Artisan Blog

5 Tips for Handling Rejection after a Job Interview

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I wish I could tell you how many applications, resumes and job interviews it takes to get a job. For some candidates, it’s only one; for others, it could be hundreds.

But for most of us, the job search process will go on longer than we would like. When we don’t get the first job for which we interview, the rejections will follow - via email, phone, letter or simply by a lack of response at all.

What is the best way to handle it?

Don’t take it personally. It’s easy to decide the hiring manager hated you or had something against you, especially if you’re feeling a bit desperate. He didn’t. He could have found a candidate who was a better fit, been overruled by someone higher up, known another candidate before the process began or even decided not to hire right now. You’ll never know why, so choose to be positive.
Don’t let it invalidate you. Your strengths are still your strengths and so are your skills. No hiring manager should be able to make you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. You still do, even if your skills weren’t the right fit for that opportunity.
Walk away right away. Your job at your interview wasn’t to get the offer; your job was to do well at the interview. Did you do your job? Now let it go and let the results be what they will be.
Evaluate. Take a look back at the interview before you forget the details and make sure you know where you did well and where you would like to improve. Let every interview be a learning experience.
Know you are not alone. There are thousands—nay millions—of people out there every day, just like you, looking for the perfect role. They are all interviewing. Some get offers and some do not. Get in touch with people in your network who are in a similar situation, ask for support and give some yourself.

Rejection is always hard to take, but is inevitable at times. The more information you gain from the experience, whether it ends positively or negatively, the better off you are. The more you know, right?

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Freelancing: What Do You Charge?

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Conversations with potential clients often begin with the bottom line: what do you charge for your services? It may feel odd, but by putting off the cost issue until you’ve established your value, you can actually put yourself in a better place to negotiate.

Your potential client, of course, is trying to rule out vendors who charge more than their budget can bear. However, they may not understand what your services include or what you think they really need. When clients ask the money question - be sure to tell them that you will answer the question, but that you need more information to provide the right answer.

Find out why they are calling you. Then sit back and listen actively. Express empathy with their frustration and understanding of their issues. Empathy and understanding will help build a relationship with you and not someone else.
Ask questions to clarify what they require, find out where they are in the process and what kind of timing and resources would be needed. Answers to these questions help you determine the value of this opportunity overall. Remember, what you charge isn’t always about the numbers. Sometimes growth potential, client partnerships, new technology or timing could play a factor in what you are willing to charge.
Tell them about a similar problem you solved for another client. Establishing your experience with a story will build your credibility. This is also a great way to sell the client on other benefits you can provide without sounding “sales-y."
Tell them what you would do to solve their problem. At a certain point in the conversation, you should have a pretty good idea what the client needs and what you would do to solve their problem.

Now it’s time to talk rates and negotiate.

If you have done your job correctly, the client has seen that you understand their plight and have the experience to deal with it. This puts you in a great position to ask for the fees that you deserve with confidence.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

5 Tips for Overcoming Creative Blocks

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

We’ve all had them. You’re sitting at your desk, staring at that blank white rectangle. The one on your screen is more likely than the dead tree variety these days, but the feeling is the same.

You’re blocked. How to begin?

Read. Doesn’t matter what. Put someone else’s voice in your head and eventually your brain will start a conversation.
Move. Try working in a different environment—outside or at a coffee shop or wherever. Stimulate your senses with something you don’t usually have around.
Stop. Getting up and doing something else when you’re blocked feels like procrastination, but it might be just what you need. Stop staring.
Write. Okay, you’re blocked. Write about why. Write about how. Write about how it makes you feel. You’ll get there.
Play. Don’t work on your project, just play for a while in your medium. Draw. Write something silly. Design something ridiculous. Make yourself smile.

Whatever gets you where you need to go is necessary to your process, even if it doesn’t feel like you’re working. Don’t feel guilty if what you need is to be doing something different for a while.

Blocks do happen to everyone, but I try to prevent them by creating a calendar of ideas. In the zone, ideas come fast and furious, so I immediately schedule them for later. That way when I get to that one day when I just can’t think of anything, the calendar tells me what to do. And if a better idea has come along, it's easy to switch everything around. After all, I’m in charge. Always having something in my pocket to use on a day when I feel less than inspired means I can always give myself a nudge to get going.

What do you do to get unblocked creatively? We would love to hear all about it!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Politics in the Office

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

With the US laser-focused on the Presidential election season, it's a good time to talk about how to handle some office politics.

Your office doesn't indulge? All cultures have some politics going on, even if it goes on below your radar. Managers have agendas, executives have vision (or visions) and every employee should be keeping the company's long-term strategies in mind if he or she wants to move up in the organization.

Handling internal politics can, however, be a challenge.

Here are some tips for dealing with office politics without coming out the loser:

Be observant. Especially during your first year in a new company, keep your eyes and ears oepn, particularly to the nonverbal information swirling around your office. You will be able to figure out who is on the same team and who is in competition. Eventually you will be able to decide who is an ally in your own strategic plan and how to handle those who are not.
Be cool. Office politics can be very emotional and dramatic. Use your EQ to determine how to use those emotions to forward your agenda, not someone else's.
Be selective. Every fight is not worth winning. Being known to be flexible and rational will stand you in good stead when something comes up that is your "line in the sand."
Be truthful. There is nothing more important than your integrity. You don't need to say everything you think, but when you do talk about office politics, always be honest.
Be patient. If you really hate office politics, don't participate. But do remain aware of what is going on around you. If it gets too bad, you have choices to make, but try staying out of the fray before you turn and run.

There is no doubt that office politics can sometimes cause big problems, but a little extra attention can go a long way in managing the agendas of others in support of your own.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Maximizing LinkedIn: Endorsements

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

When we first started writing about LinkedIn, we talked about asking people in our network for Recommendations and especially the value of volunteering in getting Recommendations for your Profile. Recently LinkedIn made it easier for your network to recommend your work through a simpler process: Endorsements.

Endorsements offer an easy one-click way to agree that someone in your network has a particular skill. Where Recommendations take time and thought to do well, as well as careful consideration of not only whom to ask, but whom to recommend, Endorsements are easy to give and nice to receive.

If you haven't logged into LinkedIn recently, you will see a popup box like this:

Click on the Endorse button and that's it!

Keep in mind that you should only endorse people in your network for skills that you know they have because of your experience with them and if you are unsure, wait. The same endorsement opportunity will come by again later.

When you click on Endorse, LinkedIn will repopulate the box with more people and skills for your perusal.

There is no word yet on whether Endorsements are enhancing the job search process or whether hiring managers are checking Endorsements when culling out candidates, but additional positive information in our Profiles can only be a good thing. Happy Endorsing!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

3 Interview Tips for Better Listening

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Most of the time we feel like job interviews are about talking. "Tell me about yourself," the hiring manager asks, and out comes that perfect pitch we prepared and practiced. "Tell me about a challenge you overcame at your last job" gives us an opening for that amazing story of learning and success.

Now, don't think we are going against our own interview advice to prepare and have stories to tell. But talking is really only half of an interview. The other half is sorely neglected by both hiring managers and candidates: listening.

In an article on Inc. last week, they wrote about the value of "listening slowly" for interviewers. One person interviewed had received advice to wait 5 seconds after a candidate finishes answering before saying anything. 5 seconds. Imagine it, I'll wait.

Didn't that seem like an endless silence?

The idea is that a candidate will jump to fill that silence and give a hiring manager more insight into their personality and temperament than they would otherwise get. They are probably right. They do warn, however, that waiting after an open-ended answer can work; waiting after a factual answer is just odd and we agree!

What about candidates?

Most commonly, a candidate will listen to a question with some of his attention and then start planning his answer, but this may not be the best technique. The interviewer is giving you information in and with her question, with her choice of words, her body language, and even with her tone. If you jump to a conclusion right away about what the real point of the question is, you might miss a nuance that you could use to your advantage or hints about corporate culture and fit that you could use to adapt your answer.

Practice Active Listening:

Give the speaker your complete attention. Watch for body language, don't get distracted and don't prepare your answer. You did that at home.
Use your body language to show that you are listening attentively by nodding, reacting with a facial expression or saying "mm-hm" or other confirmation sounds.
Wait. As hard as it is, when the question is finished is the right time to gather your thoughts if you were listening properly. And when you're finished with your answer, let there be a silence. You don't need to jump in with more if your answer was complete and well-prepared.

If the people on both sides of the hiring process really listen to each other, an interview is more like a conversation than an interrogation and that serves everyone well.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative.

Artisan Founder Jamie Douraghy on Time Management

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Before he left for Turkey to participate in the Entrepreneurs' Organization Istanbul University this month, Jamie Douraghy, Founder of Artisan Creative, gave an interview to Map Consulting on how their time management techniques have helped our business grow and prosper as well as given him more time to pursue his personal goals and those of his employees. Enjoy!

Having everyone at Artisan, top to bottom, on the same system of goals and accountability has freed Jamie and the rest of the team up to work more productively and achieve a better work/life balance. We all appreciate it!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

5 Errors to Avoid in Changing Careers

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT

It's been said that in the 21st Century we can expect to have 3-5 different careers over our working lives. That's quite a difference from our parents and grandparents, who often got an entry-level job, moved up, and retired from the same company.

Me, I'm on my third career and enjoying it immensely. I wonder if I made any mistakes along the way...

Be prepared--If you know the new field you want to enter, make sure you get the required education to qualify you for it. Even if you have designed websites, for example, you should take a class or two to ensure that your skills are competitive with those of other candidates.

