Fast Track Your Job Search

You’ll fast track your job search when you increase your focus, improve your efficiency, and target your marketing.

If you’re sending out resumes and not getting responses you have either lost your focus or never had it. Your resume has three roles: scout, matchmaker, and mouthpiece. It probes for possibilities, looks for a match, and speaks on your behalf. If it fails to deliver on any of these roles, it won’t be considered and neither will you.

If you want your resume to land in the interviewer’s “in” basket, here’s what you do:

Match your objective to the language you read in advertised job posting. The interviewer is scanning for “key words”. Those are the words the interviewer is using. Match them.

Match your work experience to the experience that’s needed to perform in the advertised position.

Match your words to your deeds: tell the reader what you want and the difference you make to the company where you work; give the reader quantifiable evidence of your accomplishments; show the reader your track record of achievement relative to your years of experience, and say it cogently and concisely so you’ll have a shot at success.

On the flip side, here’s what takes you out of the game.

If your resume goes on too long about things only a mother can love, you’re a bore.
If your resume says too much about things most people care too little about, you‘re out of touch.
If your resume doesn’t match what the company needs, you’re not paying attention.
If your resume reads like a job description, you have no imagination.
If your resume reads like a know it all, you’re not open to learning.

With your resume in your briefcase, on line, and in your head you’re ready to improve your efficiency, focus your search, and target your market.

Start with the basics and answer the questions: How large a company; how far a commute; how much of a salary?

Define the company: How mature or emergent? Open or closed ? Creative or consistent? Risk taking or conservative? Top down or bottom up?

Identify and prioritize your values: Help others, be an expert, achieve, compete, take risks, be respected…

With those questions answered you’re ready to write your 20 second elevator speech, which doubles as the objective on your resume and the answer to ‘tell me about yourself’. It’s your sense of purpose and reason for being, when what you want to be is an income producing, purposeful employee.

All that’s left to do is reintroduce yourself to people you know who know people who hire people. You have your resume, your marketing plan, your elevator speech and the answers to the questions you’re most likely to be asked. You can respond on line, in person, by phone, fax, and smoke signals. Put on some interview clothes, a strong dose of optimism, and you’re good to go. The only barrier that can stand in your way now is a bad attitude. If you can’t fix that, the best plan won’t help you.

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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 and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

How to Make Team Building Effective

A manager says he’d like us to conduct team building programs for his employees. “You know, something where you take them outside and teach them how to work together”.

“Why?” we ask. “What do you want to accomplish?” 

Hesitation.

“I want them to work together better than they do now. They barely talk to each other, and when they do, it sounds more like sniping than conversation. Worse than that, they line up at my door, wanting me to solve their problems and settle their disputes, and I don’t have time for that. So, I thought I’d get you to do some team building with them. I don’t have to be there do I?”

A day of team building will be as effective as the manager is willing to participate, watch, listen, learn and lead. No gathering of individuals will automatically become a cohesive unit unless there is a compelling reason. “Because I want them to!” isn’t reason enough.

If you want your team to work as a team, start by getting out there with them. Clarify the outcomes you want and why you want them. Be specific about what the deadlines are and how they’re connected to outcomes. Tell them who’s accountable for what and how you’re going to measure it. They need to know.

It’s your job to find out what they don’t know and what they need to know. You need to know the resources they’ll need and the resources that are available. You need to be accessible; not to solve their problems but to know what the problems are.

Team building exercises provide opportunities for participants to observe strengths and abilities in themselves and others that they would otherwise miss. Your challenge as their manager is to take that awareness from the off-site to the work-site. If you assume that every employee automatically carries that learning back to the office and applies it, you’ll be disappointed. It is your job, as their manager to make the connections, see what they miss, understand what they don’t, and clarify the differences again and again.

Evaluate your team. Do they share your vision for the future? Do they know you have a vision and that they play a part in it? Are each of them aware of the unique part they play?

Do team members trust each other to get their part of the job done? Do you trust them and they you? Do they believe that you are telling them the truth and communicating with them as responsible adults?

Do you hire the talent you need to get the job done? Are you doing more of the job than you ought because you fear that delegating will result in failure? Your failure?

