Know Who You Are

In your quest to find the right job you’ll need to maximize every interaction and leverage every opportunity. You can do that if you know who you are, what you want, and a good match when you see one.

To know who you are requires an understanding what’s important to you and an inventory of your intrinsic beliefs and extrinsic rewards; what you do best (strengths); what you want to accomplish (potential); and how you’re going to get there (action planning).

You’ll know the viability of a match when you can align what employers value (beliefs and rewards) and need (current and anticipated challenges); where they want to go (strategic vision) and what they expect you to accomplish (near and long term), with what you value, need, and envision for your future.

You can check your interview readiness by answering these questions. Work on them until you own the content and you’re comfortable that you can articulate your responses in meaningful, yet cogent ways. Let’s take it from the top:

Who are you? What do you care about most and value so deeply that if challenged, you would not compromise? What work settings enliven you? What management styles bring out the best in you and what leadership styles engage, challenge, and encourage you to contribute beyond your current capabilities? What intrinsic rewards have greatest meaning to you and what extrinsically, do you require?

What do you do best and most easily? What do co-workers, friends and family consistently ask you to accomplish for them because they know you do it well? What have you achieved that others have acknowledged as having added value to the company’s top or bottom line?

What do you want to accomplish in your career? To what do you aspire and what is your timetable for attainment? What contributions do you want to make? What trade- offs are you willing to accept in pursuit of your goals?

What do you want to accomplish in your life? How do you want to be remembered? What legacy do you want to leave? What concessions, if any, are you willing to make for that to happen?

What’s your strategy for getting there? Are you someone who can envision your place in the future and trust intuition to get you there? Is it easier for you to identify near term objectives and achieve them, one at a time?  Do you prefer to address real- time needs and solve pressing problems by taking life and opportunity as it comes? Whatever your preference, complement your strengths by consulting with your opposites, those who are  adept at seeing what you miss, doing best what you do least well:  Visionaries and tacticians; idea generators and pragmatists; designers and implementers, rule makers and rule breakers.

Ready? As you change focus to what the company needs, be mindful to match your strengths, skills, and potential to the company’s needs, challenges, and direction. What questions should you ask and who’s in the best position to answer them?

Begin with the company’s website and the information that highlights the leadership team’s vision, values and strategy. Check newspaper/trade paper/business journal archives for recent and substantive changes in leadership; news of acquisitions, spin-offs, product line expansions and consolidations; reorganizing, hiring, reductions in force, salary or hiring freezes.

Contact appropriate individuals in your network for information regarding the company’s financial stability, standing in the business community, and reputation among its employees as a strong, supportive place to work.

Proceed to the interview and participate proactively; articulate what you bring to the table, remain open and responsive to the questions you’re asked, and candid in the information you seek, information that enables you to make a sound personal and professional decision.

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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 she started he 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.

Cardinal Career Advice

I’ve noticed that people seem to pay more attention to suggestions when they’re offered in a numerical format. With that in mind I thought you’d benefit from a little cardinal career search advice.

Here’s a warm-up: you need to do three things before you leave for an interview:  1. Comb your hair. 2. Brush your teeth, and 3. Take your resume. OK so far? Good, now let’s get a little more complex.

There are three things you need to do before you network: 1. Be sure the person you contact is someone whose opinion and experience you value and trust. 2. Identify individuals with whom you share life values or skills sets, preferably both.  3. Network with people who themselves have networks and are likely to know and are willing to call others who can potentially help in your search.

There are four things you need to do before you interview: 1. You need to know what you do best. 2.You need to provide examples of when, using those core strengths, you protected bottom line or drove the top line of companies for whom you have worked. 3. You need to provide examples of how your strengths can benefit an organization now and in the future and 4. You need to know that what you do best is what they need most.

There are three things you need to know about your references before you put their names on your list. 1. That they are willing to serve. 2. That they communicate clearly and effectively. 3. That they know you and your strengths and feel good about the combination of both.

There are three things your references need to know about you before they are willing to be on your list: 1. They value your work style and strengths, having previously been or are currently your boss, peer, or direct report. 2. They agree that what you seek is what you do best 3. They know your work history and how your experience ties to your ability to contribute to a prospective employer.

