Author Archives: Joyce Richman

In Tough Times, Stick to your Strengths

May 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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“Joyce, I feel like I’ve been drop-kicked and hoodwinked. I was hired and fired and never paid a dime in between. I can’t ever afford it, but right now, a month after the holidays, well, this is as bad a time as it can get.”           I asked the caller to describe what happened, and here’s what he said:           “I’d been out of work for a long time, laid off from a company that Continue reading →

The Power of Attitude

May 23, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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There’s a lot in life you can’t control and plenty that you can. You can worry yourself into a frenzy about the former and over-do the latter. You can change your perspective about both and live a little longer and be a little nicer, to yourself and those with whom you live and work.           That’s easy to say, and hard to do, if you’re stuck in a mindset of “this is who I am Continue reading →

Feedback: The Key to Success

May 22, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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How open are you to receiving feedback about your work and workplace behavior from a perspective different from your own? How aware are you of other outlooks, viewpoints that collide, values that contradict, and standards that differ from those you envision to be right and just? If you want to lead the team or just stay on the team, ask for input and listen to what you hear. Employers and co-workers are paying attention. And Continue reading →

Resolutions for your Career

May 21, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Up and at ’em! It’s a few weeks past the honkin’ and hollerin’ dawn of the new year and I bet you haven’t made out your list of New Year’s Resolutions. Surely there are countless things you resolve to do differently this year; dozens of ways you want to be, think, and do that are new and improved over the not-so-hot ways you did them last year. So, get in gear, pencils sharp, paper ready. Continue reading →

Tips for Job Hunters

May 20, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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I’ve received so many requests for more of the “most common mistakes made by job seekers”, I thought I’d better throw a few more your way.  Here goes: You commit the granddaddy of all job hunting errors when you take yourself out of the running by time wasting, over-thinking, and under-selling. You waste time when you spend all your time planning your search and expend no time implementing it.  (These are the folks who spend Continue reading →

Fearing the Lay-off

May 19, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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I know it’s tough to be laid off, and scary to be without a paycheck. The market’s tight and the competition’s stiff. It’s hard on the person getting the news and the family that has to deal with the aftermath. I’m a layoff “survivor”. That means I’ve lived through several organizational cut backs, deep and shallow, and I’m still here, working, until they cut me loose. Before you tell me how lucky I am, and Continue reading →

Getting Back on Your Feet

May 18, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Are you feeling a little unglued? If you’ve been looking for a job and you can’t find your car keys, you may have a few gremlins messing with your mind. Let’s take a look at what they’re up to and what you can do about them. The Fear gremlin can keep you stuck to the place you’re standing, particularly if you haven’t had much experience job hunting. The Anger gremlin can fight your desire to Continue reading →

Re-invent Yourself

May 17, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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At the insistence of well meaning friends I attended the revival of a well regarded, albeit mighty dusty Broadway musical. I expected to see a warmed over version of what I had seen in the past and was as delighted as I was surprised to find that the show was as fresh as if it had just been washed and fluff dried. The actors’ exuberant performance rang with enthusiasm and invited the audience to be Continue reading →

Overcoming Obstacles in the Workplace

May 16, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Do you work with these people? “He wears me out. No matter what I position I take, he takes the opposite. Don’t get me wrong, I like honest disagreement, but he takes it too far” “She blocks, obstructs, you name it, she’s in the way of progress. Ten of us agree and she’s the lone dissenter. I’d fire her, but she’s right more times than she’s wrong. ” “She nods agreeably whatever the subject. I Continue reading →

Common Mistakes with Resumes and Interviews

May 15, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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I’m often asked to describe the “one greatest error job seekers make when looking for work”. Well, you’re already ahead of me if you figured that there’s more than one, so, I’ll go through a short list of some of the more common mistakes and missteps, and you determine if you’re in the midst of making any of them. Let’s start with resumes. Many job seekers, in an effort to be all things to all Continue reading →

Keys to Customer Service

May 14, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Don’t you love it when you receive great customer service? You feel good about the company and want to continue doing business with them. Conversely, few things can be as frustrating as a bad shopping experience. You feel angry about how you’ve been treated and are sure to take your future business elsewhere. Sales and service providers say the public is getting harder to please, and customers say good service is getting harder to find. Continue reading →

Meeting in the Middle: Selling Yourself vs. Self-Indulgence

May 13, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Three people. Three openings. Three applicants. I’ve changed the names but not the shoes. If they fit, wear them. Clara. You are perfectly put together. Your hair is perfect. Your nails are perfect. Your makeup, outfit, even your shoes, perfect, perfect, perfect. There’s just one thing you’ve missed. You’ve forgotten to connect your personality to your smile; warmth to your eyes. Clara, I’m looking right at you and seeing right through you and I’m not Continue reading →

Learning from First Time Failure

May 12, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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We had just begun talking when my client started to cry. “This is hard for me”, she said. “It’s the first time I can remember failing, totally, publicly, and despite my best efforts, not keep it from happening. I’ve tried so hard. I’m exhausted from the effort of trying.” “I took this job for two foolish reasons. First, I accepted it because I was flattered.  I was ‘perfect for the position’, they said. ‘Exactly the Continue reading →

Accepting Responsibility

May 11, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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It all started amicably enough. I was on the road, had an afternoon off between speaking engagements, and wanted to do something relaxing with three hours of found time. I thought, “Movie! That’s the ticket.” So, by golly, I went to the neighborhood theatre, paid the admission, and was directed to door #9, my gateway to entertainment. I went in and with a mix of surprise and mild frustration realized that the feature had started Continue reading →

Bridges Burned

February 21, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Don’t burn bridges, no matter how aggravated, provoked, or justified you believe yourself to be. It isn’t worth it. To illustrate, read on. I’ve changed the employee’s name but not the story: Karen was ticked. In a major way. The manager that she had worked so hard to please had passed her over for promotion. Not once. Not twice. But three times. And three times was the charm. She decided she was going to leave Continue reading →

Overcoming Obstacles with Self-Confidence, Focus, Networking and a Positive Attitude

February 21, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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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 Continue reading →

The Gap between “I Can” and “I Can’t”

February 20, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Fear of failing. Fear of succeeding. Doubt, worry, and anxiety can take over the best that’s within us. We vacillate, falter, and dither over basic decisions and necessary actions. We disappoint ourselves and those we care about most. “What if I try and don’t succeed? They’ll know I’m a loser. I’d rather let others think I have potential than take a chance and fail. I’m not happy with my job and I take out my Continue reading →

A List of Big Mistakes

January 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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One of the biggest mistakes you can make on an interview is to tell prospective employers that you can do anything they need you to do. No matter how able and willing you are, if you make a pledge like that you’re bound to fall short. The employer knows that and won’t hire you. Instead, ask the interviewer to describe the greatest challenges facing the department in which you want to work, then describe what Continue reading →

What Do You Have to Prove?

January 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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He said that he was impatient, hard driving, focused, bottom-line. That he had trouble with people who wanted to think aloud, taking everyone’s time, noodling about what ought to have been immediately clear to everyone present. That his idea was good, it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. So, he did what any clear thinking person would have done, he blew up. Well, not totally. But he did Continue reading →