Know what you don't want, and what you do--You're not changing careers because you are thrilled with where you are now, so analyze your current situation for what you like about it and what you would like to be different. The clearer you are on these, the more likely your new career will bring you more happiness than the old one.

Understand your fungible skills--Many creatives can apply their skills to an almost infinite variety of industries. If you have been a Graphic Designer in the Healthcare field, there is nothing to stop you from becoming one in another completely unrelated industry like Automotive or Marketing. Think about what you are interested in outside of work and look at companies that pique those interests.

Balance passion with pragmatism--Working for pennies in a field you love may not pay the mortgage, but a high salary in a field that you find tedious is not a good reason to change careers and you won't last. Target companies in industries that interest you and go for the best role for which you are qualified and it should balance out.

Be patient--A career change can take time. If you are moving into a completely new role, do some volunteering to get comfortable. There are many wonderful non-profits out there which can give you valuable experience and even recommendations to help you move into your new career.

I'm loving my third career and am eternally grateful to those who inspired me, supported me and gave me a chance to have the life I have today!

Wendy Stackhouse on LinkedIn, Consultant for Artisan Creative

5 Tips for Managing Your Inbox

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:57:00 GMT

Are you getting email alerts on more than once device? All day long? Do you read them right away? Do you answer them right away?

Stop!

As important as effective communication is, it is probably not the most important part of your job and is certainly not the most important part of a freelance project, especially if you are working on a deadline. But we've all had those days when email alerts seem to interrupt us every couple of minutes [ding!--that was mine] and everything seems urgent when it's in a popup window.

Here are some tips for not letting email be the only thing you handle in your workday:

Use Filters. Route emails regarding a particular client or project into its own folder so that you can deal with them all during the time you have set aside for that client in any given day. Have it bypass your regular Inbox and go straight into that folder to wait until you are ready.
Set a Timer, Not an Alert. Set aside a certain length of time--15 minutes is good--to deal with email and when your time is up, stop. Turn off all those alerts on your desktop, your phone, your laptop and your tablet. Don't look at your email except when you have it scheduled. Really. No pings, no popups. Many of us have a rather Pavlovian response to these alerts and cannot resist the lure.
Avoid the Unnecessary. Be brief and to the point, without being abrupt. Make sure your emails have real content and achieve a communication goal. Don't send "Thank you" or "Okay" emails and you can even add a "No reply necessary!" message if an issue has been resolved fully. Make your subject line clear to help your co-workers and clients know when it's important to deal with your message quickly and when they can let it go for a little while.
Take a Breath. If you are angry or emotional, write your message and save it to reread later when you have calmed down. If you are unsure about whether a message is going to achieve what you want it to or whether email is the right medium for your message, give it a little time to percolate. You might want to use the phone or meet face-to-face.
Read It. Take a moment to check your email for tone of voice, for style and for typos. You only have so many chances to communicate clearly and make a good impression with your communications. Email is forever, don't take unnecessary chances. It takes a lot longer to fix a miscommunication than it does to communicate well the first time.

We've all hit "Send" too quickly at some time or another. Take a bit of time over your email communications but don't let them eat your whole day!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

7 Freelancing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:56:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, we posted a link to an article on InspiredMag, 5 Unforgivable Mistakes in Freelancing which it turned out a lot of people were interested in reading. We have some comments on those mistakes and a few more to add.

Inspired's Mistakes:

Stubbornness. You know what you're doing and, rightly, feel that the client should trust you to know how to do it well. However, it is important for your client to both be listened to and feel that he or she has been listened to. You know your business, but he knows his. He really does have insight that you do not. Use your EQ and practice active listening.
Lying. Oh, dear, no. Transparency is essential. If you make a mistake, let the client know, preferably after you've fixed it, of course, or have a good strategy for fixing it if not. When (not if) a client finds out that you have not been truthful, you have lost that client forever and your reputation with their network which could be catastrophic. Owning up to a mistake could lose you a client, but it won't lose you everyone they've ever met.
Overpricing. Getting a lot of money from a naive client is a short-term benefit with a long-term consequence. That client won't be a newbie forever. Your bid should be fair and pay you a living wage. Build in the costs of phone calls and meetings and your overhead. Make a profit. But don't take advantage. Gain a lifetime client, not a one-time windfall.
Lack of Communication. You don't want to interrupt your work on your project to send emails, but you need to. Progress reports and check-ins are a way of reminding your client you are on the job and alert to her needs. Give her a chance to ask questions and keep her informed of how the job is coming along and she will support your process.
Apathy. If you, like me, love freelancing because of the creativity of the work, the flexibility of the schedule and the control of your life it gives you, keep that love at the front of your mind when you get deep into the weeds of your project. Not every task on every project is creative and stimulating, but keeping your mind on the big picture can keep you motivated, even during the duller stages.

We would like to add a couple more:

Underpricing. You might be new to freelancing and not know how to price your work or afraid that the client will choose another provider, but you must make sure you are earning enough money for your project that it is worth your time. It's easy for apathy to set in if you feel underpaid and overworked. As above, do the math and charge what is fair for both you and the client.
Poor Time Management. Getting the work done is important and so is taking breaks. Especially if you are working on multiple projects, take the time to schedule your day or your week in clear blocks, including time off. It will keep you focused on the task at hand and make sure you take the time to recharge that all creatives need to do their best work.

If you've been reading my posts for a while, you know that I love freelancing for the reasons laid out above. Avoiding these mistakes should help you add success to the list of joys that freelancing can bring!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

What's Your EQ?

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:00:00 GMT

One of the most interesting topics I studied in my Career Development program was Emotional Intelligence or EQ. It still makes me think.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence is defined as "the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways." The way my instructor put it was understanding and using emotions to achieve your goals at work and in life. This was a bit of a surprise to me, as I thought it was probably best to be able to put emotions aside and think analytically, at least at work.

Why is EQ important in recruiting?

On the Undercover Recruiter blog, they emphasize the intangibles that can be the most important factors in a job interview. When we are thinking about a candidate's energy, their "vibe," their sincerity and their manner, we are evaluating their EQ and using our own to make those same evaluations.

Why is EQ important in job search?

When you are looking for a new role, it is essential to know what your emotional as well as your salary and benefit needs are. What is important to you in a company culture, what makes you happy, these are the things that should help you decide whether to accept or reject an offer should it come your way. Your EQ is also a tool in your interview process, helping you to determine what kind of an interviewer you are faced with and what your best strategy might be.

Can you raise your EQ?

You can absolutely make a concerted effort to become more aware of your emotions and of the emotions of others. Try to listen actively and pay attention to what others are telling you with their tone and their body as well as their words. When you have strong feelings, think them through and see if you can find a way to use them to reach your goals, rather than suppressing them. Use the nonverbal information you receive in your work interactions and job interviews to help you think and plan strategically.

As a creative, I am fascinated by the process of becoming more aware and able to utilize the ideas that come from greater awareness. It's awfully fun to be on a team of people who all understand each other, even if some information is never verbalized.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

On this 11th Anniversary of September 11, 2001, our thoughts are with those who lost their lives and those they left behind.

Preparing for Tough Tech Interviews

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:00:00 GMT

When you are looking for the perfect role, you know you have a process to go through. Maybe even several times. Whether you have target companies or are deciding where to apply based on location, salary or benefits, research is incredibly important. But all the research in the world won't tell you which companies just have a more intense process than others.

Or will it?

A study published recently at Glassdoor.com revealed a list of the "25 Toughest Companies for Interviews" and we were unsurprised to see quite a few tech companies on the list.

How are tech company interviews different?

According to Scott Dobroski from Glassdoor, they are "intense" but that the process moves more quickly, taking between "one and three weeks." They also tend to ask more technical questions. Dobroski also said many candidates were recruited from LinkedIn, so there's another good reason to make sure your LinkedIn Profile is working for you.

What tech companies are on the list?

6. ThoughtWorks

9. Google

10. Unisys

11. Rackspace Hosting

12. Cypress Semiconductor

14. Bazaar Voice

18. Juniper Networks

19. Sapient Corp.

20. Stryker

23. Headstrong

24. Facebook

25. Amazon

A recruiter like one of our team at Artisan Creative can help you get and prepare for difficult interviews. Your recruiter knows more about the company than you will from your own research (although don't let that discourage you) and may even know some of the questions you may be asked. A great recruiter is also a great coach and definitely streamlines the process of getting your dream job and finding her client the perfect talent.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

The Elements of Happiness

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:00:00 GMT

What makes us happy at work? Money? Stability? Lack of stress? Not really, it turns out, but these are elements that we might think of if we were asked.

A recent article in Forbes talked about the elements of our employment that really impact our happiness and the author was surprised. Are you?

Autonomy--Having control over what you're doing and when you are doing it is a huge boost to happiness at work. Whether you are most comfortable having a predictable routine and knowing when you are finished for the day or whether you like to have an individual plan for each day and vary the pattern, having a choice is empowering. And that empowerment affects your productivity and your work product.
Mastery--When you start a new job, it is such a relief when you finally feel like you have your feet under you. It takes about 90 days. Before that time, there is no reason to be concerned about not quite having it all together. But after that, when you're trained and acclimated, what makes us happy is continuing to learn, to improve our skills, to bring more innovation to our work. If your employer doesn't offer "continuing education" opportunities, seek them out yourself. It will increase your value--and your happiness--to keep learning.
Purpose--We need to feel that we are contributing to something larger than ourselves. This is where we can all benefit from thinking like an entrepreneur. Even if you work for a large corporation, if you think of yourself as your own business, everything you do is contributing to a bigger goal. You really aren't just a cog in a machine, you are a living, breathing, growing business. If your employer is committed to giving back, even better. Get involved in community service projects and you will have a higher level of commitment to your job as well.

