The Gilbert Gazette

A publication of Gilbert Resumes, featuring timely career articles and suggestions for today’s job seekers.

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Gazette Articles

Marty’s Cover Letter Do’s & Dont’s
Marty’s list of Do’s and Dont’s for writing an effective cover letter.

Cover Letter Writing Tips
When you need to write a cover letter, it’s sometimes the small things that make a big difference. For example, mentioning a name of someone who works at the company, can get your cover letter and resume a closer look, as can noting what you know about the company.

Bridging Gaps in Your Qualifications
If an open job says a qualified candidate must have this level of experience or that kind of skill and you don’t, they won’t consider you for the position. You may have compensating attributes or a determination to succeed, but those aren’t qualities they can distinguish from a distance. They are virtually invisible, so cannot be factored into their evaluation. Does that mean you’re out of luck if you don’t have the experience or skills required for your dream job? Absolutely not. It means that you have to learn how to bridge those gaps.

Are Temp, Contract, Consulting Assignments Worthwhile?
People have varied preconceptions of what a temporary role entails. Some perceptions may be right, and many are wrong. Temporary work has evolved greatly over the last 20 years and today it’s not uncommon for people to develop successful careers out of “temporary” work. This article enumerates some of the myths surrounding and facts about temporary positions

No Job Posted…Send Resume Anyway?
There’s no point in applying online unless you have someone you know in the company who can walk your credentials into the hiring manager and ask them to pull your resume from the thousands they’ve received online and take a closer look.

Older, Unemployed, and Landing the Job
I was laid off four times in my career before I turned 50. But when it happened again two years ago, I had just turned 59. Getting laid off at that age is a different ballgame.

How Employers View Your Questions About Benefits
When interviewing for a new job, it’s natural to want to know about employee benefits, perks, additional opportunities for bonuses or raises, and other information that helps you decide whether a company is right for you or not. When, and how you ask those questions, however, can have a huge impact on their interest in you as a candidate!

The Secret Behind Reference Checks
Reference checking is not standard. Smaller companies typically have neither the manpower nor the funds to do thorough reference checks, while larger companies do reference checks but at varying levels of thoroughness. And those companies typically do background checks for security and legal liability reasons.

4 Steps To Picking A Good Job Reference
It’s often the little details that can help a hiring manager choose between two very qualified candidates. There’s not a whole lot you control at this point, but there is one thing you can do: Make sure you have a job reference who will serve you well.

Career Management – How to Create Mini Celebrity-Status in Your Industry
Why is it important for you to care about creating mini celebrity status and becoming a thought leader when it comes to your career? Simply because self-marketing in your area of expertise can have multiple career benefits for you.

What to Do at the End of an Interview
One of the hardest times for job seekers is the period of time following an interview. A job seeker is left wondering what to do next and what to expect.

Establish Your Personal Brand on Your Resume and LinkedIn
In writing a resume and by extension a LinkedIn page, the key is in how well you establish your Personal Brand. In a resume it must be established in the top-third of Page One and then further developed and validated throughout the document. On LinkedIn your Personal Brand is established in the Headline and Summary and by the photo you upload.

Differentiate Yourself With A Specialty
The linchpin to a successful personal brand is your area of expertise. What you call your specialty is of major importance to your success in the workplace. The specialist always makes more money than the general practitioner – it almost doesn’t matter what the specialty is….

Power Phrases For Your Networking Letters
Power phrases to make your correspondence stand out.

Beat the 2013 Technology Traps for Job Seekers
Recently, employers have turned to technology to help them manage the increasingly large numbers of applications and resumes they receive, often exceeding several hundred responses for each job posting. That volume of resumes, combined with the more widespread use of search engines and social media, has created technology “traps” that job seekers need to understand in order to avoid them.

Social media background checks? “I’m Not a Fan”
“Social media background checks are a hot item,” says attorney Kevin McCormick, “but I’m not a fan.”

Looking for a Job While You’re in a Job
Obviously, it’s not just the unemployed that look for new jobs. Many that are currently in jobs, for a wide variety of reasons, look for new opportunities as well. The process of looking for a new job, however, can present a number of concerns and challenges that an unemployed job seeker doesn’t have to worry about.