Are You Driving Your Co-workers Crazy?

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013|

Most of us spend 80% of our time at work. Even when you like the people you work with, sometimes it’s the little things they do that can get on your last nerve. Or maybe you, too, could use a reminder of preferred office etiquette.

Crossing the line – Whether you have a corner office or share a cubical, everyone cherishes the personal office space they are given. Remember to be considerate when entering an office or cubical. Don’t touch personal items (including computers or monitors) and always return office supplies if borrowed.

It’s also important to consider your colleague’s own personal space. Many people, no matter how friendly, don’t like to be touched, poked, patted or hugged by their colleagues. Be mindful of that before you reach out.

Small Talk – Sometimes, you just want to put your head down and get to work. A chatty colleague or lingering manager can make completing work on time difficult. If you tend to enjoy the “water-cooler chat” – watch the body language of your associates for clues to ensure you’re not keeping them. If they are looking away or have their head on their hand as they listen – they are too busy, bored, and most likely not listening.

Quiet Down! – For workers sharing space – especially in a cubical setting – excessive noise during the day can be difficult to overlook. Talking loudly on the phone, using a speakerphone, popping gum, watching videos, or listening to music (without headphones), drumming your nails or munching on crunchy snacks can get on your associates’ nerves. If you’re prone to any of these habits – try to control them while at the office.

What’s that smell? – Speaking of snacks, bringing food into the office to eat at your desk is often a no-no at many companies. If you can’t take a break to get out of the office for lunch – at least use the common kitchen area to eat, and keep the smells out of the office (no matter how great the recipe).

Other smells that could bother your colleagues include excessive perfume, cologne, or scented lotions as well as a problem with body odor. Remember your personal hygiene is important to you – and the people with whom you spend most of your day!

The good news is that once you know these things can be offensive to some of your colleagues, you can stop them. Immediately.

What bad office does etiquette bother you at the office?

Jess Bedford, for Artisan Creative

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Procrastination for Productivity

Thursday, May 16th, 2013|

Procrastinating has a bad reputation. “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” But if you are a chronic procrastinator who still produces successful work, you may be doing it right after all.

Putting things off until the last minute can certainly lead to high levels of stress and less attention to detail. However, some forms of procrastination can lead to high levels of efficiency:

Do you…

  • Take breaks when you lose concentration? When your mind reaches a point where it is easily distracted from the project at hand, let it. Step away for a little while, close the laptop, take a walk, read a chapter. When you get back to work, you will be energized for the next step.
  • Think before you type? They say that Mozart composed all of his music in his mind and then just wrote it all down. You may not be a musical genius, but some of your creative work is going on in your head before you hit the keyboard. If you find that by the time you sit down to create you have made a lot of the decisions, you weren’t really procrastinating.
  • Look for inspiration? We are surrounded by information and inspiration. If we are open to it, ideas will come to us while we are doing other activities. Keeping track of those ideas is part of the creative process, even if they come to us during a run or a movie.
  • Take a second pass? Some people spend a lot of time trying to get their first draft as close to final copy as possible; others grind out a rough idea and refine it later. Taking time to let that rough draft percolate and coming back to it with a more detached point of view can lead to a better result in the end.

I was supposed to write this blog post on Sunday. But it was Mother’s Day, so I wrote it on Monday. Yes, I procrastinated, but I had a lovely day. Did it work out?

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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4 Tips for a Greener Home Office

Thursday, April 18th, 2013|

There are lots of wonderful things about freelancing and telecommuting:

But the benefits don’t stop with you—freelancing can benefit the planet as well!

As we approach Earth Day 2013, have you thought about how to minimize your carbon footprint as much as possible when working from home?

  1. Choose a location with natural light—You will feel better and more energized as well as use fewer watts.
  2. Print only when necessary—I love having hard copies of research to work from, but printing uses paper, ink, and electricity. Open up another window—on your screen and in the room.
  3. Lower your brightness—Do you need your laptop screen at maximum? Before you start a project, consider what you really need. Even when you’re plugged in, you can save energy.
  4. Unplug chargers—If you’re like me, you have a charger in every room. Now that so many small devices use the same plugs, we have enough to put them everywhere. But every minute they are plugged in they are using precious energy. Scatter chargers all over, but only plug them in when you need some juice.

