Job Search After a Felony

Q: “I’ve recently been released from prison and want to get back into my profession. I’ve been trying to re hone my skills but given my felony record am I just spinning my wheels? What do I say when I’m asked about the lapse in my employment?

A. You’re not spinning your wheels, you will find employment, and you will have some real challenges ahead. Let’s start with the first hurdles to overcome, and go from there:

Responsible employers will not want to put you, their employees, or the public the company serves, into situations that create the perception, real or imagined, of danger. Therefore, sit down with your parole officer and counselor before you interview. Identify work environments and interpersonal situations to avoid and those that are appropriate to approach. Candidly discuss the reasonable, practical, and emotional concerns that prospective employers and their employees might have, given your recent history. Prepare yourself to respond to those fears in ways that not only demonstrate self-awareness, but also describe the conscious changes you’ve made in your behavior and your ability to respond to others.

Address the lapses in your employment history in a truthful and straightforward way. You mentioned “rehoning your skills.” Describe how you’ve continued your education during and following the time you were imprisoned; and the preparations you have made for the career direction you are taking. Describe your past accomplishments and your ability to contribute to the future success of the company you’d like to join.

Your challenge, and it’s a big one, is getting the interviewer to focus on what you’re saying and not on where you’ve been and what got you there.

To accomplish that, address what concerns them most. Ask prospective employers to ask you any and all work related questions or concerns they have relative to your history in or out of prison. Ask them to describe the challenges they believe you will confront at their place of business. Then answer those concerns in an honest and forthright manner.

Q: I’m concerned about the application form. How can I answer the question about felonies so that my job application won’t get tossed as soon as my response is read?

A: Answer that question and every question truthfully. Will your application be tossed? It’s likely that it will. What can you do about it?

There’s more to all of us than can be demonstrated on an application or resume. Talk to the people who know you best, stood by you, and are willing to take a chance on you. Those individuals, directly or indirectly, may know people who hire people.

You’re asking for a chance to tell an employer your story: your work history, why you were arrested, what you’ve learned as a result, and your efforts to now make good on the rest of your life.

Q: How can I regain my self-respect? My confidence is gone. I’m afraid to get out there and tell my story. What can I do to move forward?

A: I’ve never been in your shoes. I cannot begin to know what you feel. But others have been there. Ask your parole officer and your counselor for help in finding individuals who have been able to make a successful transition and who would be willing to talk with you and counsel you through a very tough time.

I do know this. A comeback takes time, patience and incremental steps. It takes the capacity to accept responsibility and accountability for the choices that you’ve made in the past and will make in the future. It requires asking forgiveness from those you have, by intention or omission, caused physical pain or emotional suffering. It takes reaching out to those who are strong when you’re weak and tender when you’re hurt. It takes all that, and enough people who are willing to say, “I’ll give you another chance.”

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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, 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.

Networking Your Way Into a New Career

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

What is it and why should you care?

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

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

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

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

What’s involved?

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

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

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

Where do you begin?

Make a list of appropriate people to contact.

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

Design questions that lead to the result you want.

Here’s a tip:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I can’t find a job! Is it me or the economy?”

A recent caller wanted to know if she could blame the economy for her inability to find work. I told her that if it made her feel better to do so, please, be my guest. She said that it didn’t. She wanted to somehow get past the fact that there were so few jobs and so many people looking for them.

“I’m not a spendthrift,” she said. “I have bills to pay and no way to pay them unless I dip into savings. What can I do to get a decent job?”

We talked about her search and the obstacles she’s encountered. Much of what we discussed had universal application so I asked if I might share the conversation with you. She agreed.

Obstacle: How can high school graduates compete effectively when compared to college graduates?

Key word: Self-confidence. In this market, most companies are under the gun to keep expenses down and production up. They want to hire employees who can hit the ground running, who are as efficient as they are effective. They look for people who can combine strong work ethic with high-octane performance.  In other words, if you can sell yourself as energetic, focused, and flexible, with a track record to match, you are competitive.

