Australia’s first Certified Expert Résumé Writer, Credentialed Career Master, Master Career Director, and Certified Master Résumé Specialist, Gayle has amassed a formidable array of awards that recognise her writing prowess including the coveted Best Résumé Award in 2000 and twelve TORI (Toast of the Résumé Industry) Awards between 2002 and 2005 for:

* Best Executive Résumé (2003 and 2004)

* Best International Résumé (2002, 2003, 2005)

* Best New Graduate Résumé(2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)

* Best Re-Entry into the Workforce Résumé (2002)

* Best Professional Résumé (2004) and

* Best Military Transition Résumé (2003).

The Australian Careers Advisor for the phenomenally successful Going Global website, Gayle is also the International Résumé Specialist for Association of Online Resumes and Career Professionals, was the first Australian Representative for the Professional Résumé Writing & Research Association (now Career Directors International), and is a pioneer in Australia, celebrating the new millennium by being the first to pass the stringent examination to become a Certified Professional Résumé Writer with the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches in 2000.

In 2005, Gayle added another credential to her impressive list of qualifications, passing the Certified Web Portfolio Practitioner examination and training with Career Directors International—a credential that has honed her talents in the emerging area of web resumes and online career portfolios in an area set to become the “next big thing” in career marketing.

In 2006, Gayle successfully gained recognition as a Master Career Director through Career Directors International—the most prestigious of the association’s credentials.

Examples of Gayle’s high-impact résumés and cover letters now feature in more than twenty international career books by best-selling authors including David Noble, Wendy Enelow, Louise Kursmark, and Mike Farr. Gayle’s writing is also featured in the worldwide distribution of ResumeMakerTM software as an award-winning expert.

As an author in her own right, the release of Gayle’s book “PS…You Need a Résumé!” in 2001 marked a milestone in her career where helping others to achieve superior levels of self-marketing became her aim. This “how-to” book was considered so thorough, that it became a required resource for résumé-writing peers to gain international certification with Career Directors International—a multi-disciplined career professional’s association based in the United States of America with representative members from the global career industry.

Since the book’s release, countless numbers of individuals from the USA, UK, New Zealand, Europe, and South Africa have purchased Gayle’s book—appreciating the easy-to-understand, conversational tone that reinforces the importance of career marketing, appropriate and compelling phrasing, and most of all, truth in promoting an individual’s talents to get noticed by recruiters and employers alike.

Gayle was clear when writing the book: “I wanted to write something that was different from other ‘how to’ books on the market” she said in a 2001 interview. “What I wanted this book to do, was get to the business of writing quickly, professionally, and with motivation. I wanted to give people the tools they needed to write, get them to understand why they needed them, and dispel the myths along the way. Not the history of résumé writing from the ages, not from a complex academic perspective. Just a no-nonsense guide to getting words on paper in a compelling way.”

Judging by the feedback and testimonials Gayle received from readers and fellow résumé writers, that philosophy hit the mark!”

As a distinguished member of the professional résumé-writing community, Gayle is a sought-after mentor for new writers electing to enter this field of specialised writing. She has devoted hundreds of hours over the years towards encouraging new business owners or those considering entering the industry to hone their expertise through training and self-discovery.

As part of this ongoing commitment to industry outreach, Gayle has been nominated a CDI Expert, offering a high level of expertise to CDI association members on the nuances of international résumé writing. She is also the Virtual Business Expert and the International Résumé Writing Expert for the AORCP, and is a member of the Career Master’s Institute’s Member Advisory Board offering member assistance with Australian and Asian résumé development. An active member on the Professional Association of Résumé Writers’ electronic communications board, Gayle regularly shares information on resolving daily issues posed by her colleagues.

In 2005, Gayle was invited by the President of Career Directors International to join the association’s Certification Committee—a group of qualified professional writers aiming to elevate the expertise and standing of résumé writers through a stringent, multi-level credentialing process. An active participant in the committee, Gayle sees the four distinct certification levels as “milestones that the serious professional résumé writer can attain over time that will enrich their own professional practice”. The certification levels also have a broader impact—building community awareness that a body of such individuals exists, can self-govern, and build a body of ethical, credentialed résumé writers possessing expert knowledge of the most up-to-date and effective industry trends that will aid the clients they serve.

Residing in Australia’s “most liveable city” of Melbourne, Gayle never anticipated the success of her then budding enterprise, Top Margin—a small business she launched in March 1990 with limited resources, great enthusiasm, and the desire to help people secure the job of their dreams—as she laughingly admits—being her “entire business plan—short on detail, but long on vision!”.

Supported by many years in customer service for a public utility, and later as an office manager in the insurance sector for a series of senior executives, Gayle had been exposed to virtually every type of personality, problem, and conflict. Her training and experience in finding solutions, negotiating win/win outcomes, and understanding people across all walks of life, prepared her well for the “people” business of résumé writing—a mutual experience of building trust, rapport, and understanding. It is these experiences in dealing with people at their best and worst, that set the foundation for the empathy she displays to her clients in what is often a tumultuous time in their lives, and cemented her commitment to excellence in customer service—a philosophy that continues to the present day.

Gayle’s philosophy was rewarded in 2003, when she won the Australian Achiever Award for her category with an outstanding 99.79% survey score from clearly satisfied customers. In 2004, a “Highly Recommended” award followed with clients surveyed providing a 100% satisfaction score for the “Care and Attention” category.

“Winning the award in 2003, and receiving a perfect score in the Care and Attention category in 2004, were the most exciting and gratifying experiences of my career” Gayle was quoted as saying in 2005. “Particularly so, as being an internet business I never see my clients in person! It is testament to my early customer service training that my clients have spoken so enthusiastically of me when we haven’t even met! I admit to being really proud of that!”

Today, Gayle has a richly satisfying professional life, having built a specialist practice in executive career marketing—from résumés and broadcast letters, through executive portfolios, multimedia CD presentations, web-portfolios and biographies for some of Australia’s most prominent business leaders. With more than ten-thousand résumés and countless executive biographies and cover letters to her credit and a strong profile in the industry, Gayle still personally writes each document—from graduates to executives as, she believes, her clients “deserve, and pay for the best”.

Gayle’s writing exudes class, sophistication, and passion for the written word. Indeed “passion” plays an integral part of her favourite term—“Occupassion.” “Occupassion” says Gayle, “is a term that defines my work; it represents goals I will achieve no matter what the odds and for the challenges I aim to conquer. It is what I want for all of my clients; to enjoy a career they’re passionate about.”

Every area of Top Margin bears Gayle Howard’s distinctive stamp of strong creativity, cutting-edge ideas, and frank, honest communications. A one-person, dynamic marketing team, Gayle champions the success of her clients as a career “archaeologist”, advertiser, personal PR machine, support network, advocate, and cheerleader.

For more information, email Gayle at getinterviews@topmargin.com or visit www.topmargin.com.