Happy Holidays from Artisan Creative
Holiday Shopping for Designers: 6 Gifts for the Creative in Your Life
Christmas is a little over a week away and we’re betting that most of you have presents wrapped and ready to go. For the small handful of you that have left everything to the last minute, we picked out some of our favorite gifts for your creative teammates or friends. Amazon Prime is a sure way to get your online deliveries before the big day, although many companies are offering last-minute shipping. We love giving unique gifts, things that people wouldn’t buy for themselves but will frequently use and appreciate so we picked out gifts we think designers will love.
DIY Print Shop
For those designers who love to create their own shirts or graphics, why not buy them a DIY print kit? They have a range of options including gig posters, table printing, and shirts. It’s a nifty way to learn the screen printing trade at a relatively cheap price. They are taking orders for Christmas delivery until December 22nd.
Bamboo Keyboard and Mouse
A biodegradable and environmentally friendly keyboard and mouse made entirely out of bamboo. This is an interesting way to make your desk stand out at work or at a home office. If you really want to go all out, you can even buy a matching calculator. The letters are engraved into the wood, offering a really unique way to get your work done.
Tuts Premium Membership
Tuts is an online resource to help people build upon their creative skills by self-directed learning. You can go at your own pace and learn a multitude of topics across code, design, and illustration. If you’ve overheard conversations about wanting to create an app or brush up on photography skills, this is your chance to put the wheels in motion. They have over 18,000 tutorials available online by expert instructors. Find out more on their website.
Field Notes
If you watched this week’s viral design video, Lynda’s logo design challenge, you would have spotted the quick mention of Field Notes booklets. Inspired by old school vintage agricultural books, they are made in the USA and include some limited colors and editions. These are a must-have for any creative.
Doxie One Photo and Document Scanner
We mentioned doc scanners in last week’s blog about managing finances and the need for managing documents. With the Doxie One Scanner, you don’t have the hassle of connecting to computers and scanning your work – it sends directly to your favorite apps.
Inside The Sketchbooks of the World’s Greatest Designers
A glimpse into the minds of the world’s greatest designers and illustrators, this wonderful book aims to inspire creativity. Informative and visual, you never quite know what each page will bring. Different techniques and ideas are shown along with visual representations of some of the most creative minds. For designers who are always on a quest for new inspiration and ideas, this would be a cherished book.
What are your favorite gifts for creatives? What do you think of the gifts we’ve chosen? Share your ideas with us on Twitter @artisanupdates.
Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
Managing Finances as a Freelancer: Five Tips to Better Manage Your Income
As a freelancer, part of your job is to keep on top of your money and your financial plan. Managing finances may not be part of your job description but it’s obviously an important part of leading a successful freelance career. How do you manage your income? Are you leaving it up to a third party or an accountant or perhaps you’re taking each week as it comes? We’ve compiled a list of best practices for you to better manage your income and keep you money in order.
Create a Budget
Make a list of everything you need each month, both business and personal and keep track of what you’re spending. Mint has a great free resource for budgeting and they even send alerts to let you know how you’re doing. Make sure you pay yourself and budget for your own personal allowance. If you have a few months where you come in below your budget, you may need to rethink your freelance strategy or take on more work.
Manage Expenses
Here’s where the bookkeeping comes in. Familiarize yourself with a program to help you track expenses with ease. We recommend QuickBooks or a similar software program — when it comes to tax season, it makes everything that much quicker. Apps such as DocScanner are a wonderful little tool to upload documents from your phone and help you to de-clutter your office space. Ana Rubio, Artisan’s Financial Controller states, “Tracking income and expenses can also be easily done on a spreadsheet listed by each week so you know where each check is going ahead of time. Keep track of all cash expenditures for a month so you know where your ATM withdrawals are going!”
Save, Save, Save!
You may be working now, but what happens at the end of your current contract? Unless you’re very lucky, there may be gaps between jobs so having some kind of backup emergency fund to keep you going is the key to longevity. Try to have at least a few months of savings based on your monthly budget – by doing this it will mean you can afford to choose the next freelance job that you actually want, not one that you need.