You’re already saving gas by not driving to work, eating locally sourced food you cook yourself, and saving money on a smaller work wardrobe. But there is always more we can do to save energy, money, and the earth!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative
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Business Cards: Trash or Treasure?

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013|

Life gets more and more paperless every day. And in most ways, that’s a good thing. We archive our emails instead of printing and filing; we view attachments on the screen instead of using up expensive ink or toner. We share documents in the cloud instead of distributing paper copies before a meeting. Are business cards going to go the way of the memo?

We don’t think so. Whether you work for a company, own your own business, or are a freelance entrepreneur, business cards still carry relevant information in an inexpensive and convenient format. And with a couple of 21st Century tweaks, they can be a great little marketing tool:

  • Design—Make sure the design of your business card effectively reflects your business services. Colorful or subtle, austere, or complex. Think about the visual image as well as the information you present. For creative companies/individuals – the design of your business card is as important as anything you could say to a potential client. Your card should represent the type of design you prefer to deliver. Misrepresent yourself here and risk losing potential business – before you’ve even connected.
  • Email—Of course you will include your email address on your card, but if you are a freelancer, you might want to consider obtaining a more businesslike alias than your personal email address. Find out if your email service will let you have more than one. You can have it automatically forward to your regular Inbox and not miss a message.
  • Portfolio—Don’t forget the URL of your online portfolio or website
  • Social Media—If you are marketing your services on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or another platform, include your contact information on your card. You never know where someone you only met for a moment might look to find out more about you. Make it easy.
  • QR Codes—The latest trend seems to be putting a QR code which leads to your portfolio or website as well as the URLs on your card. People with smartphones can get all the information they need with just a moment’s scan. 

Without business cards, the people you meet will have to remember your name to look you up later. Will they or won’t they? Don’t take a chance. Business cards will be around for a long time and for good reason.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Job Search: Follow Through and Hit Your Target

Thursday, March 28th, 2013|

Getting that resume to the right person for the right role is a great start to getting a job, but it is only the beginning. Our hope is that you’ve perfected your resume—using keywords, providing tangible results of your achievements, telling your story—and have been offered an interview. Although it seems like the brass ring is almost in your grasp, don’t lose your focus now:

Before your interview:

Check your network – use LinkedIn to find out if you are connected with anyone at your target company, even if they are a second-level connection. Get in touch with relevant friends and let them know that you will be interviewing. Find out anything you can about your interviewer and the company culture.

Read their blog – You can glean a lot of information from a company blog. It can certainly give you ideas for things to ask about at your interview. The company’s “voice” is clear in this medium; give it a listen.

Check their social media – Like and Follow your target company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You never know what you might learn that will help in your interview or when making a decision about an offer.

Preparing for an interview is a process in itself and we have written about interview questions, research, and even how to dress on our blog.

How about afterwards?

Thank you notes – A handwritten thank you goes a long way in telling your interviewer that you appreciated her spending valuable time with you. Do not neglect this classic method of follow up.

Stay in touch – Although you have to be sure not to pester your interviewer, if you have not heard anything for a week or ten days after your interview, you can call or email for an update. Offer to provide any information they might need and wish them well in their search for the perfect fit.

Don’t forget assists – If you found people in your network who gave you information or even just sent you encouragement, thank them, too. And offer to return the favor if you are ever able.

Keep a calendar – Especially if you are applying and interviewing for a lot of roles, keep a calendar of when resumes went out, when you interviewed and reminders for following up. It’s easy for details to fall through the cracks if your search is a busy one—and we hope it is!

It would be nice if job search were a simple process, but doing it right is worth it in the end.

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

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5 Ways to Create a Standout Online Portfolio

Thursday, March 21st, 2013|

Every Creative knows that the interview process for them is unique. While the resume is still important to potential employers to see where creative talent has been and what they’ve been doing, the work produced is what matters most.

Whether you’re a designer, developer, copywriter, or producer, employers expect to see an online portfolio of work that emulates what they are trying to create.

Sadly, many creatives fail to follow these simple steps to improve their portfolios, thereby decreasing their chances of success in the freelance or direct hire job market:

    • Keep work relevant – Portfolios could be a unique URL of work or a collection of work on one of the many portfolio sites. In either case – the work presented should always be fresh, current, and up to date. Outdated work is the quickest way to be overlooked for a potential job. Update it regularly. Our recruiters recommend at least every three months.

