Companies still want their employees to meet, greet, and serve the public in ways that are inviting and encouraging. It’s just that front line employees are having a hard time dealing with an impatient, frustrated, understandably irritable, sleep deprived public that is unnerved by the considerable unknowns of recession and terrorism. This new breed of customer (client, patient, patron) wants what they want when they want it and will not tolerate anything short of complete and immediate submission and compliance. Although understandable, it’s not possible nor advisable.

Call them support or samurai, this isn’t the job they thought they were getting (at minimum or near minimum wages), and they aren’t going to keep taking it unless they’re supported and encouraged by the team they’re hired to protect and defend. Employers, already burdened by high costs and low profits can’t afford to pay more yet know they need to do more.

Here’s what they can afford to do:

Include these staffers as part of your team. Keep them in the loop regarding business developments and growth opportunities. Offer them ways to enhance their education with workshops and seminars; upgrade their skills with tutorials and classes; help them increase their ability to make a difference to you, the company they serve. And let them know that you appreciate their efforts.

People want to make a difference where they work, no matter what their job or level of perceived importance. Companies that do an excellent job of retaining their workforce, treat everyone as a valued employee. If customer service is #1, they treat their employees as they would their customers. They grow their own talent, promoting from within whenever feasible, and hiring from outside when they cannot; making sure that new hires are respectful of a culture built on a foundation of mutual regard and respect, without exception.

They encourage employees to maximize their talent and minimize their weaknesses, not the reverse. They delegate authority along with responsibility so that employees who demonstrate an ability to make good decisions are given the opportunity to do just that.

They cross train because it’s good for the employee and it’s good for the business. Employees want to learn new skills. Yes, it makes them more marketable and if you’ve created a place where they like to work, you’ll reap the benefits of what you’ve taught, because they’ll stay.

That takes us to the subject of loyalty, a subject that companies and employees alike ruefully describe as a remnant of the past. Is it gone or have we forgotten what it represents?

Let’s remember: Loyalty is a shared experience. It begins with our understanding and agreeing with the other’s mindset or vision. It takes root when we see the role the other can play in moving that vision from ideology to outcome. It flourishes when all participants play their part, when the mutual effort is successful, and when all involved reap the benefits of that success. Individual loyalty survives setbacks when there is mutual trust, when we’re honest with each other and share our information frequently and  consistently. It survives misunderstandings by confronting problems and each other with candor, consideration, and objectivity.

If you assume that you buy loyalty with a paycheck or the acceptance of one, you will all be disappointed and grow increasingly cynical. Loyalty must be practiced, as you would practice any skill worth having. To take it for granted is to give it up.

Front line employees, from ground troops to mail carriers, medical receptionists to customer service reps, deserve our recognition that with or without title, designation, certification, or degree, they step up and do the job for each of us, everyday, because they believe it’s worth doing. It’s up to each of us to demonstrate our appreciation through simple acts of courtesy, consideration, and respect.

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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.

There are many people who inherently know which pathway to follow. They wait for permission to follow it.

Others know what they do well but worry they’re missing out on something better. They want someone to identify possibilities they may have overlooked.

Many like the safety of  “one road, one ticket “. They know what they have to do and do it, not because they love their work but that it’s work they can do. They know what to expect, their income is stable and their future secure. They manage themselves and their lives with constancy and steadfastness.  They are not prepared, emotionally or intellectually, for unexpected change.When that change comes in the form of a pink slip they become immobilized. Layoff, or termination without fault, defies their belief that good, hardworking people should be valued and retained. They don’t know what to do or where to turn.

And so they sit; the frustrated, the permission seeking, the worried, and the shell shocked, waiting for strobe lights to illuminate the path and point the way to the place they need to be. It doesn’t happen that way.

If you’re parked on a bench next to them and you’re interested in techniques that get you going, grab a pencil and a pad, you’ve got some work to do:

Start by taking inventory

What do you do well, naturally? What do you currently enjoy or have enjoyed as a hobby or pastime?  Do you prefer working alone or with others? If with others, how many others are involved?

If others are involved, what part do they play; what part do you play? If you prefer independence, what’s your preferred project or task?

What’s important or meaningful to you? What do you value in others? Describe the best boss or coach you’ve had; describe the best places you’ve worked. If you don’t have any positive memories, dig deeper. Who was your favorite teacher? Your favorite relative. Why?

When are you at your best? Are you more effective working hands-on, managing the practicality of day to day concerns in a workplace that has structure, order, and organization? Are you better at working with possibilities, creating outcomes not earlier considered?

Do you like to work from a checklist, with the expectations clear and the deadlines observed, or are you better off without boundaries, rules or regulations, figuring things out as you go?

