I Don’t Know What’s Wrong – 2

You can repeat your mistakes or learn from them. That’s up to you. Life’s lessons are many and varied. Some are easier to understand than others.

When it comes to interviewing it’s hard to know what comment, question, response, smile, frown, or explanation got in the way of your winning first prize. There are too many X’s and Y’s, too many unknowns, and too little opportunity to find out what worked and what didn’t.

To be or not to be: Interviewers base their hiring decisions on a variety of technical and interpersonal statements and impressions that emanate from the applicants’ ability to present skills, strengths, and contributions in cogent, convincing, compelling sound bites. Those who are selected come across as open, goal focused and confident while not appearing assumptive, arrogant, or overly ambitious.

Hiring decisions can be imprecise and difficult to justify, which is why even the most objective interviewers would rather not get into extended discussions about the finer points of their process with applicants who didn’t make the grade.

So what can you do to improve on your ability to make favorable impressions?  Practice with individuals you trust that are willing and able to provide you objective and subjective, constructive, honest, direct feedback and insight regarding how you can improve the style and substance of your interview.

Before you involve appropriate acquaintances, friends or family in your pursuit, assess your level of openness to different perspectives and your willingness to do something with what you hear. If you’re not prepared, don’t start.

If you’re ready and so are they, establish the ground rules: when you’ll meet and how often, what’s fair game and what isn’t, and if compensation is involved, how much? Establish an exit strategy. A great idea can sour quickly if either or both participants aren’t as enamored with the process as they thought they’d be.

What’s your starting point? Your ability to describe the job you want and the experience, strengths and abilities you have that enable you to be successful doing it. If you haven’t figured that out you’re not ready for prime time.

What’s the responsibility of the feedback provider? To play the role of interviewer, asking direct and probing questions about your current expectations, perceived value and future aspirations, asking you to describe your setbacks as well as your successes.

What’s the process? Feedback providers ask the questions, listen to your responses and feed back to you the variety of impressions they derive from what you say. If their impressions are positive, you keep going; if their reactions are mixed or negative, brainstorm and experiment with better ways to respond to the question. Practice your changes, don’t memorize them, and when your interviewer-coach gives you the thumbs up, move to the next set of questions.

For feedback to be helpful it should be specific, behavior based, and descriptive. In other words, you want to see and hear yourself as you are seen and heard. Here’s an example:

When I asked you to describe your worst boss this is what you said:

“He made me angry”; “he made me feel badly”; “there was nothing I could do”.

As you spoke, you slumped in your chair, looked fatigued, and your face crumpled as though you might cry. I had the impression that in that circumstance you saw yourself as a victim; that you felt helpless and unable to choose differently.

If I were an employer I’d want to hire someone with the experience and capability of making mature choices in difficult situations. Try again: how would you describe your worst boss in a way that illustrates your ability to deal effectively under adverse conditions?

If you want to learn from your mistakes, ask for honest feedback.

I Don’t Know What’s Wrong

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I think I have a great looking resume and impressive experience; that I’m reasonably attractive, smart, and have an outgoing personality. I’ve mailed hundreds of resumes and haven’t had one interview! I’m frustrated and losing confidence. I’m enclosing my resume for your review. I need help so don’t hold back.

I’ve looked it over and here’s what I see that’s working in your favor: You have an impressive education, a competitive major, a strong GPA, and what appears to be a strong work ethic. That indicates you’re focused on what’s important to you and you’re willing to work hard to get it. Your resume looks professional, the spelling’s correct, and there aren’t gaps in your employment. Your track record shows wide-ranging experience: that you’ve worked in a variety of positions for several different organizations in a relatively short period of time.

What’s working against you? Wide- ranging experiences working for several organizations in a relatively short period of time can be a turn off to many employers. Your four- page resume is too long and the tiny type, narrow margins, and all those italics make it hard to read. Your best information is buried inside dense paragraphs, written in technical jargon that’s known to a precious few, and you’ve used too many words to describe too many things. Ouch.

What can you do? Rethink, regroup, redesign, refocus, and refill your coffee cup. This may take a while:

Rethink: Be concise; convincing without hype; and immediately understandable. Include information that reinforces your objective; delete information that detracts from it.

Regroup: What job you want? If you don’t know (your current objective is ambiguous) the employer won’t either, and won’t figure it out for you. If you want to be competitive, you’ll need to spell out what you’re competing for. Once you have it, write a one- sentence objective that describes it. That’s your lead.