Your job can be stressful, it can be uncertain, it can even pay less than an ideal salary. But if you have control over your life, can be actively learning and see a purpose in your work, stress feels more like excitement, uncertainty like spontaneity and even money is less important than making a difference.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Photo by michaelaw, Coffee Smile

So You Say You're Not Creative?

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:50:00 GMT

Did you know that half of surveyed managers say that they are not creative? According to a recent article at the Harvard Business Review, those who think they are not creative are indeed less creative in their work.

But is it true?

What if you think you're not creative, but you could be if you just changed your thinking?

Find out if you think you're creative by answering yes or no to these 5 questions:

Do you solve challenging problems by drawing on diverse ideas or knowledge?
Do you ask questions that challenge fundamental assumptions?
Do you directly observe how people interact with products or services?
Do you talk with people from other industries, departments and regions to get new ideas?
Do you experiment?

At Artisan Creative, we think these are excellent questions. We believe that the people who think they are not creative think of creativity as something that just happens by itself. That creative people just naturally think of new ways to do things all the time. Sure, some of them do. But no truly creative person relies entirely on that magic moment of inspiration. Truly creative people are opening themselves to input from everywhere, always learning, always challenging assumptions, always observing others and trying things out.

So the next time you hear yourself saying or thinking "I'm not creative," try doing one or more of the suggestions in the questions. Challenge an assumption. Talk over the problem with a bunch of people from different places. Read something new and see what comes to you. I bet you'll change your mind about your problem--and yourself!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Goes to the Paralympics

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:30:00 GMT

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of our sponsored athlete at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Soren Thompson. Read our wrapup of that coverage here.

Tomorrow, the 2012 London Paralympic Games kick off and we are sponsoring another fencer, Gerard Moreno, who will be competing in Foil and Saber next week (fencing events take place September 4-8).

We will be blogging about Gerard's bouts and results when he has fenced, but Gerard was kind enough to let me interview him for a pregame blog before he left for London. He had just returned home from Warsaw where he competed in the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup competition, so that's where we started.

How did you do in Warsaw?

The competition in Warsaw was not one of my best in foil, but better in saber. I came in 18th in foil, coming back from being 8 touches down but could not finish my opponent off. In saber, I came in 11th losing to the Gold Medalist from the last World Cup in Italy.

How long have you been fencing competitively?

I have been fencing in a wheelchair for 20 years. I used to fence before I was injured on my college Epée team for Cal State L.A.

You compete in both Foil and Saber, how does your training differ between them?

Although they are both right-of-way weapons, the training is definitely different. Foil is a tip scoring weapon and the target is a metal lamé. This means a touch is scored only when the tip of the blade is depressed on the metal vest jacket.

In Saber, the whole blade is live and everything above the waist is target. The distance between the fencers is also greater in saber than in foil, also the timing in the scoring box is shorter in saber than in foil.

I train with two different coaches at two different clubs. Misha Itkin for foil at Los Angeles International Fencing Center and Daniel Costin at Avant Garde. The strategy and tactics differ for each weapon and each of my coaches are well renowned in their area of expertise.

Do you compete in team events as well as individually and how is team competition different from individual competition?

I do compete in team events and competing on a team is great fun and high energy. The team event is to 45 touches and each of the 3 member team has three 5 touch bouts. The score can change drastically from bout to bout and usually the strongest member of each opposing team closes the bout. It is a fantastic experience to be part of and very satisfying to win on a team level.

The best team competition I have been part of was at the Paralympic Games in Sydney against Kuwait to get into the finals in saber. I was the anchor for the team (last bout) and we were down by 7 touches going into the bout 40 to 33. We both scored 4 on each other and the score was 44 to 37. I was in the zone and the crowd was going nuts as the whole venue was watching the bout to see who would enter the finals. I came from behind to score 8 consecutive touches for the team and we won the match. The crowd and my team went crazy, it was one of my best experiences fencing.

That sounds so exciting! You won a Silver Medal at Nationals this year. Can you tell us about it?

It was difficult for me as my mother had just passed away a few months before. I was not in my best form and lost in both foil and saber by a few touches. It was the first time I had lost to another class B fencer in many years. This is a sport that is unforgiving as far as training. The fencers that won the Gold very talented and were on their game.

A Silver Medal is an incredible accomplishment, especially at a stressful time in your personal life. What do you do to get into the right frame of mind for big competitions?

I try and get into a meditative state with music, my breathing, concentration and focus. This is paramount to getting into the zone. Being unemotional is critical in keeping sole focus on each touch. There are so many distractions that can take away your concentration and disrupt your thinking that you cannot afford to lose that state of mind. It’s called being in the zone and it is very difficult to achieve.

How much does international travel affect your preparations and performance?

International travelling is very hard in general, but to compete at your best is extremely difficult. I try and hydrate as much as possible and get enough sleep and good nutrition. I try and acclimate to the new time zone immediately by falling into the proper sleep and waking times. Usually for Europe there is a 9 hour difference, so getting sleep on the plane helps. Jet lag does affect my performance, but I try and minimize the effect by being in good condition and mentally strong.

What was the World Cup competition in Warsaw like? Was it very different from competing in the US?

The competition was at a very high level, since this was the last World Cup before the Paralympics. There were over 18 different countries there and over 100 wheelchair fencers from all over the world. This competition is also a factor in determining seeding for the pool rounds at the Paralympics.

Warsaw is one of my favorite World Cups. The venue and hotel are in the same location and the competition is well run. 10 years ago I won my first Bronze medal in Warsaw in saber and maybe that is why I have a special place in my heart for this competition. Competitions in the US are not attended by other countries and the level of competition is not as great.

Have you changed anything about your training or preparation for the Paralympics in particular?

I am very much looking forward to London and have stepped up my training and conditioning. I am fencing 4 times a week and cross training with my hand cycle and free weights. I am on a healthy diet and sleep schedule and am preparing mentally for the games. It’s hard not to get caught up in the hype, but I try and look at it as inspiration for being on the podium. It is my dream to be a Paralympic medalist, preferably Gold. I keep this vision in my mind and simulate the feeling. I firmly believe that the mind creates and manifests thoughts, ideas and goals and the subconscious never stops trying to get there once you have decided the destination.

Since this is your 3rd Paralympic Games, how is this one different?

This Paralympics may be my last and I am looking forward to going out with my best effort. I am relaxed this time around because I know what to expect. I try and not let the pressure affect me because that does not help my cause. I am ranked high in the US, but in the world ranking I am 13th in both saber and foil. This does not mean anything because I feel I can compete and have competed at the same level as the very best, in some cases beating the best in the world in pool rounds.

I have the ability and talent to be the champion and, in a combat sport, anything is possible. My mind is set and my body is in top condition. Execution, strategy and tactics will be the critical elements in my success.

What is it like to be a world-class athlete?

I have loved every moment of fencing--the good and the bad. One would not appreciate the one without the other. I have had a great career and am looking for the grand finale to be spectacular. There is a large sacrifice that is made to compete at this level in dedication, time and money. My experiences have been incredible and the friends and relationships I have made have been priceless.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be where I am and am humbled when I look back at my wonderful life as a fencer. One of my favorite sayings is “It’s the journey not the destination."

Thank you so much, Gerard, for talking to me about your experiences!

I love that Gerard gets so much satisfaction from competing with a team and that visualization is such an important part of his process. This quote definitely resonates with me and I hope with all creatives: "the mind creates and manifests thoughts, ideas and goals and the subconscious never stops trying to get there once you have decided the destination."

Artisan Creative wishes you all the best in your Paralympic competition, Gerard, for both the journey and the destination--Gold!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Interview Do's and Don'ts Part 2: Etiquette

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

In our last installment, we talked about some really astounding mistakes that candidates have made in regard to what not to wear to a job interview. This time we will tackle etiquette.

At Artisan Creative, we encourage all of our talent to be themselves in interviews. After all, we recruit Creatives and a little quirkiness comes with the creative territory. But some of these suggestions from our Recruiters show a lot more than quirkiness has occasionally walked through a hiring manager's door.

Eating:

Don't eat or drink unless it's a lunch meeting or the client offers you something. Carol tells a story about an hour long interview where a candidate pulled out a bunch of grapes and started eating them one by one. Distracting at all? I bet the hiring manager didn't hear a word after that!
Or chew gum.

Promptness:

Be on time. Better yet, be 10 minutes early, but no earlier. Sit out in the car for a few minutes. Carol has another story of a talent calling 20 minutes after their appointment time to say that they were going to be 10 more minutes because they had to wait for the parking meter. I'm sure that went well.

Conversation:

Don't interrupt or talk over the interviewer. Remember you can't respond unless you're listening with your full attention.
Don't imply that you could do the hiring manager's job. You don't want them to email you that you're overqualified, right?
Don't talk negatively about your current job or boss. Even if you don't really have anything positive to say, plan a good answer if asked about it. Come on, there must be something good about it. You must have learned something at some point, even if it was just that you wanted to move on.
Don't get too emotional. Passion about your work, yes. Tears, no.
Don't talk money right away. And if you're working with a recruiter, it is their job to negotiate salary and benefits for you. They probably have more experience and could get you a better package than you could get yourself.
Do engage in small talk. Although you don't want to go too far off topic, if your interviewer welcomes some personal chat (by starting it himself), one of our recruiters recommends that you "swim in that pool as long as you can."
Don't use coarse language. It's not the end of the world if you blurt out something IF the interviewer does it first. Better to stay aware and away.