Weave together your preferences.

I’m an independent, hands-on, pragmatic problem solver, preferring to work with tasks than people. I enjoy variety, flexibility, and mobility. I’m at my best when I can streamline processes, expedite outcomes, come in under budget and ahead of schedule.

Or possibly: I’m a team leader and a team player. I like to know what the goals are, and the payoffs that come from making them. I enjoy strategy more than details and design more than implementation. I’m able to understand what motivates and encourages people by listening to them. I put what I learn into practice by treating the people who work with me as I would my best customers.

Your strength profile becomes the foundation of your resume, your cover letters, your networking, and your interviews. It remains constant, no matter the company, the client, the product or the process.

Now get out there and start meeting people who enjoy the same things you do. Brainstorm job possibilities or directions that make sense. Follow up on ideas, call people you know and people you’re introduced to. Let them know who you are by describing what you do best and why you want to do it.

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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

Tips for dealing with kids who say, ‘I’m coming back’

People all over the country are finding solace, encouragement and a passel of practical tips from a small paperback written by two Greensboro authors, Joyce Richman and Barbara Demarest. With decades of executive and career coaching between them, the pair teamed up to address a very timely topic, “boomerang kids,” a term coined a few years ago to describe adults, who, for a variety of reasons, have to move back in with their parents.
A recent CNN Money story reported that 85 percent of last year’s college graduates say they would move back home with their parents if they couldn’t find a job.

Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job

“The stories are also there,” Demarest told me,” to say to the parents, ‘Your problem is not unique, you’re not alone.”

A: This reader describes several concerns at once: How can you fit in when your style is different from the people you work with? How can you be effective when you don’t feel accepted? Why aren’t people more accepting of others? And finally, does surviving several layoffs in the same company impact how you are perceived and received by others?

Fitting in when you don’t: Employers and job applicants should pay as much attention to matching the workplace culture as they do in matching skill sets to job requirements. Each should evaluate the opportunities, challenges, and likelihood of successful transition. Too often hurdles aren’t acknowledged, much less addressed, leaving old team members and new employees to struggle with conflicting workstyle preferences. (Tip: Read Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman).

Not only is it difficult to feel effective when you don’t feel accepted, it’s frustrating and energy wasting when you have to spend more time getting along with others than in getting your job done. Unless you focus on blending your style with theirs you may in for a rough ride. (Tip: The boss doesn’t fire you, your colleagues do).

Accepting others and being accepted is requisite for good working relationships. For some, it happens almost immediately. For others it takes a longer time. How long is too long? It depends on who has to struggle with it.

What gets in the way? If how you look, talk, interact or relate with the boss or co-workers consistently deviates from the prevailing norm, you’re likely to get cut out of the herd. It doesn’t matter if that’s right or wrong, “behaving differently” costs. If you dress up in a dress down environment, or vice versa, you’ll stir up talk by barely trying. One-up a co-worker in front of the boss, and you’re bound to get a nasty reaction. Come in late when everyone comes in early, and you’ll be marginal in more ways than one.

Figure out the new culture by observing it. If you’re not sure what it is, or want to confirm your understanding of it, ask employees who seem connected, not those who look as outside the loop as you feel.

Speaking of other employees, do they have a responsibility in accepting new employees to the team? You bet they do.

High performing teams realize that the key to their professional success turns on everyone having the opportunity to achieve the group’s goals. To buy in you have to know what they are, why they exist, and the part you play in getting there. Trade-offs occur when one person is willing to help another. Trust evolves as individuals have consistently positive experiences with each other. You can’t ask new players to prove themselves as valuable contributors if you’re not willing to show them how your game is played.

On a final note:  surviving several downsizings can leave victors feeling victimized. They try to protect themselves from further damage by withdrawing from their colleagues. Help break the cycle. Reach out to each other and create community in the workplace. It sure beats whatever is in second place.

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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 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 andEurope. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

A. Unless you’ve experienced both sides of the interviewer’s table, it’s hard to know what job applicants or hiring managers face when conducting a job search.

Companies can be flooded by responses to advertised positions. Many applicants produce work histories that have no obvious connection to the position posted. That doesn’t mean that people applying couldn’t do the job, but that their resumes don’t make their case for them. So, they are eliminated, often without a company representative writing or calling to say that they will not be considered. Like it or not, that is customary and acceptable.

This reader has gotten through the resume-screening portion of the search. He has landed interviews and has not received status reports from his interviewers. He should have. When a company representative invites an applicant to become a bonafide candidate there is an unwritten but professional expectation that each party will keep the other informed as to the level of interest one has in the other. That’s how it ought to be, but what do you do if the company hasn’t bought, ought?

