You’ll Get the Outcome You Have in Mind

What outcome do you have in mind? You need to know, because that’s the outcome you’re going to get.

By means of illustration, I have a story for you. It’s called, “The Pineapple.”

One day Alice (I’ve changed the name to protect the bold) went to her favorite grocery store to buy a pineapple. She took it home and sliced it open. It was one bad piece of fruit. Rotten to the core. She called the store manager, described the pineapple’s condition and asked if he would like her to return it for a refund.

“There’s no need,” he said, “we trust you. Just remind us when you come in and we’ll be glad to refund your money or deduct the amount from your next purchase. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience. We’ll look forward to seeing you soon.”

Alice was disappointed with the pineapple and very satisfied with the manager’s gracious response.

The next day, and because she was in the neighborhood, she stopped at another location of this favorite store. She selected another pineapple and told the check out clerk of her conversation with the sister store’s manager.

“Where’s your receipt?” said the clerk. “We can’t refund your money or exchange a product without a receipt.”

Alice was startled by the abrupt reply, but explained the situation again, indicating that she had not kept her grocery store receipt, never expecting to have to prove her pineapple purchase.

“We cannot do anything without a receipt,” said the clerk, “store policy.”

Alice asked for the store manager.

He appeared immediately, if somewhat impatiently, and quickly asked Alice to explain her problem. She described the pineapple, as she had to the first manager, and indicated her desire to exchange it for a healthy one.

The manager asked for a receipt from the first purchase. “It’s policy,” he said, “store policy.”

Alice, embarrassed and annoyed by the direction this was taking, asked, “Do you think I’m trying to cheat you out of the price of a pineapple?”

The manager did not respond to her question and repeated his request for a receipt or the case was closed. As he turned to leave, Alice made a request by suggesting:

“Here is my card. I’m the President and CEO of a fairly large company that operates in this area. Every year during the holidays, I present hundreds of gift certificates from your store, to my employees, vendors, and account representatives. If you’ll check your records you will see that this amounts to considerably more than the price of a pineapple.”

The store manager slowly turned to face Alice. This time his response was quite different.

“I didn’t know that. I’ll refund your money, or you can take a new pineapple, whichever you prefer.”

The manager followed her to the parking lot, pleading that she allow him to refund her money. “Take a fresh pineapple!” he begged. “Take two!”

“No”, said Alice, “you didn’t trust me or value me until you realized that I represent significant income for your store. You have lost me as a customer. How many other customers have you lost in your desire to save the cost of a pineapple?”

What outcome do you seek? Any strength, overused, becomes its own liability. Whether you’re selling tires, automobiles, or pineapples, overindulge your quest for cost savings and cost efficiencies, and you’ll save money at the expense of customer service, satisfaction, dedication, and loyalty.

Short term gain, long term loss. You do the math.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

 Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Networking Your Way Into a New Career

Networking: the expression is abused, misused and under-explained.

What is it and why should you care?

Networking is the best way to find a job, change jobs, or even change careers. Doing it right takes time, patience, and persistence. Doing it wrong is a waste of effort, energy, and opportunity.

Networking means having focused conversations with individuals who can directly or indirectly influence the direction of your career search.

Networking means finding people whose character and competencies are similar to yours. It’s learning how they successfully achieved what they attempted. It’s brain-storming for new directions to take, steps to make and people to meet. It’s finding perspectives that are fresh, objective, and experienced.

Is it worth your time? Nearly 80% of career opportunities are found through networking. You do the math.

What’s involved?

Begin by calling people you know and respect and asking them to have a brief meeting with you.

(“Alan, I’ve known you for several years and value your perspective. I’d like to sit down with you, for a half hour or so, and ask you some questions as well as discuss some ideas that I have. Are you open to that?”)

You don’t have all the answers, you have the questions, and that’s why you are asking for the meeting.

Where do you begin?

Make a list of appropriate people to contact.

Make a case for the purpose of your call and the outcome you seek.

Design questions that lead to the result you want.

Here’s a tip:

Don’t ask for a job. Don’t ask who’s hiring. Don’t turn your quest into their problem. They’ll resent your call and cross three streets to avoid you in the future.

Follow through. If you’re someone who’s a natural at follow through you’ll like this networking assignment. If you aren’t, get a grip and make a plan. This is about your future. Place the call. Ask the questions. Set up the meeting. Listen, learn. Ask for another contact. Then follow through.