Obstacle: How can you overcome a bad case of interview-jitters, particularly when you’ve always been scared of authority figures?

Key word: Focus.  Authority figures scare most of us. The trick is to remember that you’re a responsible adult, not a dependent child. The person sitting across the desk or standing across the room hasn’t the moral or legal authority to judge your beliefs or your behaviors unless you give them that right. They may approve or disapprove of your actions, but you get to choose what to do about it.

Focus on what you’re there to accomplish. Tell your story and don’t get hijacked by your emotions. Ask good questions. The best questions enable the interviewer to describe the challenges the company and department must confront and what they need and expect from their best employees. Then, respond according to your strengths and abilities.

Obstacle: When responding to ads, whether in print or the internet, I know I’m going up against hundreds of people who are as anxious for that job as am I. How can I move to the head of the line?

Keyword: Network. People who position themselves ahead of the crowd rely on and dedicate at least 80% of their search time to networking. Networking contacts can introduce you to decision makers who get you in the side door without your having to wait in line. Here are three examples of how it works: 1. Talk to people who work where you would like to work or know people who work there. If you don’t know who they are, (I realize they don’t walk around advertising the fact) ask people you know to help you find them. Next: tell the person why you’re interested in that particular company (have a few good reasons) and ask who you might speak to, to learn more about opportunities there. Note: you didn’t ask for an interview. You want a “conversation” to determine that there’s a match between what they need and what you do. 2. Talk to people who are supervisors or managers in their respective places of business. Describe what you do best and ask them for recommendations as to where you might look and with whom you might speak. 3. Talk to people you know personally and with whom you have a great deal in common. Describe what you do best, which, to no great surprise, is what they do best. Ask them to brainstorm with you regarding job possibilities and, hint, hint, who would be good personal leads for you to contact.

Obstacle: What can you do when you’re your own worst enemy?

Key word: Affirmations. Negative self-talk does you more damage than what anyone possibly could think or say about you. Believe in yourself, and say so. Believe that each encounter you have, each meeting, each interview, is a positive opportunity for something good to follow, and tell yourself so. 

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

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

Be A Team Player

Most people consider themselves team players. Many of their team-mates disagree.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, does a deep dive into what produces highly functional teams as well as what creates dysfunction.  He lists behaviors that derail the best of intentions as 1. Absence of trust. 2. Fear of conflict. 3. Lack of commitment 4. Avoidance of accountability and 5. Inattention to results.

In For Your Improvement, A Guide for Development and Coaching, Mike M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger describe common characteristics of high performance teams: A shared mindset and common vision; you trust each other, pitch in and help even though it may be difficult for you. You’re honest with each other and talk about problems directly without going behind each other’s back. You have the collective talent to do the job and know how to operate efficiently and effectively. You have good team skills, run effective meetings, have efficient ways to communicate and have ways to deal with internal conflict.

What does this have to do with your ability to get a job and keep it? Plenty. Interviewers look for team players who know when to stand up and lead, step back and follow, and step in when time is short and deadlines are pressing. They want independent self- starters who perform interdependently. They want employees who are emotionally aware, supportive, considerate, open to learning, willing to change, and ready to help when the need arises.

Interviewers are cognizant that their organization’s success requires employees with the willingness to collaborate and use their collective wisdom to be visionary and bottom line; their analytical abilities to evaluate risk and reward; their clarity, passion, and trustworthiness to lead others through change; and their operational skills to streamline function and simplify process that gets the team where it needs to go on time and under budget.

Just as there’s more to a job than an advertisement can explain, there’s more to you than your resume can describe. Because of that you’ll have to prove yourself in more ways than your resume can testify. You’ll need to make your case by providing the evidence that supports your statements. You’ll need to use the right words, tone and inflection to tell a story that’s as compelling as it is engaging.

Talking a good game won’t land the job unless you have the stats to prove your worth. Prepare for your networking meetings, phone screenings, and interviews by reconstructing examples of your most challenging experiences and highlighting the roles you’ve played as an individual contributor and a team player.