Candidates who are interested in the job are proactive in advancing their candidacy.

What can they do to get the information they need?

Here are a few strategies that take the offensive without being offensive:

“Mr. Jones, this is Sam Ram. I interviewed with you on June 11th for the position of Senior Accountant. I am very interested in that position and would like an opportunity to speak to you at greater length. I am available Tuesday or Wednesday mornings of next week, at either 7:30 or 8:30 a.m. Which would be the better time for you?”

You stated your interest in the position and your availability for a second interview. There are no guarantees that Mr. Jones will agree to see you but you will get one of a variety of responses: 
“Sam, I’m glad you called. Right after you left our office the boss’s son stopped by and we offered him the job. You know how it goes. Sorry, Sam.”
“Sam, we put that job on hold. Didn’t anyone call you? Our sales aren’t what we hoped for and we’ve frozen all openings for the next quarter.”
“Sam, glad you called. Next Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. works for me. See you then.

What if Mr. Jones won’t take or return your calls? You’ve tried all times of the day and night and after several weeks and more than a dozen attempts later you decide to try something different. You send a self addressed stamped postcard with three requests for action: 
Sam, call us to set your next interview.
Sam, we’d like to hire you. Call us to talk specifics.
Sam, you’re a good man but we’re no longer interested in your candidacy.

Ask Mr. Jones or his representative to check the appropriate statement and return the card to you.

Manners, time crunch, and professionalism aside, most employers don’t follow up on interviews for two reasons: 1) they don’t have good news and 2) the recipient isn’t apt to like bad news. If hiring authorities are willing to take applicants’ time and energy to interview, they have an obligation to return the favor with the truth when they know it, straight up and without hesitation.

Candidates: if several weeks pass without response to your interview or follow-up calls, assume that the opportunity no longer exists. Their silence says more about how they do business than you ever wanted to know. Let it go and find something better.

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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 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 andEurope. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

I’ve received some feedback: Many people don’t like “techniques”. They have an aversion to behaving in ways that are contrary to how they see themselves. They would rather remain true to their nature than to be seen as superficial, at best, and phony, at worst.

If that’s a concern of yours, and you’d rather not change yourself into a copy of someone else, let’s work with your strengths and ways to leverage them:

Most introverts don’t just listen; they have the natural capacity to listen deeply. They don’t take some information in, they take it all in. They stir it around, shove it here and poke it there. They don’t let go of the content or the intent until they have made sense of it. They connect it to information that arrived earlier and what they’ll take in later. They make sense of what they hear, and when invited, can present the abridged version of it, to those requesting their insights.

Introverts have the ability to contribute in significant ways to the process and progress of meetings. They take the varied comments that others make, assimilate, then aggregate them into a coherent whole. When they speak, they summarize what’s been said, without hyperbole. They connect the dots without having to control the dots.

Introverts, when working one on one, excel at providing feedback regarding the information their talking partner has just provided. They react in ways that demonstrate a deeper understanding of the issues than might otherwise be expected.

Anyone who chooses can maximize the introverts’ listening strength by 1. Invitation 2. Realization. 3. Presentation.

Invitation: Ask questions and give introverts sufficient time to respond. Introverts prefer to think before speaking, which necessitates pausing before they begin. If extroverts (who are more apt to speak before thinking) jump into the pause, the introvert will hold back. They’ll return to assimilating, editing, and silently testing the receptivity of the listener. So if you invite their thoughts, mean it, and listen to what they have to say.

Realization: Most introverts aren’t willing to compete for airtime against the more verbally aggressive and loquacious extroverts. They wait for an invitation to speak, an invitation they’re not apt to get. Why don’t they? Because they’re the quietest people in the room. How are others to know of their deep listening skills, their wit and wisdom? The likelihood of being asked an opinion, when not making an effort to offer one, is slim to none.

Presentation: Introverts don’t have much experience making presentations. When they must, they second-guess the phrasing, tonality, even banality of their expression. They seldom speak outside a select audience (close family, close friends), so they can be distracted by the sounds their voices make in a suddenly silent room. It isn’t surprising that as self critical as they are, they prefer to say less, not more. That’s everyone’s loss. It’s not that introverts are more or less intelligent, they just think longer and harder about what they hear and what they want to say.

Introverts: Bottom line, it’s going to take more energy than what you are currently expending to get your strengths out where the world (or your boss) can see them. You have more to offer than others realize. Provide them the visible and audible substance they need to determine that you not only have potential but also have the courage to act on it.

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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 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 andEurope. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Warning to  Workaholics on Vacation

No beach is warm enough, no pool deep enough, no book long enough to keep you from the next call, the next report, the next conquest.

