You Are Viewing Employment

(Photo Source: SalFalko)

If you learn something from this post, PLEASE share it with your friends on Facebook or Twitter!

“Debt is the slavery of the free.”
—Publilius Syrus

A Startling Revelation

Almost one year after graduating law school, Gary sat at his desk, mentally preparing himself for the tedious task of sorting through a large stack of motions, petitions, and other correspondence sent to the judge for whom he worked. It was the seventh month of his clerkship, a job which involved researching and preparing lengthy opinions disposing of issues in a broad array of civil cases, including professional malpractice, personal injury, contract disputes, insurance coverage, and zoning issues.

Gary was confident that he had seen it all, at least until he came across a motion asking the court to enter judgment against the defendant in the amount of $250,000.00. This was a pretty common request—if a defendant does not respond to a lawsuit within a certain amount of time, the plaintiff can ask the court for a default judgment. Afterwards, the plaintiff can begin collecting on that judgment by levying on bank accounts and property or by garnishing the defendant’s wages from his or her job.

But this motion was different. The defendant was a recent college graduate who had taken out $200,000.00 in student loans but failed to make regular payments. The plaintiff was an infamous corporation that that buys the debts of others at a discount then viciously seeks legal recourse against the debtor to collect whatever they can. The amount requested included $50,000.00 in attorney’s fees.

“Oh shit,” Gary exclaimed in disbelief.

Disturbed, Gary logged on to his own Sallie Mae account. Although he had been faithfully paying the monthly required amount on his loans, he realized that the principal had not budged. In fact, the principal on many of his loans reflected a greater amount than what he had borrowed.

Gary realized that, although he was extremely knowledgeable about the law, he did not fully understand his student loans or general financial situation. Gary vowed to get to the bottom of this.

Continue Reading…

(Photo Source: Danxoneil)

The fifty. You start your job search, spending countless hours locating and researching relevant positions. The forty. You discover a great job with a highly reputable organization. The thirty. You submit your resume and wait patiently for several days. The twenty. You are invited to come in for an interview. The ten yard line! You have an incredible interview and can really see yourself working for this organization. You decide that it is time for a touchdown dance and spike the ball with excitement. You are promptly tackled at the goal line. You did not get the job.

Just as a football player should not stop running with the ball until he scores a touchdown, you should not stop doing whatever it takes to get hired until you are actually hired. No early celebrations.

So what will take you from the ten-yard line into the end zone? The answer is simple: a well written, persuasive thank-you letter.

Why Is a Thank-You Letter Important?

A thank-you letter is highly important for the following reasons:

1. If well-written and sincere, it will show that you are extremely serious about the job.
2. It gives you one final chance to connect your strengths to the specific requirements of the position.
3. It makes you stand out from other candidates who have not sent a letter.
4. For competitive positions with longer decision times and a plethora of applicants, a strategically timed letter can renew the interviewer’s interest in you.

Accordingly, be sure to send a thank-you letter out to every interviewer that you meet with. Don’t throw away all of your hard work because of laziness or cockiness.

If you need help, we offer professional and affordable Thank-You Letter Editing.

The Problem: How Do You Sign a Cover Letter that is Being Electronically Submitted?

Many employers now require cover letters and resumes to be submitted electronically. However, this presents an obvious problem: how do you sign your cover letter?

There are a few obvious but unacceptable solutions:

• Typing your signature with a cursive font like this: John Doe. This looks incredibly tacky and unprofessional.
• Typing /s/ then your name like this: /s/ John Doe. This is a better solution but tends to suggest that you did not have the time to actually sign the document. It is also not as sincere as an actual signature.
• Printing out the cover letter, signing it, and then scanning it back in. This wastes a ton of time, especially if you have a large number of applications to send out.

None of these are ideal.

Continue Reading…