Tag Archives: job search

Lost Cat? Found Job.

March 31, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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Do you remember the story about the fellow whose cat led him to the right job?  It went like this… Apprehensive young man desperate for career and already late for interview has a runaway house cat. After frenzied search, skirmish and surrender, young man and reluctant cat arrive at company’s formidable front entrance. Young man opens resistant door by clamping resume between teeth and wedging cat between sandaled feet. In time it takes to yell, Continue reading →

Cat Leads to Job

March 24, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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It had been almost a year since my last interview and I had finally snagged one.  I was nervous as a cat all day. Which is ironic because my cat must have picked up on my anxiety. She had spent the day running up and down the stairs, around and through my legs, zipping over the furniture and across the floor. When I opened the door to leave she got out first and took off Continue reading →

This Might Not Be Pretty

March 20, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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I’ve noticed that you’re making some interviewing mistakes that you’d probably prefer not to repeat. I’ll tell you what they are and what you can do about them but fair warning, this might not be pretty: You’re getting there late and when you do, the game’s over. Here’s why: Interviewers expect you to be on your best behavior. If getting there late is the best you can do it’s not good enough. If you want 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 →

Five Fresh Tips

February 28, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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You’ve asked for more interviewing strategies and here they are: 1. Pay attention while walking around. If you have a chance to tour the facility where you’re interviewing, go for it. It’s a great way to get a read of the culture and a handle on your comfort within it. For example, if employees appear to move about in stony silence and the place is quiet as a tomb, the company might be a model Continue reading →

Five Fresh Tips

February 21, 2012 by Joyce Richman
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By request, I’ve prepared some interviewing tips for you. If you like these, you’ll get five more next week. Extraverts! Don’t talk too much! You’re so good with words you don’t seem to know when to stop using them and you’re talking your way in and out of great opportunities. Instead, stay on point and make your points calmly and succinctly. Don’t repeat yourself. And don’t interrupt. Sell yourself on track record and potential, not Continue reading →

Question: The Job Search

December 13, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Thanks for sending me your questions about job search. Here’s just a sample of what you’re asking: “I’m a career changer having a tough time finding a job in my new field of interest. Do you think that a headhunter will be willing to work with me?” Headhunters (more politely known as recruiters) will not work with career changers. They will work with individuals who have a proven track record of success in a specific Continue reading →

Preparing for an Interview

November 8, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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What are three things you should know before heading out to an interview? Know about the company.  Know why you want to interview them.  Know why they ought to interview you. Let’s get down to basics. Do your homework before interviewing. If you’re short on time, check the prospective employer’s web site. If you have the luxury of more time and the company’s track record is good enough to merit space in business journals, go Continue reading →

Question: What do I need to do in an interview?

October 18, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Thanks for your calls and emails requesting information about the following topics related to job interviews. What are the best questions to ask on an interview? The ones that net the information you need to make a good decision. They’re the probing, open-ended questions that ask how, what, where, when, and why? They find what you ought to know and not always what you want to hear. They’re tough to ask and challenging to answer: Continue reading →

Guide for Boomerang Parents Receives Review

September 6, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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The slow to no-growth economy and high unemployment rates have kids of all ages returning to their parents’ homes as they transition from college to work or from lost job to new job. Co-authors Joyce Richman and Barbara Demarest have been getting some attention for their guidebook, Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job, which they wrote to help parents deal with these times of transition in their children’s lives. Steve Continue reading → Continue reading →

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 →

Taking Another Look at Relocation

June 14, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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As organizations continue to grow, shrink, and mutate, employees are getting used to doing the mobile shuffle: from working on-site to working in flight, on phones, and from hotels. The greater the distance and the longer the stay, the bigger the worry: I’m losing touch with my team and I don’t know what to do about it. The more far flung our companies become, the more employees are sent to remote locations to head up global business Continue reading →

Job Insecurity

April 12, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Feeling insecure at work? Want some fear insurance? Make a plan. Everyone needs a strategy that’s ready to launch when necessary so that there’s no need to be afraid. “What if I’m laid off? Who will take care of me? Who will help me?” We get downright childlike when the “I don’t want to think about it” actually happens. It’s the grown up version of “I want my mommy!” It’s understandable that employers and employees 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 →

Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Interviews

March 1, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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We’re getting calls and emails from readers who have questions and concerns about layoffs. Here’s a sampling: “With all this talk about layoffs, I’m so worried I can’t concentrate on my job. What can I do?” The last thing you want to do is worry yourself out of a job. Change your unrealized fear from something you can’t control to something you can. Put together an employment emergency kit. Fill it with a financial plan, 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 →

Resume Your Resume

December 14, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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We haven’t had a heart to heart about resumes in a while and it’s high time that we did. What you’re sending out isn’t getting the response you deserve. Here are just a few of the reasons why that’s happening: You may not know the difference between a resume and a promotional piece. You’re using the dump and stir method (dump it all in, stir it around, and let the reader figure it out). You’re Continue reading →

The Persistent Payoff

November 16, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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If you’ve been looking hard, and haven’t found a job worth cheering about, it’s time to return to job search basics. But before you dig in, look around and see where you are: Are you sending out dozens of resumes and getting no responses? Are you toying with giving them out at basketball games? Have you tried billboards and carpet-bombing? When is the last time you wrote an original cover letter? Are you still mailing that worn Continue reading →

Job Search Gauntlet

October 19, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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A recent caller wanted to know how to search for jobs that are closer to somewhere else than to where he lives. I figure that if I’m going to tell him, I ought to share the same information with you. There are barriers to conducting an out of town search and ways to overcome them: Barrier: The prospective employer doesn’t want to interview someone who lives “somewhere else”. They don’t want to incur travel and Continue reading →