Redesign: You went to a top tier school, received a business degree, graduated with honors, worked your way through school while maintaining a 4.0 and hid that information on the bottom of page four. You have an important, impressive selling point. It needs to be on page one, right after your objective.

Use a reverse chronological format because that’s what the overwhelming majority of potential employers want to see. A functional format reads well but looks like you’re trying to cover up something (too many jobs in too few years? terminations? poor choices?) and is likely to get tossed.

Widen those margins, increase that typeface to 12 point, and select a font that’s easy to read.  The typical reader scans your resume in about 20 seconds so if you want your best stuff to get noticed, get it on page one, front and center and get the job done inside two pages, max.

Refocus: For each company you’ve worked, include the name of the organization, location, your title, and start and end dates of your employment. Indicate your promotions with title changes, and briefly outline your broadened authority and accountability. Use bullet points to highlight accomplishments and validate each accomplishment in quantifiable terms that are easily understood and verified. When briefly describing your responsibilities, lead with what you enjoyed most and were most successful doing and minimize or eliminate what you no longer want to do.

Ask objective outside readers (who aren’t friends or family) to proof your resume for correct spelling and syntax and to give you feedback by answering a few questions: To what extent am I: Clearly and succinctly describing the job I want?  Making my case by providing the information necessary to obtain it? Coming across as someone who’s made a difference for the companies I’ve worked?

Smile

Smile. That’s right. Smile. Too many of you are walking into your interviews as though you’re ready to have a very long and involved conversation with the Grim Reaper. Rewind. An interview provides you an opportunity to learn about a job to which you may be well suited, and to present your credentials in order to secure the position. That’s reason enough to smile.

Yes, the business of getting a job is serious business, but that doesn’t mean you have to be solemn, stern, and humorless.

Here’s the deal: Interviewers are interested in finding out if you can do the job they have to offer. They want to hear about your work experience and how that experience can indicate or predicate your ability and competence to do the job at hand. As they ask questions, listen to your responses and listen to the questions that you ask, they’re making another determination: Will you, no matter how skilled, fit in with and be accepted by their existing team? If the answer is no, you’re history. If it’s yes, then hello, paycheck.

What can you do to act as though you fit in when you aren’t really sure what you’re trying to fit into? Look open, pleasant, and pragmatically optimistic. That’s easy to do if you’re mindful about how you’re coming across. If you’re not, some unappealing behaviors can pull up a chair next to you and interview in ways that cause your candidacy to lose its attraction.

Look open: Job candidates who look open appear interested in new information, they’re forthcoming when asking questions, sharing observations, or making statements, however daunting the subject. They communicate openness through body language, word choices, tone and tonality.

Act pleasant: When your acting pleasant there’s an amicability and peacefulness about you; a get- along quality that suggests a preference for harmony over discord.

Pragmatic optimism: When you’re a pragmatic optimist you talk about what’s working, not what isn’t, of who and what’s good, rather than who’s behaving badly and causing something to fail. You’re solution- seeking rather than fault- finding and you sound like someone who likes to learn from experience rather than repeat past mistakes.

For all those reasons and more, people are comfortable with you, enjoy being with you, aren’t threatened by you and trust that you’ll do the right things for the right reasons.

What else can you do to enhance your interview success? Tell a good story. Here’s what I mean: You’ve probably noticed that when speakers say, “let me tell you a story”, they get your attention. With that simple transitional phrase they’re able to transport you from lecture hall to club room; they’ve closed the gap that exists among strangers by an apparent willingness to share information about themselves or others that you’ll likely understand, connect to, and remember. So it is when interviewing.

If you can narrow the gap that naturally exists between prospective employer and potential employee you’ll improve your odds of making a positive impression. For example:

When responding to specific yet open-ended questions about your experience respond by telling true stories that answer the questions as well as illustrate points you want to make.  But be careful, you can overdo it.

Be brief. You may find your stories more entertaining than does the listener.

Be mindful of the words you use. Some storytellers get so carried away with their own anecdotes they assume an intimacy with the listener that does not exist.

Respect the agenda. One story too many and you’ll throw interviewers off schedule. They’re not looking for a raconteur, they want to hire the person who can get the job done, efficiently, effectively, and on time

References

References. Applicants and interviewers worry about them, don’t know how to choose them, to use them, to check them, and as a result, lose out on opportunity, insight, and information both could benefit from receiving.

