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Boss vs. Leader
As the country celebrated Bosses Day this week, it got me thinking about some of my own bosses over the years. It also got me thinking about leadership – about how some of the best bosses I’ve had not only managed my work but also allowed me to be part of the process. But what’s the real difference between a…
5 Tips for Handling Rejection after a Job Interview
I wish I could tell you how many applications, resumes, and job interviews it takes to get a job. For some candidates, it’s only one; for others, it could be hundreds. But for most of us, the job search process will go on longer than we would like. When we don’t get the first job for which we interview, the…
Freelancing: What Do You Charge?
Conversations with potential clients often begin with the bottom line: what do you charge for your services? It may feel odd, but by putting off the cost issue until you’ve established your value, you can actually put yourself in a better place to negotiate. Your potential client, of course, is trying to rule out vendors who charge more than their…
5 Tips for Overcoming Creative Blocks
We’ve all had them. You’re sitting at your desk, staring at that blank white rectangle. The one on your screen is more likely than the dead tree variety these days, but the feeling is the same. You’re blocked. How to begin? Read. Doesn’t matter what. Put someone else’s voice in your head and eventually your brain will start a conversation….
Politics in the Office
With the US laser-focused on the Presidential election season, it’s a good time to talk about how to handle some office politics. Your office doesn’t indulge? All cultures have some politics going on, even if it goes on below your radar. Managers have agendas, executives have vision (or visions) and every employee should be keeping the company’s long-term strategies in…
Maximizing LinkedIn: Endorsements
When we first started writing about LinkedIn, we talked about asking people in our network for Recommendations and especially the value of volunteering in getting Recommendations for your Profile. Recently LinkedIn made it easier for your network to recommend your work through a simpler process: Endorsements. Endorsements offer an easy one-click way to agree that someone in your network has…
3 Interview Tips for Better Listening
Most of the time we feel like job interviews are about talking. “Tell me about yourself,” the hiring manager asks, and outcomes that perfect pitch we prepared and practiced. “Tell me about a challenge you overcame at your last job” gives us an opening for that amazing story of learning and success. Now, don’t think we are going against our…
Artisan Founder Jamie Douraghy on Time Management
Before he left for Turkey to participate in the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Istanbul University this month, Jamie Douraghy, Founder of Artisan Creative, gave an interview to Map Consulting on how their time management techniques have helped our business grow and prosper as well as given him more time to pursue his personal goals and those of his employees. Enjoy! Having everyone…
5 Errors to Avoid in Changing Careers
It’s been said that in the 21st Century we can expect to have 3-5 different careers over our working lives. That’s quite a difference from our parents and grandparents, who often got an entry-level job, moved up, and retired from the same company. Me, I’m on my third career and enjoying it immensely. I wonder if I made any mistakes…
5 Tips for Managing Your Inbox
Are you getting email alerts on more than one device? All-day long? Do you read them right away? Do you answer them right away? Stop! As important as effective communication is, it is probably not the most important part of your job and is certainly not the most important part of a freelance project, especially if you are working on…
7 Freelancing Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
A few weeks ago, we posted a link to an article on InspiredMag, 5 Unforgivable Mistakes in Freelancing which it turned out a lot of people were interested in reading. We have some comments on those mistakes and a few more to add. Inspired’s Mistakes: Stubbornness. You know what you’re doing and, rightly, feel that the client should trust you…
What’s Your EQ?
One of the most interesting topics I studied in my Career Development program was Emotional Intelligence or EQ. It still makes me think. What is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional Intelligence is defined as “the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways.” The way my instructor put it was understanding and using emotions to achieve your goals at…
Preparing for Tough Tech Interviews
When you are looking for the perfect role, you know you have a process to go through. Maybe even several times. Whether you have target companies or are deciding where to apply based on location, salary, or benefits, research is incredibly important. But all the research in the world won’t tell you which companies just have a more intense process…
The Elements of Happiness
What makes us happy at work? Money? Stability? Lack of stress? Not really, it turns out, but these are elements that we might think of if we were asked. A recent article in Forbes talked about the elements of our employment that really impact our happiness and the author was surprised. Are you? Autonomy–Having control over what you’re doing and…
So You Say You’re Not Creative?
Did you know that half of the surveyed managers say that they are not creative? According to a recent article at the Harvard Business Review, those who think they are not creative are indeed less creative in their work. But is it true? What if you think you’re not creative, but you could be if you just changed your thinking?…
Artisan Goes to the Paralympics
We hope you enjoyed our coverage of our sponsored athlete at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Soren Thompson. Read our wrapup of that coverage here. Tomorrow, the 2012 London Paralympic Games kick-off and we are sponsoring another fencer, Gerard Moreno, who will be competing in Foil and Saber next week (fencing events take place September 4-8). We will be blogging…
Interview Do’s and Don’ts Part 2: Etiquette
In our last installment, we talked about some really astounding mistakes that candidates have made in regard to what not to wear to a job interview. This time we will tackle etiquette. At Artisan Creative, we encourage all of our talent to be themselves in interviews. After all, we recruit Creatives and a little quirkiness comes with the creative territory….
There’s More to Onboarding Than Training
We’ve talked before on the Artisan blog about starting a new job and offered tips on getting through the first 3, 6, 9, and even 12 months in a new role. Many companies, however, do not have an established system for bringing new employees through that first year, and considering the stress those employees are feeling, it’s a good idea…
I Can’t Believe I Missed That Typo!
It happens all the time. You hit “Send” and just as the button goes click you see it–a mistake. It’s so frustrating, but since it happens to all of us occasionally, even if we are careful proofreaders, it might help to know why we don’t see errors on the first–or second–or even third reading. It happened to me just yesterday….
Winning
Watching the Olympics the last couple of weeks has had us all experiencing–if vicariously–the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Will you ever forget Usain Bolt’s gold medal sprint? Or Oscar Pistorius’ finish in the Semifinal of the 400 meters? You have to admit that was thrilling! The Semifinal! We read a lot about the need to fail…
You Need a Hobby
Remember when I gave you some advice about how to ask for a raise? Well, I took my own advice and it worked! And so, because of the way my life is structured, soon I will have a little more time to spend on my hobbies. You say, why aren’t you spending all that extra time on work? Guess what—I am!…
What We Learned from Our Olympians
There are still 6 days left of Olympic events and plenty more to watch. Right now we are watching the US Women’s Volleyball Team in their Quarterfinal match against the Dominican Republic and it is very exciting! However, our very favorite sport, Fencing, has finished all of its events and so the Artisan Blog is going to soon go back…
UPDATE: Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson, Part 3
In Part 3 of our pre-Olympic interview with Soren Thompson, we talked to him about preparation for the actual Games. Soren’s competition is over and unfortunately, he did not win a Medal this Olympiad, but we congratulate him and his teammates for the incredible effort, their determination, and their commitment and hope to see them again in 2016 in Rio!…
Liveblog: Men’s Epee at the 2012 Olympic Games
Good morning! The Round of 32 began at about 1:00am PST with American fencers facing opponents from China and Germany. Soren Thompson was seeded No. 11 and his teammate Seth Kelsey was seeded No. 17 before the round began. Seth Kelsey drew Chinese fencer Li Guojie knowing that if he won the match, he would face World Champion Nikolai Novosjolov of Estonia…
UPDATE: Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson, Part 2
UPDATE: Before you get to the interview, the Olympic Fencing events have begun and there has already been some controversy. In the Semifinal of the Women’s Epee, there were questions about timekeeping which affected which fencer moved on to the Final. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for our Liveblog of the Men’s Epee Semifinal and Final matches! We…