Part 3: What to Bring and When to Use It!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Photo by bruno-free, Man Eating Blue Gum

There's More to Onboarding Than Training

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 19:23:00 GMT

We've talked before on the Artisan blog about starting a new job and offered tips on getting through the first 3, 6, 9 and even 12 months in a new role. Many companies, however, do not have an established system for bringing new employees through that first year and considering the stress those employees are feeling, it's a good idea to have a plan for helping those new hires become more comfortable as quickly as possible.

An Onboarding Plan v. Orientation and Training

Every employer has some kind of orientation system and training in place if it is needed for the particular job. But often, when a company hires someone with all the skills to do their job on day one, will stop after an orientation period and just set them to work with no definite plan to help them succeed.

It is important to make sure that a new hire understands the company's expectations, is aided in setting short and long term goals and understands how and when he or she will be evaluated.

Another important addition to successful onboarding, however, is giving your new hire opportunities to talk to his or her manager about concerns they might have at the 3 and 6 month points in their new role. Give them a safe space to discuss their own impression of the job, how it could be improved or changed to make them happier or more productive as well as ask questions. Often, unless given an opportunity, a new employee will keep to themselves, fly under the radar, when proactive communication could improve a situation for everyone involved.

Tips for Onboarding:

Develop a real plan--Don't assume that new employees will find a way to get what they need or want. Make a schedule to meet with new hires at regular intervals and stick to it.
Tell them about it--Make sure your new hires know that they will have chances to talk to you about how things are going for them. Ask them to make a list of questions they have when they come up so that you can discuss them when you meet.
Follow through--Don't let your onboarding plan fall through the cracks if a new hire is going well. Even if you just get together to talk about how great it's been so far, you can take the opportunity to let your employee know that they are valued and that you both that they are succeeding.

No matter how perfect a fit a candidate is into a company, he or she needs to know how they are doing, that they have made the right decision and that you are both on the same page. Give all your new hires a chance to feel great about their role in your company and you will reap the rewards of a happy and productive workforce.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

I Can't Believe I Missed That Typo!

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

It happens all the time.

You hit "Send" and just as the button goes click you see it--a mistake. It's so frustrating, but since it happens to all of us occasionally, even if we are careful proofreaders, it might help to know why we don't see errors on the first--or second--or even third reading.

It happened to me just yesterday. I had to send an email out to a large group of people and, although I read over the body of the email before I sent it, I neglected the Subject line. Yikes! No one has mentioned it yet, but someone will eventually. Luckily, I'm a volunteer and so are my audience. They are a pretty tolerant group. But what if I had been sending out an email cover letter? I would have to assume that I had made a fatal error.

Why does this happen?

Our brains are programmed to figure things out, not to find anomalies. If we understand what is being communicated, our minds move on. In fact, as long as the first and last letters of words are in the right place, our brains read them almost as quickly as if they were spelled correctly!

If you are spending hours--and you should be--tweaking your resume until it gets you every interview you are qualified for, you will become extremely familiar with what is on it, so familiar in fact that you probably will miss a small error in spelling or formatting when you think you are finished.

How can you avoid sending out materials with typos?

The best way to be sure there are no errors in your materials is to have other people read them before you send them out. A trusted friend or colleague is a valuable tool in a job search for this as well as for interview preparation. Be sure to run your resume under some eyes other than your own before you apply for that dream job. If you have time, send a draft of your cover letter to someone with a good eye as well. Spell check is not enough!

At Artisan, we want your resume to always make it into the "Yes" pile and although thoughtful proofreading cannot ensure that you will, typographical errors can get you culled out before a hiring manager ever sees how perfect you are for the role they are trying to fill.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Winning

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Watching the Olympics the last couple of weeks has had us all experiencing--if vicariously--the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Will you ever forget Usain Bolt's gold medal sprint? Or Oscar Pistorius' finish in the Semifinal of the 400 meters? You have to admit that was thrilling! The Semifinal!

We read a lot about the need to fail and what to learn from failure, but what can we learn from success?

Think about what you did right--It's easy to obsess about mistakes and imperfections, but there is a lot of value in making sure you know what you did well and what you would do again. Reinforce the correct choices you made so you will remember to repeat them.

Don't put it all down to luck--A little luck is a great thing, but very few real wins come just from being lucky. Most success comes from preparation and hard work. You did that preparation and you did the work necessary to create your success. Enjoy that feeling and give yourself the credit for what you accomplished.

Be positive--The day after a big win, you could start worrying about your next chance to fail. Better than worry is making a proactive choice to move forward confidently, knowing that you are able to succeed. Don't throw away the confidence you gained from your victory!

We all need to make mistakes--and we do--but not all the time. Sometimes we win the Gold, sometimes a victory is just being there in the stadium to hear the Spice Girls, but don't let your wins get away from you. Embrace your success and understand it.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

You Need a Hobby

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Remember when I gave you some advice about how to ask for a raise? Well, I took my own advice and it worked!

And so, because of the way my life is structured, soon I will have a little more time to spend on my hobbies. You say, why aren’t you spending all that extra time on work? Guess what—I am!

Creatives, like you and me, need to spend some time on creative activities just for themselves to replenish their energy and keep them on the cutting edge.

A hobby is wonderful way of jumpstarting your creativity for your work, as well as offering personal rewards. But once you have carved out some time to “play,” it can be hard to decide what exactly you should do. Here is where a hobby comes in.

Whatever you do for fun outside of work is a hobby; be it collecting, visual or performing arts, craft activities, athletics or cooking, they all require creativity for success. Some of the skills you use in your hobby can enhance your skills in your work, too, like small motor control or doing research.

The other important element a hobby brings to work, though, is the energy we gain from taking a break and doing something that we are passionate about. We’ve talked on the Artisan Blog before about how to be at your most productive all day and taking breaks is essential to that productivity. What we do with those breaks, though, determines how valuable they are. If I take a break from writing a blog to read on my computer, well, that’s not much of a break, is it? Doesn’t rev me back up to finish the post. But twenty minutes of one of my hobbies will help me think of the conclusion, wake me up if I’m in a slump and get my afternoon’s work done more efficiently every time.

A Twitter Follower was having trouble getting down to work the other day and asked the Twitterverse, “What can I do to be more productive today?” My answer: “Counterintuitive, but take a break with a definite end.” If I had more characters, I would have added “and do something you love for a little while.”

What is your hobby? We would love to hear about and how your avocation it helps you do better in your vocation! And if you don’t have one, go get one! Hey, I’ll teach anyone to knit!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

What We Learned from Our Olympians

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

There are still 6 days left of Olympic events and plenty more to watch. Right now we are watching the US Women's Volleyball Team in their Quarterfinal match against the Dominican Republic and it is very exciting!

However, our very favorite sport, Fencing, has finished all of its events and so the Artisan Blog is going to soon go back to our regular topics: entrepreneurship, freelancing, job search and how to find the perfect talent. We learned a lot about fencing--and about determination--watching the events and we would like to share that with you.

Our Fencing team did not do as well as they wanted, certainly, but they did accomplish a lot, especially against teams which have had successful training programs for decades longer than the US team.

But there were some incredible moments!

The Women's Epee Team won the Bronze Medal! Go, ladies!

In Men's Individual Epee, Seth Kelsey defeated the #1 seed in his Round of 16 and finished 4th overall, congratulations on a heroic effort, Seth!

We are very proud and happy to have sponsored US Epee Fencer Soren Thompson in this Olympic Games and salute his achievement, his commitment and the inspiration he brings to all of us to work hard, be prepared and do our very best!

I came across this video asking the US Olympic Fencing Team for the best advice they ever gave or got and their answers apply to anything challenging that any of us might attempt. Please take a few minutes to learn from these amazing athletes!

Set a high bar and believe in yourself
Take it one touch at a time
Keep your head down and keep working hard
Strive for success and have fun
Learn to take a loss and find a way to make it into a positive
Trust yourself and take responsibility for what you need to do
Work on the process
Enjoy it or you won't be as creative
When you are at a low point, there is always a high point coming

These pieces of advice are good for any endeavor, whether starting a business, learning a skill or fulfilling your role with a company.

Congratulations to all Olympic Athletes from around the world! See you in Rio!

And we just won the volleyball!! Congratulations, Team USA!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

UPDATE: Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson, Part 3

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

In Part 3 of our pre-Olympic interview with Soren Thompson, we talked to him about preparation for the actual Games. Soren's competition is over and unfortunately he did not win a Medal this Olympiad, but we congratulate him and his teammates for the incredible effort, their determination and their commitment and hope to see them again in 2016 in Rio!

It has been very exciting to have had a chance to get to know one of these amazing athletes!

Soren Thompson is being sponsored by Artisan Creative for the London Olympic Games which begin in July. We finished our interview by discussing Soren’s plans forthe Olympics in London.

You still have a couple of months before the Olympics. What are you doing now to prepare?
Right now, I am in the midst of daily training for the Olympics. I manage and control my own training with the help of a variety of trainers. I am also focused on rehabbing an injury. I have two competitions before London, The American Zonal Championships in Cancun, Mexico and the last World Cup event in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both of those events count toward Olympic seeding. The entire month of July will be spent getting ready for London.

As an Olympic veteran, does this Olympics feel different from previous competitions?
I think I have a better sense of what I need and what I want to do than in previous year. During my other Olympic cycles, I was much more focused on the team event because the Games had a team component. Since I will only be competing individually this year, I can really draw on my experience to do exactly what I feel I need until the Games.

