Tag: career advice | Page 7 | Artisan Creative

Practicing Mindfulness At Work

Wednesday, September 27th, 2017|

Over the centuries, mindfulness practice has spread from ancient Buddhist traditions, into today’s easy to access TED Talks, and flowing to corporate boardrooms from New York to Los Angeles. Although it has become increasingly popular in the corporate world, mindfulness isn’t just another fad or productivity hack – it prescribes a fresh way of looking at the world, noticing what is going on behind our assumptions and narratives, and feeling what it means to truly be in the moment.

Several cutting-edge companies have set aside meditation rooms, or provide midday breaks for quiet contemplation. Even if you don’t work at one of these companies, you can apply the principles of mindfulness to be more present with your work, your life, and people around you.

Here are a few steps for integrating mindfulness into your day.

1. Sit Quietly

It doesn’t matter if you do this for thirty minutes or three. If you don’t have a quiet space in your workplace, you can sit at your desk or take a quick walk around the block. Just claim a small slice of time, whatever you can manage, in which you can expect to be relatively undisturbed.

When you have found your spot, sit still, with your hands in your lap or at your sides, and close your eyes.

2. Focus on Your Breath

After you’ve taken a few moments to calm yourself, gradually bring attention to your breath. Ride each breath as it travels through your nose and fills your lungs. Rest your awareness on the pause between the in-breath and out-breath. Then slowly release. Give your full attention to the process of breathing.

As soon as you notice a thought, acknowledge it – say to yourself, “thinking” – and return your attention to the breath. Do this as many times as necessary until the session is over.

When you accept your thoughts and then let them go on their way, you reclaim some of the power and energy you might otherwise invest in worrying over them. Bring all that focus back to the present moment and the experience you are having, here and now.

3. Apply Mindfulness on the Go

There’s a reason that sitting is called “practice.” You’re practicing an approach to everything else in your life. When you practice in this way, you prepare yourself for the harder work of staying present, focusing your attention, and maintaining equanimity in even the most taxing professional situations.

When you are in a meeting, give your full attention to the presentation and presenter. When you are working on a project, just do that. When you notice sights or sounds in the room, or distractions competing for your attention, acknowledge them, accept them, and let them go, releasing any thoughts you may have about them. Return your attention to the task at hand.

4. Keep Learning and Practicing

Mindfulness is a journey, not a destination, and you may not see major results after one or two sessions. If you make mindfulness practice a part of your daily routine, it will gradually shift your attitude toward your work and yourself.

In the book Mindfulness on the Go, Jan Chozen Bays distills centuries of contemplative wisdom into simple exercises you can try anywhere. (A companion set of flashcards is available, too.) Meditate.io is an online community built around sharing meditation practice with professionals in creative and technical professions, with guided exercises for mindfully attending meetings, taking breaks, and checking email.

At Artisan Creative, we believe that when you find meaning in your work, you find meaning in your life, and vice versa. Contact us today to discover how we can help. We hope you enjoy the 444th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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Continued Education for Creatives

Wednesday, September 20th, 2017|

As a creative professional, your education never ends. The ever-evolving skills and technologies are one of the exciting facets of the creative and marketing career path.

Opportunities for ongoing learning, enrichment, and personal growth are now more plentiful than at any other time in history. With access to more information than can be absorbed in a lifetime, the challenge is to structure your learning and find the best opportunities for your own advancement. We’ve organized some of the content into categories to help with the selection process:

Virtual and Free

There are numerous free courses and lectures available online. Khan Academy, Coursera, and other established sites devoted to virtual learning offer college-level instruction on almost any topic, including plenty of technical and creative subjects that can aid in career advancement.

If you prefer a less structured approach, you can absorb hundreds of hours of TED Talks, alternatives to TED talks, podcasts, and audiobooks, investing only your time and the cost of an internet connection. There are also free, creatively oriented sites and discussion forums that offer a sense of community and require only your time investment.

Virtual, for a Fee

Some online classes charge a fee for their content by offering added value, exclusivity, personal attention, or access to a members-only networking community or content.

