Get connected.

How many times have you been told that it's not what you know, but who you know?  Thanks to the emergence of professional networking sites like LinkedIn.com, job seekers no longer have to rely on the old standby of exchanging business cards with strangers. 

LinkedIn is composed of millions of industry professionals and allows you to connect with people you know and the people they know to build your network.

The more connections you have, the more opportunities you have. However, I would caution you to connect with people you know and trust or have a business relationship with, no need to go crazy and connect with everyone.  You should also take a few minutes to search LinkedIn and I'm sure you'll find lots of contacts from your current and prior employers, clients, vendors, and schools. All those contacts have the potential to help you grow your career or find a new job.

Ready to start your LinkedIn network? Start with me and I will share Cumberland Farms and Gulf Oil job opportunities with you as they become available !

You have an interview set up - Now start your research!

I know right away when a candidate doesn't know too much about our company. If they don't know who “Ari” is or what a Cumberland Farms “Chill Zone” is, that's not a good sign. If a candidate can't tell me a little bit about our history, they have not done their homework.


In a job market where job seekers send out hundreds of resumes each week with the hope that anybody will respond, job seekers sometimes cut corners by not thoroughly checking out potential employers. But failure to know about the place you claim you want to work at can make you seem unprepared and disinterested.


To prepare for any interview, I suggest you research the following:


• What does the company do?


• What are its products?


• What is the company's mission?


• Where are its offices?


• How big is the company in terms of employees/revenue?


• How is it positioned in its industry?


How to research a company:


• Review the company's website.


• Read press releases.


• Pay attention to industry publications.


• Use Google alerts to stay on top of current company news.


• Talk to a representative at a career fair or trade show.


• Follow key decision-makers on Twitter.


• Use LinkedIn groups and other online social media tools.


If you get to know your potential employers, chances are they will want to get to know you!

Cumberland Gulf expands brand portfolio with addition of 75 Mobil stations

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- With the purchase yesterday—as reported in a Morgan Keegan/CSP Daily News Flash yesterday—of ExxonMobil's real and contractual interests in 75 properties and a petroleum distribution fleet located in Suffolk and Nassau Counties, N.Y., the Cumberland Gulf Group of Companies has added the Mobil brand to its portfolio that includes Cumberland Farms, Gulf and Exxon.

The 75 Long Island stations will remain branded as Mobil, and will be a combination of company-operated and dealer-operated locations.
"We are proud to welcome Mobil, one of the premier brands in the Northeast, as a part of our business portfolio," said Joseph Petrowski, CEO of Cumberland Gulf Group of Companies. "Adding these high-quality sites fits with our company's long-term strategy of providing multiple quality brands to the motoring public."
All Mobil employees at the company-operated locations and in the petroleum distribution fleet are expected to be offered employment with Cumberland Farms, the company said.

You can read the rest of the article from CSP here

Are you looking for a great retail job?  Check out the latest retail openings here

Cumberland Farms Joins Cause to Save Library

Local convenience store hosts fundraiser to support renovations

Cumberland Farms has kicked off a month-long fundraiser to benefit the fund to renovate the Morristown Centennial Library in Morrisville, Vt.  For the next month, Cumberland Farms will donate 20 cents from every Chill Zone beverage and cup of coffee sold at one of its nearby stores. The monies raised will support the library's capital campaign fund benefitting phase one.

"The Centennial Library is in desperate need of renovations," said Pat Stevens, events programming committee chair. "We can't thank Cumberland Farms enough for this generous donation and support."

Cumberland Farms aims to raise at least $1,000 for the library, the company said.

"This fundraiser is our way of saying thank you to the people of Morrisville and the surrounding communities for their patronage over the years," said Ari Haseotes, president of Cumberland Farms Retail Division. "It is our pleasure to give back and help save the library."  Cumberland Farms employees and library staff will hold a kickoff fundraiser celebration on September 10 at the store.

Framingham, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms is one of the nation's largest family-owned c-store chains. Operating in 11 states, in the Northeast and Florida, its mission is to make life easier for its on-the-go consumers with its trademark Farmhouse Blend coffee and Chill Zone beverages, as well as fresh food, dairy products, snacks and gasoline.

Family owned for more than 70 years, Cumberland Farms also has a long heritage of giving back to the communities where it operates.