Tag Archives: Attitude

What Works Works

May 28, 2013 by Joyce Richman
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What works is what works. Enough of that ‘you’re broken, I’m not’ stuff. It’s de-motivating and it’s counter-productive. Employees and job seekers don’t want to hear what they should stop doing, they want to know what they should start doing. They want to be more self-aware; they want training and development; not detailed descriptions of their personal warts and professional deficits. When you perseverate on what’s gone wrong in your career, or the choices you’ve Continue reading →

The Best of Intentions

May 13, 2013 by Joyce Richman
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The best of intentions can result in unintended consequences. For example: Mister Fixer: You may be their manager but they think of you as the company handyman. You encourage them to come to you with their problems because you can fix anything. You wear your tool belt to work, at home, and in public gatherings. No matter the situation, you have the solution. What can go wrong? It’s not much fun when your co-workers, friends, Continue reading →

It Takes All of You

May 5, 2013 by Joyce Richman
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When you’re conducting a job search you need to combine a variety of skills and abilities. Some you have, others you’ll want to learn. For example; you’ll want to think like a visionary, plan like a strategist, operate like a tactician, write like an advertiser, research and revise like an editor, persuade like a sales person, deliver like a distributor, and follow through for all you’re worth. Skip a step and you’re back to square Continue reading →

She’s the Best

January 15, 2013 by Joyce Richman
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Want to be the best at what you do? “She’s the best boss I’ve had because she’s as open-minded as she is clear about expectations. I always know where I stand with her because she’s willing to tell me the truth in ways that I understand. She’s never hurtful, always constructive, and trusts my ability to learn and grow on the job.” “He’s the best manager I’ve had because he keeps us informed and encourages Continue reading →

Attitude Counts

November 21, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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You are the language you speak. If you talk about can’t and don’t, you won’t. If you talk about go and do, you will. You are the language you believe. If you focus on limitations, you’ll operate within and be constrained by the assumptions you have about yourself and others. If you presume that you can do no wrong you’ll be insensitive to the negative impact of your best intentions. If you believe there isn’t Continue reading →

Work the Hardest

October 31, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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If you’d like to improve your working life with a job that’s a good match to your skills, abilities, and temperament but the thought of interviewing has you stuck in neutral, work hardest on what you fear most: If you don’t how to respond to open ended questions, get a list of them and get to work on your responses. Get them so grooved that you can’t wait for a chance to answer them, in Continue reading →

Respect, Honesty, & Loyalty

October 17, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Respect, honesty, and loyalty are value- laden words that mean different things to different people for different reasons: “My boss doesn’t respect me”, she said. “He’s hurtful, he makes me angry and I don’t want him anywhere near me.” He doesn’t respect her. From what she said and how she said it I assumed he used foul language and called her demeaning and humiliating names. I asked her for some examples of what he had Continue reading →

The 3 R’s

October 10, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Just when you thought the three R’s were Reading, wRiting, and ‘Rithmetic, I have three more for you: Resumes, References and Research. Resumes: The key to writing an effective resume is to focus on your objective. When you figure that out, everything else falls into place. What’s your objective? It describes the job you do most naturally, dedicate your free time to, and requires the least amount of energy from you. The job should be Continue reading →

Stop Doing That

September 28, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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“Stop doing that.” “You’re wrong.” “Do what I tell you.” “Because I said so…” If that’s a sampling of what you’re telling your employees and all you’re getting for your effort is turnover, follow your own advice and stop doing that. Times have changed. Back in the day, as they now say, employers ruled and employees obeyed. If employees did as they were told (as most did) without questioning rules or rulers, they stayed and Continue reading →

Try Again

August 14, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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If you’re willing to think through your answers and select the responses most likely to lead where you want to go, you can turn a potentially difficult interview into an honest, open exchange of relevant information. When you’re asked, “why were you fired?” don’t play victim or blame the person who fired you. Accept accountability for your role in the outcome and connect your strengths to what employers want and say they need. Why did Continue reading →

Ouch!