Do you confront conflict as it happens, in a candid and considerate way? Do you know what the problems are because you can see them, as well as experience the fallout from them?

Bottom  line: Communicate goals, concretely. Communicate individual and team accountability, specifically. Manage obstacles to success, whether interpersonal, operational, or financial, fairly. Focus on results.

Get used to not having all the answers. You’re in this job to ask the right questions in a clear, efficient, and effective way. Your team has the answers.

A strong team has complementary strengths: interpersonal, problem solving, and technical. It’s not likely that each employee will possess all three. That’s the value and wisdom of  teamwork. That’s synergy. That’s what you might discover on a crisp day during an outdoor “team building” exercise. The challenge is discovering it on the job, and celebrating it when you do.

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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.

Some Questions Answered

Here are two “role-play” responses to questions you’re asking…

Q: “In one of your recent columns you said that we shouldn’t initiate networking calls to prospective employers on company time. When are we supposed to make them? After we get fired? We should be able to make calls on the clock as long as we don’t make a big deal about it. Please comment.”

A: Rather than battle the pros and cons of the subject, I’ll focus on the nub of the question:  When are the best times to make networking calls? When you and the person you want to reach are both at work but off the clock.

Your target audience is working hard, balancing competing demands, trying to get as much done as daylight hours will allow. Like you, many have gotten into a habit of extending those hours, going to the office early, staying late, and working through lunch to keep within sight of what’s most pressing. That’s why you can reach them between seven and eight in the morning, during the noon hour, and between six and seven in the evening.

Keep your objective in mind. The people you’re calling have potential as prospective employers or networking leads. Your goal is to create sufficient interest so that they’ll agree to meet with you.

They answer their own phones because they’re there and their telephone screeners aren’t. Acknowledge that you are an interruption. If you’re lucky, you’ll have 20 seconds to turn your interruption into an opportunity.

“Mr. Jones, this is Sam Seeker. I’m calling at the suggestion of our mutual friend, Bill Smith of the XYZ Company. Bill said you’re a great problem solver, relationship manager, and a wise counselor. Would you be willing to meet with me, briefly, to brainstorm about my job search and critique some possibilities I’m currently considering? I’ll be very respectful of your time. (Pause for response. If positive, continue.) Great, when are you available?”

Next question…

Q: “I’m sick and tired of my employers always asking me to work all hours of the day (and night) to get their work done. I obviously need another job and a boss who won’t take advantage of my dedication and work ethic. What job should I be looking for?”

A: Rewind. This sounds more like a communication problem than a job problem, and a classic example of the proverbial chicken or the egg question. What comes first, the employer who asks too much of an employee or an employee who takes on more than she can handle? There are unspoken expectations, misplaced intentions, and mixed results, on both sides.

Your boss gives you the impression that she’s insensitive to or unaware of your need for work/life balance, limits or boundaries. In turn, you may be giving her the impression that implies your willingness to do “whatever it takes”. You end up feeling used and unappreciated. Nothing will change until each of you communicate your meaning to the other and recognize the impact of what’s left unsaid.  Since you posed this question and not your boss, I suggest that you begin the dialogue. It might go something like this…

“Helen, I enjoy my job, and hope I’ve been successful in demonstrating my dedication and work ethic by the quantity of work I complete and the accuracy of the work that I produce. (Pause for a reaction. If her response surprises you, clarify its meaning before resuming the conversation).

I’ve come to realize that I’ve not done a good job of communicating my need to establish a balance between what I’m asked to do and what I am capable of managing, in the time frame you’ve allowed. I’d like to have that conversation with you, at your earliest convenience.”

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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.

What’s Your Story

Three people, three challenges. The names aren’t theirs, but the stories are. And many of you share them.

Daniel doesn’t know how to describe his career dilemma other than to say he is, “…lost, clueless, and stuck. I can’t get started because I don’t know where I want to go. I don’t want to interview because I know I’m flat. I’ve been told I act like I don’t care if I get the job.  That’s true. I don’t want to be stuck in a job that I don’t like, can’t do, don’t want. I’m waiting for the right thing to show up. My friends tell me I’ll be waiting for a long time.”

Barbara has maxed out and doesn’t know it.

