved while having Sam as my career coach is the immense confidence to present myself in front of employers. It stays with you forever and it's a great feeling. I cannot recommend enough Sam's work and the coaching programme Obvious Candidate. It has made a very positive change in my life and laid a very strong foundation to my career!"

David Wiener

Business Development Specialist
Boeing, USA

"Very productive and efficient - saving me time (and therefore money)"

“Sam was great at helping me focus in on positioning myself for a strong job search through our work on my resume and LinkedIn profile, as well as developing a job search strategy. His approach and style are both professional, yet personable, with great listening skills that allowed him to really focus in on my needs versus pushing a standard agenda. He truly tailored his expertise to apply to my needs, making the experience of working with him not only refreshing, but very productive and efficient – saving me time (and therefore money), while delivering great results. I was somewhat apprehensive about how effective our collaboration would be working via Skype, but found there to be no impediments in building a trusting relationship quickly and getting the work done that I needed. I would absolutely work with Sam again as needed and highly recommend him to others (as I have already done!)”

Simon Calder

Production & Business Development Manager at Terravesta, UK

"I finally took the plunge"

"I commissioned Sam’s Obvious Candidate approach to guide me through a recent career transition. Sam’s training is certainly unique to anything I have previously encountered and so far, delivering very true to my original objectives. Sam’s methods are only as effective as your own personal input and commitment, but the perseverance and enthusiasm he brings cannot be doubted. His inspiration and motivational guidance was reassuring to overcome the stresses encountered during a career transition into uncharted territory. He described to me his own painful journey in finding career satisfaction which probably explains his effectiveness. For a long time I viewed career coaching as hit and miss and a big financial commitment, but when I finally took the plunge, it became evident the long term gains outweighed short term sacrifices. I would recommend getting in touch with Sam if frustrated in your career and looking for inspiration and stamina to confidently move ahead." 

Wajeeha Ali

HR & Talent Management
Dubai, UAE

"My CV looked amazing"

"Deciding on which CV expert writer I should go ahead with was definitely a gamble. When I saw Sam’s work and profile it just clicked. This is exactly what I wanted. He gets into your shoes and makes it happen. My CV looked amazing after Sam had worked on it. I was totally “in love” as it looked amazing. He guides you with extremely minor details to seeing the bigger picture of how you, as an Individual would sell yourself to recruiters. The coaching that he provided on LinkedIn effectiveness has just added up to my confidence level. For those who really want to invest and get the right CV and as Sam says “it is your career life we are handling”, he is definitely the guy to do it. Sam, the work you do is truly superb! Thank you so much. I just can’t wait to share my success story with you soon." 

Ayesha Rees

Head of International Sales
City & Guilds

"... inspiring, pragmatic, personable and, in a good way, challenging."

"I first met Sam at an event where he was one of the lead speakers, his approach to personal branding is the bridge between good enough and exceptional, and in a time where perception is every thing, something all professionals need to consider. I have since used Sam for a number of other projects, where he has always been; inspiring, pragmatic, personable and, in a good way, challenging. He really makes you think about a situation, challenging perceptions and identifying new ways of working. I would highly recommend Sam to any company or individual who are looking for an image overhaul or improvement."

Andrew Ellis

CFO | Finance Director
Former Group CFO L.K. Bennett
Former Head of Commercial, TESCO

"When you want to really look at what you want in your career, and where you want to get to – talk to Sam."

"When you want to truly understand your skills and experience – talk to Sam. When you want to feel confidence in what you’ve done – talk to Sam. We’ve all asked ourselves – “What’s next?”, “what does good look like?” as we consider our careers, and how to make the best of them. Sam, provides an excellent source of challenge and support in this process. Helping you really look inside yourself to what you really want, and linking that to your skills and experience. This then feeds the writing of your CV and optimising your Linkedin profile. It is all based on being authentic, it is about being honest, and coupled with Sam’s coaching you feel confident in the best you!"

Mandy Kearns

Buying Director, Peacocks UK
Former Global Clothing Buying Director TESCO

"a CV I felt proud of; relevant, impactful and confident"

"I had the pleasure of working with Sam this year and valued his tremendous support in helping me focus on what next in my career.

He was always positive and encouraging and from asking the right questions, he was able to gather real insight into my career achievements and personal strengths.

The result was a CV which I felt proud of; relevant, impactful and confident show casing my personal brand. I had direction, a new network to discover and I felt very positive and for that I thank Sam.”

Sylvie Millet

Trilingual Senior Executive Assistant
Givaudan, France

"I would highly recommend Sam to anybody looking for a super coach."

"Sam is a great professional who perfectly knows his job and adapts himself to your needs. He helped me to build self confidence and to get prepared to interviews.

Sam is a very good communicator and makes you understand things in a simple and easy way. I only have very positive comments on my CV. Sam underlined what was important in my experience and needed to be highlighted.

I would highly recommend Sam to anybody looking for a super coach."

Jo Searle

CEO, UK

"Sam was recommended to me by two contacts when I was looking to develop my CV."

"I was a little sceptical about the process that Sam outlined as i thought a cv was a cv... but I now know it is so much more. Throughout the coaching and cv development process Sam clearly identified the steps required to get to the desired outcome. He was extremely engaging, clear, patient, and responsive to questions and comments. I found the indepth, and what I thought slightly strange at times, process of identifying what direction I wished my career to take, and the values that are important to me, a really insightful journey, the result being a CV that I am so proud of, but in many ways more importantly, I now have huge confidence and clarity in my experience and skills and true ownership of where I might wish to go. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend working with Sam to develop a cv, to look at where you might want to develop towards, and to develop the skills and tools to maximise your opportunities to achieve it."