Many reputable institutions of higher learning now offer online classes, and many paid online programs are well worth the price. In order to devote themselves fully to their work, some creators of educational content charge membership fees or offer added perks to followers who donate via sites such as Patreon, which can give you the opportunity to foster a more meaningful relationship with a teacher, mentor, or community.

When you seek a paid continuing education course, seek reviews or communicate with others who have taken these programs to make sure it’s the right investment for you.

Free and In-Person

In most major cities, creative professionals have easy access to a wide variety of free lectures, networking events, and other opportunities to expand their skillsets and meet potential friends and collaborators.

If you’re looking for free events, Meetup.com is the best place to start – it includes groups based on thousands of topics, including many related to design, technology, and other creative fields. Creative Mornings hosts a series of talks in cities around the world, offering top-quality content for free. If you want to attend, register and grab your tickets within the first few minutes they are available, otherwise, they will sell-out very quickly.

In-Person, for a Fee

If time allows, one of the most reliable ways to master a new discipline or set of skills is to set aside a few months and take an immersive class or “bootcamp.” Many bootcamps have sprung up to teach technical skills such as coding and have gained credibility and following.

General Assembly is one example of a private learning institution for those in creative and technical fields. While it is only one of dozens of its kind, it has established a worldwide presence. It offers immersive courses in web development, user experience design, and other fields that offer opportunities for a new or enhanced career. If you’re not ready to take that much of a leap, these schools also offer cost-effective classes that you can take in an evening or on a weekend.

At Artisan Creative, continued education is an important aspect of our business. Contact us today to learn more.

In our 20+ years of connecting creative talent with top clients, we have gained knowledge and built strong networks.

We nurture creative talent at every stage of their careers. Contact us today to discover how we can help. We hope you enjoy the 443rd issue of our weekly a.blog.

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Mastering the Art of Phone and Video Interviews

Wednesday, August 30th, 2017|

The ease of technology and virtual offices have made the phone and video interview a necessary step in the overall interview process.Some firms even go as far as requesting video resumes!

For many of us, interviews can be stressful—and undergoing the first interview by phone or video doesn’t make it any easier. In fact, sometimes it can be more challenging due to technology mishaps or the inability to see the other person’s reaction well.

Whether your first interview with a prospective client or employer is in person, over the phone or via Zoom, the same rules apply: do your best so you can advance to the next stage.

With over 20 years of helping candidates prepare for these types of interviews, we wanted to share some best practices with you:

The Phone Interview

Confirm time zones in case the interviewer is in another state or country.
Research the company, follow on social, and look up your interviewer’s Linkedin profile. You may find some things in common!
If you are taking a call at a specific time, ensure that you are in a quiet place.
Try not to walk and talk at the same time—you may sound winded, or lose reception going from location to the next.
Make sure your device is fully charged or plugged in during the interview
You’ll be using your voice and tone to communicate— be sure to speak clearly and succinctly.
Be friendly and smile while talking. It lifts and warms your voice, which helps you to connect with the interviewer.
Be prepared to ask engaging questions about the company culture and the team.
Have your resume close by so you can refer to it.
Listen well and avoid talking over the interviewer.
Don’t discuss salary or benefits at this stage.
This is your first opportunity to connect and shine.

The Video Interview

In addition to the above steps, the following best practices also apply to video interviews:

No matter the technology used (Facetime, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout or others) adhere to this mantra: Test, and Test again. Test your device’s audio and video connections before the actual interview. Don’t wait until the interview day to download!
Practice ahead of time on screen and record yourself if possible. Pay attention to your posture, voice, lighting and background and adjust as needed.
Position the camera at eye-level and make eye contact with it! If you only watch the screen itself you’ll look like you’re not making eye contact with the interviewer.
Dress and groom as if you were interviewing in person. Dress for the job you want!
Check the lighting and move your computer as needed so that your face is illuminated without any shadows.
Make sure your head and shoulders appear in the video frame – don’t get too close or move too far away from the camera.
Pay attention to your surroundings—especially the background. Select a clean, neutral and distraction-free backdrop like a wall, screen or a panel of curtains.
If you live with a roommate let them know you’ll be on camera to avoid an unexpected noise or interruptions.
If you are a creative, have your portfolio loaded on your desktop in case screen sharing is needed. Make sure you have a clean, uncluttered desktop and if needed, change your desktop wallpaper to something creative but professional.