 

    • Less is more – Remember to make the work the hero of your portfolio or site. Keep design clean, interface simple, and navigation to as few clicks as possible.
        • Don’t include every piece of work you’ve ever done – Only include those of which you are most proud or that represent the work you want to be doing most. This might mean including screenshots of short-lived projects and even conceptual or personal work that was never produced.
        • Mention that additional samples of work are available upon request – A PDF of targeted samples can sometimes be more effective for some clients. Be sure to list the other industries or media across which you have worked.

       

    • Organize your work – Depending on the nature of your work, find a way to display it most effectively. Should the work be categorized by industry, media type, client, or project? Whatever you decide, don’t forget to provide a short description that explains the company/agency for whom you worked, the client’s objectives for the project, your role on the piece, and (if applicable) the software utilized.

 

    • Introduce yourself – While including your resume or past job experience is a must, be sure to also include a bio that explains who you are, your creative process, and even some personal trivia. Let your personality shine.

 

    • Broadcast your brand – A portfolio of work is part of a creative’s personal brand. Make sure everyone can find your site easily. Include your URL on your resume and LinkedIn profile. If creating your own site – make sharing easy so people can easily follow your Twitter feed or blog. You might also consider a “Contact” form for potential employers to inquire about work.

 

Want to get a recruiter’s perspective of your portfolio? Send us your portfolio. One of our recruiters will get back to you soon with feedback.

Jessica Bedford, for Artisan Creative

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Take Charge of Your Luck

Thursday, March 14th, 2013|

Ever feel like if you didn’t have bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck at all? Or are you one of those people who always gets the best parking space, always hears their favorite song on Pandora, or manages to snag those rock concert tickets in the 10 minutes they are for sale?

Some things in life truly are luck. We can’t really control when the guy in that perfect parking space is going to leave. But we often relinquish control of things that we can influence and wrongly put them down to luck. Here are some ways to improve your odds of being lucky:

  • Keep learning—When you hear about a freelance gig or job opening that requires experience on the very latest software or platform, you might say to yourself how lucky you are that you know it, but it wouldn’t really be luck.
  • Take chances—Not everything will work out well, but if you are open to the possibilities—a new startup, a chance to partner with an enthusiastic entrepreneur, a volunteer opportunity that could lead somewhere—your luck will improve.
  • Say hello—You never know who you might meet and how you could help each other. But if you don’t start conversations, those lucky encounters will pass you right by.
  • Increase your frequency—We’ve all heard the story of the guy who sent out one resume and got the job. He sure was lucky! I don’t believe in that guy. Send out more applications, approach more people for informational interviews, go to more industry events. Make the luck come to you by being present.
  • Fear not—“Fear is the mind killer,” as Frank Herbert said many years ago. I think fear is the luck-killer. Approach every day as an opportunity to succeed if you do your very best—at your work, at your relationships, at your planning, at your life.

Luck is an element beyond our control. Take control of what you can and maybe it will sprinkle some of its magic dust on you. Take enough and you won’t need it!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Freelancer Tax Tips for 2013

Tuesday, March 5th, 2013|

Last year we gave you some helpful tips for your 2012 taxes and, believe it or not, it’s almost that time of year again.

Self-employed or incorporated Freelancers, how did you do? Did you…

  • Track your mileage – If you drive to meet with or deliver work to your clients, you can take a deduction for the miles you drove this past year – as long as it wasn’t part of your regular commute. Mileage to industry-related / networking events as well as trips to get supplies for your business count, too.
  • Create a dedicated office space – Even if you don’t rent a formal space for your business, you can still take a percentage of your rent and utilities as a business expense if your home office is used only for work. 
  • Keep your Receipts – Whether for business meetings over lunch, new software, industry news subscriptions, or a new computer – you should have a nice fat envelope of proof of your expenses for your business. 
  • Put some money aside – If you are going to end up owing the government this year, we hope you were saving up for it all year long. Did you know that if you owe more than $1000, you probably should have been making quarterly payments?
  • Make a list – Are you sure you have all of your 1099’s for 2012? Your clients have a deadline of January 31st to send them to you, but sometimes they run late. If you kept track of all of your clients over the year, you can check them off as they come in and pester the late birds if necessary. That should help you avoid the hassle of filing an amended return because someone was late and you had forgotten about them. Remember that if a company paid you less than $600 for your services, they will not send you a 1099.

