Question: The Job Search

Thanks for sending me your questions about job search. Here’s just a sample of what you’re asking:

“I’m a career changer having a tough time finding a job in my new field of interest. Do you think that a headhunter will be willing to work with me?”

Headhunters (more politely known as recruiters) will not work with career changers. They will work with individuals who have a proven track record of success in a specific field or area of expertise who want to move up their career ladder. They know what they want, why they want it, and stand a pretty good chance of getting it. They’re articulate, appropriate, grounded, self -aware individuals who are open to opportunities that further their career. They’re realistic about salary, benefits, are willing to relocate, and are highly competitive in their field. Above all, they are persuasive in their ability to describe their feature-benefits to the recruiter, as well as to the company’s hiring authority.

Headhunters aren’t apt to benefit career changers or job hunters who need help in positioning themselves, describing their strengths and abilities, and identifying the appropriate direction for career satisfaction. That’s the work of career coaches and counselors.

“Are employers still checking references?”

Prior to September 11^th you’d be correct if you noticed that fewer employers were checking references. It took considerable time and money to get employment history from former employers who had gotten skittish about providing it. Since the events of September you can expect that background checks will be conducted like never before. Here’s what that means to the average job seeker: Tell the truth, whether it’s on an application, resume, or in an interview. Omission or fabrication, even if discovered after a hire, could result in termination.

“I’m responding to want ads on the ‘net. Should I attach a cover letter along with my resume?”

A cover letter enables you to sell yourself to a prospective employer. You can promote your strengths, skill sets and describe your enthusiasm for doing a specific job for a specific company; information that’s inappropriate if included in the resume. Should you attach it? Absolutely.

“How should I allocate my search time? I’m spending most of my time on the ‘net, checking out Monster and responding to ads. I’m not getting the responses that I want and need. What am I missing? Help!”

Most of your search time should be dedicated to networking. Here’s why: In good times and particularly in bad, the majority of available positions are found through the “hidden” market.

Here’s why: Key positions open when people with critical skills leave their companies without warning. Other positions open when, after a major layoff, more people leave than expected, creating a critical need that must immediately be filled. These employers would rather not advertise openings for reasons that are probably apparent. Instead, they ask key insiders to quickly and discretely find the right people to get the job done.

That’s where your networking strategy comes into play. The greater the number of people you contact, the greater the likelihood that someone you meet will know directly or indirectly of an opening that matches your skills and abilities.

You need to work smart. It takes a considerable investment in time and focus to be an effective net-worker. Meeting dozens of people at back slapping and card swapping gatherings may satisfy your extroverted needs but it won’t leave a lasting impression.

Here’s a method that works: List people you know and respect who know people who hire people. Meet briefly with each person to outline your search and establish your value as a candidate with a proven track record. Describe your strengths and skill sets in ways the listener can understand (no insider tech-talk, jargon, and acronyms) and ask for help in generating additional names of people to contact to further your search. You’re not asking for jobs or special favors. You are asking for assistance because you (honestly) value their insight and intelligence.

What goes around comes around. Please be there if a neighbor, friend, or a former colleague calls for your career advice. That’s just part of what it takes to be a “community.”

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, 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 she started her own practice in 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 TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Dealing with Layoffs

Here are just a few of the emails we’ve received from folks  asking for help when dealing with layoffs:

I’ve just been laid off. What should I do?

Take a deep breath. Go home. Make a plan.

Take a deep breath so you don’t say something you’ll regret later. It’s a small world. The people you work with today can be the ones you’ll work with tomorrow, so be advised, speak with care. And, speak up: let people know that you’ve enjoyed working with them and that you’d welcome the opportunity to work with them again. Then, go home.

Talk to your family and friends. Describe the reality you face and the practical and pragmatic way you’ll work your way through it. Companies survive economic downturns by streamlining systems and paring payrolls. Many hard working people are asked to leave, not because they caused a problem, or failed to solve it. Endings and beginnings are as much a part of the employment cycle as they are the life cycle. We don’t have to like it. We do have to manage it. That requires having a good  exit strategy and an effective re-employment plan.

A plan is as effective as the person who works it. A re-employment plan includes the essentials for career search: An updated resume and a comprehensive list of names and phone numbers of networking contacts.

Your resume should be as succinct as it is accurate. Organize it in reverse chronological order; outline your responsibilities and bullet point your accomplishments.

Your networking list should include names and contact information for people you know and respect, who know people that hire people. You activate the list as soon as you provide your contact an accurate description of the work you want, why you want it, and how an organization can benefit from hiring you to do it.

