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UPDATE: Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson, Part 1

Tomorrow we will be watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London so we thought you might like to revisit our interview with US Olympic Fencer Soren Thompson. Artisan’s President Jamie Douraghy has been a competitive foil fencer since he was 17 and is a two-time 40+ U.S. National Champion. Jamie’s lifelong interest in fencing has…

Artisan at the Olympics

You may have noticed that Artisan Creative is pretty excited about the Olympics. It would be hard to miss! Here are the details about our upcoming coverage of our sponsored athletes and the events. First of all, we will be reposting our blogs about US Olympic Fencer Soren Thompson (with some updates) during the Games but that is not the…

Reflections: Meditation and Time Management

If you’re at all like me, you’ve got a lot going on every day, all day long. You’re switching tasks, maybe even switching clients and projects from hour to hour if you’re lucky, or even more often. Those kinds of days can be very productive, especially if you make a schedule and stick to it, but a recent study found…

LinkedIn Part 3: 5 Mistakes You Should Not Be Making

Talent Manager Laura Burns sent me a link this week to an article in Forbes Magazine about LinkedIn mistakes and since we are in the middle of a series of blog posts about LinkedIn, I thought you might be interested in my take on what Forbes thinks many people are doing wrong on LinkedIn. Forbes emphasized the importance of LinkedIn…

Interview Do’s & Don’ts, Part 1: Dress

When I asked our Recruiters at Artisan Creative for a couple of rules of thumb for job seekers, their answers were more comprehensive than I expected. Turns out they have had a lot of candidates do a lot of odd things—things you should avoid in your job search process. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts about what (not) to wear:…

LinkedIn Changes, Part 2: Target Audiences

Along with being helpful for those seeking employment, LinkedIn can be an effective part of your company’s marketing, networking and recruiting plans. You may or may not be using LinkedIn to its greatest advantage and a recent addition to LinkedIn’s capabilities could help you do so. Although you cannot have your Twitter posts automatically forward to your LinkedIn Profile any…

Artisan Interviews Animator Kenny Roy about his KickStarter Project Success

Over the years, Artisan has been fortunate to work with many talented creatives on a variety of projects. Back in 2003, we were first introduced to Kenny Roy, Owner/Director of Arconyx Animation Studios, LLC when we worked together on a number of animation projects for the SyFy Network. A great relationship was formed and we remained a big supporter of…

2 LinkedIn Changes, Part 1: Twitter

LinkedIn can be an important element in a candidate’s job search or a company’s search for the perfect talent. But like other social media platforms, it changes frequently. Last week we talked about Facebook’s email system and whether or not it was a good idea to use your Facebook messages or have them go to your email Inbox. This week…

Artisan Desk Pilates: Move #2

Need a little creative inspriation today – but no time to get away from your desk for a break? Try our next Pilates Move from Artisan Talent Manager and certified Pilates instructor Maggie Grant. These exercises – all of which you can do right at your desk – will help strengthen your core and improve your circulation. Did you miss Move #1? Give…

Facebook, Email and Other Tweaks to Help Your Job Search

Did you know that 37% of employers are using social media to search for and research candidates? And 11% more are planning to start in the next year? That is a whole lot of hiring managers that might come across you on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn and get in touch with you because you seem like you might be the…

Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson: Part 3

Soren Thompson is being sponsored by Artisan Creative for the London Olympic Games which begin in July. We finished our interview by discussing Soren’s plans for the Olympics in London. You still have a couple of months before the Olympics. What are you doing now to prepare? Right now, I am in the midst of daily training for the Olympics….

The 3 Real Questions in a Job Interview

When I first saw an article in Forbes that distills all of the dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of possible job interview questions down to only three, I was skeptical. Three? I could give you twenty without thinking at all and probably fifty given half an hour. So what are the three questions? 1. Can you do the job? 2. Will you…

Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson: Part 2

The U.S. Fencing Team recently defeated the heavily favored French National Team at the World Championships. The win was the first for the U.S team ever and the French team have won this competition every year since 2003. The U.S. team beat the teams from Kazakhstan, Switzerland, and Hungary before defeating the French team in Kiev in April. Unfortunately, the…

Building a More Creative Team

Creativity is essential to innovation and innovation, in today’s marketplace, is essential to success. While Artisan can definitely help you find creative talent for your business, there are also ways of helping the people you employ now be more creative, too! Did you know that 68% of people believe that creativity is something people are born with and cannot be…

Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson: Part 1

Artisan’s President Jamie Douraghy has been a competitive foil fencer since he was 17 and is a two-time 40+ U.S. National Champion. Jamie’s lifelong interest in fencing has led Artisan to our support of Soren Thompson, a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team. Jamie asked me to sit down with Soren and find out how he achieved such…

Sleep and Creativity

I’m sure you’ve heard that not getting enough sleep is dangerous to your health, your relationships, your weight, everything. I mean, if I could get more sleep, I would – but the demands of life only allow us so many hours. Fortunately, there is one good thing about being tired: We are at our most creative when we are sleepy!…

Email Cover Letters

We’ve written before about the importance of a cover letter when applying for a job. It’s a great way to set yourself apart from other candidates, highlight interesting experiences that you might have, and show some of your communication skills that resumes do not convey. Email cover letters are just as important as their paper counterparts. But a bad email…

Your First Year in a New Job

You’ve landed your dream job, congratulations! The first year of a new job is not unlike the first year of a marriage, except in the obvious ways, of course. You know you love the job, the company is a good fit, and your skills fit the job responsibilities. You are compatible. But you’ve never spent every day together or figured…

Make Meetings Count!

Creatives are not known for their love of business meetings. Give them a project and let them run with it, don’t make them sit and talk about it. However, since clear communication between designers, marketing experts, developers, and their clients is essential to happy and successful results, business meetings are a necessary evil. But they don’t have to be! Evil,…

Resumes: One Page or Two?

I used to think that a one-page resume is always the goal. Fit it all on there, and if you can’t, cut something or use a smaller font. In the business world, however, there are times for a one-page resume and times for a two-pager. Most recruiters generally like one better than the other, but since you don’t know who…

Reflections On Fear and Happiness

As I roam the internet, over and over again I come across articles about how unhappy people are in their jobs. I’ve written some blog posts about it before myself: Is it time to quit your job? Eliminate the Negative No one is happy all the time, even if they are in their dream job. But there are ways to…

Interview Tip: How to Talk about Getting Fired

Many people have had the experience of being fired. Hopefully, it was a long time ago, like mine. But maybe it was your last job and, as you’re interviewing for a new one, you are asked “Why did you leave your last job?” What on earth do you say? I decided to ask our Recruiters what advice they would give…

Writing Better Job Descriptions

“We are looking for…” Hiring Managers – do you really know what you are looking for? We post a lot of job descriptions to their Open Jobs page. Most of them could be described as formulaic: we are looking for a ___________ to do ____________, reporting to _______________ with the following experience… This is a concise, straight-forward approach informing potential…

The Do’s and Don’ts of Asking for a Raise

We could all use more money. And if you have been earning the same salary for a long period of time, you might be thinking about asking for a bump. Here are some tips on what to do – and what not to do – when you decide it’s time for a raise: Do: Research the current salary range for…

Tips for a Successful Resignation Meeting

The negotiations are complete, a new job offer has been made, you’ve formally accepted the position and now you just have to turn in your notice. Easy, right? For some job seekers who are currently working, the resignation meeting can be a daunting process… How do you say “good-bye” to your current employer, while maintaining good rapport for the future?…