Before speaking to a potential employer, you need to do one thing, three ways: 1. Do your research by (a) reading the company website, (b) reviewing current business publications that reference the company, and (c) talking with current or former employees who have worked at a level or position comparable to the one you seek.

There are four things you want to learn about the company as a result of your research: 1.Their profitability, 2. Their competition, 3. Their rate of expansion or contraction and 4. The greatest challenges they face regarding all three.

There are three tests your resume needs to pass before you distribute it:  1. The smell test. Have you told the truth, filled in the blanks, given credit where it’s due and taken it when appropriate? 2. The taste test. Is it interesting and chock full of quantifiable accomplishments that encourage the reader to want to learn more? 3. The touch test. Is it spell checked, grammar checked; are you accountable for everything in it?

What three things do you need to evaluate before leaving your job? 1. The extent to which you’ve been honest with yourself. 2. The extent to which you’ve been honest with others. 3. The extent to which you’ve resolved outstanding issues, challenges, and concerns so that you don’t have to repeat them in the future.

What three things do you need to do when on an interview? 1. Sell yourself and your strengths accurately, without hype or humility. 2. Ask questions about those things that can help you determine fit, both personal and professional. 3. Be realistic and encourage candor; the more you know the better decision you’ll both make.

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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 she started he 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.

Tips for your Job Search

“It’s been more than three weeks since I sent my resume to a local company and I haven’t heard a peep out of them. The ad didn’t say whom I should call to follow up so I’ve tried several different departments and I haven’t heard anything.  By now I’ve called several more times and I’ve started leaving messages that indicate how irritated I am at their obvious indifference to my search. Give me a break! They’re the ones who advertised the position and asked people to submit their resumes. What else can I do to get their attention?”

Ouch. I think you’ve gotten their attention. Just not in the way you might have intended. Yes, it’s frustrating to send in a resume and not know if you’ll be receiving a call to interview, particularly if you’re the kind of person who likes closure. And yes, it appears rude to not get a call back if you’re the kind of person who’s always careful to retrieve messages and return calls. But this isn’t about what you would do in a given circumstance; it’s about your ability to correctly respond to the circumstance you are presented.

With that in mind, here are some strategies savvy job seekers have found that work for them and get the attention they want. When they see an ad in the paper, they wait a few days before submitting their resume. That way the resume arrives after the initial avalanche of responses instead of being buried in the middle of them.

They write resumes that are focused, well organized, heavy on accomplishments and light on explication. They write them in easy to read 12 pt fonts that are plain, not fancy. They write resumes that are succinct and get the job done on one page and never more than two.

They pay attention to keywords. They realize that the company’s on-line or print ads contain key words that describe the strengths, skills and abilities the employer has identified as essential for success. They make sure their resumes contain those same key words along with accomplishments that highlight them.

If you want to know your applicant status and don’t want to be perceived as a nuisance, try this strategy that some “need to know” job seekers have found helpful when submitting their resumes:

When responding to print ads they include, along with their resume, a self-addressed stamped postcard that asks the resume reader to check one of two boxes. “Yes! We are interested and you’ll hear from us” or “No, we don’t have a match and will not be in touch”.

Here’s the deal: Resume readers receive hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of responses to their on- line and print ads. It’s unrealistic to expect that they have the time or energy to call or email their notice of disinterest.

You can save yourself needless frustration and aggravation if you embrace the notion that you’ll hear from a company that wants to interview you and you won’t if they’ve taken a pass.

When you do get that interview and after you’ve done your best to present your credentials, ask and answer questions, you’re not quite finished. Write a thank you note that highlights the ways you can contribute to their company. If two weeks pass and you’ve not heard anything, call, and whether voice to voice or leaving a voice mail, say something like, “I want to work for you and make a difference for your company. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

Then get on with your search. Continue to network and apply for positions until the right people at the right company say you’re the right person for them.

And when you hear that, say yes! Positively.

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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 she started he 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.

Getting Back to the Basics

If you’re looking for work and your looking isn’t working, get back to basics.  For example…

Get off your duff. That’s right, get off the couch, the recliner, or where ever else you choose to occupy too many hours of your job search day. What’s that? You’re working hard, looking for a job on the internet, cutting out ads, writing letters, organizing files, and bolstering your self confidence by reading self help books and motivational magazines? You’re doing lots of good stuff but not the kind of stuff that gets you in front of the people who make hiring decisions. Get out there and make your case.

