Tag: communication skills | Page 5

Creating Impactful Resumes

Wednesday, October 11th, 2017|

In our 20+ years of working with some of the best creative talent in the business, we have seen hundreds of examples of resumes that get attention, get read, and get interviews. While every job-seeker should have a resume that highlights his or her uniqueness, we have observed some consistent patterns in effective resumes that we suggest all candidates keep in mind.

Here are five big ideas to help guide you as you write, revise, and refine your resume.

1. Goal

Your resume should be designed with a specific purpose in mind, usually landing an interview. Make sure that everything about it – every word, every stylistic decision, everything – is optimized for helping you achieve your goal.

Rather than having one resume you send out many times, try using several, slightly different resumes, tailored to different opportunities, potential employers, or specializations. This will give you the opportunity to experiment with “A/B testing,” or compare the results of minor tweaks.

For instance, rather than including an “Objective” that remains consistent, try summarizing your career or experience in a way that pertains directly to this opportunity. See which ones get better results and refine from there.

If nothing else, refresh your resume regularly – this gives you a chance to clarify or change your goal over time.

2. Style

Unless you are a designer and your aesthetic sensibility is a crucial part of your package, make your fonts, typefaces, and other formatting decisions are legible and user-friendly. Your resume should showcase your skills and experience, not itself.

If your resume is in Microsoft Word format, use standard typefaces such as Arial and Calibri, stick with one typeface throughout, and keep the size consistent at around 10- or 12-point. Unless you’re applying for an acting or modeling gig, you don’t need to include a photo – your work should make your first impression, at least until you have a chance to introduce yourself in person.

When in doubt, make your resume as clear, clean, and simple as you can.

3. Structure

Use bold headers and bulleted lists for easy “F-scanning,” and list your work experience sequentially, starting with the most recent.

Clearly label the name of the company, your job title, and the interval of time in which you worked there (including the month and the year, for extra transparency). There’s no need to go back further than ten years unless you have some very important or impressive experience outside of that range.

If needed, you can include a “Skills” section listing software programs in which you are an expert-level user or important

Challenge yourself to keep your resume to one or two pages in length. This will make it more appealing for hiring managers and will ensure that you highlight only your best and most important skills and experience.

4. Content

List your responsibilities, using active verbs (e.g. “handled” or “resolved,” rather than “responsible for”). Focus less on rote daily duties and more on challenges you overcame, goals you accomplished, and ways in which you helped your team succeed. This will help create a picture in the hiring manager’s mind of what you can do in this new opportunity.

While you should avoid empty jargon, you should be mindful of important industry terms that an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or other databases might scan for, and include those. If you are posting your resume on the web, it should be search-engine optimized, using keywords that are popular with hiring managers in your line of work.

5. Details

Again, designers are exempt from strict conservatism in style. Add a logo, splashes of color, or other touches that show off your signature aesthetic. Just don’t go overboard with it.

If you worked for an agency, include some of the clients you worked for and note the different sorts of projects you worked on. This can be more tangible for hiring managers outside the agency world. Make sure your URL or a link to your portfolio site is included in the resume.

Like everything else about job hunting, crafting the ideal resume is a process of trial and error – try different things, see what gets results, and learn from your experience. However, you can fast-track your career if you team up with experts who have knowledge, connections, and resources. To find out more about how to showcase yourself and discover new worlds of opportunity, contact Artisan Creative today.

We hope you enjoy the 446th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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How to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017|

Great presentations communicate information that audiences can retain and act on. As a presenter, it is crucial that you capture your audience’s attention for as long as it takes so your message can resonate. Many people have to present at some point in their career–whether its for a client pitch, an internal presentation, a job interview or a presentation to your team, it’s critical to be engaging, be articulate, and memorable.

As you plan your presentation, there are several key steps you can take to make sure that it’s engaging and “sticky” throughout. If you use slides, they should be stylish, eye-catching, and appropriate for your presentation’s content and tone. (If you are not an experienced presentation designer, collaborate with one – contact Artisan if you need help in this area.) Here are more tips that professionals use to make their presentations engaging, entertaining, and effective.

Plan Your Presentation in Ten-Minute Chunks

In her essential book, 100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People, Susan M. Weinschenk, Ph.D., claims that the maximum amount of time a presenter can assume their audience will stay engaged is about seven to ten minutes. And, that’s if they’re interested in the speaker and the subject matter.

“A typical presentation is longer than seven to ten minutes,” Weinschenk writes. “Presentations are often an hour long. This means you have to find ways to make changes at least every seven minutes in order to get people to pay attention. It’s easy, as the presenter, to forget that your audience’s attention may be waning. As the presenter, you are having a very different experience than your audience: You have adrenaline flowing because you are on stage, you are in the throes of performance, and you are physically moving. The members of your audience, on the other hand, are sitting in chairs, and their minds are easily wandering.”