Freelancers have been benefiting from the Payroll Tax Holiday just like employees for the past two tax years, but it was not renewed in the recent Fiscal Cliff talks. This means that your self-employment tax bill will actually be 2% higher than it has been the last two years. Sorry! At least we are all feeling it together!

We would love to hear your favorite freelancer tax tips in the comments! Happy refund!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative*

*I’m not a certified CPA and Artisan cannot advise on the best tax advice for your situation. So please, see a tax specialist if you have any questions about how to file! Here are some helpful links:

The Internal Revenue Service Website
FreelanceTaxation.com
Tax Tips for Freelancers at about.com
The Freelancers Union

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7 Tips for Your Online Writing Portfolio

Thursday, February 7th, 2013|

For copywriters, the work samples of today are often easy to find on the internet and only a click away. However, if you’re looking to secure future clients like your designer counterparts, it’s best to have an online portfolio with examples of all the different kinds of writing you have completed.

Some may choose to use a more traditional, hosted portfolio sites like Behance, Coroflot, Creative Hot List, or Krop. But if you’re looking to create your own website of work, there are some important elements to consider:

  • Include an example of each kind of writing that you do—whether it is long-form articles, websites, instruction manuals, catalog copy, or blog posts, be sure to include at least one high-quality example of each genre of content that you produce.
  • Links—A list of links is not enough to be called an online writing portfolio. However, make sure you include links to other published pieces. An interested client might want to see any comments or discussions that came from your original publication.
  • A summary—If your crown jewel is a 14-page in-depth interview, a client might want an overview before diving into the whole piece.
  • Purpose—A potential client wants to know what you set out to accomplish with your piece so that they can evaluate how well you did, as well as how well you wrote it.
  • Scans of printed work—If your work was not published online, scan the printed article, and post it as a PDF or image. Better yet – try to obtain the original PDF files from the designer.
  • Publication and Date—Don’t forget to give clients information about where and when your work was published. If you are able to share the client and/or agency – even better.
  • Add images—Your writing is the focus, but you are still trying to get people to read further so make your portfolio is visually as well as verbally interesting and compelling.

Although it is still a good idea to have a printed writing portfolio (or at least a collection of print and/or packaging pieces of your work), no copywriter should be without an online portfolio as well. Don’t forget to put the web address of your portfolio on your resume and business cards as well. Make it as easy as possible for clients to decide you are the best copywriter for their project.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Office Etiquette: 5 Things You Should Never Say (or Type)

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013|

Everyone speaks without thinking on occasion, and we’ve probably all hit “Send” when we wish we hadn’t. However, there are times when what you say (or type) at work can have big repercussions. Unlike our personal relationships, where it can be easier to apologize and move on, office blunders like this could land you out of a job! Here are a few “nevers” to remember:

“I really shouldn’t say this but…” followed by anything at all. You already had second thoughts. When in doubt, shut your mouth, in this case.
“Don’t tell anyone I told you.” If I can’t tell anyone you told me, I don’t want to know. Information is sometimes kept to only a few for quite valid reasons. If someone else says this to you after a juicy tidbit, get the brain bleach because it had better not go any further or it’s your fault.
“How much do you make?” Never discuss salary with your co-workers. Unless you are directly responsible for hiring someone or involved in your own salary negotiations/reviews with your manager or HR, this information should not be shared.
“My boss is the worst.” Or variations on that theme. The only person who should hear complaints about the boss is the boss – and in an appropriate venue. Your human resources department is also a suitable audience. This goes double for social media. Facebook and Twitter are terrible places for complaints about your boss or your job. You can’t control where that information goes after you post it and every Tweet ends up in the Library of Congress if not in your boss’s Inbox.
Anything you wouldn’t want your Grandma to see. I know, that’s a tough one, but a good rule of thumb, especially for employees looking for jobs. No social media platform is perfectly private and even snail mail can get passed around. Keep those steamy stories for in-person encounters with trusted friends.
There’s a meme going around with an acronym we like: T.H.I.N.K. Before you say something, ask yourself:
Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?
Not everything we say will be all of these, but applying this test is a good way to make a conscious decision about what we say and send.
Wendy Stackhousefor Artisan Creative
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