Did I hear you correctly? You don’t want to call those people because they’re busy and you could offend them and they might get angry at you? I’m not suggesting that you call strangers or strange people.  I’m suggesting that you contact people you know and respect, people with whom you share common interests or experience; people who know people who make business decisions (Yes, you do know these people. You sit next to them at church and football games. You know them from your old high school, your neighborhood, PTA, and where you volunteer) and ask for 20 minutes of their time. Why? Because you can benefit from their perspective and if you present yourself well enough, from their contacts.

Just don’t call the meeting an ‘informational interview’. That’s code for “I’m out of work and you aren’t” and a non- starter. You want a meeting with an outcome; you want the people sitting across from you to brainstorm options with you, even make calls on your behalf to other decision-makers. And they’ll be willing to do all this because they respect you and the people who referred you, on this one condition: that you can make your case. You have to describe, in living color, what you do best and how your best has made a difference in the past and will make a difference to the company that hires you.

If you can’t or won’t, the daisy chain of referral is broken and the game’s over.

Whoa. I see hesitation in your eyes. Yes, I know you were laid off. You and plenty of dedicated, hard working people, smart people were laid off and that doesn’t make you less effective, less successful, or less accomplished than your competition. It does make you savvy to vagaries of world economies and realistic about the need to get out there and make something happen. 

So yes, it’s up to you.  Finding a good job that’s a good fit is hard work. You’ll have to network again and again and if you run out of friends and friends of friends and instead of getting referrals you’re getting blank stares, or worse, cold shoulders, you’re making some mistakes.

The likely culprits are how you look, what you say, and how you say it. Bottom line, if you sound down (even if you think you don’t), act down, and look like last week’s laundry, the person you’re talking to doesn’t want to go down with you.

Do a daily sound check. Here’s how: Call your answering machine, leave the same message you’d leave a prospective employer, then listen to it. If you sound gloomy, punch it up. If you sound hyped up, level out. If you sound tinny and tense, do some deep breathing. If you sound toneless and boring, add some expression. Exercise. Watch your weight. Employers hire applicants who look good and sound better because they want to work alongside people who are energetic and have a positive attitude. When you make your case, make sure, absolutely sure, that you look and sound like you mean 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 she started he 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 Searching for the Right Reasons

Spring brings out the job seeker in people: the curious, the bored, the conflicted, the “anywhere but here” and the intentional.

The curious: “I’m not really interested in looking, but if I were to run into something that’s too good to be true, I’d have to consider it.”

The bored: “Since I don’t have anything to do and nobody’s watching, I’ll check job openings on-line. That should occupy me ‘til closing time.”

The conflicted: “The job with the XYZ Company looks good, but I’ve got it good where I am. Yet, no one appreciates me here. I’ll talk to the ABC Company. But we have better benefits than they have. Maybe I should talk to a recruiter. But what if my boss finds out?”

The anywhere but here: “I don’t care where I go and what I do as long as I’m not working here.”

The intentional: “I’m committed to finding a better match than the job I’m in now. I’ve considered the options and consequences, done my homework, updated my resume, cleaned my suit, polished my shoes, gotten a haircut, I know what I want and where I want to go.”

I guess you’re not surprised that the “intentionals” are the most successful of the five job seeking types. Yet, why are the majority of job seekers congregating in the other four categories? Beats me. And rather than have a job search beat you, let’s get it straight and do it right.

Be intentional. You’re ready to conduct a job search when you’ve done your homework. That means completing an assessment of what you do best, what you enjoy most, what others have rewarded or acknowledged you for having achieved, and what you see as having potential for professional growth and development.

An honest, objective self- assessment requires that you examine your curious, bored, conflicted, or “anywhere but here” modality. To do that, ask and answer these questions:

Why do you want to change jobs? What are the barriers that keep you from making a contribution?  Being fairly compensated? Promoted? Matched to your strengths? What’s getting in the way of your success? Who’s responsible for moving the obstacles?

I don’t ask these questions to discourage you from leaving if that’s the right thing to do. I do ask that you take the time to answer them honestly, so that you know the right place to go.