Job hunters need references, good references, because bad ones or those casually chosen can sink an opportunity like a rock. References should be chosen from the pool of individuals who have directly or indirectly supervised their work, and are willing to speak about and respond to questions about performance, strengths, skills, and the behaviors and attitudes they’ve projected.

Job hunters should screen references as carefully as prospective employers screen applicants. Here’s an example of what I mean: Joe Applicant calls and schedules a visit with Ms. Smith, his former boss and intended reference. He describes the position that he seeks and asks if she considers the opportunity a good match for his abilities. Joe listens closely to what Ms. Smith says and how she says it. If she’s positive, specific about why she believes the match to be a good one, encourages his candidacy, and agrees to serve as a reference, Joe’s has a positive resource on his side.

But what if Ms. Smith responds differently? What if she hesitates, equivocates, is unenthusiastic and obviously uncomfortable. Joe should ask her to clarify her reasons for hesitation.

“Ms Smith, I noticed that you got pretty quiet when I described the

position that I’ve applied for. You’ve always leveled with me in the past, so I hope you will now. What are your concerns?”

Ms. Smith will probably tell you. As a result, you can reconsider: the position might not be a good match, or Ms. Smith, your former boss, might not be reading the situation correctly. Bottom line: get more information. That means, ask your other potential references for feedback.

If Mr. Jones and Ms. Davis agree with Ms. Smith that you’re not well matched to the job, ask them for descriptions of jobs that better suit your skills and abilities. If, however, Jones and Davis think it’s a great match, and disagree with Smith, take Ms. Smith off your list of references for this opportunity, despite her having agreed to serve.

Once you secure your references, keep them in the loop on a need to know basis. Tell them when they are likely to get calls, from whom, and about what.  The reference is likely to mirror the applicant’s confidence and enthusiasm about the job, so be mindful of that when calling with an update.

Employers should take the time and effort to check references on their would-be employees. When employers ask the right questions, references can provide important information and insight as to a candidate’s past performance.

Employers need a plan before they place a call. They need to know what they’re looking for in the right candidate; the current responsibilities, skill sets, innate strengths and personality traits that are essential to the position’s success.  They need to outline significant challenges the incumbent confronts because the new employee will have to deal with the old issues and new ones, yet to be defined. (i.e. falling sales, rising costs, difficult bosses, disgruntled employees, unrelenting turnover, draconian cuts, unexpected and unplanned for organizational change.)

The employer should ask open- ended questions and ask for anecdotal examples that describe the candidate’s significant accomplishments, strengths and areas of development. Close-ended questions should be limited to those regarding employment dates, salary history, and re-employment.

The employer’s questions should be specific to the workplace, staying away from questions that are considered illegal and inappropriate when asked of an applicant: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and age.

Some companies have hard and fast rules that limit the information a prior employer will release regarding an employee. The only way you’ll know if that’s the situation, is to speak directly to the individual whose name the applicant has provided. Most references want to do the right thing for applicants, as well as for those who hire them. That means sticking to business, to facts and to telling the truth. When it works, it’s an effort that’s mutually beneficial.  Make it work. It’s worth the time it takes.

Five Fresh Tips

You’ve asked for more interviewing strategies and here they are:

1. Pay attention while walking around.

If you have a chance to tour the facility where you’re interviewing, go for it. It’s a great way to get a read of the culture and a handle on your comfort within it. For example, if employees appear to move about in stony silence and the place is quiet as a tomb, the company might be a model of productivity and focus, introverted reflection, or reeling from bad news. All or none of the above? Take note, and check out your impressions with the interviewer.

If the place is jumping, employees are laughing and talking, and look like they’re having fun, they could be an extraverted, creative group, enjoying each other and their work, or a chaotic, non-productive, un-structured mess. All or none of the above? Check it out.

Are employees greeting you and your host or keeping a respectful distance? Does that tell you it’s an interactive, manage by walking around company, or one that is formal or remote?  See what I mean? The tour is a gold mine of clues to culture, style, and effectiveness. Don’t assume, check out your impressions.

2. Find out what happens next.

Rather than get frustrated because you’ve had a great interview and you don’t know what happens next, ask.

“Mr. Johnson, I want this job because I can make an immediate contribution to your company. When am I likely to hear that I’m in the running for it?”