In order to work with this tendency, plan “mini-breaks” into the structure of your presentation, at 7-to-10-minute intervals. These could be pauses for Q&A, stretch breaks, interactive activities, games, or transitions, such as stories or noticeable shifts in tone. If you plan for natural ebbs in attention, work with the nature of your audience’s minds, rather than against it.

Be Unusual

People are naturally bored by the expected and routine. Our brains are designed to tune out familiar signals so we can focus on what’s new, relevant, exciting, important, and even potentially dangerous.

When your audience sits down for your presentation, they do so with certain expectations. To get and hold their attention, try to confound those expectations in whatever way is appropriate for the setting and material.

This could mean experimenting with your format and structure, explaining your material in a novel way, using personal stories, displaying vulnerability, or working in jokes and humor. (If you don’t think you’re a comedian, you should know that being funny is a skill you can learn and practice. Books such as The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not by Jon Vorhaus and Step-By-Step to Stand-Up Comedy by Greg Dean can change your professional life, even if you don’t plan to take your act to the Catskills.)

Read the Room

One of the most important skills of a stand-up comedian is the ability to “read the room,” or call out situations that are happening in their surroundings. This disarms potential distractions by making them a part of the show, rather than a competing stimulus.

For example, if the room is hot and everyone is hungry, it won’t help to pretend these things aren’t true. Instead, make a joke out of them, or relate them to your material somehow. Anything that is already on your audience’s minds is a source of material. Being explicit about it breaks the tension, goes against expectations, and may even get a laugh.

Keep It Simple

Even if your topic is very complex or abstract, your presentation must be simple. If you overload your audience with information, they won’t retain any of it. They will pay more attention when they are confident they will be able to digest the material.

In your slides, use short, simple sentences and lists with numbers or bullet points. Communicate in pictures, sounds, and feelings. If there is too much material to effectively cover, provide a URL for those interested to do more research and get the longer version of the story. (If you use a special “tracking URL,” this can also be useful for digital marketing purposes.)

Being a compelling presenter isn’t just for politicians, rock stars, and TED Talkers – it’s an important skill for every creative professional. Fortunately, almost anyone can learn it. If you want to also improve your public speaking skills, you can contact Toastmasters for classes near you.

Contact us to learn more, and find out how enhancing your presentation skills and getting the right people’s attention can supercharge your career. We hope you enjoy the 445th issue of our weekly a.blog.

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Tips for Employee Engagement

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017|

Creating a strong, engaged, efficient and successful team results from diligent recruiting, targeted hiring, effective onboarding, and ongoing training. When properly orchestrated, this process can lead to higher retention, attracting fresh talent while keeping your existing core members engaged.

According to recent statistics, nearly half of American workers leave their jobs within a year of being hired. More than 40% leave within their first six months. Numbers vary across industries, but clearly, in all areas, there are opportunities for organized, mindful, and emphatic practices to improve staff retention.

Keeping the right people happy and engaged for the long haul makes all the difference. At Artisan Creative, some of our greatest satisfaction comes from watching teams connect and grow over time.

To that end, we’d like to share a few guiding principles to help hiring managers select and retain top talent.

Set Expectations

Whether you’re onboarding new talent or working with tenured team members, it is crucial to be as transparent as possible. Each position has its own challenges and responsibilities that may not be immediately apparent and may shift over time.

Communicate goals, responsibilities and expectations early and as needed. Include the team in the big picture so they understand why a specific task is being requested.

Foster an all-pervasive atmosphere of transparency, and trust, in order to retain the talent you need to succeed.

Share Feedback

Many employees report leaving their jobs due in part to a lack of appreciation, understanding, and feedback. As a hiring manager, best practices include holding regular check-ins and creating buddy systems.

To make sure employees have the support they need to succeed, provide specific, honest, and constructive feedback on a regular basis. Depending on your company culture, team size, or location of your team members, you may have to define what a “regular check-in” means to you. Marshall Goldsmith, a leadership coach and author of several management books recommends at minimum to set quarterly meetings.

Acknowledge that team members have lives outside of work and do what it takes to make sure their jobs support them through any significant life transitions. Be prepared to work with them to strengthen the professional relationship through whatever outside forces may arise. Holistic support builds ironclad loyalty.

Reward Success with Opportunity

When employees adapt to their responsibilities, accept their challenges, and make their jobs their own, they have earned opportunities to build on their success.

Make sure that all employees can clearly envision a path to advancement, whether this comes through promotions, increases, or other rewards. As with any relationship, it is important to maintain the sense of optimism with which it began. Make sure that no one ever feels taken for granted.

When employees find that more focused effort reaps richer rewards, they will reciprocate and make the most of your shared opportunities. Building success is a marathon, not a sprint.