What’s should I do if layoffs are on the way?

Resist your inclination to hide, duck, or walk around with a bag on your head. The more invisible you become the less valuable you are. Who needs to hang onto someone who’s never where you need him to be? Who needs someone who looks the other way when there’s work to be done? This is the time (it’s always the time) to step up. Everyone has more to do than they can possibly handle so pitch in and help. Want to increase your productivity? Look for ways to cross train. Stay away from naysayers and doomsdayers; they’ll take you and anyone within earshot from pragmatic optimism to the halls of ain’t-it-awful.

Should I tell my family I might get laid off? I don’t want to worry them.

They’re already worried. Anyone with a television or newspaper knows the economy is tipsy and layoffs abound. Confront family fears head on with a candid discussion of what’s real, what’s not, and how to tell the difference. Knowledge is power. The more they know, the better able they are to handle it what lies ahead. Share your job search strategy with them and keep them posted as to your progress. They want to know that you have a plan and you’re working it. There’s a role that every person in the family can play, so let them know how they can help.

Are there ways to safeguard my job when others are losing theirs?

When layoffs are wholesale the best thing you can do is to mobilize your job search plan. When companies are selective about those they keep, they hold onto the people who directly or indirectly make them money and let go of the ones who spend it; they keep the most productive of the lot and let the least productive go. If you want to make the cut, in good times and bad, be sure that you contribute to the bottom line. There are a variety of ways that you can do that. Save the company time and money by expediting and streamlining processes; solve problems; talk less and do more. Combine creative problem solving and efficiencies, manage tasks and lead people. Take charge of your job and your life.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, 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 she started her own practice in 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 TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Preparing for an Interview

What are three things you should know before heading out to an interview?

Know about the company.  Know why you want to interview them.  Know why they ought to interview you.

Let’s get down to basics. Do your homework before interviewing. If you’re short on time, check the prospective employer’s web site. If you have the luxury of more time and the company’s track record is good enough to merit space in business journals, go there. Read for information that describes their core business and business strategy; where they’re going and how they intend to get there. The company’s providing you the information you need to interview intelligently by asking good, relevant questions.

Why interview with them? Where’s the match? What can they offer you that reinforces your strengths and furthers your professional goals?

Why should they interview you? Find out what they need and why they need it. Make your case by linking your experience and expertise to the challenge they present and the direction they are taking. Organize your presentation around a proven track record of accomplishment.

What are three rules that every good resume writer should follow?

On average, a company representative takes about twenty seconds to review your resume. Therefore, keep it brief and on point, saying as much as you can in as few words as possible.

Outline the essentials without elaboration. Start with your current position and go back in time. If you did it before 1985, summarize it. Include three accomplishments for each key position you’ve held.

What are three common mistakes that interviewees make?

Talking too much, coming on too strong, saying too little.

Think through what you want to say, in advance of saying it. That’s called practice and verbose candidates aren’t apt to do it. Coming on strong typically results in over-promising and under-delivering. Saying too little leaves too much to the imagination, none of it helpful or productive.

What are three things the applicant wants to achieve by the interview’s close?

You want to have understood the challenges the company faces and how you can make a difference for them, going forward. You want to have made your case, presenting your track record of accomplishments as they relate to the position you seek. You want to have learned how working for the company can advance your career goals and objectives.

What are three things the interviewer wants to achieve?

You want to have conducted a fair interview; having given the applicant the same time, questions, and opportunity to present as you provided others. You want to have learned more about the applicant’s work history, track record, and potential to contribute than the application and resume combined would otherwise have told you. You want to have described your company, the position opening, and the challenges of both in a fair and balanced manner.

What are three mistakes that both interviewers and interviewees commonly make?

They don’t listen as much as they should, they don’t probe as much as they could, and they don’t create a safe environment that encourages a healthy exchange of information necessary to determine if there would appear to be a fit between the applicant and position being discussed.

Good interviewers are able to strike a balance between intimacy and formality. They know what to say, what to ask, and what combination is necessary to do the job right. They build in sufficient interview time to probe the unexpected response and respond to the unanticipated question. They realize that human beings are unique in presentation style even while sharing common skills and strengths. They value the differences by withholding premature judgment or award until they’ve had time to fully evaluate the individual relative to the competencies desired.

What are three reasons that applicants and organizations benefit from networking?

