Author Archives: Joyce Richman

Conquering Interview Jitters

August 12, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Let’s settle those interview jitters. How can you keep yourself from worrying about the questions that interviewers are apt to ask? By remembering that you’re the specialist in information about you: your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, what you do best and what you do least well. What you say is of interest to interviewers, not because it’s right or wrong, but because it helps them determine if what you bring to the table Continue reading →

Feeling Unglued by Gremlins?

August 5, 2014 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 →

What Does Work Life Balance Mean to You?

July 29, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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If you want to survive in today’s marketplace you have to balance self awareness with the needs of others:  if you make it all about you, you’ll miss what is impacting your customers, suppliers, co-workers and employers.  If you make it all about them, at the expense of your personal or professional well being, they may be better served but you won’t have the emotional energy to sustain those essential relationships. Work life balance has Continue reading →

Who You Gonna Call? Not a Recruiter

July 22, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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I need the name of a good recruiter. Who should I call? Recruiters aren’t for everyone. What’s your situation? Why would you like to engage their services? I’ve been out of work for a while, and I’m not real good at finding a job. I figure headhunters know the market better than I do, so I want to hire one to do the search for me. Can you tell me how much they charge, who’s Continue reading →

Two Sides to the Story

July 15, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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There are many sides to a story. Here are two: Her side: He’s disrespectful without cause, arrogant without reason, and opinionated as all get out. I don’t know what I did to deserve him but I‘ve had it with his attitude. His side: I’ll tell you what she did to deserve me. She hired me. She needed someone who knew what he was doing because she didn’t have a clue and she wanted someone who Continue reading →

Fear, Take a Hike

July 8, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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I’m afraid I can’t compete against people with more experience than I have. I’m afraid to say that I’m looking for a job. We’re afraid of all sorts of things. In most cases we ignore or work around what we fear, like heights, snakes, spiders, and slippery slopes. Fear can be a good thing if it keeps us out of harm’s way. There are some fears we can’t ignore or work around, as in fears Continue reading →

Separate “Can’t” From “Can”

July 1, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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If you want to start moving forward you need to stop going backward. If you want to say ‘yes’, stop saying ‘no’. If you want out of the box thinking, talk to people who neither live nor work in a box. If you want to increase your optimism, talk with people who find solutions to problems instead of finding problems with solutions. If you want to have answers you need to ask questions. If you Continue reading →

Plan Your Retirement

June 24, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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I can’t wait to retire so I can sleep in when I want  and go to bed when I’m good and ready. I want to get together with friends, stay out late and not worry about hauling myself into work in the morning. I want to do what I want, when I want, where I want, without someone telling me I can’t or I shouldn’t. As much as retirement may call out to you, like Continue reading →

Face Your Fear

June 17, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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I wrote a newspaper column about fear and the number it can play when you’re looking for a job.  Given the number of responses I received, it seems the subject hit a chord with a lot of readers.  With that in mind, let’s continue the conversation about those times when your concerns are greater than your perceived ability to do something about them. “I’m grossly overweight. Whenever I go to an interview I see the Continue reading →

Make it Sustainable

June 10, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Q:  My job is gone and my company left with it. I can’t say I’m surprised. Disappointed? Oh, yes. But not surprised. I worked in a business that had been shrinking for years. I knew it. Most of us working here knew it. And most of us stuck around until they closed the doors. You might wonder why I’d do that, stick around to the bitter end. I didn’t know what else to do because Continue reading →

Help Your Child Get a Job

June 3, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Many parents struggle over whether they should get involved when it comes to their kids’ effort to find work. They should and you should, too. Just keep the following in mind: Remember balance. Get too involved and it becomes your search and your problem. Stay too far away and you become the problem. Clarify roles. This is their job search and their responsibility. They do the heavy lifting, not you.  Your job is to ask Continue reading →

Read, Respond, Value, and Build

May 27, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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I’m often asked for the keys to improving interviewing strategies.  As I think about it, I’m struck by the notion that what makes us good interviewees makes us good interviewers; what makes us good employees makes us good employers. Read, respond, value, and build are four keys to establishing and maintaining professional relationships. Read your audience. Whether you’re networking, interviewing, leading or managing, joining an organization or leaving one, pay attention to what’s going on Continue reading →

Questions about Job Search Strategies

May 20, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Thanks for your great questions regarding job search strategies. Here are a few that represent what you’re asking:   Q: I’ve worked hard on my resume and have asked for feedback on it. Everyone has a different opinion about what it should say, what it should look like, etc.  What are the ‘rules’ so I can fix it and be done with it? A: Your goal is to produce a quick and easy to read, Continue reading →

Are You Sitting at an Intersection or at a Dead-end?

May 13, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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It’s times like these, when your job goes away and you haven’t a clue if it will ever come back, that you question your career choice and the direction it’s taking.  Are you sitting at an intersection or at a dead-end? Are you in the driver’s seat or are sitting on the side of the road? You’re at a dead-end if your job and the skill sets required to perform it are replaced by technology.  Continue reading →

Just Ask and They Will Help

May 6, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Joe was fired a week before Christmas. He felt like he was sucker punched by The Grinch. “I knew cuts were coming but I never thought I’d be one of them. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I know my customers personally. I’ve been to their kids’ plays, graduations, weddings. We’re like family. Sure I wasn’t making my numbers but no one was,  and yes, I’m a little older than some, but I look Continue reading →

The Double-Edged Nature of Generosity

April 29, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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He’s a great supervisor and the nicest guy you can meet. But he’s got this problem with his emotions, and if he’s not careful, it might do him in. Here’s the deal:  He’ll do anything for you. In fact, he does too much for you.  He’s forgiving of errors, patient with absences, does the work of others when they don’t have time, and seems to have an unending supply of goodwill.  Until, and it seems Continue reading →

Dealing With “Youngsters” (a.k.a. Your Manager)

April 22, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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“How do I deal with the fact that I’m smarter and more capable than the person hiring me?  This kid with a name tag that says, “Manager” probably has a fraction of my life experience, little to no work experience, looks like a nerd, dresses like a bum, and has the audacity to tell me that I’m not qualified!” With that attitude, don’t worry. You won’t have to deal with that person again and if Continue reading →

Stability Isn’t an Opinion

April 15, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Although employment figures are looking better, employees would like to feel better about the stability of their jobs and the places where they work. When fear runs rampant and emotions run high, opinions based on viewpoints can overwhelm logic based on fact. Opinions are built on personal experiences, and those shared with us by individuals whose perspectives we value – either because we’re told they ought or their ideals, education or life experience suggests we Continue reading →

I’m Looking for a Job. Let Me Know if You Hear of Anything.

April 8, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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I don’t know about you but I get a number of broadcast emails that say something like, “I’m looking for a job. Let me know if you hear of anything.” In most cases, I don’t know the sender and even in those cases when their names are familiar, I’m not aware of their talents or the specific jobs they are seeking. As a result, I’m not a good resource for them in their job search. Continue reading →

Reinstate Your Confidence

April 1, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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Just how open are you? Open to new ideas, to different ways of thinking?  To allowing that someone other than you can have a plan that works as well as yours and how you’ve always done it? If it’s a struggle for you then you’ve found a place you need to dig in and do some work. Now more than ever before, things are changing; processes are changing, structures, strategies and tactics are changing and Continue reading →