It’s going to feel ambiguous to some of you. You may feel uneasy and unwilling to risk stepping out and stepping up. I’m asking you to take a chance when there’s no way to fail and no place to fall.

The best thing about this assignment is that you get a chance to not have all the answers because you’re not supposed to have them. The reason you are networking is to call on people who can teach you what you don’t know.

If the first person you speak with isn’t much help , the next one might be. You have one job to do right now: ask questions that relate what you do best to where you can do it next. Here are a few examples:

“I can provide you many examples of times that my problem solving has saved company time and money. What kinds of organizations are you aware of, that could benefit from my ability to do that?”

“My skill sets are specific to one industry, but my strengths apply to many. I’ve coached employees to come from behind, and against the odds, to achieve their goals. I’d like to work for a company that values that in an employee. Where would you suggest that I look? Who do you suggest that I talk to?”

Tell your story. Tell it in a way that grabs the listener’s attention and causes them to say, “tell me more.”

If they’re listening, you’re on the right track. If they mention a company and a person to call, you’ve got some momentum. If they want to make that call for you, you’re really getting somewhere. Go the distance.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Steps to Making a Successful Career Transition

Are you in the wrong job? Maybe the wrong career? That’s an alarming thought if you don’t have a clue what the right job might be.

What’s the point of leaving if you don’t know where you’re going or what you’d do once you’d get there? The last thing you want is to end up in the same sorry mess you’re in now.

There are plenty of reasons people stay in the wrong careers:

They may like their job, dislike their boss; like their boss, dislike their job; like them both, dislike their colleagues; like none of them but need the money; like the money, can’t do the job. Whatever the cause, they’re not making a contribution and they know it.

You and others like you, are burning out, dragging around, working at 50% potential, making yourself and everyone around you miserable.

Burnout isn’t terminal, it’s grown up ‘time out’. It’s a place to think and regroup when you’re not where you’d like to be.

Can you be productive in time out? Yes, you can. That’s what it’s for, that’s why you’re there.

What happens? Your brain goes to work, organizing, cataloguing, figuring out stuff that it will tell you about later.

What can you do in the meantime? Hard work. In order to progress to networking and then interviewing, you need to know your strengths and weaknesses; what brings out the best in you and what brings out the worst.

Although you’d probably like to figure that out by sitting alone in the dark, don’t. Haul yourself out of hiding and ask for the opinion of people you trust, who know what it’s like to work with you. Need more help? Ask more questions. It’s a good idea to write down what they say because, chances are, you’re going to be surprised.

What’s next on the agenda? Take what you’ve learned about yourself, pore over old performance reviews, add what you already know and prepare your case.

And your case is? Your rationale for seeking a different career opportunity; strengths that you bring to the table; ways that you can contribute to a company’s bottom line.

Are you ready to interview? Not yet.

Work on your style. Ask others to tell you how you’re coming across: your body language as well as your voice pitch, tone, tempo.

How do you look? Like last week’s laundry? Treat yourself to some new duds. Exercise, socialize, read more and watch less television.

Where’s your resume? Find it or write it or update it. Format it to highlight the strengths you want to emphasize in the future.

Are you ready for primetime? Not unless you’ve practiced for interviews. That means doing role plays, answering open ended questions. (They’re the ones that sound easy but aren’t, like, “tell me about yourself”; “what do you want to be doing in five years?”’ and “what qualifies you to work for us?”)

Rehearse with mature humans who have held responsible jobs. Enlisting the services of your cat, your baby, or your baby sitter’s friend may be convenient and non-threatening, but not a good reality check.

Networking. Come to grips with how to do it right.

We’ve got to come up with a better word than networking. It conjures up images of sweaty palmed, glad handing back slappers telling everyone in earshot, “give me a call me if you hear about a job.”

That’s not networking. That just tricks you into thinking you’re looking for a job while you’re really wasting your time and everyone else’s.

What is networking? Come back Thursday and we’ll continue your job search. In the meantime, do your homework.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Take Charge of Your Career

Hugh Dooit is a personable, intelligent fellow who by all conventional standards should be enjoying a reasonably successful career. He isn’t. He’s blocked by an outdated expectation that others will guide his career and provide the criterion and access he needs to reach his goals.