Artisan Creative is celebrating 20+ years in staffing and recruitment of creative professionals. Over the years, we have worked with a range of creative talent and clients. Our experience gives us the tools and understanding to help professional relationships thrive. We would love to share that with you and your organization. Contact us today to learn more.

We hope you enjoy the 441st issue of our weekly a.blog.

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Best Practices For Working With Recruiters

Wednesday, August 9th, 2017|

As you build your creative career, you are likely to interact with many recruiters, from those employed by large companies to those who work for third-party agencies such as Artisan Creative.

Over time, recruiters can become strong allies in your quest to build your portfolio and reputation, interface with potential clients and employers, and find the work opportunity that best suits you.

At Artisan Creative, we continue to work with a wide range of clients and talent. During our 20+ years in business, we have learned what makes talent and recruiter relationships work well together. Here are a few best practices for fostering productive and mutually beneficial relationships.

Transparency

The more upfront you are with your recruiter, the more they can help.

A good recruiter can help tailor your resume and cover letter for specific opportunities based on insights they have about a role. It is your responsibility to present yourself honestly and accurately in every detail.

If you know you are stronger in some skillsets than others, let your recruiter know. If you are not that interested in an opportunity, or a commute is too far, talk to your recruiter. If you have multiple offers or are interviewing for an Out-of-State role, keep your recruiter in the loop.

A recruiter is your advocate, and they can help if they know the full picture by offering suggestions on your resume and portfolio and advising on interviewing, job search and other best practices.

Once you get the job, and you settle into a new position, keep your recruiter abreast of any concerns regarding scheduling, compensation, or issues on the job. Part of your recruiter’s role is to help manage your relationship with the client – make sure to keep your recruiter in the loop and let them support you during your orientation time period.

As long as you are transparent, there is no harm in working with several recruiters at once. You should always work as hard as you’re able to build your own career – the stronger a candidate you are, the more recruiters can and will want to help you. The key is to be upfront and let your recruiter know if you have already been submitted to a specific role, or if you are no longer interested in an opportunity.

Communication is key to an open, mutually respectful working relationship.

Focus

At Artisan Creative, we focus on digital, creative and marketing roles. We love seeing good creative work get rewarded, and hard-working creatives build long and satisfying careers. We are fortunate to have established long standing trusted relationships with many of our talent as they grow in their careers and often become our clients!

Your best experiences with recruiters are likely to happen with those who are focused on your field of expertise. If you are building a career in a creative field, working with a specialized creative agency such as Artisan will give you inside access to connections and resources you might not be able to find on your own.

Other fields, such as accounting, or admin have their own specialized, long-running recruiters who know the peculiar ins and outs of their industries. Work with recruitment agencies who specialize in your area of expertise.

Reciprocate

If you find that you work well with a particular recruiter who generates great opportunities for you, you can help your recruiter succeed, too.

Recruiters love to see talent do well. If you find yourself excelling in a position that’s just right for you, let your recruiter know – it will mean a lot!

Many third party recruiters such as Artisan Creative offer referral bonuses to those who refer other strong candidates. This is a great way to reward another person with more opportunities while also benefiting yourself.

The creative fields are always changing, and we succeed best when we join forces to learn from each other and work together to thrive in a shifting landscape. At Artisan Creative, we are always looking for new creative talent to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity this work offers.

Artisan Creative’s a.team is here to help you find your dream team. Contact us today to learn more and join our social network to hear about upcoming job opportunities.

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 437th 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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Understanding Team Dynamics

Wednesday, July 26th, 2017|

As hiring managers, we have to think about our existing team dynamics each time we add a new team member.

Our new hires will need to be fully integrated into our existing team structure—and the success or failure of that integration depends on our orientation and on-boarding best practices, our timing, and the team’s group performance requirements.

Additional considerations range from current interpersonal team structure to culture and skills level of the current team.

What type of environment are we adding the new person into and what is our goal? Are we looking for someone to strengthen missing skills, to complement the current thinking, or to challenge the team and take their performance to the next level?

In 1965, Dr. Bruce Tuckman introduced the team-development model of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.

It’s an interesting study based on recognizing where your current team is, and what happens as a new member is added.

In this example, we’ll use a marketing team to demonstrate.

Forming

In the marketing team’s forming stage, the Marketing Manager or Director will be very hands-on to set the tone for team, establish direction, set individual roles and responsibilities and provide overall vision and guidance.

The Marketing Manager must be prepared to manage every aspect of decision making, and answer questions about the team’s goals and objectives, as well as set expectations internally and with external stakeholders.

At this stage, the team tends to avoid conflict or push boundaries. The team is just in the process of forming—and there are more individual thinkers operating in silos.

This is a perfect opportunity for individuals to get to know the strengths of one another, create friendships, and align in order to move from silo-ed thinkers towards a larger team mentality.