“When I got this job I thought I hit the jackpot. It was everything I loved. It challenged me by stretching and developing my skills and abilities. I got promotions and increases and everything was wonderful and then, it seemed almost overnight, I burned out. I thought I was tired, needed a vacation, a fresh perspective. My boss encouraged me to take time off (with my cell phone, computer and access to his emails). I took a two- week break, and then six months leave. I’m due back tomorrow. I don’t want to go. I don’t want this job.  And I don’t know “what’s next.”

Clare is a go-getting, “high potential”. Her company fast-tracked her to stardom and then she lost her shine.

“Everything I did was aimed at getting promoted. I asked everyone who was supposed to know; mentors, coaches, bosses, for advice on how to get ahead. What I heard was that I was a creative and enthusiastic change agent who needed more visibility and opportunity to demonstrate my strategic agility.  They told me that I could move up by managing more people and fewer tasks, allowing others to handle the tactics and day to day while I handled the strategy and design for the future.

I trusted their advice, did what they said, and tried my hardest. But I wasn’t a motivating, empowering, encouraging, delegating people manager. I wasn’t a visionary strategist. I wasn’t what they said I needed to be.

When I was doing what I did best everyone thought I hung the moon. When I wasn’t, everyone wanted to hang me. I worked insane hours. I was frustrated and distracted. I beat up my subordinates. They weren’t good enough or fast enough; they didn’t care as much and they didn’t work as hard. So I did it all myself. The more I did, they more they let me do.

I was more relieved than disappointed when my boss told me the company was letting me go.

I create and develop systems for change.  From now on, I’ll connect with what I do best and leverage that talent for myself and my company. I still want promotions and want to be part of the leadership team and I’ll rely on my internal compass to get there.”

Three different people share similar challenges: “Where’s

‘there’?”  “What’s next?” “Who am I supposed to be?” Daniel and Barbara need to look inside and ask questions that only they can answer: When am I at my best? What do I enjoy, do well, and want to continue doing? When am I determined to succeed? What makes me curious, what do I pursue?

For every interest, there are talents. For every talent there are jobs and careers. Questions like, “what I am supposed to do when I grow up?” are answered through directed self- assessment and increased self- awareness. You have to know your story if you want to find your future.

Clare learned, the hard way, to trust herself. What’s your story?

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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.

Questions You Ask for a Successful Interview

Conventional wisdom has it wrong if the job you go after is a bad match for your skills, your innate strengths, and your style or personality preferences. As many of you can attest, you can do a good job matching your skill sets to the required need, only to find later that you have a serious personality mismatch to that of your boss and/or the culture in which you will be working.

If you want to save yourself time and aggravation you’ll find out what you’re getting into, before you get into it. To do that, you’ll need to start with an honest self-assessment. Once you know your strengths, skills, and style, you can determine which situations fit and which don’t.

Before you start making lists, let’s sort out the differences between these three essential elements of job satisfaction:

          A skill is a learned physical task. You can be taught a skill. If you take time, energy, and focus to consistently practice, you can become “skilled” or competent at performing the task. Yet skills alone, even highly developed skills, aren’t enough to succeed in a job.

You also need talent. Talent can’t be taught. Talent is inherent; it comes naturally. And talent alone isn’t enough to get you where you need to be. It takes study, drive, determination, and yes, practice, to turn talent into strength. Strengths, skills, what else does it take?

Style. You can think of style as an expression of your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.  As behavior, style distinguishes one individual from another.

What has skill, strength, and style to do with finding the right “fit” with a company? Everything. You want to work where your innate strengths make a difference and you’re valued for having made an ongoing contribution. You want to work where you can learn, grow, and develop your skills. And you want to work where you’re comfortable, where your values, perspectives, and attitudes mesh with those who lead and manage the company.

How can you know where “there” is? Companies don’t advertise their idiosyncrasies, they advertise their products and services. When companies publicize jobs and interview applicants, they describe needs and opportunities, they don’t describe the boss’s quirks and preferences. Interviewers assume applicants know if they can meet and exceed the company’s expectations and if the company is the right one for them.

