Tag Archives: Interviewing

Question from a reader: What do I do if I’m left hanging?

August 16, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Q: It is very frustrating and unprofessional to keep someone “hanging” after an interview and not inform them if they have the job or not. People want to work and want to know if they should continue their search. Over the past year I’ve been on at least two dozen interviews and several firms never informed me as to the status of their selection process. What’s your take on this? A. Unless you’ve experienced both Continue reading →

Impression Preparedness

March 8, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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John Q. Employer is expecting you. He’s been interviewing for the last few weeks and he’s getting a little frustrated. He wants to hire someone and he’s determined to do it right. He’ll take the time he needs. It’s worth it to him. You were due at 2:00 p.m. It’s 2:15 p.m. and you are nowhere in sight.  You finally roll in close to 2:30, flashing a broad smile, extending an energetic handshake and brandishing several earnest excuses. You’re late. Continue reading →

Deer in the headlights

February 1, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Q: “I’m in my mid-forties. By now you’d think I’d have figured out how to get a job, but I’m still a deer in the headlights when it comes to interviewing. I review study guides, memorize websites, and I practice. I practice in front of the mirror, when I’m walking my dog, even on my commute to work. I think I’m ready, I go on the interview, and I feel like I did when I Continue reading →

What can you learn from these seven snapshots?

January 25, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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#1 – I’ve been turned down by an employer who obviously doesn’t know talent when he sees it. For example, he asked me technical questions that I couldn’t answer. So I made up stuff that sounded pretty good, considering I didn’t know what I was talking about. He didn’t seem to appreciate my answers, or my jokes. Instead, he peered at me from over his glasses and read his questions off a long sheet of Continue reading →

Interviewers: Ace the Interview

January 11, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Interviewers who see themselves in the driver’s seat,  need to check their side view mirrors. Their would be  passengers can afford to be selective about where and with whom they climb aboard. Job applicants can get mighty frustrated when they arrive at their interviews and are told “we’re busy, come back tomorrow.” Most of them are currently employed and find it challenging  to arrange time off without neglecting their ongoing responsibilities, and nerve wracking to explain their Continue reading →

Cut to the Chase on Job Searching

September 14, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Let’s cut to the chase:  The best way to find a job that’s a match or has potential for being one is to network. Seventy-five percent of available jobs are found in the ‘hidden market’. Spend seventy-five percent of your time looking for them there. Does that mean employers don’t advertise their openings? They do when they must but most would rather hire people they know personally or prospects referred by people they know. Most Continue reading →

Question from a reader: Is my resume better than I am?

August 31, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Q: I’m getting interviews. I’m not getting offers. Does this mean that my resume is better than I am? A: It sounds as if your resume is doing a better job speaking for you than you are speaking for yourself. If that’s the case, you’ll want to know how you’re missing the mark. Those answers can come from a combination of soul-searching, self awareness and candid feedback from people who know you best. To jump Continue reading →

Readers Respond to “No Excuses” Article

August 18, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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My August 8, 2010 career column in the Greensboro News & Record, entitled, “Excuses Get You Nowhere,” generated a few responses that I wanted to share with blog readers.  First, a few summary bullet points of the column if you don’t have time to click through to the News & Record: Excuses, no matter how valid, justified or prevalent, are your own worst enemy in finding a job. Take your excuses and find a way Continue reading →

One More Tough Question Answered

June 29, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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What’s a tough interview question? One you don’t know how to answer. I don’t want to be asked why there are so many gaps in my resume. I don’t want to be asked why I went to a top school, got great grades, and then spent the next three years in dead-end jobs. I don’t want to be asked about my ‘five year plan’ because I don’t have a one year plan. I don’t want Continue reading →

Summer Employment for Teenagers

June 8, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Parents, from your calls and emails it sounds like finding summer employment for your teenagers is top of mind these days. Just be careful. If you get too involved, their search will become your search, and even worse, they could stop searching before they even get started. “I provide our family gracious living; a fine home, cars, vacations, club memberships, you name it. I’ve been in a family business for a long while so I’m Continue reading →

Advice for the Advice-Giver

June 1, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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If you’re a frequent reader, you know that I typically offer advice to job seekers, providing strategies for getting and keeping jobs. I often suggest they contact you, as possible references, networking contacts, and prospective employers, and in turn, ask that when you offer your wisdom and perspective you’re doing it to help them stay on the road and out of the ruts they inevitably encounter. It occurred to me that you might want a Continue reading →

Tough Questions Have Answers

May 25, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Interview questions that are difficult typically ask about “why and how” not “what and when.”  They focus on demanding workplace issues, events, personalities, and the actions you’ve taken or didn’t take regarding them. When you do a good job responding to these questions you show self awareness and an ability to organize and articulate your thoughts in ways that are logical and understandable. You describe cause and effect and connect facts that may appear unrelated Continue reading →

Eliminating Job Search Frustrations

May 4, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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It’s frustrating to send your resume to dozens, even hundreds of job openings and not get a response. It’s frustrating to interview and not get a call back that tells you where you stand. It’s humbling to feel as though you’re being judged and maddening to feel that you have no way to control the outcome. What can you do to shift your emotional responses to tactical actions? Eliminate one frustration at a time. For Continue reading →

Questions from Readers for All Ages

April 27, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Q: My anxiety is through the roof. Yesterday I talked back to my boss, something I never do. I apologized and he said we’re OK but I’m not so sure. He seems to be avoiding me and now I’m more concerned than ever. Should I start looking for another job? A: Exhale. If looking for another job helps you feel more in control, sure, do it. In the time it takes you to find something Continue reading →

Successful Applicants Ask Good Questions

April 6, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Successful job applicants know how to ask good questions. Good questions let interviewers know that you’re curious; you’ve done your homework; you’re listening to what they’re telling you; and you want to find as good a match as they do. Good questions focus on the future and explore ways that applicants can contribute to the company’s goals and objectives. Good questions keep the discussion energized and positive. Bad questions sound critical, cynical, confrontational, and close-ended. Continue reading →

Bottom Line: You Didn’t Have a Bad Reference, It’s the Interview

March 30, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Q:  I recently lost my job and have not been able to find another. I left my last job on not good terms with my former employer and I think they’re giving me a bad reference. I’ve had a couple of interviews with different companies and was told each time that I’d be getting a second interview. When I wouldn’t hear back I’d call and they’d tell me the position had been filled. Is there Continue reading →

Back to Basics

March 23, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Many job seekers start the hunt with a positive sense of urgency. You do all the right things, in the right order, and when weeks turn into months and nothing happens, you lose your way along with your energy. If you’re bumping, slumping, and sputtering, it’s time to get back to basics. Resume: The longer it takes to find a job, the more you’re apt to tinker with your resume. If you’re trying to be Continue reading →

Presentation Counts; Count on It

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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When getting a job is job one, presentation counts. If you’d like an example of how important that is, read what Linda Stanton, President of Selective Staffing, Inc. writes on the subject: “Ms. Richman, I am the owner of a local staffing service here in the city. I am amazed at the people who come to us seeking employment who do not see us as an employer. We are, in a lot of cases, the Continue reading →

Tips for Job Seekers of All Ages

September 14, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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“It’s about time you got a job and earned your keep!” Now that’s a comment that will get the attention of your children, whether they are fifteen or fifty. And it’s easier said than done, particularly if your youngster of indeterminate age hasn’t had any experience getting a job, has had a bad experience trying to secure one, or hasn’t been able to keep one.  With that in mind, here are some tried and true Continue reading →