File Your Taxes
Tax season can be a pretty confusing time, especially if you haven’t been too organized throughout the year. It can take hours to file so keep all of your 1099 (for independent contractors) or W2 forms (for temp employees) saved. Clients should send these out by January 31st so start chasing them if you haven’t received yours by February. If you’re able to pay your taxes quarterly, take advantage of being able to pay off small chunks throughout the year to avoid being hit with a big bill when April comes around. If it’s within your budget, hiring an accountant can save you a lot of worry and time but it does come at a price.
Open a Business Account
By keeping personal and business accounts separate, you can avoid overspending and keep track of your income more easily. Pay yourself from your business account to your personal account so you have a dependable and steady income.
What advice would you share with freelancers? Have you learned from any mistakes? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @ArtisanUpdates.
Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
Gratitude
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold rather a large amount of gratitude.” – A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
With the hustle and bustle of the Holidays right around the corner, we’d like to take a moment and express our gratitude to those around us.
We spoke with some of our talent and the Artisan team to see what they are grateful for in 2014.
Katty
To me gratitude means to be appreciative of things on a daily basis. I write down three gratitudes every day. In the rush of daily to-dos, this allows me to focus on the important things in life. Today I’m grateful that my family, friends and Artisan team are healthy, of Artisan’s virtual office setting that allows me to work yet be close to loved ones, and grateful for the beautiful weather in LA.
Margaret
I’m grateful for a job that allows a lot of flexibility, for a husband who I love very much and so lucky to have and a supportive Family who is there for me no matter what.
Jamie
I thank God every day for my family and friends. I am thankful that my children are growing up surrounded by a loving community and I am thankful to share my life with some really kind and wonderful people. For me gratitude is recognizing even the smallest blessing or gesture and not taking anything for granted, especially my health and well-being.
Jen
I’m thankful for good health, strong friendships, and a happy family. Grateful to work in the creative space where I get to connect with and be inspired by brilliant, passionate, and talented individuals and so lucky that it’s through an agency that values people, trust, and respect.
Laura
I’m grateful to have such a supportive, kind family with a devoted husband. I’m grateful to be in a position to have saved two rescue dogs and work for a company who has integrity and respect.
Jamie
Gratitude is that deeper feeling one is left with after having been a part of contributing to, or being the recipient of, someone’s contribution to a greater good.
Vicky
I am thankful my family is healthy this year. Both my husband and I have some advancement in our career. And I met a great agent, Jen at Artisan around Thanksgiving time!
Deborah
I’m thankful for my dog, Pepper! In March, my boyfriend and I adopted an abandoned mini pincher mix from the rescue organization Dogs Without Borders. She’s the most delightful, playful little bundle of joy and adopting her was the best decision we’ve ever made. Not only is it wonderful to have a dog, but by virtue of having a dog, we’ve ended up getting out and meeting many of our neighbors, making our neighborhood really feel like home
Robert Emmons, the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude states, “Gratitude makes us appreciate the value of something, and when we appreciate the value of something, we extract more benefits from it; we’re less likely to take it for granted.”
What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? Share your responses with us on Twitter @artisanupdates.
Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
Agency vs. Client Side
For many people, there comes a time in your career when you start considering what it would be like to work on the other side. There’s no right answer: agency life can often involve long hours and multiple clients, but it can also be very rewarding. Perhaps working for a brand is more suited to you if you like to specialize in one area and take ownership? Many of our candidates talk about their desires to work for the other team so what better way to help you make the decision than by comparing them side by side.
What’s it like to work at an agency?
Agency life can often have a reputation for long days and hard work, but on the upside you get to flex your creativity and have exposure to many different accounts and brands. You can be working on a last minute project one day then quickly switch gears onto a pitch or something entirely different the next. Multitasking is king so you must be switched on and ready to take anything thrown your way.