Nadia (not her name) was a competent sales professional, doing a competent job, earning a reasonable salary. She was bored stiff and had been for at least a year. She wanted out but she didn’t know what she wanted to do next. “Anything”, she said, “as long as it’s not here.”

With that mentality she’d get another job, in another place, and odds are, she’d have the same problems. She knew the symptoms (“I’m bored stiff”) but she didn’t know the cause.

Once Nadia answered the questions I’m asking you to consider, she realized that she didn’t believe in the product she sold (“you can do better across the street”), her boss was impossible to read (“ I never know what he’s thinking”) , she had no future (“I don’t care enough to try”) and she didn’t enjoy the camaraderie of a team (“I spend my days in my car, alone”).

Nadia came to grips with the problem by identifying what she needed that her current employer couldn’t provide: a product she believed in and wanted to sell, a boss who clarified expectations and acknowledged success, a team that shared common values and goals, and an opportunity to use her creativity, leadership and drive to advance in her career.

Why are you looking? How will you know that what you find is the right job for you?

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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 she started he 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.

When All Else Fails

When all else fails, read the directions. Searching for a job is a big enough challenge without winging it. Rather than take a scattershot approach or sit at home and wait for the phone to ring, get out there and make something happen.

Here’s how.

Prepare your resume but don’t let the effort consume you. There are resources out there if you want them; libraries, bookstores, and internet sites just waiting to serve up the assistance you need. And if doing it yourself doesn’t do it for you, ask for help. You’ll find career counselors and resume writers in private practice and public places. Once you’ve made your best effort, ask for feedback from those who critique resumes for a living; people who hire people. Make the appropriate corrections and you’re good to go.

Next. Line up your professional references. Select individuals for whom you’ve worked who can and will describe your skills, strengths, and track record with positive enthusiasm. (If you detect a note of hesitation or negativity, have the courage to ask why. If the reference doesn’t appear comfortable in the role, find someone who is.)

Identify what you want to do next and move toward it. (If you know you’re in a bad job and don’t know what a good one looks like, go back to square one. You have work to do before you can begin your search).

Network. Make a list of people you know and respect that know people who hire people. Be sure that the folks you include are individuals with whom you have something significant in common. The more alike you are, the more likely they’ll know people with whom you have something in common. The more you have in common, the more likely you’d enjoy the same kinds of work and the more likely they’ll refer you to jobs you’d like.

Rehearse before attending an interview. Some folks practice by interviewing for jobs they don’t want. That’s a waste of time and squandered opportunity. Instead, focus on making a good impression and if the job’s not right, getting a referral for something with greater potential within or outside that company. Hit a home run every time you interview. Get the interviews, get the offers, be the one who gets to choose.

Practice in front of a live audience. Invite friends, relatives, and fellow job seekers to drill you with tough questions. Practice responding to stone-faced inquisitors, talkaholics, and disinterested bystanders. The more opportunities you have to respond to odd- ball or hard- ball questions the better equipped you are to do well when it counts most.

Know what you want before you leave home. Know why you want it. Know what you can contribute that makes a difference to the person sitting across from you. Demonstrate, through vivid examples, your drive, initiative, adaptability, flexibility, competence, and creative approach to problem solving.

Know your worth in the marketplace so that your salary requirements are consistent with your education, years of experience, expertise in your field of endeavor, and appropriate to the local area’s cost of living index. Given the competition and the current economy, it helps if your spending doesn’t exceed your earning potential.

Seal the deal with a solid close.  Express your appreciation for the opportunity to interview and clearly state your strong interest, ability, and desire to do the work as it has been described. Highlight two or three key challenges that you are particularly eager to tackle and ask for the job.

Follow through and follow up. Write a thank you note immediately after the interview. If a week passes and you haven’t heard anything, call and leave a brief message that indicates your continued interest in the position.

Don’t wait. Keep looking.

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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 she started he 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 Search Struggles

Many of you struggle with your job search because you don’t know the career direction that’s best for you. If you’d like to stop spinning and start mapping, pay attention to your interests and hobbies. Do you love music and hiking? You probably want jobs that enable you to work in harmonious places and open spaces. Do you like acknowledging others and organizing social events? You’re likely to enjoy coordinating projects and activities for the common good. Do you like to work on the car, fix the plumbing, work on puzzles? Check out jobs that involve hands-on investigating, trouble-shooting, and problem solving.