“Well, Sally, (if that’s your name) we have several more people we’ll be interviewing. You should hear something in a few weeks.”

Not enough information. If you want more, take it up a notch.

“Thanks, Mr. Johnson. Here’s my dilemma: I’m really interested in this job but I’m in the process of interviewing with other companies. If I get another offer, should I accept it?”

If Mr. Johnson says, “ by all means, take it”, keep looking, because this job won’t happen.  Conversely, if Mr. Johnson says, “Sally, if that occurs, don’t accept until you’ve spoken with me. Here’s my direct number.” Good news. Mr. Johnson thinks you’re a contender. Stay in touch and yes, keep looking. You’re in the hunt until you have a firm offer.

3. Know when to walk and when to talk.

Put everything you have into every interview you take and don’t bolt if after the first few minutes, you don’t hear what you want. There’s always more you can learn about the company’s opportunities and much more for the interviewer to learn, and appreciate, about what you bring to their table, if you’ll  keep your seat.

Having gleaned all you can, assess the potential of your options. If you find that where you’ll spend most of your time is what you do least well, take a pass. If you accept a job that’s a poor match, the likely result will be terminal boredom, terminal terror, or just plain termination: they’ll fire you or you’ll fire them.

4. Know when to accept an offer and when to let it go.

Do you know the full extent of your responsibilities and accountability? Do you know when they expect you to begin making a measurable, quantifiable difference to the department? Have you met everyone with whom you’ll be working? Are you aware of the challenges you’ll face? Are the salary, benefits, and title commensurate with what’s expected of you? Will you be doing what you do best while expanding your learning through training and development because of the opportunities they provide?

If it’s a job with great potential, take it. If it’s just OK on a good day, keep looking.

5. Should you call, wait, or keep looking?

Ah, classic case of the what-to-do’s. You’ve had a dynamite interview. You loved them. They loved you. They promised an offer. Seven days have passed and you haven’t heard from them. Call or wait?

Call. Once. With a positive, confident, energetic tone:

“Mr. Jones, this is Tom Smith and I’m looking forward to hearing from you, working with you, and making an immediate contribution to your company.”

Then lace up your shoes, and keep looking.

Five Fresh Tips

By request, I’ve prepared some interviewing tips for you. If you like these, you’ll get five more next week.

1. Extraverts! Don’t talk too much! You’re so good with words you don’t

seem to know when to stop using them and you’re talking your way in and out of great opportunities.

Instead, stay on point and make your points calmly and succinctly. Don’t repeat yourself. And don’t interrupt.

Sell yourself on track record and potential, not on exaggerated statements and promises that sound over the top.

Limit your responses to a minute or less. If you keep going you’ll fry the patience and attention of the listener. Make your strongest points at the beginning of your response, not at the end.

Go for an airtime ratio of 60/40. The interviewer gets 60, you get 40. Use it judiciously; not all in one breath.

2. Introverts: Speak up more! A stellar resume won’t help if you consistently under-whelm your interviewers.

(“The applicant was great on paper but flat in person. She didn’t tell me enough about her ability, experience, and accomplishments to do herself justice. I had no choice but to pass on her application.”)

Get in the habit of saying more, not less, and elaborate, don’t edit your points. Brag a little. Brag a lot. As understated as you are, it won’t sound like hype.

You’re not prepared for the interview unless you’ve practiced your responses with people willing to distract (a particular challenge for introverts), critique, and coach you so you’re ready for the big game.

Practice your social meet and greet skills so you can carry your weight in the limited but necessary light talk that precedes the heavy lifting of the interview.

3. Don’t talk in circles. Say what you mean! Applicants lose time and ground when they answer questions with responses that go nowhere. Rather than jabber on in hopes of stringing together a series of sentences that make sense, own that you either need time to reflect on the answer, or that you don’t have an answer. If you’re confused by the question, and want clarification, say so. If you want to know why the interviewer asks the question so that you can respond to the intent, rather than the content, say so. Bottom line, come across as someone who doesn’t sidestep the truth, but tells it, straight up. Employers like it that way.

4. Ask more questions! Nothing kills an interview more quickly than the applicant who doesn’t ask questions, even if the interviewer “answered every one of them, before I could even ask!”

Give me a break. If the interviewer answered every one she was a mind-reading, non-stop talker, or your questions were no- brainers. Which isn’t saying much for either of you.

