Alina Bliach has endorsed your work as Senior Consultant at Silver Career Management.
Dear Eugene,
I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users.

Details of the Recommendation: "Eugene is a "master" at his craft. The skills he has taught me have helped me move in a positive direction towards achieving my ultimate goal. From resume building, to the ideal candidate letter, to interviewing with confidence, to networking strategies that work, Eugene gives you the tools that you need to do it all. His methods are over the top in bringing you the results that you are looking for. He is a true professional with extreme patience and dedication in helping you achieve your goals. The one word that comes to mind when describing Eugene, is "Wow!" He is, "The Ultimate Master.""
Service Category: Career Coach
Year first hired: 2009
Top Qualities: Great Results, Expert, Creative

Janet Jones has endorsed your work as Senior Consultant at Gold Career Coaching.
Dear Eugene,
I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users.

Details of the Recommendation: "I have worked with Gino for several years on career-related programming at Rutgers for both current students and alumni. He displays great passion and interest in helping young adults set and acheive career goals. He is accomplished in guiding people through the job search process and offering insights and ideas to aid in their successes."

“Over the past ten years I’ve had a very productive working relationship with Gene as he has been incredibly efficient and effective in responding to my needs in career counseling. Gene also excels and unconventional and creative thinking relative to opportunities that provide distinct advantages in a highly competitive environment. On top of all this, he’s a pure pleasure to work with and a true gentleman."”

John K. New York, NY

"Gene's enthusiasm is contagious, and he's a true motivator when it comes to helping you discover your best characteristics and qualifications for the unique position that you're looking for.  Gene has a wealth of knowledge about the inner workings of the corporate hiring process, and his ability to share that information and relate it to your individual situation makes him standout from any other career counselor that I've worked with.  With the help of Gene, I felt comfortable selling myself and my qualifications to all members of an organization—from members of the HR team, to mid-level Managers, to Directors, and even Executives.

Recently, with the help of Gene, I was able to land back on my feet after only three months of unemployment - which was remarkable considering that reports showed that most people in the Northeast Ohio market were searching for 7-9 months before they were able to find a new position.  Through the interview skills and techniques that Gene taught me, I was able to land a position with a significant increase in responsibility and also negotiate a complete compensation package that I was satisfied with.

In the past couple of years I've been through the struggles of starting a career after college, and most recently found myself unemployed in the harshest economic times that most of us have ever encountered.  Both times I sought out Gene Gentile for career counseling as I worked my way through the job search, interview, and negotiation processes.  In both instances, I was able to quickly land an exciting position that I was uniquely qualified for.  I attribute that success to the interviewing skills and techniques that I picked up from Gene Gentile's first-rate coaching." 

This is a very relevant article about the challenges for the recent graduate.

Business Week talks about the recent graduate. Please read this!

Interview with confidence

“Tell me about your management style,” or “What is your philosophy of management?” are common interview questions.  How can you answer them without sounding “canned?”  Most people will answer such questions with: “I’m collaborative, I like to give my staff room to grow, I’m a good listener, but know when to be decisive, I’m a leader, good management starts with clear goals,” etc. etc. Clients initially recycle clichés because that is what the other side, supposedly, wants to hear. But think about it, who is going say that they are non-collaborative micromanagers, or that their approach is dictatorial?

The question, then, is how can you replace interview clichés with compelling content that best advances your cause while also answering the interviewer’s questions in depth?  Communicate through story telling. Use SAGE (Situation, Action, Gain, Effect) stories to illustrate the impact you have had upon previous companies. Use SAGE stories to answer open-ended questions like, “what motivates you?,” or “what types of employees do you find difficult to work with,” or “what is your greatest strength?” SAGE stories separate you from the pack because no-one has had your particular set of experiences. Your argument, in fact, is that your unique set of experiences uniquely qualifies you for the position in question.

SAGE breakdown:


Situation: What were the opportunities? What were the obstacles?

Action: How did you manage the variables: Budget, staff, client, technology, product, and deadline that made this assignment interesting or unique.

Gain: What was gained by the completion of this project?

Effect:  What were the long term effects to the company's benefit? How did the client benefit? What did you learn from it?

SAGE stories add texture, flavor, and nuance to the image you are building of yourself. Personify yourself through SAGE stories and your credibility will be strengthened. This material will become a reliable framework from which you can answer just about any interview question with clarity and confidence. Such self-assurance will separate you from the competition. Remember, they are probably using the clichés you have left behind.

How does one build a repertoire of SAGE stories?  Use interview questions to map your past. Choose 25 questions and write out answers in the SAGE format. This will take some time and effort, but the rewards will be enormous. Your ability to articulate the impact you have had throughout your career will dramatically boost your chances of being hired.  Prepare and practice SAGE stories about the most important subject there is to your career: yourself.

Effective Networking

Studies consistently show that informal contacts or "networking" represent up to 70% of successful job searches. Are you comfortable with the idea of networking? For most of my clients, the answer is "no!"
Then they learn how to do it right.
For starters, effective networking is not about finding a job. Effective networking is about collecting intelligence to the business transitions that require your skills. There's a big difference. Intelligence gathering means having targeted industries, targeted companies, and research accumulated on both before "networking" even begins. Examples of business transitions to look for include: a department is being re-organized, a product is being launched or re-positioned in the marketplace; a company or large department is relocating or a merger / acquisition is underway.
How can you identify relevant and timely transitions? Research and build your network! At Gold Career Coaching we will train you in a variety of proven strategies for building a broad-based and effective network. We will also provide access to databases that make research much easier - and even enjoyable. Lets get started!

The Ideal Candidate letter

When answering a job listing, make it easy for the potential employer to recognize you as worthy of an interview. Accomplish this by discarding your typical cover letter and replacing it with what we call an Ideal Candidate (IC) cover letter.

An Ideal Candidate lists the job requirements - quoted from the ad itself, and then matches each requirement with an example from your experiences that illustrates your achievements in that area.

This approach "connects the dots" for the potential employer, clarifying your resume visa-vie the specific requirements of the position.

The Ideal Candidate accomplishes three critical tasks:

1. Immediately captures attention: The IC cover letter has an innovative look that will stand out from a typical cover letter.
2. Makes the initial evaluation easy: The IC format allows the reader to easily arrive at a conclusion regarding your background.
3. Subordinates the resume: The IC cover letter diminishes the résumé’s importance as the primary teaching tool about you.

Let me know if you want a free sample IC letter.

Our Mission

Our mission is to partner with you in clarifying and executing the following:

	1.   What are the primary benefits you bring to organizations?
	2.   Which industries and companies represent your best fit?
	3.   Once chosen, how do you get in front of these potential employers?
	4.   The curtain has lifted in the interview that could change your life. What are you going to say?
	5.   How can you negotiate the best package?

The answer to these questions is a process that requires partnering with passion, clarity, and determination. Let's get started!

Welcome

Welcome to Gold Career Coaching.  The skills you learn here you will use for the rest of your life.  In todays economy and business climate, you must always be prepared to find and/or adapt to a new job or even career.  We hope that you will be pro-active in your career development, rather than reactive.  These posts and pages are designed make you a job search and change expert.