Hugh, there was a time that your boss, your human resources rep, and if you’re lucky, an internal mentor would work with you, charting your course as you worked your way up the corporate ladder. Today, you’re lucky if you can find a ladder to climb over the transom of your well defended boss’s office. No one has time to talk about career tracking; they’re all busy keeping their companies on track and their respective careers from derailing.

Hugh Dooit.

“If I knew how to do it, I’d have done it! I need help!”

Hugh, settle down. Let’s put together a do it yourself program.

For starters, what are you good at doing?

“I’m a trouble shooter. If you’ve got a problem, I’m the one who fixes it. Are your systems chaotic? Are your procedures a mess? Is your place so disorganized you could lose your car in it? I’m the one who streamlines, organizes, expedites, and gets you out of the mess you’re in.”

Any thing else?

“I’m the one that employees go to when they need something done quickly. I find the answers while they’re still defining the problem.”

Does any of that impact the bottom line?

“You bet it does. I save the company time and money and since time is money, I save them a heap of it.”

Hugh, you’re saying you’ve got the ability to cut to the chase and get the job done. What greater impact can you have on your company?

“I can do a heap more than I’m doing, that’s for sure. Right now I’m not much more than a glorified go-fer. I know I’m appreciated. But that doesn’t pay the bills and doesn’t make me feel like I’m living up to my capabilities. Supervisors are always telling me that they’re surprised I don’t have a more important job in the company yet it doesn’t occur to any of them to promote me.”

What job would you like to have?”

I’m a great #2 person. That’s right, the person who works for #1. I’m not a visionary, but I can take a vision and turn it into a reality. I’m not a theoretician, but I take theory and change it to practical application. I make things happen.

Where would you like to work?

“I want to work for a company that does what it takes to meet the needs of its customers. If that means reassessing direction, reformulating products, reevaluating after-market quality and internal customer service, they have the courage and capability to do it. I want to work for a company that’s tough when it’s called for and flexible when that’s what’s required. I want a company that listens to, and respects its internal customers like it does to its external clients.”

You sound like you’ve given this a great deal of thought.

“It’s all I think about. I’ve got so many ideas for this company it’d blow you away.”

Why don’t you tell anyone?

“No one asks. No one’s interested. Everyone seems to so focused on getting their jobs done they lose sight of what the company needs to improve.”

All the more reason for you to tell them what you can do for them and what you can do for the company. Hugh, get in front of decision-makers. Talk to them like you’ve talked to me. Tell them you want a chance to prove yourself by being assigned a project that you can take and make something worthwhile happen. Don’t give up on them unless you’ve given them a chance to see who you are and what you can do.

Take charge of your career. If you consistently make your case and no one listens; if what you value most in a company is valued least where you work, and you haven’t the flexibility to do what takes to be successful, what are you waiting for?

It’s up to you, Hugh, do it.

Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Little Things That Count Big

Lonely Layoff? Get Moving!

It’s easy to get stuck between lonely and cranky when you lose your job, particularly when your neighbors and friends still have a job to go to. You know you have to get on with life and start interviewing, but you’re having a tough time getting off the couch and putting on your shoes. If that’s your situation and you have the energy to read this column, I have some ways to remedy your situation.

Begin by confronting your feelings. You’re going through a difficult experience and it’s natural to be bombarded with a variety of emotions, everything from disorientation to denial; guilt to grief.  Be patient with yourself. You can’t rush feelings; they unfold in their own time. So deal with them, and they’ll pass, even though it’s slow going.

You may get in a habit of sleeping in or hiding out. Whatever you call it, it’s time to rejoin the living. One of the best routes to reentry is through exercise, which is as good for your head as it is for your heart and all your other parts. Whether you power lift at the gym or power walk in the neighborhood you’ll start feeling better about yourself.

Once your energy’s returned and your optimism restored, you’re ready to launch your search. There’s plenty to do, so dig in.  Start with your resume. Organize your information in reverse chronological order, listing job titles, locations, employment dates, duties and responsibilities. Quantify your accomplishments.

Next, write a basic cover letter that accompanies your resume. You can customize it later. Keep it simple with three brief paragraphs: The purpose (the reason you’re sending a resume), rationale (how your experience demonstrates you’re the one for the job), and expectation (the date you’ll call to secure the interview). That’s it.