What can we expect to see as you compete?
I plan on being as prepared as possible for this Olympics, so presumably my very best fencing will be on display in all my matches. I plan on bringing great physical and mental preparation to my competition.

Well, I don’t know about you, but my DVR is going to be set for all of Soren’s matches in London and I’m sure you join me in wishing him all the best in this exciting competition. It’s been fascinating to get an inside look at what it takes to be an Olympian and to learn that the same elements of success apply in his work and our own.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

P.S. Did you miss the first part of our interview with Soren? Don't forget to check out Part 1 and Part 2?

Liveblog: Men's Epee at the 2012 Olympic Games

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Good morning!

The Round of 32 began at about 1:00am PST with American fencers facing opponents from China and Germany. Soren Thompson was seeded No. 11 and his teammate Seth Kelsey was seeded No. 17 before the round began.

Seth Kelsey drew Chinese fencer Li Guojie knowing that if he won the match, he would face World Champion Nikolai Novosjolov of Estonia in the Round of 16. Novosjolov did not have to compete in the Round of 32.

Soren Thompson drew German Joerg Fiedler who was seeded No. 22, but had been No. 2 in the world in 2011 and 2010. The German's 2012 competition has been "lackluster" according to NBC which led to his being seeded so low at the Olympic Games.

Remember the Olympic Creed?

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Our favorite Olympian Soren Thompson fought well, struggled and unfortunately was defeated by his German opponent. We hope you join us in congratulating him on taking part, on making his very best effort and on being a great example of an Olympian. We also hope to see him again in 2016 in Rio!

Seth Kelsey will be our focus for the rest of today. Seth defeated his opponent from China and moved on to No. 1 seed Nikolai Novosjolov. Needless to say, Seth was an underdog in this Round of 16 match.

Seth defeated Novosjolov 15-11 in the Round of 16 and moved on to the Quarter-Finals!

When I woke up this morning, Seth's Quarter-Final match was on TV live, which I did not expect. It was a replay, but because they are covering Mariel Zagunis (2008 Gold Medalist, Women's Sabre), it was a great time to replay Seth's match, especially since he was not really expected to advance against the World Champion.

I think Seth is going to get a lot more coverage today, too!

Why? Because he won his Quarter-Final match against Silvio Fernandez of Venezuela 15-9 and moves on to the Semi-Finals, 1 win away from an Olympic medal. I will have some biographical information on Seth for my update at 9am.

We hope you will come back at 9:30 PST for our liveblog of the rest of the Men's Epee competition!

This is so exciting!

07:54 PST Mariel Zagunis advances to the Women's Sabre Semi-Final in a fantastic match! She is definitely having a great day!

08:15 PST Dagmara Wozniak defeated in her Quarter-final Sabre match, but she came back strong at the end, it was very close. Great match Dagmara!

09:16 PST Almost time for the Men's Epee Semi's!

09:30 PST Seth Kelsey vs. Limardo Gascon of Venezuela Seth scored a hit!

09:34 PST Tied 2-2

09:37 PST This takes a lot longer than Sabre!

09:38 PST Straight to the 3rd period due to noncombativity!

09:39 PST Limardo goes ahead by 1

09:40 PST Tied 3-3

09:40 PST Tied 4-4 Yikes!

09:41 PST Kelsey drawn in by Limardo, VZ by 1, one minute to go!

09:24 PST Tied 5-5

09:43 PST Going to sudden death!

09:44 PST Limardo Gascon goes to the Gold Medal Round, Kelsey will hope for a Bronze.

09:45 PST Fantastic effort from Seth Kelsey who kept it tied up until sudden death!

Back in 15 minutes for the other Semifinal match!

10:01 PST Piasecki of Norway vs. Jung of Korea, Piasecki ahead by 1

10:03 PST Tied 2-2, simultaneous hits score for both in Epee

10:04 PST Another double hit, Tied 3-3

10:05 PST Tied 4-4

10:06 PST Another double hit 5-5

First period time is up.

10:08 PST Piasecki up 7-6

10:09 PST Piasecki up 8-6

10:10 PST Jung scores, Piasecki by 1

10:10 PST Tied 8-8

10:11 PST Jung takes the lead, 9-8

10:11 PST Piasecki ahead 10-9

10:13 PST Tied 10-10, they conspired to waste a few seconds to get a break for water, that was funny!

10:15 PST 12-11 Piasecki, getting close to 15!

10:16 PST 14-11 Piasecki, one hit from a medal!

10:17 PST Jung scores a hit 14-12

10:17 PST Jung again, 14-13

10:18 PST PIASECKI WINS! He will fence Limardo Gascon of Venezuela!

Seth Kelsey will fence Jung for the Bronze!

Back later with the Medal Rounds!

Hi, again! No Norwegian and no Venezuelan have ever medaled in Epee so whatever the result, it will be a historic event!

They are starting with the Bronze Medal match in just a moment, between American Seth Kelsey and Jinsun Jung of Korea.

11:11 PST Double score, 1-1

11:12 PST Epee was a dueling weapon. Another double score, 2-2

11:13 PST Jung ahead, 3-2

11:14 PST Jung ahead 4-3

11:15 PST In Epee, the whole body is a target. Time called.

11:16 PST Jung, 5-3

11:17 PST Double hit, 6-4

11:18 PST Kelsey coming back 6-5

11:19 PST Back to Jung 2 up, 7-5

11:20 PST Kelsey got a hit, Jung 7-6

11:21 PST Jung, 8-7 on a double hit

Break at 8-7, Jung. This is exciting! In that last point, I swear Kelsey would have been decapitated in a real old time fight!

Final period starting now.

11:24 PST 9-8 on a double hit

11:25 PST Get in there, Seth! Love his yellow shoes! Another double hit, 10-9. Those are fine till you get close to 15.

11:27 PST Kelsey tied it up! 11-11

11:27 PST 22 seconds left. Nailbiting time! 1 Priority Minute, priority to Kelsey!

11:28 PST Double hit! No points!

11:29 PST Another double!

11:30 PST Jung defeats Kelsey. Well, he was definitely the underdog, but I wish we were competing as a tam. The US Team are currently World Champions in Epee. Congratulations to Jung and Korea on the Bronze!

A lot of upsets today, Mariel Zunigas also lost the Bronze Medal Round in Sabre. But we are back to cover the Men's Epee Final between Norway and Venezuela!

12:03 PST The Norwegian is 6'5", the Venezuelan is 5'9"

12:04 PST Piasecki takes the first point

12:04 PST Tied at 1-1

12:05 PST Piasecki, 2-1

12:06 PST 2-2

12:06 PST Limardo-Gascon takes the lead 3-2

12:07 PST Double hit, everyone gets a point

12:08 PST Break, end of period.

12:09 PST Still 4-3 at the start of the 2nd period. Limardo-Gascon gets a hit! 5-3

12:10 PST A historic win for either country. Who will it be? Limardo up 6-3

12:11 PST Limardo with another point, 7-3

12:12 PST Five unanswered hits by Limardo, 8-3

12:12 PST Both score on a double

12:13 PST Piasecki had better get in there. Nope, 10-4 Venezuela

12:14 PST 11--4, then a double, 12-6, I missed one somewhere.

12:14 PST There has never been a South American individual fencing medal, nor a Norwegian and they are both going to medal whatever happens.

Break at the end of the 2nd period.

12:16 PST 13-6, Venezuela

12:16 PST Another hit for Limardo, one hit from a Gold Medal.

12:17 PST Piasecki finally gets another hit

12:17 PST And another for Piasecki

12:17 PST Piasecki again, catching up

12:17 PST And another, 14-10, sheesh!

12:18 PST Limardo wins Gold for Venezuela! Congratulations!

We hope you have enjoyed our live coverage of the Men's Epee Competition from the London 2012 Olympic Games! See you again for the Paralympics with Fencer Gerardo Moreno!

UPDATE: Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson, Part 2

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

UPDATE: Before you get to the interview, the Olympic Fencing events have begun and there has already been some controversy. In the Semifinal of the Women's Epee, there were questions about timekeeping which affected which fencer moved on to the Final.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our Liveblog of the Men's Epee Semifinal and Final matches! We can't wait!

Just a few months ago, the U.S. National Fencing Team defeated the French to win their first World Championship. Here is what Soren had to say about that competition:

The U.S. Fencing Team recently defeated the heavily favored French National Team at the World Championships. The win was the first for the U.S team ever an.d the French team have won this competition every year since 2003. The U.S. team beat the teams from Kazakhstan, Switzerland and Hungary before defeating the French team in Kiev in April.

Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee removes one event from the games each Olympiad and this time Épée fencers will not compete as teams, only as individuals, so this team will not all get to go the Games in London. Ben Bratton, the youngest and latest member to join the team, as we discussed last week, will not get to compete in this Olympiad.

I talked to Soren about competition, the World Championships and how they feel about their whole team not getting to go to London together.

What is it like to have to compete at such a high level in an unfamiliar environment?
There are many challenges to competing around the world. Sometimes we compete in standing venues for the World Cup and those are familiar places. Other times we have to adjust to entirely new environments. Transportation to and from the competition and getting food can be especially hard. We also often have to compete while suffering from jet lag. These are just parts of the sport and experience helps us deal with difficult situations.

Is it important to all be in the same frame of mind going into a match?
Fencing is a highly individual sport—there is only ever one of our team against one of the other team. We have to take responsibility for ourselves and for our own preparation. What we expect from each other is respect for our preparation, a high level of commitment and professionalism. We prepare together by discussing our strategies for each upcoming match and reconvening after a match to discuss what just happened. Win or lose, we always have this closing discussion in order to “put away” the last match so that we can prepare for the next one.