Are you having trouble getting a job, an increase, or a promotion because you’re not willing to toot your own horn? Get over yourself and just tell the truth: describe what you do best, when you’ve done it, and provide evidence that supports it. Did you work with a team? Was it a team win? Were you the team lead? Say so.

If you’re still uncomfortable, refer to yourself in the third person. Instead of saying “I did thus and so…” say “John Jones has demonstrated significant inroads in identifying and developing new product ideas.” Or, “John Jones has improved bottom line results by leveraging existing materials and ideas into new and innovative opportunities.”

Are you having trouble explaining why you left a job before securing a new one? Focus on the future, not on the past. For example, if you left because you could no longer tolerate a micromanaging, controlling boss, say something like, “I want to work in an organization that values and develops team players who are independent self starters.” If your former boss was a foul-mouthed, abrasive lout, you could say something like, “I’m interested in working in a mutually respectful, professional setting that values and rewards diverse thinking and problem solving.”

Are you having trouble differentiating yourself from the competition? Pretend you’re in sales or marketing and position yourself as you would a great product:  prepare a feature-benefit statement that succinctly describes what you do and how your talents drive top line sales or protect bottom line results.

Are you having trouble asking questions when you’re on an interview?

It’s an old story: You want a job, the opening’s right, and you want to seal the deal. The interviewer sells and you’re ready to buy. You lean in for the handshake and the interviewer asks if you have any questions.

Your mind races through empty file drawers and you respond with a hurried, “No, I’m good to go.”

Silence. You may be ready, now they’re not so sure. If you’ve done your homework, researched the company, and listened to what you were told, the interviewer expects you to have questions. If you’re stumped, try some of these: “What’s the most pressing and important challenge I’m sure to confront? What are the company’s greatest long- term concerns?  “How do your best employees prove their worth?” “What does your company value most in its employees?”

Do you have trouble holding your own in an interview? Would a deer in the headlights have a better chance of getting the job? You may be suffering from over- worry and under-preparation. A sure cure comes from practicing with people willing to role play as well as provide candid constructive feedback.

Do you have trouble knowing what to say and what to keep to yourself? Follow this simple rule:  If it’s business-related and you can prove it, say it. If it’s personal, don’t. For example: interviewers want to know about what you do and have done that relates to their work. They don’t want to know about your personal demons or family problems no matter how interesting or important they are to you.

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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 she started he 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.

Surviving the Lay-off

You’re in the job market and you’ve got lots of company. Some of you burned out in your last job and you chose to leave because you couldn’t continue in a position or at a place that buried the best in you and brought out the worst. You need a job.

You may be lay- off casualties, caught in the convergence of economic conditions, world events, and outsourcing realities. No matter the cause the outcome’s the same. You need a job.

You may have been players in your current predicament: Too strong on opinion, too tough on others, too resistant to change, and too hard to convince that the problem was yours and not someone else’s. You need a job.

Some of you are looking because what appeared as insignificant to you became a big problem to your boss: your tardiness, unsuitable clothing, crude language, and inappropriate response to authority.

Some of you were let go because of a bad match. What they needed you could no longer do and what you did best they didn’t need.

Whatever may have happened in the past, you now have the choice of doing differently. It will be a challenge but you can re-invent yourself as someone a company will value and reward.

With that in mind, here’s some context, safeguards, and next step strategies:

Surviving layoff: Since the early ‘80’s, mergers and acquisitions and their ubiquitous “rightsizings” have added significantly to the ranks of the unemployed. Locally and all too frequently our bedrock industries have closed plants adding thousands more names to that roll-call. For many survivors, it’s no longer a question of “if”, it’s a concern of “when”.

Savvy survivors and their collegial casualties aren’t surprised; they’re ready. They’ve learned to keep their resumes current, networks humming, and channels of communication open. They’re informed. They read the trade papers and the business press. They get connected and stay connected to knowledgeable insiders who have contacts and a reliable sixth sense for what’s going on, with whom, where, and when.

