Tag Archives: Action Plan

Fast Track Your Job Search

January 10, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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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 Continue reading →

Stop Looking in the Rearview Mirror and Focus Ahead

December 22, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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If you only focus on where you’ve been and what you’ve left behind, you won’t see what lies ahead. All she could talk about was how stuck she was; how she and her business, both successful, had slowed, then ground to a stop. “My customers once had money to throw around and they loved to throw it my way,” she wailed. I had a high end business and my clients didn’t have to worry about Continue reading →

Networking Your Way Into a New Career

November 17, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Networking: the expression is abused, misused and under-explained. What is it and why should you care? Networking is the best way to find a job, change jobs, or even change careers. Doing it right takes time, patience, and persistence. Doing it wrong is a waste of effort, energy, and opportunity. Networking means having focused conversations with individuals who can directly or indirectly influence the direction of your career search. Networking means finding people whose character Continue reading →

Steps to Making a Successful Career Transition

November 10, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Are you in the wrong job? Maybe the wrong career? That’s an alarming thought if you don’t have a clue what the right job might be. What’s the point of leaving if you don’t know where you’re going or what you’d do once you’d get there? The last thing you want is to end up in the same sorry mess you’re in now. There are plenty of reasons people stay in the wrong careers: They Continue reading →

Little Things That Count Big

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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  When you’re looking for a job in a market as competitive as this is, everything counts. Your outbound voice mail message should sound professional: When prospective employers call, they don’t want to hear an outbound message sung by your children or barked by your dog. They’re off-put by messages that sound menacing, mysterious, seductive, poetic, funny, or just plain strange. Simply put, employers want to know they’ve contacted the right person and that person Continue reading →

Lonely Layoff? Get Moving!

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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It’s easy to get stuck between lonely and cranky when you lose your job, particularly when your neighbors and friends still have a job to go to. You know you have to get on with life and start interviewing, but you’re having a tough time getting off the couch and putting on your shoes. If that’s your situation and you have the energy to read this column, I have some ways to remedy your situation. Begin Continue reading →

Career Fair in Town? Make the Most of It!

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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There’s a Job Fair coming to town and opportunity is coming along with it. Unlike most fairs, this one won’t cost you a dime. You’ll have a chance to meet company representatives from across the state who set up booths and organize materials with the express purpose of meeting people like you, hard-working, dedicated, skilled people who have the potential of making a difference in their organizations. If you want to maximize that opportunity it’s 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 →

Rejoining Your Life After an Unexpected Layoff

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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I bet you know him. He goes to work early and stays late. He’s known as a company man. He’s dedicated, loyal, with a work ethic that challenges the most diligent. His only fear is failing health even though he’s never taken a sick day. (He’s never had a day that he stayed out sick. He’s had several sick days.) He’s just been laid off and never saw it coming. He was starting to think Continue reading →

Thinking of Making a Career Change?

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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You may have friends who changed careers when it didn’t look like they needed to. You may have wondered what gave them the courage to believe they could start over, doing something they’d never done before. You may have marveled at their immense pride in even modest success. “Could you do that?” You may have known others who walked away from seemingly comfortable careers and life styles to follow a dream. Their stories didn’t end Continue reading →

Always Have a Plan B

August 13, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Today’s job market requires a great deal from employees: patience, drive, self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, business acumen, flexibility, adaptability, versatility, resiliency, and that’s just for starters. Today’s workforce has become increasingly aware of and responsive to what employers want and they do their best to deliver it. What many need and don’t have is a good, reliable Plan B. “It’s tough enough having Plan A, why do we need a Plan B?” Circumstances change, people change, Continue reading →

Job Searching for the Right Reasons

July 20, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Spring brings out the job seeker in people: the curious, the bored, the conflicted, the “anywhere but here” and the intentional. The curious: “I’m not really interested in looking, but if I were to run into something that’s too good to be true, I’d have to consider it.” The bored: “Since I don’t have anything to do and nobody’s watching, I’ll check job openings on-line. That should occupy me ‘til closing time.” The conflicted: “The 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 →

Notes for a Job-getting Action Plan

January 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Bam. That’s the sound of your confidence hitting bottom.  The longer you’re out of work, the bigger the hit your confidence takes. Pretty soon you’ll have trouble remembering what you did well and why anyone was foolish enough to pay you for doing it. The good news is, you’re not alone. The bad news is, there’s no great comfort in having company. Is there real reason to be concerned? No, you are employable, you do Continue reading →