If you wait until the end of an interview to ask questions you’ve missed countless opportunities along the way to learn more and to maximize the information you’ll get.  Timing is everything. When the interviewer discusses job responsibilities that tap into your best stuff, ask questions that probe for elaboration and respond with examples of your accomplishments. If you’re interested in the vision of the company, because that’s where you can contribute, ask. If you want to know more about the challenges they face, because you’re a problem solver, ask. Ask questions that enable you to showcase your talent, and allow you to match your values, ethics, and preferred management style to what you discover, are theirs.

5. Listen! If you want to master the art of the interview, master the art of listening. A good listener can frame questions based on where the interviewer is going, not where he’s been. A good listener knows what’s safe to probe and what’s better left undisturbed. A good listener balances listening with responding, follows the flow, understands context, and asks the necessary questions that fill in the missing pieces. A good listener answers the why of a question, and not just the what. A good listener benefits both sides by asking open-ended questions that encourage dialogue, not monologue. Above all, good listeners model behaviors that indicate when dealing with ambiguity, they choose ready, aim, fire, instead of the reverse.

Mr. Smiley

Last week I described the saga of Sam Smiley. An affable fellow who, as a young man, chose a career in sales because family and friends said he should.  “You’re a natural”, they said. “You’re a warm, outgoing guy. People like you; they’ll trust you; they’ll buy from you.”

What a relief for Sam! “I’m a warm, outgoing guy, and trustworthy, too. People like me so they’ll buy from me. What a concept!”

Sam did as directed and enjoyed modest success in sales for many years, until this one. He’s just been fired and he’s at a loss to understand why.

His boss said that he wasn’t aggressive enough, that he didn’t close sales

and when he did, the deal would unravel before the ink was dry. Instead of being accountable and accepting responsibility for his mistakes, he’d blame others.

“You’re a pleasant enough fellow to have around, Sam, but you do too little and cost too much to stay on the payroll.”

Sam knows that sales aren’t for him and never have been.  He’s never liked cold calling and can’t bear rejection. He’s been kidding himself, stalling for time, ducking for cover, hiding the truth from himself and from others. He needs to get on with his life but how do you do that when you’ve never known how and you’re turning fifty.

Sam Smiley told his wife that he wants out of sales but doesn’t know what else to do. She said that she’d like to be supportive of him but they have big expenses and need a big income to make ends meet. He wanted to tell her that she needed to get a job, that she needed to spend less and help more.  But Sam just smiled and said, “that’s fine, you’re right. I’ll figure something out.”

Sam went to his doctor, who was an old friend and confidante.  The doctor, noting Sam’s elevated blood pressure, wanted to know what was going on. Sam described his dilemma: “If I get another job in sales I’ll be miserable. If I get a job doing something different I’ll have to start over.  At my age, I don’t know if I’ll  have the energy, or the opportunity.”

His doctor-friend suggested that he watch his diet, exercise more, and take charge of his life. Sam didn’t know what that last part meant but agreed that it sounded like a good idea.

“Take charge of your life, Sam.” You’re at a fork in the road. Take the fork on the right and stay in sales. You can make that work if you decide to become more assertive, focused, and deliberate in your goals. It won’t be easy Sam, but it’s doable.

Take the fork to the left and dare to do something more in keeping with your natural style and preferences. It’s risky, Sam, but if you have the courage to change directions you may find more satisfaction in the work that you do.

Whatever fork you choose and direction you take, Sam, you’ll always face difficult people and challenging situations. If you want to change the outcome,  replace your old responses with new attitudes. Change your attitude and you can change your behavior. Learn what it means to take actions that are consistent with integrity. Learn what it means to be congruent and forthright in what you say and how you say it. Learn that you can “be nice” and negotiate fairly; that you can be trustworthy, and close a deal.  Learn that it’s better to under-promise and over-deliver.

Find mentors from whom you can learn to do best what you do least well. Practice in all the places in your life: with your spouse, your children (of whatever age), and your friends.

A hearty handshake and pleasing demeanor won’t replace competence and hard work. Get up to speed on what you need. Improve your computer skills. Learn how to read a balance sheet. Read business journals. Find out what the competition is doing. Create a niche for yourself that everyone agrees adds value to the organization.  Confidence comes from mastering what eludes you, whether it’s your ability to initiate or complete, negotiate or compete. Take charge of your life, Sam, and do it now.

Originally published in the Greensboro News and Record

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.

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