The techniques will become more natural over time. You’ll know that you’ve mastered the art of the phone or video interview when you’re invited for the in-person interview!

If you need help in your next job search, please connect with the a.team. We are celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 440th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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5 Tips for Resignation Best Practices

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017|

Changing jobs every few years is the new norm according to a report published by JobVite which says 34% of all job seekers have reported changing jobs after 1-5 years, and that 74% of employees are open to a new job, despite the fact that they are satisfied with their current one.

Chances are you too could be completing new negotiations, accepting a new job offer, maybe even moving across the country for a new opportunity. Before you can start your new role though, you have to resign from your current one. Not as easy a task as it may seem. For some, the resignation meeting can be a daunting process.

Utilizing our 20+ years of experience working with talent through every stage of a job search from resume to interview to offer and acceptance, our a.team has also helped many jobseekers through the resignation process with the following tips:

1. Speak to your manager. Make an appointment for an in-person meeting and have your resignation letter prepared to share. Do not resign via email, text, phone or social media. Thank them for the opportunity and the experience you’ve gained. Even if it wasn’t the ideal role, every role is a learning opportunity. Discuss with your boss how best to tell the team.

2. Give notice and offer a plan for your last two weeks. Share a plan for a smooth transition with your manager. Offer to create project tasks and folders and train others to ensure a smooth transfer of knowledge and responsibilities. If your role is external facing, map out a plan with your manager for informing clients and how to handle their account going forth.

3. Create an opportunity for a co-worker. Your departure will create an opening on the team. Often times, this can be the perfect opportunity for another co-worker to be promoted into your role, take on additional responsibilities, and grow in their own career. If such a person exists on your team or in your department, share the recommendation with your boss. This will not only create an opportunity for your co-worker to grow, it will also leave your manager with the peace of mind that someone else can step right in.

4. Remain professional. Stay professional, calm, and positive even if your current role wasn’t the ideal career move, or if your manager’s response to your resignation news is less than positive. Keep on track with your commitments throughout the duration of your stay.

5.Know your motivation for leaving. It’s not always about money. Whether it was the location, salary, team, boss, responsibilities, lack of challenge or simply that you are ready for something new, there is a reason you found a new position. Identifying your real motivations will enable you to know what to do if you encounter a counter offer.

It’s not uncommon to cross paths with former co-workers or employers in the future. The ideal scenario is to keep the lines of communication open and professional. You’ll never know when you’ll need a letter of recommendation, or the former employer becomes a client. Respect and professionalism are the best policies.

If you need help in your next job search, please connect with the a.team. We are celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 439th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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4 Effective Meeting Formats

Wednesday, August 16th, 2017|

Although many in-person meetings are still held in offices or conference rooms, try leaving the office behind where possible to promote flexible thinking and energized collaboration. Managers are creating playful and unconventional environments to help their teams think differently.

Some innovative companies have found that fresh and powerful insights can emerge when they challenge conventional notions of how meetings are conducted and bring people together by holding different meeting formats.

Here are four meeting formats that startups and large corporations have used to bring colleagues together in new and refreshing ways. If you want to treat your team to a dash of the unexpected, give one of these meetings a try!

Walking Meetings

With the popularity of standing desks and on-site gyms, it is clear that creative professionals and companies prize fitness and physical activity. Incorporating exercise into routine activities has been proven to increase creativity.

Walking meetings are a part of this trend. Instead of sitting in a conference room or office, many teams have found that moving their muscles, getting their hearts pumping, getting fresh air and experiencing a change of scenery can be more fun and productive. Harvard Business Review has some best practices for walking meetings.

Active Meetings

If everyone in your group is up for breaking a sweat, you might try a meeting that entails additional physical activity.