For designers, an agency is a perfect way to build your portfolio. You can show a breadth of work with multiple brands while proving to future hiring managers you have what it takes to survive in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment. This rings true for those in marketing, client services or similar verticals. Being exposed to many different brands also means you will qualify for more jobs in the future so think about where you want to be in 5-10 years and make sure your current responsibilities are in alignment with your future goals.
What’s it like to work client side?
Unlike agency life which can be very seasonal, workflow in-house is often more stable and predictable. Projects are usually repeated (and improved upon) each year so you know what to expect and when. There’s also a sense of brand familiarity. You will live and breathe one brand and their message so you can become specialized in their area, such as CPG or technology. There’s also the added job security — agencies are reliant upon business from their clients; if one client leaves it can put jobs at risk. We’re not saying that layoffs don’t happen for in-house companies because sadly they do, but it can be less of a concern.
In the end, it comes down to what you want to get out of your career. If you like high energy and a variety of work, perhaps the agency world is where you will thrive, but if you feel you want brand familiarity, it could be time to look at client side.
Have you worked on both sides before? How did the experiences differ? Share your thoughts and experiences with us on Twitter @artisanupdates.
Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
Meet & Greet with Artisan
The holiday season is right around the corner but before you start stuffing turkeys and eating pumpkin pie, Artisan has a special event to ease you into the spirit of Thanksgiving.
On Tuesday, November 18th we’ll be at our favorite co-working space, Kleverdog in Chinatown, Los Angeles for a meet & greet with job seekers and a drive to benefit two of our favorite charities.
We’ll be hosting the Meet & Greet with Artisan from 4 PM – 7 PM which will give people an opportunity to meet with our team and put faces to names. Bring your resume along and we will chat through open jobs, career advice, and resumes to help your job search be a successful one. We’ll have delicious snacks available, too!
Our chosen charities are NKLA and Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles. As advocates of rescue animals and with some of our team members being parents, we’ve chosen two non-profits close to our hearts.
No-Kill Los Angeles
NKLA is a pet adoption center led by Best Friends Animal Society. They’ve been working closely with animal welfare organizations, pet shelters, and volunteers to help end the killing of healthy animals. They offer spay/neuter services and hold events across the city to help find forever homes for unwanted animals. They have their own adoption center in Santa Monica so if you’re looking for a furry friend, be sure to check out their available animals or next adoption event.
Donations to bring to the Meet & Greet: pet food (unopened and unused), pet treats, and toys.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
A non-profit hospital serving over 100,000 children each year through care, education, and research. With only 10 children’s hospitals in the US, CHLA is ranked #5 in the nation. The entire hospital is designed for children and families and they depend on donations to help heal the children.
Donations to bring to the Meet & Greet: Books, unused toys, coloring books, and more. Check out their wish lists.
Make sure you RSVP and give us a heads-up if you are planning to attend. We look forward to getting into the holiday spirit with you next week and collecting some wonderful gifts for NKLA and CHLA.
Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
6 Things You Should Be Doing in Your Next Interview
You’ve landed an interview, now what? Interviews can be a nerve-wrecking experience so in order to help you through your next interview, we’ve compiled a list of things you should be considering to get that job offer. Have you come up against any of these points in interviews before? How did you overcome them?
Being Prepared
Being prepared for an interview is a given, but how well do you really know the position and the company? It’s useful to make notes and bullet point any relevant information before you interview. A job interview isn’t a test so take your notes with you if it makes you feel more confident. Try to learn a few facts about the company such as a recent takeover or a statistic and reference it in your conversation.
Body Language
We can’t stress how important body language is. If you don’t believe us, watch this TED talk on power posing. Now we’re not saying you should walk in to an interview with your hands on hips and head held high, but what we are saying is that subtle language such as posture and hand movements can make all the difference between appearing shy or confident. Sit up straight, make eye contact and use open hand gestures. Avoid body language such as sitting on your hands, playing with your hair or looking around the room as it gives off the impression that you’re nervous.
Having Gratitude
Gratitude can go a long way so thanking the interviewer for meeting with you and following up with a thank you note will show how interested you really are. You could be up against several candidates and if you’re the only one to follow up and thank them, you’re already ahead of the rest.
