Tag Archives: Managing Your Career

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 →

More than Techniques

August 2, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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I’ve written posts dedicated to the trials and tribulations of introverted employees who recognize their own potential while realizing that others don’t. I have described described techniques that the more quiet among us can use should they wish to become more visible, viable, and recognized members of the work community. I’ve received some feedback: Many people don’t like “techniques”. They have an aversion to behaving in ways that are contrary to how they see themselves. Continue reading →

A Few Warnings to Be Aware Of

June 28, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Warning to  Workaholics on Vacation No beach is warm enough, no pool deep enough, no book long enough to keep you from the next call, the next report, the next conquest. No companion is fun enough, no escapade strange enough, no catacomb deep enough, to keep you from the next deal and the next plane that gets you to where the heat is hot enough, the mountain high enough, the trial tribulation enough, to make 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 →

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 →

Riding the Career Roller Coaster

February 15, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Ellie (not her name) needs a mountain to climb and she doesn’t have one. What’s her story? She gets her kicks from challenges. The bigger the stretch, the greater the risk, the more exhilarated she feels.  Right now she’s feeling as empty as her horizon is flat. She doesn’t have a mountain to climb. She joined her company over 20 years ago, fresh out of college with a degree no one wanted. She was part Continue reading →

A New Year: Planning for Success

December 28, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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You’ve unwrapped your gifts, returned from an airport where you probably spent more time than at your intended destination and are ready to begin the New Year. You’re filled with a resolve to… to do what? Why? And how differently will you do it? If you’ve had a little breathing space during the holidays you may have given serious thought to how you’d like to be in the coming year. Perhaps you’ve made a list Continue reading →

Between a Rock and….

December 7, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Sometimes you feel like you’re stuck between a rock and another rock. You don’t have room to breathe or move. You desperately need air and space and don’t have the energy to push the rocks apart to get it. If you’re one of those people stuck in a merger that just can’t  seem to resolve itself, that may be how you’re feeling. If you’re in a job that is a bad match and you have Continue reading →

Retiring to…what?

November 30, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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“I can’t help but wonder what he’ll do once he isn’t working here anymore. This place seems to be his whole life; what happens when it isn’t?” I bet you know him. He comes 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 had a sick day. (He’s never had Continue reading →

What Me Worry?

November 9, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Are you into lists? How about Ten Gonna Getchas for Managers: You’re always the boss. You’re an “in charge kind of person.”  Everyone comes to you with work site problems because you can fix anything. You wear your tool belt at work, home, and in public gatherings. No matter who has the problem, you have the answer. What can go wrong? Your colleagues pass their work off to you and then get offended when you do 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 →

Career Warnings

October 12, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Warning to Workaholics on Vacation No beach is warm enough, no pool deep enough, no book long enough to keep you from the next call, the next report, the next conquest. No companion is fun enough, no escapade strange enough, no catacomb deep enough, to keep you from the next deal and the next plane that gets you to where the heat is hot enough, the mountain high enough, the trial tribulation enough, to make Continue reading →

Heads Up – The Future Has Landed

October 5, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Frank needs some help and no one here seems to be able to get through to him. I asked Frank’s boss to describe the problem. His response told me more about what it wasn’t than what it was.“Frank’s not rude or withdrawn; he’s not outspoken or overbearing. He never gets angry. The guy is very intelligent. He understands how our business works and does what it takes to get his job done. We could let Continue reading →

Too Much Aggressiveness Eventually Catches Up to You

September 28, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Frank strode into the room like he owned it. He was tall, imposing, and downright charming. As soon as we sat down, it was another matter.  He cut to the chase: his direct reports were all wrong and his peers were all stupid. He had managed  to the bottom line, had pushed his people hard. He made money and that was what stakeholders expected of him. He didn’t have a problem, the employees did. And Continue reading →

Try a Day of Trust

September 21, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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She’s too smart, she makes you feel stupid. He’s too quiet; you don’t know what he’s thinking. She won’t shut up; she won’t let you think. He thinks so much; he doesn’t care. She cares so much she doesn’t think. It’s just never good enough, is it? You’re either too much of this or too little of that and you want to just be left alone to do your job. I hear you. I really Continue reading →

Questions from Readers

July 27, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Q:   I’ve been unemployed for the past 18 months and have worked dozens of part time jobs during that time. If I list each job separately, I’ll look like a major job hopper. What do you suggest I do? A:  State the obvious: that you’ve worked temporary positions since (give the date) that enable you to serve a wide range of client organizations in a variety of ways that add value. Q:   I’ve been fired, Continue reading →

Keeping Your Balance with Reorganization

July 13, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Heads up, friends and neighbors. Companies are reorganizing and if you’re working for them you know what that means: the earth is going to move under your feet. If you want to keep your balance even as those around you might be losing theirs, think about what you want to do, what you say and who you to say it to. Let’s begin with the “Don’ts”: Don’t engage in a whisper campaign against management. In Continue reading →

One More Tough Question Answered

June 29, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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What’s a tough interview question? One you don’t know how to answer. I don’t want to be asked why there are so many gaps in my resume. I don’t want to be asked why I went to a top school, got great grades, and then spent the next three years in dead-end jobs. I don’t want to be asked about my ‘five year plan’ because I don’t have a one year plan. I don’t want Continue reading →

Remain Focused ~ One Step at a Time

June 22, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Whether you’re looking for a job or want to hold on to the one you have, keep your attitude in check. It’s not a question of if, it’s when you have a negative attitude it will spill over into negative behavior. That’s a mess you don’t want to have to clean up. Think positively and your behavior will follow suit. If you’re creeped out where you work because half the population is whispering and the Continue reading →