In Fast Company, Stephanie Vozza shares unusual meeting formats from twelve cutting-edge companies. For example, Genera Games, holds meetings on the basketball court. Such a meeting can drive nimble thinking, allow players to indulge their competitive streaks, and, in the case of Genera, helps put employees in the mindset of the mobile gamers who use their products.

Creative Meetings

At Plum Organics, team members are encouraged to hit the books – coloring books. As they meet and discuss business matters, they engage “right-brained” thought by using paper, colored pencils, and crayons to jog neurons that aren’t often in play in such settings.

According to Innovation Director Jen Brush, as featured in Vozza’s piece, an activity such as coloring promotes active listening, an important workplace skill that suffers when employees are “multitasking on something like email.”

Brush holds coloring meetings every Thursday and says they have been an important factor in developing new products.

Gamified Meetings

Another example in Vozza’s article is Darrell Ghert, a VP at the Inqusium division of Cvent. In the past, the quality of Ghert’s meetings suffered from chronic lateness – some team members consistently showed up ten minutes behind schedule. This problem was a stubborn fixture of the office culture, not something he could fix by making threats.

Rather than getting frustrated, Ghert came up with a fun idea to help team members modify their behavior. Anyone who is late to one of his meetings is now required to sing. “We’ve heard the national anthem, happy birthday, and nursery rhymes,” he says. However, these performances have become more rare, as almost everyone now shows up on time.

This sort of gamification is a step beyond the traditional rewards and demerits of the workplace – it is a system that improves processes while also itself serving as an example of creative thinking and problem-solving.

At Artisan Creative, we are deeply engaged with the changing culture of the workplace and want to help our world-class creative talent and clients do their best work, take advantage of new opportunities, and mine crucial insights that can change the world. Contact us today to learn more.

We are celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 438th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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4 Tips for Better Brainstorming

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017|

While generating fresh ideas requires limber and liberated thought, there is more to consider than the standard group brainstorming techniques.

The most productive and galvanizing idea generating sessions are guided by qualified facilitators applying best practices under the right conditions. According to one study, brainstorming sessions that meet these guidelines can generate more than four times the number of useful ideas than those that don’t.

While there’s no substitute for a group brainstorming session led by a trained professional, if you know and apply the following best practices, you will likely get more out of your brainstorming session, making it a more satisfying experience for your group and a more fruitful pursuit for an organization.

Establish Ground Rules

Make sure all participants understand what a brainstorming session involves, and don’t get caught up in problem-solving. Add ground rules that best reflect your group and culture and set expectations ahead of time.

Set the Setting

Make sure all participants have the opportunity to plan ahead for the session and think about the key questions and issues in advance. Allow space for solo thinking ahead of time to enable members to contribute freely, avoid groupthink and generate a larger number of ideas.

The session itself should take place in a quiet and comfortable place, free of the normal workday distractions. Some organizations rent off-site rooms (such as those available in co-working spaces). A change of scenery may help shake up established assumptions and patterns of thought.

Ask the Right Questions

To be useful, brainstorming must be more than a group of people talking. To borrow from Proust, the right questions, games, and structure can inspire participants to ideate “like good poets whom the tyranny of rhyme forces into the discovery of their finest lines.”

This excellent piece offers a menu of structured brainstorming exercises that may help generate more productive thinking and discussion. The most important factor for success is to build the session around a powerful central question. According to the research of Flow author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the brightest thinking is prompted by the strongest questions. Create a central question or theme that best describes the issue you are brainstorming around.

Write First, Talk Second

In a piece for Fast Company, Rebecca Greenfield recommends that much of the mental action take place before the group convenes. All participants submit their ideas in advance, which can then be made anonymous and put to a group vote. This mitigates the influence of more dominant and vocal personalities, empowering everyone to contribute more and establishing a “meritocracy of ideas.”

At the least, the session should be set up and run in such a way that constructive criticism is encouraged and the loudest voices don’t dominate the exchange. This requires rigorous adherence to time limits and other rules, and a pervasive atmosphere of mutual respect. This can be a delicate balance to establish and maintain.

Each organization is different. Its particular decision-making criteria will factor into whether or not actionable ideas emerge from brainstorming. Thus, leading a productive brainstorming session can take some trial and error, but the investment will pay off in greater satisfaction, innovation, and organizational cohesion.

