Helping Well-Heeled Millennials with Career Transition


By Nancy Colasurdo –

Lesley Mitler is watching TV one evening when her cellphone rings. It is one of her millennial-age clients who had been interviewing for his top-choice job for an NFL team. She talks him through a few questions and he gets the job. When Mitler says his parents must be so excited, he realizes he hasn’t yet called them.

“He actually called me before he called his parents,” Mitler says. “That’s how embedded we are.”

The “we” is Mitler and her business partner, Jill Tipograph. They are the co-founders of Early Stage Careers, a New York-based company, servicing clients globally, that bills itself “a highly personalized service that seamlessly bridges the gap between being a college student and a young professional.” Mitler’s anecdote is a clear example of why affluent parents are willing to pay top dollar for it.

Both parents of millennials, the two formed their company in 2015 after seeing a need. Mitler’s background is mostly in recruiting for financial services, but in 2009 she founded Priority Candidates to help recent college graduates transition into careers. Tipograph, formerly a marketing executive, is an educational consultant and the founder of Everything Summer.
The two have a sizzling, complementary dynamic that they bring to their young clients.

“We stay with them until they accept an offer and mentor them their first year on the job,” says Tipograph.

As their business evolved, they saw an opportunity to expand their selection of services, even adding a customized concierge service.

“We are giving them critical skills that do not expire and will help them get to their next jobs,” Mitler says. Those skills might include Excel training or advising on wardrobe/haircut.

Mitler and Tipograph are also profoundly cognizant of how important it is to cultivate a relationship with the parents who are paying their fee.

“One hundred percent of parents say to us that these kids come through this process with more confidence,” Mitler says.


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