Now you’re ready to Network. Let your friends and acquaintances know that you are looking for a job by describing what you want to do and why you’re good at doing it. Ask for suggestions of people to contact, and offer to keep in touch regarding your progress.

Prioritizing and time management will offset procrastination. Know what’s most important, make a plan, then do what you find most difficult, first, what you find easiest, last, and stick with the program five days out of seven. You’ll have the weekend to do it the other way around.

Next on your list of must do’s: What do you want in your next job? For some, it’s more of the same, for others, it’s a clean break from the past. If you’re heading down a trail you’ve never been before, you’ll benefit from the advice of those who have already completed the journey as well as those whose business it is to advise about such things. Once you get the direction sorted out, describe it to others in ways they can understand so they can help you get there.

Now it’s time to make a list of individuals who can directly or indirectly connect you to the job you want. Who are the people who know people who hire people? Here are a few ideas to jump start your thinking: the person you sit next to at a ball game, religious service, concert, or dinner party. The person you typically stand next to at a soccer match, meet in the grocery store, or visit at a coffee shop. Former or current classmates, work mates, play mates. And what do you say after you ask them how they, their kids and the job is doing? If you’re changing career paths, try something like this:

“I’ve given a lot of thought to my next career move and what I want to do: (describe what it is and why you’d do well). I’d like to speak with people who do similar work and who enjoy it. They might know of businesses that could benefit from my interest and abilities. Who do you suggest that I contact?”

For every setback we experience, we learn important lessons about life and about ourselves. It takes courage to do something productive with what we learn.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Are You a Greater Risk Than a Reward?

How’s this for a cautionary tale?

“He is so blatant in his demands it’s just breathtaking. That’s his style; impolite, self centered, arrogant, dismissive. I’m not alone in this opinion but I may be the only one willing to take what he dishes out. I’ve been working here ten years, the last five, for him. I’m one of the few still standing. He intimidates everyone, including our company’s President. We’ve had constant churn since he took over as VP. Many of our top producers have left or are leaving us to work for the competition.”

She’s describing what it’s like to work for a combination steamroller-wrecking-ball; someone whose behavior she has endured and has no intention of leaving. He’s the pain she knows, the cross she’ll bear, and the insult so familiar that to be without it leaves her feeling disoriented.

“I don’t want to work for someone else. This person needs me. He depends on me. Who else would take it?  Yes, he’s rude and insensitive but I don’t think that he’s a bad person; that’s just how he is. And I’m not perfect, none of us are. I make mistakes and so does he.”

After so many years of enduring the expected, tolerating it, sometimes welcoming it, she is still being surprised, offended, and hurt by it. She has no desire to find another job, and no intention of telling him what she thinks. She won’t or can’t entertain the thought.

“He’d never let me finish my sentence. He’d cut me off with a few choice expletives and tell me to get back to work.”

Her boss describes their relationship this way:

“She’s used to me and it doesn’t bother her. She’s tough; she can take it. If I really offended her she would have left, so I’m not concerned. Am I politically incorrect? Absolutely. I don’t have time to couch my words and make nice, I don’t have patience with people who need coddling and I’m not going to Charm School.  If employees want to sing Cumbaya, they need to work somewhere else. Turnover doesn’t bother me. People who quit bother me. I don’t have a problem finding talent to replace them.

I like to compete and win. That’s who I am and what I do. I want the life I want, and in my universe, that happens when you focus on the end game, work hard to make it happen, and if people get in the way, you get them out of the way. If they’re too soft to take it, they leave on their own or I tell them to go.  It’s business, it’s not personal.”

I wouldn’t bother telling you all this if it weren’t for the irony of the situation. Several weeks after this self proclaimed King of the Hill described his take on business and his role in it; he was terminated, effective immediately. Who did him in? His long-suffering secretary? The dozen or so employees who left because they couldn’t take him?  Those who remained and wanted him gone? No. The Board. They fired their “intimidated” President and hired a replacement who saw an accident waiting to happen and took action before the company was sued for supporting an environment of harassment or discrimination.

If you consider yourself untouchable, indispensable, and indestructible, because you drive decisions and people harder and faster than whoever is in second place, you may not be as safe as you think. At some point someone bigger than you can take you out for no reason greater than you’re a bigger risk than you are a reward. And they’ll tell you it’s business, not personal. 

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Is Organizational Change Taking Your Breath Away?