Artisan Creative’s a.team is here to help you build your dream team. Contact us today for assistance with your hiring needs.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 436th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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The Art of Negotiation

Wednesday, July 19th, 2017|

No matter where you are in your career or in the professional world, negotiation is one of the most crucial skills you can hone. Being a savvy negotiator isn’t just about asking for a raise or a higher salary – it is necessary for achieving your goals across all aspects of business and life.

Negotiation is addressed in thousands of business books and seminars. As creative recruiters, we use and observe these skills every day, and we have seen some consistent patterns that separate effective negotiators from the rest.

The CEO and entrepreneur MaryEllen Tribby boils down these commonalities into seven key principles. Here, we’ve further distilled her wisdom – which is consistent with the timeless laws of negotiating – and put it in a broader context.

Remember these seven core ideas, and you too, can get what you want from highly charged negotiations.

1. Visualize Your Desired Outcome

If you have a clear and concrete idea of what you want to get out of a negotiation, you can channel all of your efforts and energies toward that end. Before you take your seat, know what you want, and consider in vivid detail what it will look, sound, and feel like to get it.

2. Do Generous Research

The more you are focused on the other party, the more leverage you will have. Before you converse, find out everything you can about your negotiation partner. Understand what the other person wants to hear, and you can explain your own needs in a way that will resonate powerfully.

3. Listen Closely, and Listen A Lot

High-powered negotiations will put your active listening skills to the test. Rather than “waiting to talk,” stay focused on what the other party is communicating. Ask follow-up questions until everything is crystal clear. This will let them know you are listening and that you value their time and thoughts and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect.

4. Don’t Sell Yourself Short (Or Too High)

Take full objective stock of your own abilities, experience, and everything you bring to the table. You’ve done your homework and you deserve a fair deal, and you respect your own limitations and understand how you are perceived.

5. Stay Positive and Optimistic

If you believe you can and will get what you want, you are more likely to get it – or something better! Most people have a built-in negativity bias – to correct for this, stay upbeat and keep your eyes on the prize. Your infectious attitude may make the other party feel more generous.

6. Business, Never Personal

Keep your ego and emotions safely out of the negotiation, and think of it from the perspective of an outside observer who just wants you to get the best possible deal. Getting less than you want out of a negotiation is simply an opportunity to rethink your approach and be more deliberate and effective in the future.

7. Stay Humble

The best negotiation is one in which both parties get what they want. Resist the urge to gloat, to take advantage, or to take more than you need. You must live with your reputation, and those who remember you as an effective and fair negotiator will be powerful allies in the future.

Building your negotiation skills is a lifelong pursuit. Artisan Creative is here to help you get more in all areas of your professional life. Contact us today to learn more.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 434th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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Generating Sticky Ideas

Wednesday, June 21st, 2017|

Some think of creative inspiration as that elusive moment of epihany when the lightning bolt of clarity suddenly strikes. If you’re a creative professional or entrepreneur, you know that you can’t rely on such breakthroughs to happen simply when you need them to.

That’s why many of the tried and true books in the creative industry focus on proven, repeatable formulas for generating effective ideas at any time, even when you’re not feeling like Leonardo Da Vinci.

One such book is Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip and Dan Heath. Drawing from backgrounds in science, marketing, and folklore, the Heath brothers set out to find patterns among “sticky ideas,” concepts that catch on, spread, and “stick” in the collective memory of an audience. Released in 2007, this book has become an essential read in the advertising/marketing trades and beyond; its ideas have proven remarkably prescient in fields from pop culture to politics to online memes.

The Heaths boil down the essence of a sticky idea to six core principles, which they describe in their “SUCCESs” model. You can use this formula to generate your own ideas and to test them for “stickiness,” no matter what sort of creative work you’re doing.