Each has opportunity to learn more about the other without jumping too quickly or rejecting an opportunity prematurely. Each begins with a level playing field, putting more emphasis on the job challenge and what it takes to meet it than looking for individual differences and exceptions. Each can present and respond with greater candor and less concern of rejection.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, 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 she started her own practice in 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 TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Job Insecurity

Feeling insecure at work? Want some fear insurance? Make a plan. Everyone needs a strategy that’s ready to launch when necessary so that there’s no need to be afraid.

“What if I’m laid off? Who will take care of me? Who will help me?”

We get downright childlike when the “I don’t want to think about it” actually happens. It’s the grown up version of “I want my mommy!”

It’s understandable that employers and employees are spooked. Click on the news and there’s a story about cutbacks. Some unsuspecting folks learned of their imminent demise when reading the morning paper.

If the best defense is a great offense here’s a sound strategy that incorporates three initiatives

1. Figure out what you do best.
2. Write a resume based on a positive track record.
3. Network

Of the three, most people find that networking is their greatest challenge. They think networking means glad handing strangers and asking for jobs. That’s not what it is.

Targeted networking is meeting with like-minded people you know personally, who do work that is similar to what you do or want to do, and brainstorming ways and places there are opportunities for you to do the same.

During the course of the conversation your contact will ask you to clarify your career goals and to describe the kind of assistance you’re seeking. (If you’re not sure, you’re not ready to network). State outright that you’re not asking for a job or for them to find you a job. Say that you value their opinion (you shouldn’t be talking to them if you don’t) and are looking for ideas and suggestions of people to talk to or companies to contact. Then pay attention, take notes, and probe for more information when you hear something you don’t understand. Take it to the next level by making the calls your networking contact recommends. Repeat the process.

At the close of each meeting, ask for a business card and suggest a follow up conversation. Send a thank you note that highlights the gist of the conversation. “I appreciated your advice regarding _________ and will act on that immediately.” The more contacts you develop the greater likelihood that you will find the right job. Next initiative: resumes.

A resume writer, program, or internet site is only as good as the information you enter. You’ll need names and dates of colleges and universities attended and degrees completed; start and end dates of places of employment; names, addresses, and telephone numbers of places you’ve worked; job titles and responsibilities for each position you’ve held; and three accomplishments for each of those positions. I figured I’d get your attention with that last one.

Accomplishments: that’s where the rubber meets the road.  What did you do that advanced the company’s market share, introduced new products, streamlined processes, improved distribution, saved time or money? Bullet point, validate, quantify.

Shun the resume that ‘s overwritten, overblown, or overwrought. It doesn’t matter if a resume service or computer program cranked it out; your name is at the top. You, not spell-check, are accountable for how it looks and what it says.  Edit. Then give to someone else to edit.  Then edit it again. Next initiative: what do you do best?

“Tell me about yourself” is a popular question that causes otherwise articulate people to babble. They don’t know what they’re supposed to say or where they ought to begin.  Rewind. The questioner is really asking, “What do you do best?”

What you do best is what you most enjoy doing and want to do more. It’s when you’re most effective, it’s knowing where you want to go next and what you want to achieve as a result of having gone there.

Practice weaving your comments into an answer that takes no more than a minute or two to complete. Your reaction to that probing question opens the door to a purposeful exchange between two intelligent and informed people.

Now that you have a strategy you can listen to the news, read the paper, and get back to work.

Impression Preparedness

Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Interviews

We’re getting calls and emails from readers who have questions and concerns about layoffs. Here’s a sampling:

“With all this talk about layoffs, I’m so worried I can’t concentrate on my job. What can I do?”

The last thing you want to do is worry yourself out of a job. Change your unrealized fear from something you can’t control to something you can. Put together an employment emergency kit. Fill it with a financial plan, an updated resume, lists of contacts, and a personal inventory of strengths and work accomplishments. Then get back to work. That’s what your employer is paying you to do.

“What’s the difference between a merger and an acquisition? Am I safe in one and in jeopardy with the other?”

In business parlance a merger implies the coming together of equals. An acquisition suggests that the stronger (by whatever definition) has taken over the weaker. The true meaning and the outcome intended are in the minds of the players who cut the deal. Employees who are affected seldom know what that is. When are you safe? When you proactively direct and advance your own career.

“We’ve been laid off. None of us saw it coming and a bunch of us are angry and upset. If we interview now we’re going to blow it. We’ve got to find work, what can we do?”

Take advantage of your shared frustration and release your emotions with each other. The more you get out of your system, with safe people in safe places, the less apt you are to blow up where it’s not and when it isn’t. After you’ve finished venting (that can take a while) contact job seeker support groups in the area, where you can reframe your frustration into positive job search strategies.