Keep in mind, the interviewer is looking for individuals who possess specific skills as well as characteristics that indicate their ability to lead self and others, manage tasks and processes, and to at all times, be a team player.

How can you incorporate all this in an interview? Let’s say that you’re asked to describe a situation in which you performed at your best. You’ll come across as a team player when you share credit with those who blocked, tackled, and provided support as well as encouragement.

If you’re asked to provide an example of a situation in which you didn’t succeed and describe the reasons why, you come across as a team player when you accept responsibility for the role you played instead of blaming your teammates.

Regardless of your age, gender, nationality, or experience, the company that hires you expects you to be as committed to your work as you are to the people with whom you work. They expect you to recognize that mutually supportive, goal focused teams that pull in the same direction consistently outperform any one of the individuals who play on them.

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

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

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.

Do’s and Don’ts in Your Career

If you like self-help articles that give you five ways to do this and five ways to do that, today’s column doubles your pleasure or diminishes your fun: Ten ways to get derailed and ten ways to stay on track.

1. If you expect your workmates to understand your bad moods, tolerate foul language, and ignore big blunders, you’re in for a bumpy ride: they can’t, they don’t and they won’t. Instead, clean up your act, learn from your mistakes, improve your likeability and you’ll last longer and go farther.

2. If you hide in plain sight, letting your co-workers do all the talking, or you disappear, letting your co-workers make all the decisions, you’re AWOL and looking for trouble.

Appearances count. Prove that you make a difference. Do your homework. Work on what’s important to the people demonstrating a commitment to excellence. Talk with influencers about the key challenges facing the company. Be a resource, (“How can I help?” “How can I support you in your efforts?”) and show that you’re willing and able to step up and pitch in. Ask questions, offer perspective, and take action.

3. If you consistently ignore deadlines or create log- jams so others miss theirs, you’re more hindrance than help. When you meet deadlines and help others meet theirs, you create a perception of trustworthiness, credibility, responsibility and a reputation typically reserved for keepers.

4. If you isolate yourself and utter “not my job” sentiments you won’t have a job to be sentimental about. Team players are counted on to step up when it counts, not when it’s convenient. They work synergistically, not as loners. They’re flexible, responding to needs as they occur. They’re solution focused and action oriented, letting go of the past, living in the present and moving to the future.

5. If you advance your career at the expense of others you’re going to land someplace you don’t want to go. Instead, use your considerable talent to advance the company. Lead by example, involve others in strategic thinking; developing and implementing action plans designed to enhance opportunity for all those willing to dedicate themselves to the effort.

6. If you dress down for the part you used to play the introductions and opportunities you want will go to someone else. If you dress for the part you want to play, and introduce yourself to decision makers and influencers, you’ll tap into opportunities others didn’t know existed.

7. If you avoid risk, preferring to stay in your comfort zone, people will see you as stuck, unwilling to try new approaches and learn new ways of thinking or doing. Instead, take calculated risks. Learn to adjust to others needs and behaviors by engaging more, asking more, listening more and responding in ways that demonstrate your desire to communicate more openly and proactively.

8. If you stop learning you’ll stop growing. If you stop growing, you’re not worth the salary you’re getting. Instead, learn from strategic leaders and share perspectives with knowledge managers. Educate yourself and encourage others to do the same through cross- functional and international assignments, cross- cultural awareness, formal instruction and informal training. Consistently apply what you learn to what you do.

9. If you knee-jerk your responses or speak out of both sides of your mouth, you establish yourself as inappropriate, untrustworthy, or both. Instead, think before speaking or taking action, and demonstrate integrity through principled behavior.

10. If you open objectionable websites or send off-color, off-putting emails consider the consequences: everything you receive and transmit is on record and property of your employer. It’s not worth the risk. Conduct yourself professionally in person, in meetings, on the telephone, when using fax machines, copiers, scanners, and computers.

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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.

Get Out There With the Right Foot Forward

It’s competitive out there, the market is tight, and you want to be at your best when you interview. Attitude counts.  If you mentally argue with interviewers or imagine them as barriers to the job you want you’ll undermine whatever you say or do. Instead, think partnership. Think together you can make this happen, for the company and for your career.