No companion is fun enough, no escapade strange enough, no catacomb deep enough, to keep you from the next deal and the next plane that gets you to where the heat is hot enough, the mountain high enough, the trial tribulation enough, to make it worth the time that it takes to get there.

Warning to Vacationers at Work

No challenge is great enough, no boss loud enough, no report timely enough, to look up, look out, and get it done, for any reason greater than your colleagues are depending on it.

No boss is strong enough, no rhyme reason enough, no siren shrill enough to polish it off, finish it up, and put it away, for any reason greater than your customers are waiting for it.

Warning to Teams without Players

No goal is clear enough, no value grand enough, no cause worthy enough to get together, pull together, and get it done together, for any reason greater than that’s the way this game is played.

No reason is valid enough, no need compelling enough, no cause desiring enough, to get it done, outside the isolation and comfort of your mind,  for any reason greater than they need you to be there.

Warning to Players without Teams

No group is large enough, no talk complete enough, no break long enough to get you back to work, getting it done, for any reason greater than you’re bothering folks.

No quiet is safe enough, no space sane enough, no reflection revered enough, to keep you from using your cascade of words, just because they are there to be spoken.

Warning to Visionaries without Plans

No scape is grand enough, no leap long enough, no star far enough to keep you from unleashing your insight on those least capable of hitching it all to a wagon, and driving to get it all there.

No path is clear enough, no strategy sharp enough, no objection judicious enough to keep you from derailing the good that you started with your dreams.

Warning to Doers without Vision

There is no time good enough, no turn safe enough, no prediction right enough to leave behind your need to be absolutely sure before the journey is begun.

There is no path straight enough, no rule right enough, no detail plain enough to abandon your need to know from getting in your way.

Warning to Leaders without  Followers

There is no command strong enough, no control tight enough, no rigor right enough to satisfy your need to be all, have all, regardless that no one follows your lead.

There is no language tough enough, no mandate sure enough, no distance far enough from the people you drive to the place they don’t want to go.

Warning to Followers without Leaders

There is no map clear enough, no need great enough,  no strength strong enough,  to bridge the distance from where you are to where you need to go.

Warning to Leaders without Passion

There is no analysis sound enough, no logic clear enough, no goal defined enough, to merit the movement of people who care, by those who aren’t able to express why they should.

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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.

As organizations continue to grow, shrink, and mutate, employees are getting used to doing the mobile shuffle: from working on-site to working in flight, on phones, and from hotels. The greater the distance and the longer the stay, the bigger the worry: I’m losing touch with my team and I don’t know what to do about it.

The more far flung our companies become, the more employees are sent to remote locations to head up global business units. Two years away can feel challenging at least, developmental at best. Longer than that and they start to feel adrift.

I’ve been away so long I think they’ve forgotten who I am.

Could they really forget where they put you? Have you been gone so long you’ve lost the connections that could bring you back?

What should you be paying attention to?

It depends on your career goals. If you enjoy working independently, you’re not into climbing the corporate ladder, and prefer a boss with no face, and you’ll probably enjoy the freedom of a cell phone, a lap top, and the great out there.

If you’re hard charging, upwardly mobile, politically savvy, and like the view from the top, you’re not apt to get there by staying at the home office or your office at home. You are apt to improve your chances with an international assignment that affords you continuing visibility with the home team. The trick is, don’t stay away too long.

There are pros and cons to staying close and moving away. If you want to know how successful your company is and how it compares to the competition, work outside the walls.

If you want to maximize networking opportunities with people who interface with your company but don’t pledge allegiance to it, work outside the walls.

There’s a downside to spending too much time outside instead of inside. You’re out of the loop. You won’t know who’s in and who’s out, who’s calling the shots and who just sounds  like they are. As people are shuffled about, the person who assigned you to a place of many syllables may no longer be your boss, and the new boss may not know who you are. There may be no compelling reason to bring you back.

It’s not unusual for the most dedicated of company loyalists to take on tough international assignments in tough international terrain.  With their families in tow, they turn around the untouchable, and in turn, expect to be rewarded with a promotion and a ticket home. That’s when they learn they can’t get  there. Why? No one else is willing to work in East Lambchopia, much less haul a family there.  What thanks do they get? Glowing letters on embossed letterhead,  praising their efforts on behalf of the home team, that ironically, is back home.

What’s the bottom line? Take care of your career, because no one else will do it for you. That’s not a slam on your company,  that’s a reality. Business and industry are making it clear to anyone who will listen that they have closed the career development store. They’re no longer selling career ladders, pathways, and roadmaps to where you can be in five years. You’ll need to buy your own flashlight, compass, insight and foresight. And remember, out of sight is like hindsight: it’s too little, too late.

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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.