Players who’ve created their own problems through excess and hubris continue a downward spiral if they spend too much time blaming others and not enough time taking responsibility for their own actions. They improve their chances of success if they can change behavior from what’s out of bounds to what’s acceptable. Because that’s easier said than done they’d be wise to interview with companies more likely to tolerate what prior companies would not. That will require the candidate’s candor in networking and interviews, honestly describing style as well as providing examples of how that style drives or otherwise impacts top or bottom line.

Employees who constantly test their company’s boundaries and employer’s patience in small ways can save themselves needless grief by acknowledging that little bad things do become big bad things, and there are negative consequences for the people whose behaviors violate policies, rules, and standards. Some bosses give warning, others won’t. Either way, the ticket’s stamped “out”. Employees who want a different outcome conduct themselves as successful employees do.

Know what you do best and be at your best before you target companies able to bring out the best in you. You may think you can’t afford to be particular; that when you’re unemployed any job is a good job. That’s true if you can keep the job you get. When you’re afraid you’ll fail because you can’t do the job you’re hired to do, can’t tolerate the tedium, comprehend the ambiguity, or manage the frustration of working with the people you’re assigned, your worst fears are likely to be realized.

Think before you take action. Make the right choice for the right reasons. You’ll be better off as a result.

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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 she started he 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.

Notes for a Job-getting Action Plan

Bam. That’s the sound of your confidence hitting bottom.  The longer you’re out of work, the bigger the hit your confidence takes. Pretty soon you’ll have trouble remembering what you did well and why anyone was foolish enough to pay you for doing it.
The good news is, you’re not alone. The bad news is, there’s no great comfort in having company. Is there real reason to be concerned? No, you are employable, you do many things well and you’ve always earned your pay. It’s not your objectivity isn’t doing you in; it’s your subjectivity. Anxiety is feeding an invasive fear that inhabits you at the worst possible times: when you’re networking and when you’re interviewing. So, what can you do to keep your self- esteem intact just when it seems to be showing some cracks?
Recognize that you’re spending more time thinking than you are taking action. Get out of your head and out of the house. Get up early, take a brisk walk, exercise, eat a healthy breakfast, and then hit the phones. You’re calling on people you know and you like and want to spend a few focused minutes with, brainstorming for ideas about people to see and places to go for the job that you know you can and want to do.
If you sound whiny, wimpy, or all the worse for wear, your friends and acquaintances are going to keep their distance. Act like you’re in great shape, upbeat and positive about your outlook and your chances, and they’re far more apt to want to jump in and help. What’s that? You think that’s dishonest? You don’t want to pretend? You want them to accept you as you are or you want nothing to do with them? That’s fine. Go back to bed. See if more sleep, more downtime, and more aloneness improve your attitude or your chances.
The rest of you, put on your shoes, and come with me. We’re going to get a job. You’ll need pencil and paper or your laptop because I want you to take notes. First, write down exactly what you want. Don’t think about whether or not you can get it, deserve it, or can afford to wait for it, write it down. Next, salary. you need a minimum of 70K a year? Write it down. You want to work in a company of 10 to 25 employees. OK, make note.
Now, write a description of co-workers you want to work with: Hard working, honest, friendly but focused, with a great “we can do it” attitude?  Got it. What kind of business should it be? You want a company that sells consumer products that are immediately usable and affordable. Are you taking notes? What’s your job?  You’re the general manager, and you report to? The owner. Keep writing.
How involved do you want the owner to be? Ah, you want the owner to drive strategy and you want to run the business. OK. Now, for the clincher: Why are you the best person for the job? Why is this owner going to hire you and trust you, more than other job applicants, to run the operation? Take a minute to think this through and write down your response.
Ready? Go. You have a proven track record that consistently demonstrates that you’re a leader-manager who’s hard driving and goal focused. You value working with and leading a team of people that want the same thing for themselves, each other, and their customers: to be respected for integrity and consistency while providing a product of quality and affordability.
What’s the best way to find this job? Sure, check the newspapers and monster boards, but if you stop there you’re stopping short. You’ve inventoried your assets and have the tools necessary to network: You know what you need and want, what you can provide your company, and how you add value to the bottom line. That’s your ticket. Use networking to find people who know people who hire people. Tell your story by describing your objectives, again and again. Ask for names of people who can get you closer to your goal, and don’t take your shoes off until you get there.

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