“What three things do I need to know before I interview?”

There are more than three, but if I had to choose, they’d be:

Know what you do best and examples of when you’ve done it.

Know what you don’t do well, so that you won’t do it again.

Know what you’re looking for in a job (besides the money).

“What’s the difference between a strength and a skill? Which is more important?”

A strength is innate, a given, you have it without trying. You enhance your strengths by recognizing them (they’re not always as obvious as you might think) and expanding upon them. A skill is acquired. You learn it by study and repeated application. Strengths are immediately transferable, no waiting. Skills transfer, but may not be applicable. You need a combination of both. Proven success combines skills, strengths, and experience.

“How can you network if you don’t get out and meet anyone? I tend to be on the shy side and have never been a joiner. Help!”

You may not be a natural at networking, but you can learn the skills necessary for organizing one: Get together with like minded individuals (they like what you like and they’d go where you’d go, if you went anywhere). You’ve indicated that you don’t like to get out much. If you did, where would your interests take you? For example: If you were a reader, you would hang out in book stores, libraries, museums, and galleries. You would attend book reviews; book signings and book sales. You’d meet the people who attend, talk about mutual interests, and learn what they do, professionally. By describing your current job search you’d ask for suggestions of people you should meet and places you should go.

When you network with people who share your interests they send you looking in the right places.

“I’m over fifty! Who’s going to hire me?”

If you are emotionally and physically healthy, with a positive, energetic outlook, what’s not to like (or hire)? Companies are always in the market for stable, mature, nonjudgmental employees who know how to contribute to the workplace and come ready to work. What you may have given up in physical agility you’ve (hopefully) gained in wisdom and insight. As long as you don’t sign on as a contortionist in the circus, you’re a good bet as a new hire.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, 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 she started her own practice in 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 TheCoachingAssociation.com.

What can you learn from these seven snapshots?

#1 – I’ve been turned down by an employer who obviously doesn’t know talent when he sees it. For example, he asked me technical questions that I couldn’t answer. So I made up stuff that sounded pretty good, considering I didn’t know what I was talking about. He didn’t seem to appreciate my answers, or my jokes. Instead, he peered at me from over his glasses and read his questions off a long sheet of paper, like he was the Grim Reaper. Whatever I was selling, he wasn’t buying. With him being the boss and me being the applicant, you’d think he would have given me points just for hanging in. Well, it’s obvious now that he didn’t. It’s his loss. And I let him know it, in person and email. And I copied the president of his company. That’ll show him.

#2 – I applied for a job and wasn’t allowed to interview because I didn’t have a resume. I said I could talk about what I had done better than I could write about it. The employer said they had rules and one of them was that they needed a resume in advance of an interview, to determine if they wanted to go forward. I told him I was worth their time, and they should trust me on that. He said they’d take a pass. I showed up anyhow. He wouldn’t see me. That’s rude.

#3 – The interviewer had some nerve! Sure I had gaps in my resume. Sure I’ve lost a lot of jobs and quit a bunch of others. But the nerve of her to point that out like it was something I could control. Isn’t that against the law? Who can I report her to?

#4 – Can an interviewer tell me to leave because I’m smoking? All I needed was a couple of puffs to settle my nerves. The interviewer told me it was a “smoke free environment” which means they discriminate against smokers, and I told him so. That’s when he told me to leave. I said that I wasn’t going until I had my interview. He said there wasn’t going to be an interview. If that’s not illegal, I don’t know what is.

#5 – We interviewers know each other because we belong to the same organizations. It’s not uncommon for us to swap “war stories” about applicants whose behavior is outrageous enough to be memorable. When applicants are interviewing with one of us they’d do well to imagine themselves interviewing with all of us.

#6 – Some applicants like to ‘make friends’ with receptionists hoping we’ll put in a good word for them. What they don’t seem to understand is that we can, and do, put in a bad word as well. Our loyalties are to our employers, not to inconsiderate, clueless applicants who talk loudly and incessantly on their cell phones, who litter the reception area with food containers and soda cans, and stroll around like they own the place.

#7 – I conduct interviews in a small, poorly ventilated office. It‘s hard for me to breathe when applicants wear strong perfumes or have strong body odor. As a result, I have to conclude our conversations very quickly.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, 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 she started her own practice in 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 TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Interviewers: Ace the Interview

Resume Your Resume

The Persistent Payoff

Next Page »