Put your best foot forward: Lead with your strengths. Match your strengths to opportunities. If you’re not sure if a job taps into your best stuff ask questions. What does the employer need to get the job done? What has or hasn’t worked in the past? What needs to be done differently in the future? And are you the one who has what it takes to be successful? If so, say so emphatically, and have the evidence to back it up.

If you’ve been a loyal, hardworking, honest employee blindsided by an unanticipated layoff you probably need time to recalibrate before you start interviewing. If you require spiritual readjustment, talk to someone who resonates with your faith and beliefs. If you’re emotionally conflicted, talk to a therapist. If your health is compromised, talk with your doctor. If your doctor agrees, get some exercise. Talk, walk, journal, get the static out of your head and into a space with people you trust who can help you objectify subjective issues and change what you can’t control into a plan that you can.

You’ve interviewed for a job. The match is evident; the need is as obvious as it is immediate. The employer wants to hire you but doesn’t have the money for a long- term commitment. Should you walk or talk? Talk. Reframe the discussion. Convince her to hire you on a project basis with no overhead or commitment other than to pay you for work completed. It’s a win-win that provides relief for them and opens doors for you.

Network effectively and you’ll find jobs that aren’t advertised.  Succinctly describe what you do best and how you solve problems, increase revenues, protect bottom line. Then ask for ideas and directions to where the openings are and whom you need to talk to once you get there.

Cover letters are still relevant, to you and to prospective employers. Writing them enables you to state your interests and describe ways you add value. Formulating them gives you practice in answering the questions they’re likely to ask: Tell me about yourself; describe your strengths; your career goals; why we should hire you for this job.

I’m all for fragrances, garlic and anchovies, and if you’re a smoker, that’s

your business. Just be aware that what you spray on, chew, or inhale will be exhaled in the interview. Don’t let a habit, preference or indulgence turn a possibility into a non-starter. Delay your odorous gratifications for later.

Sometimes less is too little and more is too much. If you say too little about your abilities, experience and potential the interviewer’s going to think less of you. If you overwhelm the interview with too many stories or too much hype you’re more than likely to close the door on what you seek. Balance is key. If you don’t know how to find it, ask people who have and are willing to tell you.

Whether you’re looking for a job, wanting to advance, or just wanting to hang on, don’t isolate yourself. If you do, you can be working on the wrong things, out of the loop about the right things, and marginalizing yourself regarding the most important things. Get out there, find out what’s going on, apply what you do to what’s needed most to advance the company and you’ll advance yourself as well.

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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.

Sharpen Your Writing and Speaking Skills

Sharpen your writing and speaking skills folks, because the lights are on and they’re shining on you. With every resume, cover letter, telephone call, networking meeting and interview, you’re presenting your skills and abilities in the two ways most of us have learned to communicate; you’re either writing or talking. You better be good at both.

A worried reader comments that, “introverts like me don’t have a chance against extraverted competition.”

Instead of focusing on your fear, level the playing field by focusing on your performance. Your performance will improve when you practice speaking clearly, succinctly, and energetically about what you want, why you want it, and how you can make a difference to the company that hires you.

A female caller whispers, “I’ve been told that I speak with a little girl voice. I need to be taken seriously, particularly when I’m at work and speaking to people I don’t know or don’t know well. What can I do?”

If you’ve received feedback that your pitch, tone or voice quality has gotten in the way of your success get the help you need from a voice coach. If performance anxiety is your problem get additional help from a career coach or psychologist. If it’s a distraction that you want to manage yourself then name it and get it out of the way. For example, if you have a telephone interview, acknowledge early in the conversation that your voice may not be strong but your track record is and you want to describe it. Then do it. Put your energy into the content of what you say and how you respond. The listener will quickly adjust to your tone and hone in on your message.