Therefore, it’s up to you to find out what makes the company tick. Are they watch- dogs? Watch- makers? or clock- watchers? You’ll know what’s important to them if you know where they invest their time and money.  R&D?  Quality? Customer Service? Distribution? Sales? Marketing? Are they a company known for their streamlined efficiency? Creativity and product diversity? Order, and organization? Rules and regulation?

Is their management style top down, bottom up, participative, non- existent/inconsistent? What do they reward, instill, ignore, replace?

Ask questions if you want to get answers. Ask the interviewer to describe where the company is going and what they need to do to get there; ask who they want to have designing the course, mapping the direction, driving the train, and maintaining the engines.

Ask interviewers to describe the characteristics of employees who succeed, and those who fail. Ask questions about the greatest obstacles the company is facing, in the long and short term, and their commitment, in time, finances, and personnel, to accomplish their objectives in overcoming those challenges.

Ask about the work they want you to do, the achievements they expect from you, the resources they’ll provide you, and how they’ll measure success from you. If you have the courage to ask questions, you’ll know where you stand. You might have the right skill sets, and the wrong style; the right style and the wrong strengths; the right strengths, and the wrong skills.

If it’s a fit, go for it with all you’ve got. If it’s not, keep looking.

How Does the Networking Thing Work?

Q: I think I’m doing a great job of networking. I’ve spoken to dozens of interesting and kind people. They thank me, I thank them. And nothing happens. What am I doing that’s stopping my search cold?

A: It sounds like you’re good at getting in front of your contact but don’t know what to do once you get there. You need a plan and a purpose. Before calling another person, answer these career questions:
What do I want in a job and why do I want it? What stands in the way of my obtaining it?  Whether I have selected this contact or I have been referred to this contact, what is the purpose of my call? How can this person assist me in overcoming obstacles and help me help myself?
Clarify your expectations and you’ll kick-start your search.

What Kind of Resume?

Q: “I’ve worked for several companies over the last few years. I’m not a job hopper but I am concerned that I’ll be seen that way. I’ve been told that to present myself in the best possible light I should use a functional resume and not a chronological one. Do you agree?”

A: A functional resume groups your abilities into skill clusters. A (reverse) chronological resume lists each of your positions and companies, beginning with the most recent. Individuals who have worked a variety of jobs with no obvious career objective present themselves more favorably with a functional resume. That’s the simple answer but it doesn’t solve your problem. Here’s what I mean:
Interviewers prefer reverse chronological resumes to the functional format. They want to see at a glance, the applicant’s progression of responsibility, accountability, job titles, and time in grade. Many believe that functional resumes mask frequent and hard-to-explain job changes. As a result, many applicants who submit functional resumes are passed over, or if called to interview, are quizzed on everything that would appear on a chronological resume. That line of questioning tends to put applicants on the defensive, scrambling to explain what went wrong rather than what went well. They’re unable to make their case.
The solution to your dilemma won’t be found in resume cosmetics but in developing good job search strategies. What’s your goal? Do you want to be appreciated and compensated for a job that you do well, that you enjoy doing, and that you can stay with long enough to make a difference? You can make that happen when you tell your story, in person, to those who have the power and authority to either hire you or put you in front of people who can.
It takes focused, strategic networking; finding people with whom you have much in common. They, like you, are eclectic in their habits, and enjoy variety in their professional endeavors. They’re calculated risk takers and have a bent toward the entrepreneurial. They differ from you in that they’ve been able to capitalize on their strengths and have been successful because of that. They’d be willing to talk to you because the two of you are more alike than different and they’re pleased by your recognizing their success and wanting to know more about how they made it happen.
When you find them, ask how they’ve been able to accomplish what they have. Describe what you want to achieve, the problems you’d like to solve, and the contributions you’d like to make.  Frame your discussion around the strengths, interests, and abilities you have to make positive things happen. Ask for recommendations for next steps, people to connect with, and ideas for how you can tell your story.
Engage the person’s interest in you by demonstrating your interest in them. Ask for advice instead of focusing on your resume or your work history. If you make a compelling case, the networking contact will refer you to those who may be in a position to hire you or would know others who could.
Through networking you’re able to tell your story, face to face, without a resume getting in the way.

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