You had to know you were underdogs going into the World Championships. How did that affect your strategies?
Actually, we were the favorites to win the first two bouts, but we don’t consider the rankings going into a match. We consider only who is on our team and who is on the opposing team. We think about how to maximize our strengths and how to minimize those of our opponents, individually and collectively. This approach never changes, no matter the opponents or their ranking.

What is the biggest difference between your team and the French team?
The French training system is the best in the world. The team lives and trains together all the time and has a great deal of funding as well as a dedicated, state-of-the-art facility. Our team is spread out across the U.S. and has to get into a team mindset specifically for each match and our system relies on personal commitment and investment. We are capable of competing with anyone in the world on any given day, but their level of funding and professionalism helps them perform well over an entire season.

To what do you attribute your win most?
Our experience, our preparation and our trust in each other.

How will your World Championship affect the Olympics?
I don’t think it will impact the Olympics very much. We will only have individual competition and in a sense the World Championship was our Olympic Team event. Individual preparation and focus will take precedence of anything that happened in those team matches.

I love Soren’s answer to the penultimate question: experience, preparation and trust are essential to success on any team, in sport, in business, in design, in a family.

If you missed Part 1, you can learn more about how this team came together to win as a team in an individual sport.

In part 3, we will talk to Soren about his plans for the Olympics and the future.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

UPDATE: Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson, Part 1

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Tomorrow we will be watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London so we thought you might like to revisit our interview with US Olympic Fencer Soren Thompson.

Artisan’s President Jamie Douraghy has been a competitive foil fencer since he was 17 and is a two-time 40+ U.S. National Champion. Jamie’s lifelong interest in fencing has led Artisan to our support of Soren Thompson, a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team. Jamie asked me to sit down with Soren and find out how he achieved such great success, what his process is and what we can learn from his experience of becoming a world-class athlete.

In the first part of our interview, we will talk to Soren about how the team came together and what roles they play in their team success in an individual sport.

In Part 2, we will hear about the World Championships where they beat the heavily favorite French team.

And in Part 3, Soren will tell us what he thinks about the upcoming Olympic Games in London and beyond.

There are four of you on the World Championship Team, how did you meet?

Seth Kelsey, Cody Mattern and I were all born in 1981 so we first met as rival athletes when we were 14 or 15 years old and have been competing against each other for over half our lives. When we made the U.S. team, we became teammates. Ben is younger and so came later to competition and eventually joined the U.S. Senior team as well.

How long have you been fencing together as a team?

Seth, Cody and I became the primary members of the U.S. National Team in 2003 and were members of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, so we have been fencing together for almost a decade. Ben has been with us for about five years and has integrated really well into what we do.

How did you help Ben become part of your existing culture?

Ben started out several years behind us in his development as a competitor. We had already made an Olympic Team, multiple World Championship Teams and dozens of international team before he made his first team. There were a lot of tough learning experiences for all of us as we paid our dues, working with our coaches to create a unique vocabulary and mental approach, which Ben has embraced.

For example, we would strategize to push the score up or keep it low depending on our match-ups. We have developed a system for managing all nine bouts in a team match individually. Going into every situation with clearly understood and defined goals has reduced randomness and helped all four of us to achieve greater success as a unit by fencing within our abilities.

Do you each bring different strengths to the team or are you all similar fencers?

We all have very different fencing styles, so we feel we have an advantage in certain bouts. We definitely try to utilize our individual strengths. We also have set positions when our bouts occur in a match, which helps us be consistent from bout to bout. Of course, since matches often unfold in unexpected ways, forcing us to adapt continually, at least having consistent positioning gives us something to rely and build upon.

Do you mentor each other?

We are always sharing information, whether it is recent experience with an opponent or something we have noticed during a match. Communication is a continual process that happens before, during and after our matches.

I can see already that there are things for us to learn from Soren, even if we never try fencing:

There are always times when we need to integrate a new team member into an existing culture quickly and effectively. Making sure they are part of the learning process is essential.
Someone with a different background, even from a different generation, brings elements that your team didn’t have before and can now take advantage of.
Knowing each person’s individual strengths, and utilizing them well, can make for very consistent results.
Communication is key - in any field.

Don't miss Part 2 and Part 3 to follow in the coming weeks as we countdown to London 2012!

The Epee competition will be held on Wednesday, August 1st but starts in the middle of the night here in the US. Bookmark our blog for the overnight results and liveblogging of the Semi-final and Final rounds!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan at the Olympics

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

You may have noticed that Artisan Creative is pretty excited about the Olympics. It would be hard to miss! Here are the details about our upcoming coverage of our sponsored athletes and the events.

First of all, we will be reposting our blogs about US Olympic Fencer Soren Thompson (with some updates) during the Games but that is not the only way to find out about Soren’s competition.

Although the Men’s Individual Epee competition will not be broadcast on television here in the US, NBC is livestreaming every Olympic event on their website so we don’t have to miss a minute! The Epee competition will start at 1am on August 1st and yours truly will be reporting the results of Piste 1 through the Quarter Finals just as early as possible.

However, the rest of the Individual Epee competition starts at 9am Pacific Time and I will be there, liveblogging and Tweeting! So bookmark our blog or add us to your RSS feeds and Follow us on Twitter for real time updates on Soren Thompson and the other US fencers on August 1 at 9am!

Artisan is also sponsoring a Paralympic Fencer, Gerard Moreno, and I will be publishing a profile on Gerard on August 14th. Gerard was just named Team Captain!

We go into these exciting days of competition with thoughts of the Olympic Creed:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Sounds like a good philosophy for just about anything. Struggle. Fight well. Take part.

Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Reflections: Meditation and Time Management

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

If you’re at all like me, you’ve got a lot going on every day, all day long. You’re switching tasks, maybe even switching clients and projects from hour to hour if you’re lucky, or even more often. Those kind of days can be very productive, especially if you make a schedule and stick to it, but a recent study found that there was another way to make your busy days go more smoothly: meditation.

Professor David Levy at the Information School at the University of Washington, who has many years of experience using meditation in his own life, wanted to find out whether meditation had any value to the workplace. Three groups of subjects were used: one group was trained in meditation techniques for eight weeks; another group was given eight weeks of body relaxation training; the control group was not trained at the beginning of the eight weeks, but received the same training as the other groups at the end of the time.

Each group was given a difficult multitasking test before and after the experimental period.

The group trained in meditation not only were able to focus longer without being distracted, they reported lower stress levels as well. The other two groups reported no reduction in stress until that third group received their meditation training. Then their stress levels were reduced.

Today’s economy has made a stressful, multitasking day a common experience for ever more workers and companies are beginning to realize that their talent will work more efficiently, be less likely to burn out and be more creative if they are feeling less stress and some are even offering training in mindful meditation already.

Let’s do an experiment.

Stop. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Feel better?

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

LinkedIn Part 3: 5 Mistakes You Should Not Be Making

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Talent Manager Laura Burns sent me a link this week to an article in Forbes Magazine about LinkedIn mistakes and since we are in the middle of a series of blog posts about LinkedIn, I thought you might be interested in my take on what Forbes thinks many people are doing wrong on LinkedIn.

Forbes emphasized the importance of LinkedIn for talent and companies alike and we agree. LinkedIn is a great way to connect easily with the people you work with and meet through your work life and also a great way for companies to find talent and talent to find jobs. But it definitely can suffer from the old “garbage in-garbage out” problem. If you don’t use it well, it could hurt more than help. Here are the mistakes Forbes says people are making and our opinion on them:

1. Sending general invitations

Sure, if you click on that “Connect” button, LinkedIn will provide you with a little message box, already filled in with a message: “I’d like to add you to my professional network.”

Oh, sorry, I got bored.

You should personalize every invitation. Remind your connection of where you met or your most recent conversation or where you worked together. Be friendly and inviting and you are much more likely to get approved before your connection falls asleep.

2. Ask for recommendations

BUT be sure you really know the person and be specific about what you are looking for. Let them know what you would like them to talk about in regard to your experience and their relationship with you and they are much more likely to help you out. Writing a recommendation without any parameters takes a lot more time than writing one with a specific purpose in mind.

3. Never use default text.

If there’s anything you want your professional connections NOT to think about you it’s that you’re lazy. Write your own messages, always.

4. Don’t link your Tweets to your LinkedIn Updates.

If you were doing this, you’re not any more because this service has been discontinued, so lucky you! Read more…

5. Proofread, proofread, proofread.

You can never proofread too many times. Send a link to your profile to some trusted friends and have THEM proofread. There are never too many sets of eyes on your professional materials, digital or print.

Forbes hit the nail on the head here, although they left out one of my favorites that newbies on LinkedIn like to do—don’t let LinkedIn populate your profile. They can, but it won’t be in the right order and the details will not be presented in the ideal way. Take the time to do it yourself here and when you connect and LinkedIn can be an asset whether you are a job seeker, employer or entrepreneur.

And if you find a typo in my Profile, please drop me a (personalized) note!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Interview Do's & Don'ts, Part 1: Dress

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

When I asked our Recruiters at Artisan Creative for a couple of rules of thumb for job seekers, their answers were more comprehensive than I expected. Turns out they have had a lot of candidates do a lot of odd things—things you should avoid in your job search process.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts about what (not) to wear:

Laura:

Don’t wear flip-flops.
Do make sure you are wearing shoes.

Margaret:

Don’t dress more casually than your interviewer.
Do dress appropriately—your first impression is a lasting one.