July 31, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Job applicants seem to complain a lot when they describe how they feel they’re treated during and after their interviews. I thought it only fair to get some candid perspective from prospective employers and the applicant situations that bother them. Here are just a few: Our interview committee was so impressed with a job candidate we wanted to make him an offer on the spot. The hiring manager insisted that we check references first and Continue reading →

Start & Stop

July 24, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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If you want to start doing something, you need to stop doing what was getting in the way. Some of these ideas might get you going or encourage you to adopt a few starts and stops of your own: Start focusing on long- term objectives and figure out strategies to get there. Stop focusing on short- term goals at the expense of what’s important, long term. Start focusing on your total presence, your confidence, capabilities, Continue reading →

Q&A

July 11, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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“I’m intimidating. I know it. I don’t like it. I’ve never known what to do about it. Believe me, I’ve tried. It’s my personality. My whole family’s like that. My mom’s direct and my father more so. My brothers and sisters are all competitive go-getters. We earned our stripes around the kitchen table. Every meal was a potluck of competing voices and spirited debates. We argued about everything you shouldn’t; from politics and religion, to Continue reading →

Lucky Enough

May 22, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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I’m at the beach. It’s raining. Not sprinkling. Showering. Misting. Or any of the displays that suggest wait-a-minute and the sun’s bound to come out.  This is a rain that’s going to stay for a while. I better get used to it. It came advertised. I saw it on the weather channel, read it in the paper, I heard it from forecasters who added their personal and chipper “don’t bother going to the beach this Continue reading →

Rude Behavior 2

May 15, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Last week I described a job candidate I’ll call Sam, who was flabbergasted to find he’d been eliminated from competition because the interviewer viewed his behavior as unacceptable. This is Sam’s version of what happened: Sam had a busy morning and as a result, was late getting to his interview. When he arrived, the receptionist asked him to wait for an escort to Human Resources. Several minutes passed before he was accompanied to the interviewer’s Continue reading →

Rude Behavior

May 8, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Bummer. You’ve spent weeks practicing answers to the toughest questions, days improving your resume, hours finding the right thing to wear, only to learn you weren’t made a job offer because the interviewer said you had bad manners. “Bad manners! Can you believe it?” slumped the client. “Tell me what happened”, I said politely, while correcting my posture and rejecting an overwhelming urge to remove a piece of celery from a niche somewhere between my Continue reading →

In a Jam

May 1, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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“I read your column and wonder if you get people like me out of a jam.” That prompted my curiosity and I asked her to describe, “people like me”. “People who are so lost they don’t know where to start. I’m a college graduate and I can’t believe I’m earning minimum wage in a dead-end job. I’m stuck, and I want to know if you can get me out of this mess.” Her tone was Continue reading →

What’s Your Attitude?

April 24, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Everyone has an attitude. How you project that attitude has enormous influence on how you are perceived. Those perceptions and interpretations by prospective employers make the difference between a winning interview, and one that doesn’t quite get it. Attitudes are influenced by events and your reactions to them. You may be a great communicator, a motivating team builder, and an all around wonderful catch, but if you’re stuck in a bad place, all those attributes Continue reading →

Woah, Time Out!

March 27, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Last week I described a job seeker who’s currently employed and absolutely miserable. She blames her distress on her boss. She describes him as “arrogant, dismissive, rude, and insulting” and vows not to take it anymore. Her solution? “I’m leaving. I have no idea what I’m going to do next but whatever it is, it can’t be worse than what I have here.” Erin (not her real name) says she likes her work and is Continue reading →

Smile

March 20, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Smile. That’s right. Smile. Too many of you are walking into your interviews as though you’re ready to have a very long and involved conversation with the Grim Reaper. Rewind. An interview provides you an opportunity to learn about a job to which you may be well suited, and to present your credentials in order to secure the position. That’s reason enough to smile. Yes, the business of getting a job is serious business, but Continue reading →