Southworth Co. launches Web site, contest to help job seekers
Date: 2/9/2009
By Debbie Gardner, PRIME Editor
AGAWAM With a statewide unemployment rate of 6.9 percent and Hampden County unemployment figures topping 17,400 as of Dec. 8, there's no doubt that it's tough to find a job right now.
To get that all-important foot in the door in the face of today's economic realities, job seekers really need to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
That's where Agawam's Southworth Company, a local producer of premium business papers and products, wants to help.
On Jan. 5, Southworth launched a new Web site, www.PromoteYourselfAmerica.com, as a one-stop resource for tips and expert advice on everything from writing a killer resume to acing that job interview.
All the information, including links to the location of career fairs, is available free of charge, 24/7, to all site visitors.
Win free office supplies or a trip!
PromoteYourselfAmerica also offers visitors a chance to enter a weekly drawing for a job seeker's package of premium office supplies to assist in your job search, courtesy of Southworth Company.
No purchase is necessary to enter, and all entries will automatically be reentered into a grand prize drawing for a four day, three night trip including round-trip airfare between any two cities where Southwest Airlines flies, hotel for two, plus a $250 American Express Gift Card to cover incidental costs.
The weekly prize drawings will continue through June 26. The grand prize trip is sponsored by the Southworth Co., Buxton, Cross Pens and Southwest Airlines.
Helping America find work
According to Susan Martin, project manager of marketing communications for the Southworth company, the idea behind PromoteYourselfAmerica came out of a marketing meeting early last summer.
"We were throwing around ideas in the marketing groups, [looking for] ways to increase resume paper sales," Martin told Reminder Publications. "[The job hunting concept] actually started before things got truly bad . As things progressed we realized we really needed to do this."
She said Southworth worked hard to create a site that would provide visitors with information covering all aspects of their job search, from writing a resume and cover letter to searching and applying for a job online to locating career fairs locally and across the country to prepping for a face-to-face job interview.
Many of the articles are penned by experts in the field.
"You don't have to go out and buy a book, it's all right there," Martin said. "It's quite a wealth of information."
Martin said the Southworth Company unveiled PromoteYourself America at a Jan. 14 career fair in Boston sponsored by the morning news program, "Good Morning America." In addition to talking about the tools available at the new Web site, company representatives also showed attendees how printing a resume on quality paper, such as Southworth's 100 percent cotton resume paper, could help it stand out from those printed on regular copy paper.