Let’s move from the subject of pitch and tone to that of accent and pace and the difficulties that sounding “different” can present. If you’ve recently moved here and English is your second language you’ll benefit from learning how to sound as American as you are or soon will be. Get help from articulate native speakers who are willing to take their time to coach you. Ask for their assistance and feedback with your word choices, sentence structure, grammar, pace and tempo; role play networking and interviewing conversations. And in exchange for all these favors, ask how you can be of assistance to them.

Take advantage of the resources available to you in your local community. In Greensboro, the Glenwood Branch of the Public Library offers ESL classes and hosts a ‘conversation club’ that meets twice weekly, enabling you to practice your new English speaking skills with library volunteers. GTCC offers ESL classes through its continuing education program and UNCG offers classes and tutorials in accent reduction. In addition to public resources there are professional counselors, therapists, and voice coaches in private practice who provide these and related programs and offerings.

Now, let’s get real about writing a resume: It’s your work product and you’re accountable for its contents. Be sure that you tell the truth, that your spelling and grammar are correct, that it’s as well edited as it is well organized.  Writing a well- crafted resume takes time, care, and at minimum another set of eyes to check and double check that it’s error free.

Format: Write an objective that states the job you want and how you benefit the company that hires you.  Follow that with a reverse chronology of your experience. Write your accomplishments as bullet-points; make them fact based, specific and quantifiable. Lead with words that project energy and action. Get it all on one page, one and one half at most, and use wide margins, easy to read font, 12- point type, and no hype.

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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.

Always Have a Plan B

Today’s job market requires a great deal from employees: patience, drive, self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, business acumen, flexibility, adaptability, versatility, resiliency, and that’s just for starters. Today’s workforce has become increasingly aware of and responsive to what employers want and they do their best to deliver it. What many need and don’t have is a good, reliable Plan B.

“It’s tough enough having Plan A, why do we need a Plan B?”

Circumstances change, people change, and a job that once seemed so right and secure might not always look and feel as appealing. Employees are doing so much, so quickly; they aren’t taking time to develop personal career plans that can adapt to changing times.

For example, what would you do if you were terminated from your job or your company closed? What if you burned out? What if you woke up one day and realized that you had never been happy in your career and couldn’t continue another day?

“I don’t have answers but you sure are asking some good questions. I do

know that I’m teetering, out of balance, my company’s future is shaky, and I’m working harder than ever and enjoying it less. I haven’t planned for my future, saved for my future, or have a clue what my future can even look like.

I don’t have a Plan B. The job I have isn’t the one I want. I’ve known that for some time. I’m good at what I do but I’m tired of it. Because the company’s floundering I’m not likely to get promoted anytime soon, or get a bump in salary.

If you think I’m a mess, my company doesn’t seem to have Plan B either.  We’re so busy doing things wrong we don’t have time to figure out how to do them right.  We’ve grown so accustomed to operating in crisis mode using emergency tactics that it doesn’t occur to us to figure out what the problem is and how to solve it going forward.

When I started working here everything was new and exciting, I felt intellectually challenged and hungry to learn. I was making a difference to the company and the job was making a difference to me. At some point, and I can’t tell when, I went from loving what I do to just doing it.  This isn’t where I want to be or who I want to be, but I haven’t taken time to consider what my options are or if I have any.

I’ve talked to my boss about it and he’s as bummed as I am. He suggested that we talk to the folks in Human Resources. We did and they told us they’ve gone out of the career planning business; that it’s up to us to figure out what’s next; that we’ll need to find ways to make it happen.

Do you have any Plan B’s up your sleeve?”

For some employees, Plan B is the dream job they’ve always wanted but never dared to explore. For others, it means getting paid for what they’ve always loved to do and always done for free. For still others Plan B is returning to school, getting a degree, and demanding more of themselves so they can demand more of the marketplace.

Plan B can be as complex as a cross- country move and as simple as an updated resume. It’s as ephemeral as a three-day weekend and as lasting as a good long book on a 3- week cruise.

Plan B is Plan A with balance. Plan B is personal. With Plan B you do the right things because it feels like the right thing to do.  If Plan A is the destination, Plan B is the journey. Life’s short. Enjoy the trip.

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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.

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