Job Seeker Resources

In-person Services

Attention Job Seekers! If you need help with your resume or cover letter or some job searching advice, contact MassHire Career Center 

Printing and photocopying, both black & white and color, plus scanning and saving via email and flash drive are available at Sawyer Free Library. Patrons can print or photocopy up to 10 pages per day for free. Computers, Chromebooks, tablets and WiFi Hotspots are available for public use.

There are many useful books to help with all aspects of job hunting and career advancement. Here are some suggestions.

You can find ebooks to assist you in Overdrive.

Resumes

Writing a Resume

A resume gives potential employers a snapshot of your experience and highlights your skills. Resumes are typically about one page. However, if you have been in the workforce for several years you can extend your resume to two pages.  Potential employers will only spend about 15 seconds reviewing your resume before moving onto the next resume so you want your resume to stand out from the crowd.

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is used by those in the academic, medical or research fields. Curriculum Vitae (CV) will be much longer because they often include a bibliography of publications, such as books or articles, and presentations. 

Suggestions for drafting a new resume:

• Tailor your resume content to each position you apply to if you can
• Worry about formatting after you write your content
• Break your resume into practical sections such as work experience, education, technical skills
• Use bullet points to describe your accomplishments
• Begin your bullet points with action verbs
• Bullet points under your current job should be listed in the present tense. Bullet points in past positions should be in past tense
• Have someone else proofread your resume
• Use templates only for ideas on how to format not for the actual format
• Follow the employer’s instructions about submission guidelines and supported file types
• Include your name in the file name so it’s easy for the hiring professional to find your files ex: docx
• Use a modern font such as Calibri, Cambria and Helvetica
• If applicable, include a link to your LinkedIn profile, professional website, or other professional social media

One-on-One Resume Help

Get assistance with your resume, cover letter and more:

• MassEdCO
• MassHire Gloucester is now open. Click here

Helpful Links

• Best Resume Formats-With Examples and Formatting Tips
  A resume writing guide with best practices for writing a strong resume that will get you jobs.
• How to Write a Resume That Will Get You an Interview
  Guide to resume writing, including how to create a professional resume, resume format, targeted resumes, and resume samples, examples, and templates.
• Targeting Your Resume for Your Audience
  Advice about prioritizing and phrasing content to create a targeted resume
• Power Verbs for Your Resume
  A list of power verbs with examples from the University of Northern Iowa Office of Career Services
• Curricula Vitae (CVs) versus Resumes
  Great overview the difference between a CV versus a resume from UNC Chapel Hill. Includes links to other online resources.
• Writing the Curriculum Vitae
  A overview of what a Curriculum Vitae (CV) is and what should be included from Purdue University

Cover Letters

Strategies for Writing a Cover Letter

Cover letters communicate your willingness to work for a potential employer and can be used to demonstrate why you and your skills are the best fit. Effective cover letters can help you land interviews.

Suggestions for Writing Your Cover Letters:

• Tailor a cover letter for each position you apply to
• Keep your cover letter brief
• Write about a situation or experience that demonstrates you have the skills to be successful
• Read the job description carefully looking for keywords to incorporate into your letter
• Explore the company’s web page and find recent news about the company looking for keywords or issues that you can relate to your experience
• Follow the employer’s instructions about submission guidelines and supported file types
• Use a San Serif fonts such as Calibri, Garamond, Helvitica, and Verdana, which are easier to read and ATS friendly (doesn’t have tails)
• Include your name in the file name so it’s easy for the hiring professional to find your files ex: johnqpublic_coverletter.docx

Helpful Links

Purdue OWL: Job Search Letters

These resources will help you write job application letters, thank you and follow up letters, as well as effective acceptance and rejection letters. This section also contains links to other OWL resources geared for working class positions.

Interviewing

Helpful Links

• Job Interview Questions With Answers
  Sample job interview questions and sample answers
• How to Answer Illegal Interview Questions
  Certain questions are illegal for employers to ask during interviews. This article has advice on how to approach those situations.
• How to dress for a job interview
  Advice and links to articles about proper interview attire for men and women.
• CORI and Employment–MassLegalHelp.org
  A guide for the those looking for employment who have a CORI/Criminal record.
• Payscale.com’s Salary Negotiation Guide
  A comprehensive guide on how to research and negotiate salaries and benefits
• How To Land And Ace An Informational Interview | Forbes
  Three page article for getting, preparing for, and follow up after an informational interview. Informational interviews are a great way to find out about a company, field or industry. These are opportunities to build your network not to a ask for a job.