Questioning
Even if the interviewer has answered everything for you, ask another one! There’s nothing worse than being in an interview and not having any questions prepared or forgetting to ask something. Take in a list of questions and refer back to your notes when they ask you. If they truly have answered everything, at least they can see how prepared you were, but make sure you leave knowing as much as possible about the job and company. Don’t be afraid to ask several questions; just don’t take over the interview!
Standing Out
We attended a NAWBO conference earlier this year and they discussed the importance of standing out. When the speaker would take to the stage, she’d wear a hat or another item of clothing that would make her memorable. After the event, people would spot the hat and know who she was. So wearing a hat is obviously out of the question for your next interview, but how can you stand out – what is your hook? You may have a charming accent or have ran a marathon, whatever you choose as your hook, bring it up as a topic of conversation to help the interviewer remember you.
Avoiding Negativity
People tend to remember the bad points, so how do you avoid using negative language? Stay away from saying “I’m not” or “I can’t” and say phrases such as “I’m strong with” or “I can”. If you’re asked to give an example of managing a team and you’ve only had experience managing an intern, give a solution to the problem by saying “I haven’t had specific team management experience, but I have mentored and trained an intern who became a great designer. “
By Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
A Guide to Relocating to Los Angeles
So you want to move to Los Angeles, but now what? LA is a place unlike any other. There’s the entertainment industry, the growing start-up area of Silicon Beach, the emerging creative world of downtown – it’s hard to know where to begin. As American poet and critic Dorothy Parker so eloquently put it, “LA is 72 suburbs in search of a city”. If you’ve yet to visit LA, it will all make sense when you arrive.
First of all, you will need to plan. Are you able to move without landing a job first? Do you need to find an apartment? If you’re outside of the US, can you legally work here? Careful planning and research will allow you to figure out budgets, timelines and scope. LA is an exciting city to live in and opportunities can be plentiful if you work at it.
Finding Work
Identify a few recruitment agencies you’re interested in working with. If you plan to make the move to LA after you find a job, be clear and concise with your timeline. Outline your availability for in-person interviews and communicate your travel arrangements. If you’re clear on these factors, it makes working together more seamless and cohesive.
If you’re planning to move here first, keep in mind that LA’s industry is very different to that of say, New York or London. It can take many people a few months to find work so be financially and mentally prepared.
Transport
Living in LA without a car is not impossible, but it is tough. LA is basically a series of towns connected by freeways. There’s a Metro system which can take you through Hollywood and as far as Long Beach and downtown but if you want to work on the westside, your options are buses or a ridesharing service such as SideCar or Uber. If you plan on using public transport, be clear to recruiters and companies you’re working with that you are without a car. That way they can look at their client base in your local area.
Accommodation
LA comes at a price. LA Times recently warned Angelenos to prepare for rent hikes over the next two years. Rent prices in areas such as Newport Beach where they’ve experienced a tech-boom average 2.5k per month. Renting rooms, sharing houses or renting studios are commonplace. Decide what will work for you with your budget but remember; LA salaries aren’t quite in line with New York or San Francisco. Use places like Glassdoor to find out the salaries of companies and positions you’re interested in and ask your recruiter to guide you on average market rates.
Making Friends
Rest assured that your friends and family will always want to visit the City of Angels. With the constant sunny weather and palm trees, it’s an inspiring city to explore. Use Meetup.com to find local events (and if you’re in the UX space, be sure to check out our friends over at LAUX MeetUp) and peruse our recent blog about co-working spaces which is a great place to start networking and making friends.
Have you made the move to LA and had similar experiences? Share your thoughts with us over on Twitter @ArtisanUpdates.
Artisan Creative’s 5 Favorite Co-Working Spaces in San Francisco
We’re well aware that San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the US for cost of living, so starting out on your own or freelancing can be tough. With inflated rent and property prices, renting your own office space is out of the question for many. With that in mind, we’re featuring five of our favorite co-working spaces in San Francisco. Ranging from tech communities to shared living spaces, there’s something for everyone.