It’s hard to believe people wear flip-flops to interviews, but in Los Angeles, there are many workplaces that allow them. That does not mean they are appropriate for an interview, however.

When you are planning your interview outfit, remember some of our earlier advice:

Dress more formally than you think the company typically requires. They will appreciate you taking care about your appearance.
Candidates in creative fields should choose one garment or accessory that is distinctive or fashion-forward to express their personal style. But just one.
Ladies, don’t wear a skirt unless you want to wear hose.
Makeup, hair and nails should be neat and well-maintained.

Next time: An Etiquette Lesson

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

LinkedIn Changes, Part 2: Target Audiences

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Along with being helpful for those seeking employment, LinkedIn can be an effective part of your company’s marketing, networking and recruiting plans. You may or may not be using LinkedIn to its greatest advantage and a recent addition to LinkedIn’s capabilities could help you do so.

Although you cannot have your Twitter posts automatically forward to your LinkedIn Profile any more, you can use your Company’s LinkedIn updates to become a better influencer in your industry and increase your clout—or even your Klout!

Target Your Audience

Whether you are posting links to your company’s blog (you have a company blog, right?) or open jobs, or even announcing awards and important events, you want those updates to get to the people who are genuinely interested in them. Now you can.

Under the Update box on your Company page, it says “Share With:” and gives you the options “All Followers” and “Targeted Audience.”

If you click on “Targeted Audience” and explore the information you find, you will discover which groups you can target. Each group needs to have a minimum of 100 members to qualify for a Targeted Audience post.

For example, Artisan Creative can send Targeted Updates to the Arts and Design, Marketing and Media and Communication industries, among other demographic groups. Isn’t that nice?

So if you are following Artisan Creative on LinkedIn and you start noticing that our updates are always relevant for you, we would be really happy to hear that.

We will keep up to date on the changes to the social media channels used by both job seekers and companies looking for talent so check back often to the Artisan Blog. Or even subscribe to our RSS Feed!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Interviews Animator Kenny Roy about his KickStarter Project Success

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Over the years, Artisan has been fortunate to work with many talented creatives on a variety of projects. Back in 2003 we were first introduced to Kenny Roy, Owner/Director of Arconyx Animation Studios, LLC when we worked together on a number of animation projects for the SyFy Network. A great relationship was formed and we remained a big supporter of both his business and talent as each continued to grow.

Earlier this year, eager to take a short animation project literally from dream to reality, Kenny began a quest to raise funds for his passion project – The Little Painter - on Kickstarter. The overwhelming response he received not only enabled him to far surpass his original fundraising goals, but also create the most incredible community of support he never knew existed!

Our interview with Kenny explores his creative background, exciting project and excellent lessons on how creatives can make their creative visions a reality.

Tell us about your life as an animator from your start in school to running your own animation studio?
The great thing about animation is that it is an amalgamation of so many different artistic pursuits. You have acting, drawing, directing, cinematography, staging, storytelling, and an extra bonus if you like working on computers (which I always did.) So as I grew up, I felt I was being pulled in many different artistic directions and couldn’t decide on what I wanted to do. To make matters worse, I was rejected from CalArts on account of not being able to draw as well as was required of Character Animation applicants.

When I found computer animation, I felt like I was ‘home’. Everything that I was interested in had been assembled in a single, insanely difficult but equally rewarding package. I put everything into animating until I found myself working on some major feature films, travelling around the country and world following my dream. Then in 2006 I was approached by an old employer who had a project that needed animation, and I saw it as an opportunity to strike out on my own. 6 years and some really challenging projects later, Arconyx is still going strong.

What do you love most about the world of animation?
The community is pretty incredible. I have been a mentor at AnimationMentor for 7 years and especially the students have a zeal and a passion that is infectious. Even most of the veterans I know still get almost a childlike giddiness when we see some breathtaking animation. This industry, if you are passionate about the art, can really be very…preserving. All it takes is seeing a Pixar film or an inspiring short on YouTube and you feel the same way you did when you got your first job. I can’t imagine really any other industry that can offer that.

How long has The Little Painter been a dream?
I dreamed it (literally) two years ago visiting family in New Zealand. Of course, I immediately wrote it down and spent the rest of my vacation tweaking and pitching it to my niece and nephew over and over. It was a while before I got it back out again and started designing, boarding, and modeling the characters. That was about a year ago. The thing about stories like The Little Painter is they really sustain your motivation. Every time I’ve had a chance to take the project and work on it a little bit between paying projects has been almost like a little vacation all over again.

Is this your first passion project?
I’ve done short films before in school that I was really passionate about, but the thing that sets The Little Painter apart is the clarity with which I see the entire project finished. It starts with dreaming the story, start to finish. In my dreams I am always in my own body, except when I was dreaming this story it was like I was in a theater, watching the entire thing as an audience member. My passion for this project now stems from a NEED to make it as great as when I first “watched” it in my dreams.

What's been the hardest thing you've experienced between the time you were inspired and now finally seeing funding for your project?
I think most animators and freelancers in general will agree that the hardest thing to do is find the time to work on anything. It can get very frustrating without the funding to really dedicate the time you need to a project like this. The only advice I can give is that every little bit helps. I read a story once about a person that worked 5 minutes a day on an animated film that was Romeo and Juliet retold as seals in the ocean. If he had more time, then great. But at least 5 minutes EVERY DAY, he worked on the film. It might mean he only gets two drawings done, but the film progresses. I tried to do as much as I could in the very little free time I’ve had. But in the end I had enough that I could clearly show my KickStarter backers the tone and the feel of the film and they liked it enough to fund the project and then some!

Why did you choose Kickstarter to fund your project? What other alternatives had you considered?
I considered only Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. The only reason I chose Kickstarter over IndieGogo is that it seemed that because of the urgency of having to fund your project 100% or get nothing at all, that your backers were more motivated to help you along. People like to feel like they are part of the project, and the funding doesn’t have to be a cold, businesslike moment in the life of the project. Giving out great rewards, interacting with the backers, and putting some ownership in their hands to help you hit 100% is very exciting. IndieGoGo didn’t have the same feel for me.

How did you get the word out about your project? Who did you connect with?
Since I’ve been teaching animation for so long, I have hundreds of students who are unbelievably supportive of me. They really showed up. Through animation, I have around 2000 friends on Facebook, maybe 5000 on LinkedIn, 600 Twitter Followers, and a few hundred that have come through my training site. This combined network was basically a machine that just needed to be fed the information and turned on. The incredible people supporting me did the rest. All my FB posts were ‘liked’ by 100+ people and reposted by dozens, same with the Tweets.

I should also point out that it was a huge boost to the project to do a funding launch event and a funding close event. I chose to animate LIVE and broadcast a video stream for 24 hours for the first day of funding. An average of 406 people watched the ENTIRE broadcast, and raised $19,500 the first DAY. Then, the last day, I announced a super special reward level during the last two hours (also webcasting), and we went from $33,000 to $50,246. I can’t stress how important it is to have awesome rewards that are catered to your most dedicated supporters. They’re just looking for an excuse to pledge more!

Having finally reached (and far surpassed) your goal how do you feel?
As of writing, it’s almost a month later, and it STILL hasn’t sunk in. I think the best way to describe the feeling is after the initial shock of walking in on your own surprise party. After you are startled a bit, you look around and see these faces smiling back at you, and you get a little overwhelmed (almost embarrassed?) by the gesture these people have made. I feel so much love for all my supporters, it’s hard to contain. I wish I could hug them all!

What excites you most about the whole experience?
Something that I didn’t expect was the number of students in the animation community who I haven’t even had in my classes pledging very large amounts. It’s very exciting to have fans and supporters that are more than one-degree of separation from you. It feels like we’re part of a community that all want to create something beautiful.

What advice would you have for other creatives who are eager to follow their own dreams and bring unique concepts or ideas to life?
If you are a passionate person, I promise there are people around you who are just WAITING to prop you up, support you, see you achieve success. Let them in. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be too proud to accept it. Nothing beautiful is ever created in a vacuum.

What's next for Pierre? For Kenny?
Pierre is going on an adventure, and I’m going with him!

I don't know about you - but we're eager to see where the adventure takes them both!

Looking forward to seeing The Little Painter completed? Stay tuned on our blog for clips and updates in the coming months as the project nears its finish.

Jess Bedford, Marketing Manager - Artisan Creative

2 LinkedIn Changes, Part 1: Twitter

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

LinkedIn can be an important element in a candidate’s job search or a company’s search for the perfect talent. But like other social media platforms, it changes frequently.

Last week we talked about Facebook’s email system and whether or not it was a good idea to use your Facebook messages or have them go to your email Inbox. This week the culprit is Twitter but it affects LinkedIn in a major way.

The folks at Twitter have decided to be more strict about third-party applications which send our Tweets to other platforms automatically. It’s understandable, of course, but it sure has been convenient.

What has changed?

Until late last week, you could set up your Twitter account to automatically forward your Tweets to your LinkedIn Updates. If most of your Tweets were business-related—or you have a business account and a personal account—this was a great time saver!

At this time, you can still forward your LinkedIn Updates to your Twitter Feed, but not the other way around. You can still post once and get it on both platforms, but you have to start from LinkedIn, not from Twitter.

Why did they do it?

It sounds like Twitter is getting a bit frustrated with everyone accessing their data streams from third-party applications and not having control over who sees their ads on the actual Twitter platform. I read today that 79 out of the Fortune 100 companies are using HootSuite to access and engage with Twitter—that’s a lot of influencers who are not seeing the actual Twitter site at all.