Ask yourself if your idea meets the following descriptions, as the most “stickiest” of ideas tend to be:

1. Simple

To win the minds and hearts of an audience, get right to the point. “The man who chases two rabbits catches neither,” says one Confucian proverb, and if you make a complicated argument with several different key points, your audience is unlikely to remember any of them. Your ideas must be simple, useful, and profound. Practice cutting away all that essential fat on your ideas, until they’re lean, strong, and unforgettable.

2. Unexpected

The most memorable ideas disrupt norms or break predictable patterns. You can use counterintuitive and surprising ideas to roust people out of their trances, making them laugh, think, or take action.

Consider the iconic tagline from the rental company Avis: “We’re number two, so we try harder.” In this campaign, the company grabs attention by confessing a weakness – it has a long way to go to catch up with Hertz, the industry leader – and inverts it into a strength. Audiences expect companies to puff themselves up; they don’t expect them to admit to weakness, or to explain how it actually makes them stronger. With its sincerity, self-deprecation, and use of the unexpected, this Avis campaign ‘stuck’ for 50 years.

3. Concrete

A concrete idea is specific, vivid, and visceral. It has mass, weight, and impact. In a world accustomed to the lofty abstractions of academic and corporate jargon, a concrete idea will stand out. Practice communicating your ideas in pictures, sounds, and feelings, and take advantage of the human mind’s natural affinity for information that appeals to the senses.

4. Credible

You may not be a doctor (or even play one on television), however, you should be able to support your ideas with a sense of trusted authority. Celebrity endorsements and personal stories work because when trusted public figures are willing to stake their reputations on something, those who trust and admire them will approach it with confidence. If you can’t get the Surgeon General to endorse your product, you can show it in action, present case studies, or cite striking statistics and details to enhance your credibility.

5. Emotional

An appeal to a person’s pride, fear, anger, or compassion is usually more effective than trying to convince them with logic. To quote Jonathan Swift, “you cannot reason someone out of something he or she was not reasoned into.” Even the most rational and sophisticated people can only override their core emotions with great difficulty.

6. Stories

Timeless storytelling structures such as “the hero’s journey” are still used by Hollywood screenwriters because they work. They can hook an audience’s attention and appeal to shared and deeply held values. They work just as well for advertisers and creative professionals. Storytelling can even help build a better portfolio – instead of piecing together a collection of projects, embrace an internal structure and communicate a story of how you’ve evolved and what you’ve learned from your experience.

Creativity is a science and an art, and it can be learned. Contact Artisan Creative, and we’ll provide resources to put you on the creative fast track and provide access to opportunities to improve your work and build your career.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoyed the 430th issue of our weekly a.blog. You can find more articles here.

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4 Tips for Navigating Group Interviews

Wednesday, June 14th, 2017|

The typical job interview is one-on-one, usually a conversation between you and a hiring manager or potential supervisor. But this isn’t the only type of job interview you’ll encounter. If you’re seeking a job in a creative field, it’s highly likely that you’ll experience some version of the group interview.

Group interviews fall into two main categories: interviews with one candidate and a panel of interviewers, and interviews with multiple candidates. Beyond that, there is an infinite variety of possible dynamics.

Potential employers may hold group interviews for a number of reasons. A panel interview can save a company’s time and give human resources, management, and prospective team members a chance to get to know you simultaneously. This can be a clue that efficiency and collaboration are a part of the company culture.

Group interviews with multiple candidates can be effective for jobs that require collaboration, teamwork or steady interaction with diverse team members or clients. These can give you a chance to demonstrate how you function in interpersonal situations.

With a bit of preparation, you can approach any group interview with confidence and ease. In case you find yourself in a group interview scenario, here are a few tips to bear in mind.

Be Attuned to Group Dynamics

Find out who you’ll be interviewing with ahead of time so you can familiarize yourself with their names, positions, and backgrounds. If you’ve prepared for your interview well in advance, you’ll have an easier time “reading the room,” as comedians and other live performers call it.

Whether you’re addressing a panel of interviewers or being interviewed as part of a slate of candidates, social graces will pay off. Make eye contact with all of the interviewers naturally and use their names now and then during the interview to establish rapport. Do what you can to make sure everyone in the room feels included in the conversation – if anyone seems quiet or shy, provide an opportunity for that person to jump in. Pay attention to how people relate to each other.