If the rapid rate of change in your organization is taking your breath away,  read the late Isaac Asimov’s take on the situation:

“If the last 50,000 years of man’s existence were divided into lifetimes of approximately sixty-two years each, there have been about 800 such lifetimes. Of these 800, fully 650 were spent in caves.

Only during the last seventy lifetimes has it been possible to communicate effectively from one lifetime to another – as writing made it possible to do so. Only during the last six lifetimes (375 years) did masses of men ever see a printed word. Only during the last four (250 years) has it been possible to measure time with any precision. Only during the last two (120 years) has anyone anywhere used an electric motor.

And the overwhelming majority of all the material goods we use in daily life today have been developed within the present, the 800th lifetime.”

You’d think with that perspective, everyone in your organization would feel overwhelmed by change.  But, as we all know, it just ain’t so. Some folks thrive on it. Particularly those who are in charge of making it happen. The rest find themselves somewhere along a continuum: some frozen solid, some grudgingly moving along, some gasping for air while running as fast as they can.

How about you? If  you are stuck, why are you? And what are you still holding onto?

If you lead a team and they’re stuck; why are they? What are they holding onto and why won’t they let it go?

Take the time to figure it out. Relentlessly pushing yourself and your employees won’t get you “there”  faster when you’re not ready to leave where you’ve been.

William Bridges, a leading change management consultant and author of several books on work transition issues, is complexity simplified when he writes, “It’s the transition, not the change that people often resist. Every transition begins with an ending. We have to let go of the old thing before we can pick up the new – not just outwardly, but inwardly, where we keep our connections to the people and places that act as definitions of who we are.

Bridges’ Seven Principles of Transition Management elaborate:

1. You have to end before you begin.

2. Between the ending and the beginning, there is a hiatus.

3. That hiatus can be creative.

4. Transition is developmental.

5. Transition is also a source of renewal.

6. People go through transition at different speeds.

7. Most organizations are running a “transition deficit.”

Does it help to change the word “stuck” to the word “transitional”? It should, if the description better fits the condition.

Anyone who has lost a long held job or meaningful relationship, knows and understands grief. Grief fills a transitional period that separates what was from what is yet to be.

Wise managers understand and acknowledge that time. They realize that many employees grieve their losses as sweeping change moves across a formerly stable workplace.

Wise managers help their employees gain closure. They know that denigrating the past or those who represented it only extends the period of mourning.

Wise managers remove excuses to hold onto the past. They make their case for why change is necessary; what is at risk if change doesn’t happen; and what the future direction will be.

Wise managers figure it out. They involve more minds than their own. They consider solution options and assess the upside and downside impact of each.

Wise managers make their decisions while developing  an organized plan of implementation. They incorporate multi-level feedback loops and adjust as necessary.

Wise managers communicate more times than they think it’s necessary, then communicate some more. They say it, write it, and say it again.

WHY we’re making these changes;

WHAT are the means and method for making them;

WHO will play a part in moving the organization forward;

HOW it will look like when we’re done.

A sense of urgency is enough to stimulate some to action; others just need a road map. The majority need a reason why. Give them what they need and there’s a better chance they’ll follow you into the future.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Career Fair in Town? Make the Most of It!

There’s a Job Fair coming to town and opportunity is coming along with it. Unlike most fairs, this one won’t cost you a dime.

You’ll have a chance to meet company representatives from across the state who set up booths and organize materials with the express purpose of meeting people like you, hard-working, dedicated, skilled people who have the potential of making a difference in their organizations.

If you want to maximize that opportunity it’s going to take time and effort. You’ll have to present yourself effectively and make a compelling case succinctly. For that, you’ll need a plan.

Making an effective presentation doesn’t require a radio voice, Hollywood looks, and a salesman’s mentality.  It necessitates careful consideration to what you want, why you want it, and what difference you can make to a company that you want and wants you.

And yes, it requires that you look the part of who you say you are and intend to be, and that you have the ability to persuade through the words you choose and the ways in which you choose to use them. If you’re lucky you’ll have 60 seconds to make your case, if you’re not so lucky, you’ll have 30. Choose your words wisely.

Looks count. You’ll get one chance to make a first impression and this is it, so think about what you want others to see when they look at you. If the job you want is one in which you are enabling others to get their work done as a result of your ability to streamline processes and organize procedures, present yourself and your materials in a way that suggests order and organization. If the job you seek is one in which you meet and greet the public and are the public face for a private company, be sure you know how the company sees itself and wants to be presented, and dress and act accordingly.