StartUpHouse
What we love about StartupHouse is that they have so many resources available for budding entrepreneurs or contactors. Finding accountants, legal advice or even sorting benefits can be time consuming and tricky but they have experts on-hand to give guidance and essentially free up your time. With 50 workspaces available, StartupHouse aims to be the home of builders, bootstrappers and disruptors. Located on Howard Street, they’re central to just about everything.
Parisoma
With two co-working options, Parisoma offers an open desk package which entitles you to attend their wide array of events (including delicious breakfasts) or a dedicated desk which includes 6 hours of conference room time per month. With 24/7 access, monthly and weekly events and workshops including hackathons, their modern open space is perfect for co-working. Parisoma has been home to many startups including QuickPay and Scoop.It. If you want your startup to have optimal resources available and intend on having client meetings, Parisoma is worth checking out.
Citizen Space
Citizen Space is a wonderful option if you just want to test the waters and try co-working. They have packages ranging from hourly drop-ins to full monthly dedicated desks. If that’s not enough, they have unlimited conference room time and perks such as snacks and coffee but best of all, a pet policy! You can bring your furfriends with you while you work. With a central location and a host of creative types renting office space, it’s a great atmosphere to meet new people, hang out and work.
20Mission
This friendly, open-plan environment is great for designers, developers and entrepreneurs alike who want to live and work in a creative community. With co-working desks as well as bedrooms to rent as living spaces, there’s a real community feel to the company. 20Mission hold regular events aimed at their members which includes video game nights, art gallery showings and parties held on their patio. Their memberships are great value for money and also have half-day passes available.
NextSpace
NextSpace has an array of locations across California including San Francisco, Union Square and San Jose. They act as more of a trendy, established agency who understand the needs of their members. As a member, you get benefits such as free ZipCar membership, 24/7 access and reduced gym rates. With tons of natural light and central locations (accessible by BART) plus a care facility for parents who need childcare, their vibrant community couldn’t be better.
Laura Pell – Recruiter at Artisan Creative
Is Recruitment the Career for Me?
Moving from agency to recruitment
Have you ever noticed there are a lot of creative recruiters who used to work in agencies? Perhaps you’re working in AdLand and have entertained the idea of moving into recruitment?
Chuck Palahniuk once said “Find joy in everything that you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home. It’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” When I was no longer finding joy in my job, I changed careers. I joined a recruitment agency in London and spent two years working under an ex-Project Manager from Ogilvy who was a huge influence on my career. Having worked at a digital agency, changing careers into recruitment seemed simple, especially when applying project management techniques.
Moving from the creative world to recruitment is a natural transition for many people. Some of the best recruiters I know once worked for agencies–production artists, account managers and project managers. Many of the core responsibilities of working in an agency can be applied to recruitment: managing briefs, dealing with budgets, scheduling, leading meetings, reviewing design portfolios, blogging, social media, marketing and events. It’s all there.
Why would someone choose to leave an agency and move to recruitment?
For me, I wanted a change. I knew I wanted to do something that allowed me to have some kind of avenue into the creative industry but I also wanted my own independence and freedom. When you work as a recruiter, you’re working on your own to build a network–the more work you put in, the more you get back (which is true for many jobs, but especially applies to recruitment.)
Artisan is a virtual agency. We work remotely and stay connected by Skype, AIM and phone. This setup isn’t for everyone, but it works wonderfully for those who crave their own space and have the skills to work autonomously–obviously being in LA, no commute is an added bonus.
How do I make the first step into recruitment?
There’s a lot to consider, so make sure you do your research. Find out about local agencies. Do they focus on design or are they technical? Do their recruiters manage full desks (meaning they do sales AND recruitment)? Are they owned by a bigger corporation? Do you prefer to work for smaller independent companies? What kind of positions do they recruit for? Ask questions. Contact other recruiters who made the move. Find out about their culture and see if it resonates with you.
If you have a question about recruitment, Artisan or changing careers, connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn and email.
Laura Pell, Talent Acquisition for Artisan Creative