If you’re addressing a panel of interviewers, be open to all of their ideas and look for the areas their interests intersect. Think of group interviews as your opportunity to demonstrate that you are at ease working in groups, eager to help bring out the best in everyone, and able to turn strangers into collaborators.

Be Confident and Respectful

Speak up when you have something to say, but be careful not to talk over others. Use your active listening skills to make sure you hear and understand everyone else in the room and keep the conversation on track. Make sure you ask some well-thought-out questions toward the end of the interview to demonstrate your interest in the role and company. Strike a balance of assertiveness and humility, and show that you thrive in an atmosphere of mutual respect and positive interaction.

Take the Lead

If you’re in a group interview with other candidates and you don’t have a naturally dominant personality, don’t worry. A good leader is not someone who views others as competition in a zero-sum game, but someone who empowers everyone in a group to do their best. If you are asked to work together in a group project, look for opportunities to set up your teammates for success, and let them take their share of the credit.

Follow Up

As with any interview, when it’s over, thank everyone involved and let them know that you appreciate the opportunity and their time — this includes the administrative assistant who helped you. Reach out to each member of the panel with a personalized thank you email or note. If you connected with another candidate you interviewed alongside in a group, consider exchanging information and staying in touch. You never know when you might be able to help each other. It’s a small world out there!

To find the best job opportunities and for guidance on how to handle even the toughest interviews, contact Artisan Creative today.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoyed the 429th issue of our weekly a.blog. You can find more articles here.

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Creating New Habits For Success

Wednesday, May 24th, 2017|

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years we’ve learned a thing or two that we’d like to share with you. We hope you enjoy the 426th issue of our weekly a.blog.

Sometimes, there’s simply no substitute for hard work. Behavioral change that is meaningful is hard to do, and transition only gains traction when the right goals and structure are in place. If goals include developing healthy or productive new habits for success, then the mantra “work smarter, not harder” must resonate.

Willpower is a perishable resource, as it’s not the most efficient or sustainable means of establishing a new habit. Set yourself up for success with the following concrete, time-tested strategies:

1. Use SMART Goals

Make sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Let’s say you’re considering a career change. How can you make this a SMART goal?

Get specific. If your local newspaper ran a story about you hitting your goal, what would it say? Make it measurable. What quantifiable benchmarks do you plan to hit? Is your goal achievable? Are you comfortable rearranging your life and allocating your resources to make this career change happen? How relevant will your new role be in 3-5 years? Does this new career make use of your existing talents and experience, and will the day-to-day realities of it make you happy? How much time will it take to make this transition?

After answering these tough questions and achieving clarity on what you’re doing, you now have a workable plan of action.

2. Make a Timeline

Making your goals time-bound is arguably the most important step toward staying accountable. It takes advantage of our habitual inclination to organize our work on a schedule.

Depending on what you want to accomplish, you may want to make a five-year plan, or decide how on you want to spend the next month. When pursuing any goal, remember that deadlines are lifelines, and that you can prime yourself to get things done by making specific time commitments and planning to deliver on time every time.

For more long-term goals, set short-term benchmarks to make sure you are on track, and check in with yourself every so often to see how you are doing. If you want to become a full-time creative freelancer in two years, plan to have a strong online portfolio in a month, take on your first client in 90 days, and so on. If you miss a smaller goal, you will have plenty of time to determine what went wrong and get yourself back on track.

There are countless apps and software programs designed to help you stick to a defined timetable. Remember the Milk, Basecamp, and Google Calendar are some of the simplest and most popular. Experiment with a few tools until you find one that works for you.

3. Have an Accountability Partner

Everything in life is more meaningful when we share it with others, and reaching your goals is easier when you aren’t going it alone. Find someone with similar objectives, starting at a similar level, and make a plan to connect regularly, motivate each other, keep each other on track, offer honest feedback, and celebrate your victories.

If you want to make rapid progress in growing your business or career, reach out to Artisan Creative today. We have a broad network of creative talent and top-shelf clients, and the experience to help you navigate the modern workplace and understand the principles that govern it.

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