No matter what job you seek, dress like a professional, with careful attention to your personal grooming. Arrive washed and fluff dried, hair combed, teeth brushed, and eager to meet your potential employer.

Select shoes that fit well, and clothes that are neat, clean, and well pressed. Stay away from colors, combinations, fragrances, and jewelry that are breath-taking or eye popping. Keep it simple. Everything you wear should work together, so that you look together, an expression that describes how you feel as well as how you appear.

Cell phones? Leave them in the car. Friends and family? Leave them in the car, too. You have work to do and you want to focus on it, not them.

Resumes and business cards? Take plenty of each, pencils and a paper, too.

How you speak is as important as what you say. Psychologist Albert Mehrabian’s research into spoken communication suggests that 7% of meaning is in the words we speak, 38% of meaning in the way we say them, and 55% of meaning in our facial expressions. Therefore, know what you want to say and speak from your heart and as well as your head. Breathe, relax, smile, talk and listen as someone who is as fully present and comfortable with themselves as they are their material.

Challenge yourself. If you’re good with words but not with grammar, get better, get a tutor. If English is your second language, and it needs to be your first, get better, get a tutor. If computers aren’t your thing and they need to be, improve your skills, get a tutor.

If you’re a big picture person don’t aim for a miniature job. If you’re a stickler for details, stick with what you know.

There’s a Job Fair coming to town. Make the most of it.

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Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

Presentation Counts; Count on It

When getting a job is job one, presentation counts. If you’d like an example of how important that is, read what Linda Stanton, President of Selective Staffing, Inc. writes on the subject:

“Ms. Richman, I am the owner of a local staffing service here in the city. I am amazed at the people who come to us seeking employment who do not see us as an employer. We are, in a lot of cases, the front line to some of the city’s largest employers. However, applicants who come to our location to apply for work do so dressing in shorts, tee shirts, jeans, flip-flops, bedroom shoes, etc. They bring their children, friends and friends’ children to apply. We have to constantly tell them to turn off their cell phones as to not disrupt our office.

I was hoping that in one of your articles or television appearances that you could address these issues. Please explain to job-seekers that Temporary Staffing Agencies are employers. We interview everyone who walks though our door and should be given the same respect as any employer they be applying with.

If applicants do not represent themselves in a professional manner to us then what makes us think they will do it to our clients. Any help you give would be greatly appreciated.”

Thanks, Linda. Your note reinforces what I continue to hear from many employers: that a surprising number of applicants are careless in their dress and conduct when interviewing for jobs. The message they send, and hopefully it is unintended, is that they lack self- respect and respect for others.

When it comes to employment, it’s a buyer’s market. Employers can afford to be selective. They want to make the right choice the first time and are looking at all the information they can gather to help them to succeed in that selection. Help them help you.

Know what you do best. Succinctly describe or bullet point and quantify your accomplishments. Take credit for the victories that are yours and share credit when it’s a team effort, which most successes are.  Own your mistakes. If you spread the blame, you look like you’re making excuses. Not a winning strategy.

Employers want to know how you can benefit them, either by protecting bottom line and saving them time and money, or by driving top line profits with your ability to market and sell their products, systems, and services.

Get to the point. Respond honestly and respectfully to questions you’re asked; keep your responses current, work related and professional in tone and content.  Ask open-ended questions to learn about the (unadvertised) challenges of the job; the (unadvertised) expectations the employer will have of a new hire and how quickly and to what degree of competency the new hire will be expected to perform.

Get into it. Enjoy the give and take of the discussion, and give yourself permission to come across as someone real instead of a cardboard cutout of someone you think you ought to be.

Most employers prefer to hire for the long term, not the short run. Turnover costs time and money and both are in short supply. Therefore, interviewers want to know that you’ve given serious thought to where you want to go in your career; the opportunities and experiences you believe to be important in getting you there; the ways that your strengths and abilities will benefit the company, at every level you serve.

Dress for the next job up the ladder; get comfortable in your skin and in your shoes. If you can lead; set strategy; manage process; organize; create; innovate; or execute, give evidence of when you have and when you will. Demonstrate integrity in all that you do and say. 

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.

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