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I Don’t Think So: Illegal Job Interview Questions
I’m sure you join me in wishing that “Tell me about yourself” was against the rules, but while that question may be perfectly acceptable in any interview – there are some questions hiring managers are not allowed to ask you in an interview. Most human resources professionals know better and will not make these mistakes. However, interviews are often conducted…
How to Say “Yes” Without Driving Yourself Crazy
Creatives, your skills are in high demand by many organizations, businesses, and individuals. Sometimes even by friends—if they need a website, advertising copy, graphics or other creative work produced. Last Sunday a dear friend asked me if I could design a website for his new business. He doesn’t have a lot of money to spend and thinks of me as…
The Proust Questionnaire for Creatives
You’ve heard of the Proust Questionnaire, I’m sure. Made famous in the back pages of Vanity Fair Magazine, it was named not for questions, but for the answers given by Marcel Proust to a set of questions asked by his friend Antoinette Faure. I remember them best from a television show called “Inside the Actors Studio” where, at the…
How to Decrease Turnover & Keep Employees Happy
You might think that with today’s high unemployment rate, as a business owner you don’t have to worry about turnover – nobody’s leaving, right? Wrong! The fact is, for every person who is putting off looking for a new job, there are those who are already working and planning to move on. As soon as they can. Why? They are…
Unlimited Vacation?!
Good and Bad by vees via Flickr Creative Commons Have you heard about the new trend in vacation policies? Unlimited vacation has taken off quickly, being put into practice at some major companies: Netflix, IBM, Morningstar, and Blue Wolf, according to this article at The Grindstone. Sounds great! Also known as a “results-only work environment,” for a self-motivated employee…
Jumpstarting your Creative Process
I read an interesting article in The Atlantic last week, and it got me thinking about my creative process and the creative process in general. Then one of our Facebook friends was talking about how he didn’t understand how anyone could work before 8 am and that was why IT people weren’t creative. I had to disagree. Every job, no…
Work Harder and Get Less Done?!
Did you ever have one of those days when you worked and worked hard for hours on end and still felt like you didn’t get anything done? Yesterday? Well, you may be working harder than you need to. Wait! That doesn’t make any sense! But maybe it does? I read an article last month on the Harvard Business Review blog…
Creatives and Business Meetings: 5 Tips on How to Stay Engaged
Creatives are not known for being comfortable in a formal business setting. Suits and ties and long strategy sessions are not their normal M.O. But freelancers do end up going to business meetings or formal pitches and it is important to stay involved in the material and remember what was discussed, since they will probably be sent home to work…
Artisan Places Talent in All 5 of the “Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012”
I saw an article in Inc. Magazine this week about the 5 Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012 so I clicked to see what they could possibly be, and I was in for quite a surprise! In today’s rough economy, everyone with a good idea is starting their own business and they all need great websites with fantastic graphic design,…
Artisan Creative’s Setting Goals for Success
New Year. New Resolutions. While some would say resolutions are just an unattainable goal we set in January and forget about by February – at Artisan Creative we believe having goals (and helping to hold each other accountable for reaching them) is critical for success. Each month – we set and focus on achieving goals that are vital to our…
Freelancers: Use Online Marketing to Kickstart 2012
We are about to go into a quiet time of year, whether you choose to work less or there is just less work, and so it is a good time to think about what you can do to get a jumpstart on your freelancing in 2012. With today’s technology, it is easy and cost-effective to do some online marketing for…
Social Networks Are Your Friend—But Not Your BFF
I’m the first person to evangelize for social media. I’m on Facebook and Twitter all day for work and personal reasons, my daughter uses it to get information about and help with her homework, we all find links to interesting stuff every day, right? I don’t want to miss a single photo of my cousin’s twins! We’ve talked on our…
Artisan Holidays: Past and Present
As work finally winds down for most of our clients (and for us!), we thought it would be fun to ask our team for their favorite Winter Holiday memories as well as where they’d be celebrating this year. Their responses were a lot of fun… “The Best Holiday Gift I ever received…” My parents made me go with them on…
To Work or Not to Work, That is the Question: Freelancing over the Holidays
If you are like me, you are busy with holiday preparations while still maintaining a busy freelance work routine. There are a lot of extra things to do this time of year: shopping, baking, social events, writing cards. Even volunteer opportunities abound at this time of year, with everyone holding holiday fundraisers and toy drives. It’s easy to look forward…
Managing Your Brand
Not only are you an entrepreneur, you are a brand. If you are participating in social media, your brand has a logo, a mission statement, and work product that other people might want to buy or invest in. Or it should! It is important to make sure that your brand is consistent and sending the messages that you want it…
Artisan’s Resume DOs & DONTs List: Part 2
If you’ve ever sent out your resume through an online application – you’ll probably find yourself wondering, at some point, if you’ll ever hear back from that potential employer. Did your resume stand out? Did it contain everything it should? Did you include something you shouldn’t have? While every employer is looking for something different – most hiring authorities would…
Artisan’s Resume DOs & DONTs List: Part 1
In our line of work, we review hundreds of resumes each week. While no two resumes look the same – there are definitely things that work. And things that don’t. Does your resume get a passing grade? Here’s a quick checklist before you apply for another job: TOP 7 RESUME DOs 1. Proofread! There is no quicker way to end…
Preparing for a Behavioral Interview
In doing research for this article, I went back to basics. What is a Behavioral Interview? A Behavioral Interview is one in which the interviewer asks questions about past behavior in the hope of being able to predict how you would handle a situation at their company in the future. An example of a behavioral interview question would be: Tell…
Body Language Tips for Creatives
Have you ever come out of a meeting with no clue how it went? You feel like your presentation was clear and effective. You know you were prepared and your materials were informative. Maybe you were paying more attention to what you were doing than how your audience was reacting, but if you play it back in your head, you…
Reflections: Is it Time to Quit Your Job?
The other day I was looking back at my writing of a year ago and realized it has been exactly a year since I quit my job. Yes, I quit. In a terrible economy, with high unemployment, I willingly chose to leave. I have never regretted quitting, but even now it’s interesting to look back on why it was the…
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hard to believe another Autumn is upon us and the beginning of the holiday season already here. This Thanksgiving our team is especially grateful for so very much: Jamie D: This year I am most thankful that I have been able to collaborate with people who are focused on making a difference in the success of others. Jess: I…
Time Management Tips for Freelance Entrepreneurs
“Freelance Entrepreneur” might sound like an oxymoron, but freelancing is entrepreneurship at its most basic. Entrepreneurship means taking risks with your income, your career, your security in the service of innovation. As a freelancer your capital isn’t money, it’s time. As a Freelance Entrepreneur, you offer your capital to others to help complete their projects. How you spend that capital…
Are You an Entrepreneur? Yes, You Are!
No matter what industry or field you work in, whether you work for a multinational corporation, a mom-and-pop storefront, or in your home office, you are an entrepreneur. Congratulations! Today’s workforce will have a completely different career experience from their parents and grandparents. Gone are the days of getting an entry-level job out of college, moving up, and retiring, all…
Global Entrepreneurship Week
This week entrepreneurship is being celebrated in 123 countries engaging more than 10 million current and aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Entities such as The Kaufman Foundation and EO are helping the world learn how entrepreneurs are driving the change we need to overcome these challenging times. By coming together to share their collective experience, participating entrepreneurs will…
7 Tips for Better Negotiating: How to Close the Deal
As a freelancer, I found myself presented with a rather unattractive job offer this past week and ended up thinking a lot about negotiating and how I wanted to handle the situation. I would like to close the deal and have some additional work – but was I willing to compromise significantly to make it happen? I decided to do…