Networking

Skill Development

Web Resources

Career Online High School
Career Online High School (COHS) is an online high school diploma and career certification program funded by the Boston Public Library. Residents of the City of Boston who completed 8th grade and are 19-years-old with a valid BPL card are eligible to apply. Students who attended high school and did not complete it may be able to transfer previously earned credits. Students who successfully completed General Equivalency Diploma (GED®) segments may be able to apply towards their course work through the library

Class Central
Aggregator of MOOC (free online) course listings offered by Stanford Coursera, MITx, Harvardx, Berkleyx Udacity and more.

Code Academy
Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in seven different programming languages including Python, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, and Ruby, as well as markup languages HTML and CSS.

edX
EdX offers interactive online classes and MOOCs from the world’s best universities, colleges and organizations. Online courses from MITx, HarvardX, BerkeleyX, UTx and many other universities can be taken here. Topics include biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, finance, electronics, engineering, food and nutrition, history, humanities, law, literature, math, medicine, music, philosophy, physics, science, statistics and more

Future Learn
Learn 100% online with world-class universities and industry experts. Develop your career, learn a new skill, or pursue your hobbies with flexible online courses.

GCFlearnfree.org
For more than a decade, the GCFLearnFree.org program has helped millions around the world learn the essential skills they need to live and work in the 21st century. From Microsoft Office and email to reading, math, and more, GCFLearnFree.org offers 125 tutorials, including more than 1,100 lessons, videos, and interactives, completely free.

General Assembly
General Assembly is an educational institution focusing on education in technology, business and design at 14 campuses across four continents including Boston. The Boston Public library hosts some of General Assembly’s free workshops.

Harvard Ed Portal
The Harvard Ed Portal offers free innovative learning opportunities through collaborations among Harvard University, Allston-Brighton, and the greater community.

HubSpot Academy
Take your professional skills to the next level with free, online training from HubSpot Academy. From quick, practical courses to comprehensive certifications, learn everything you need to know about the most sought-after business skills.

Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan to provide “a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere”. The organization produces micro lectures in the form of YouTube videos.

Modern States
A non-profit dedicated to making a high quality college education free of cost and accessible to any person who seeks one.

Library Resources

LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is an American massive open online course provider. It provides video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills.

Job Hunting Resources

Cape Ann

• Cape Ann Jobs (Facebook Group)– features job postings from Cape Ann businesses.

Massachusetts Job Boards

• Hire Culture
  The Mass Cultural Council is proud to offer Hire Culture, a FREE, searchable database of cultural employment opportunities throughout Massachusetts.
• Mgov Jobs & Unemployment
  Find information, tools and resources for working in Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts JobQuest
  Part of America’s Job Bank. This menu-driven search also contains links to other state employment agencies’
• Massachusetts Nonprofit Network
  The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN) is the voice of the nonprofit sector, a statewide organization that brings together all parts of the nonprofit ecosystem—nonprofits, funders, community and business leaders, and elected officials—to strengthen nonprofits and raise the sector’s voice on critical issues.

National Job Boards

• Career Builder
  com is one of the largest online employment websites with more than 1,900 partners including AOL and MSN and 140 newspapers.
• Careerjet.com
  Careerjet maps the huge selection of job offerings available on the internet in one database by referencing job listings originating from job boards, recruitment agency websites and large specialist recruitment sites. Careerjet’s job search engine network encompasses over 90 countries, featuring separate interfaces that are translated into 28 languages.
• Dice.com
  Dice is the leading career site for technology and engineering professionals.
• HigherEdJobs.com
  Search for academic jobs by position, location, or keyword.
• Idealist.org
  Search for employment, internships, information on events, resources, service, volunteering and employment. Searchable directory of 10,000 non-profit organizations in 150 countries.
• Indeed.com
  Search job listings from thousands of websites, including job boards, newspapers, associations, and company career pages.
• Local Job Board
  All jobs posted on LocalJobBoard.com are categorized by city, state, and industry.
• Mashable Job Board
  Find tech, digital and social media job openings. Also includes resume and interview tips.
• Monster.com
  Job postings and other resources such as resume preparation, networking, and career info.
• SimplyHiredcom
  Search jobs from job boards, classifieds and company sites. This site also tracks employment and occupation trends.
• USAJobs.gov
  Use this website to find federal jobs in Massachusetts or around the country
• ZipRecruiter
  Search for jobs hiring in your area using ZipRecruiter’s job search engine.

Technology Services

Printing and photocopying, both black & white and color, plus scanning and saving via email and flash drive are available at Sawyer Free Library. Patrons can print or photocopy up to 10 pages per day for free. Computers, Chromebooks, tablets and WiFi Hotspots are available for public use.