Storming

In the storming phase, the team may not be in total agreement or come to consensus quickly. Individual members may try to find their own voice within the group and establish presence. There may be some challenges and conflict—this is OK! Breaking paradigms and new ideas can emerge here, and the team has the ability to grow. The Marketing Manager guides the team through this stage, allowing the team to confront their diversity of thought, and ensuring that challenges or drama don’t derail the team’s success.

Norming

In the norming phase, the new team starts to hit its stride. There is harmony, and synergy amongst the group and the Marketing Manager moves to be more of a facilitator than a hands-on implementer. The team is aware of responsibilities, and natural leaders develop within the group to handle simpler decision making on their own.

There is commitment, strong workflow, good discussions as well as building friendships amongst teammates.

Performing

In the performing phase, the team is high-functioning with a shared strategic plan.The vision is clear, and the team knows its purpose and its why.The team is focused, and clear on goals, takes responsibility for achieving them, and makes most of their decisions against criteria agreed upon with the leader.

The team has a high degree of independence, and can delegate tasks internally. They can resolve internal conflicts as they come up, and have strong interpersonal relationships.

The Manager moves into more of a coaching role and can assist with growth and development, as they are no longer being called upon to manage day-to-day tasks. However, it remains important for the manager to ensure the team is still being innovative and not falling into complacency of thought, or group think.

Sharing the knowledge of the concept of “Team development” can be helpful to a team—especially in the storming phase.

As you look to add to your teams, dissolve project teams, or move team members to other groups, it’s a good idea to be aware of the overall team dynamics and recognize what stage the group is in. It will certainly play an integral part into your orientation and onboarding practices.

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 435th 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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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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Building Your Network

Wednesday, May 3rd, 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 423rd issue of our weekly a.blog.

To build a network, you want to be simultaneously interested in the people around you, the things they do and need, and the ideas that drive them. Great minds are, in fact, very interested in other people!

Here are some guiding principles to help you build a new network—or expand an existing one—of people who can help you along your personal and professional journey.

Set Your Intention

Before you set out to do anything, put some thought into what you’re looking for in creating new connections. Set a clear intention, and use that intention to guide your behavior.

Make sure your goals are realistic, attainable, and thoughtful. Start with a goal that’s easy to hit and build from there. For example, if you’re attending a conference with the goal of learning something new, add an additional goal of meeting 2-3 new people within your industry during your time there.

Setting the right intention will guide all of your actions when building your network.

Do Your Research

Part of setting your intention is determining who you want to add to your network. Perhaps there’s a specific company you want to work for or a specific person you’d like to call on for advice. What types of professionals do you envision as your mentors and collaborators?

With your intention established, begin your research. Where do these people congregate to share their ideas and experiences? Are they online on Linkedin groups or do they meet in person at Meetups or industry conferences? What are they passionate about and where do they access information that matters to them? Where do your own skills and interests intersect with their values and needs?

Most importantly, what specific discussions and content would potentially help the people in your network?

Add Value

Reciprocity is the principle that governs all professional relationships. You can only expect others to treat you with as much respect as you offer. Approach all networking as an opportunity to help others.

Determine the issues that challenge others in your wider network and devise creative ways to solve them. Instead of asking for favors, pitch ideas as possible solutions. Offer value without expecting anything in return, and over time you will become someone that others will want to add to their network too!

It’s essential that your desire to help be genuine. Too many eager networkers try too hard to seem helpful when they’re really out for themselves. This erodes both trust and patience and discourages people from willing to partner with you.

Be a Connector

If you follow these principles, you will meet more people than you are able to help on your own. As this happens, introduce them to other people in your network who are better positioned to help and may have the skills you lack.

By making effective introductions, author James Altucher has built a network that includes leaders in technology, business, and the arts, many of whom he has interviewed on his successful podcast. He describes his method as becoming a “super-connector.”

To preserve the value of your relationships, follow the rules behind another Altucher concept, “Permission Networking.” That is, don’t introduce two people unless you’ve cleared it with both of them and you know it will add value to both of their lives and careers.

Enjoy Yourself

Building a network should be an extension of your own work and life as well as add value for everyone involved. It doesn’t have to involve activities that you aren’t comfortable doing.

If you don’t attend networking events, you can just as easily use these principles to build relationships by networking online. Author Derek Coburn jokes that “networking events are the nightclubs of the professional world”—they can be useful and fun, but they’re not for everyone — and says that “Networking 3.0” happens online.

You’ll have an easier time building a network if you’re in your element, doing what you do best, stretching yourself, and helping others in a way that also works for you.

Use Your Resources

You can achieve explosive growth in your networking efforts if you plug into large and existing networks, such as the one we’ve spent years building here at Artisan Creative. Connect with us to discover how we can all help each other thrive.

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