In the future, we wouldn’t be surprised (but we would be upset) if dashboard applications like HootSuite get cut off, leaving only the Twitter-owned Tweetdeck, but hope that it won’t be soon, if ever.

What is the bottom line?

If you want your Tweets to show up in your LinkedIn Updates, start from LinkedIn instead of Twitter and link your accounts in that direction. You can still use tools like HootSuite to schedule your LinkedIn updates and Tweets for future days and times.

I’m sure you join us in wishing we didn’t have to learn how to use social media over and over, but social media is still a new enough phenomenon that the platforms themselves haven’t worked out all the kinks. Check back to the Artisan Blog often and we will keep you up to speed!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Desk Pilates: Move #2

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Need a little creative inspriation today - but no time to get away from your desk for a break? Try our next Pilates Move from Artisan Talent Manager and certified Pilates instructor Maggie Grant. These exercises - all of which you can do right at your desk - will help strengthen your core and improve your circulation.

Did you miss Move #1? Give it a try and see if you can't incorporate both of these moves into your daily routine.

Facebook, Email and Other Tweaks to Help Your Job Search

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Did you know that 37% of employers are using social media to search for and research candidates? And 11% more are planning to start in the next year?

That is a whole lot of hiring managers that might come across you on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and get in touch with you because you seem like you might be the perfect fit for their job opening.

How can you optimize your social media presence for your job search? Let’s start with Facebook!

Just yesterday, Facebook gave everyone an email address on their system and made it the only address visible on your Profile:

Go to your “About” link on your Timeline and Edit your Contact Info to have your regular email address show on the Timeline and the Facebook address hidden. This way, if you want someone to be able to contact you via email from your Facebook Timeline, it will end up in your Inbox, not in Facebook’s.

We have talked earlier on the Artisan Blog about being careful what you post to Facebook and also what level of access you should allow potential employers. Here are a few more tips:

Have a Facebook Page as well as a Profile. Use your Page as a place to put links to projects and things that are interesting to you as an entrepreneur. Put a link to your Page on your resume and your LinkedIn Profile.
Don’t post anything publicly to Facebook that it would be illegal for an interviewer to ask you about. Facebook lets you customize the audience for your updates so that even if you are friends with business contacts, you don’t have to show them your more personal posts. Use your Privacy Settings wisely.
If an interviewer asks for your Facebook Password, decline politely but firmly and, unless it’s your dream job, go on to your next interview. It is inappropriate to ask for your personal passwords for any social media platform.

Facebook’s settings change often—and just as often they don’t give anyone a head’s up. We here at Artisan will try to keep you up to date so check back for more help with social media and job search!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson: Part 3

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Soren Thompson is being sponsored by Artisan Creative for the London Olympic Games which begin in July. We finished our interview by discussing Soren’s plans for the Olympics in London.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

P.S. Did you miss the first part of our interview with Soren? Don't forget to check out Part 1 and Part 2?

The 3 Real Questions in a Job Interview

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:11:00 GMT

When I first saw an article in Forbes that distills all of the dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of possible job interview questions down to only three, I was skeptical.

Three?

I could give you twenty without thinking at all and probably fifty given a half an hour.

So what are the three questions?

1. Can you do the job?
2. Will you love the job?
3. Can we tolerate working with you?

Now think about it. No matter how typical or odd your specific interview questions are, they are all trying to find out these three things.

Hiring Managers can see from your resume what your hard skills are; after all you have used them in previous jobs (unless you are transitioning to another field). But their job isn’t exactly like your old job, it is unique. Can you do their specific job:

What are your strengths?

Tell me about a time when you had to overcome an obstacle and what you did to do so.

What would you do in this hypothetical situation?

All of these questions really mean, “can you do the job?” They are trying to make sure your strengths match their needs, you are able to solve problems that might arise at their company, and how you handle a situation that might arise for their company.

Will you love the job?:

What is your ideal job and where?

What 3 things can you not live without?

What keeps you motivated?

Are you doing what you love or what pays the bills?

That last one, as we talked about in our Proust Questionnaire post, is a tough one - but well worth thinking about.

Can we tolerate working with you? This applies to all culture questions - everything from “What is your definition of creative?” to “Do you believe in aliens?”

After all, if you fit, a company can—and might be willing to—train you to do their specific job.

And if you’re going to love the work, they know you will work hard and do your best every day.

But even if you have all the training and experience in the world and an exceptional passion for your work, if you don’t fit, you just don’t.

So find out as much as you can about the company and its culture. Know your career goals now and for the future. Hone and improve your skills any time you can. And be yourself in your interviews. A bad fit is no better for you than it is for your potential employer.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson: Part 2

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:35:00 GMT

The U.S. Fencing Team recently defeated the heavily favored French National Team at the World Championships. The win was the first for the U.S team ever an.d the French team have won this competition every year since 2003. The U.S. team beat the teams from Kazakhstan, Switzerland and Hungary before defeating the French team in Kiev in April.

I talked to Soren about competition, the World Championships and how they feel about their whole team not getting to go to London together.

If you missed Part 1, you can learn more about how this team came together to win as a team in an individual sport.

In part 3, we will talk to Soren about his plans for the Olympics and the future.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Building a More Creative Team

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Creativity is essential to innovation and innovation, in today’s marketplace, is essential to success. While Artisan can definitely help you find creative talent for your business, there are also ways of helping the people you employ now be more creative, too!

Did you know that 68% of people believe that creativity is something people are born with and cannot be taught? This opinion, however, has been disproven in studies as far back as the 1970’s. The difference is whether people developed their creativity early in life or whether they need some nurturing to bring their creativity to its full potential.

Managers can have a huge influence on the creative ideas and output of the people on their team. Some of their direct reports could already be fonts of ideas, coming up with new ways of solving problems every day. Other team members may not feel like they are creative at all. Both groups need a safe environment to talk through all the ideas they have until the good ones rise to the top. If they feel judged during the ideation process, they could become less willing to share.

Make sure you are giving your creative team the time and space to come up with ideas. Be sure to include those team members who need encouragement during brainstorms, too. Ask for their opinions, offer incentives for innovative ideas to everyone - not just the people labeled “creatives” in your organization. Remember, good ideas can come from anyone.

The more people in your company who are using their creative abilities to find new ways of doing business, new products and new ways of communicating, the more success you will have and the happier your company culture will become.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Interviews Olympian Soren Thompson: Part 1

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Artisan’s President Jamie Douraghy has been a competitive foil fencer since he was 17 and is a two-time 40+ U.S. National Champion. Jamie’s lifelong interest in fencing has led Artisan to our support of Soren Thompson, a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team. Jamie asked me to sit down with Soren and find out how he achieved such great success, what his process is and what we can learn from his experience of becoming a world-class athlete.

How long have you been fencing together as a team?

How did you help Ben become part of your existing culture?

Do you each bring different strengths to the team or are you all similar fencers?

Do you mentor each other?

I can see already that there are things for us to learn from Soren, even if we never try fencing:

There are always times when we need to integrate a new team member into an existing culture quickly and effectively. Making sure they are part of the learning process is essential.
Someone with a different background, even from a different generation, brings elements that your team didn’t have before and can now take advantage of.
Knowing each person’s individual strengths, and utilizing them well, can make for very consistent results.
Communication is key - in any field.

Don't miss Part 2 and Part 3 to follow in the coming weeks as we countdown to London 2012!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Sleep and Creativity

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I’m sure you’ve heard that not getting enough sleep is dangerous to your health, your relationships, your weight, everything.

I mean, if I could get more sleep, I would - but the demands of life only allow us so many hours.

Fortunately, there is one good thing about being tired: We are at our most creative when we are sleepy!

A study done recently on 428 college students tested their creative thinking abilities at night and in the morning and made a very interesting discovery: night owls are most creative in the morning and morning people are most creative at night.

The researchers ended up recommending that the students schedule art and creative writing classes during their non-optimal waking hours.

Why do I like this study? Well, I often find myself having to tackle a project at what I would certainly call a “non-optimal” time. As a freelancer, I get a lot of flexibility about when I do things, but equally the time slots available to accomplish my projects are at the mercy of family obligations and other activities that have to be worked around.

But my favorite thing about the findings in this study is that I don’t have to feel like I’m not doing my best work, even if I’m sleepy. I might not feel great when I’m doing it, but the project will not suffer from my tiredness, it might even benefit.

So at times when I'm working and would rather be taking a nap, I’m going to try to remember that I’m at my most creative before I have that extra cup of coffee.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Email Cover Letters

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:10:00 GMT

We’ve written before about the importance of a cover letter when applying for a job. It’s a great way to set yourself apart from other candidates, highlight interesting experience that you might have, and show some of your communication skills that resumes do not convey. Email cover letters are just as important as their paper counterparts.

But a bad email cover letter is worse than none at all.

Here are some tips for writing an email cover letter that give you a better chance of making the next round, the phone screen:

Use the hiring manager’s name in your salutation. If you don’t know it, use “Dear Hiring Manager.” Never “To Whom it May Concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam.” Those are too formulaic, awkward and old-fashioned.

Subject Line = Summary. Who are you and what role are you writing about? Put that information where it can be easily identified.

Be clear and concise. A short paragraph explaining specifically why you are a great candidate is enough. If your entire cover letter can fit on one screen without scrolling down, they will read the whole thing.

Use keywords in your letter as well as in your resume. Hiring Managers often use sophisticated applicant tracking software to screen email submissions. Use the most important words from the job description in your letter to ensure your application is considered.

Don’t be clever. I know, I know. You are clever and your cleverness makes you unique. However, the the email cover letter is not the place to let that personality shine.

Make sure you include all of your contact information. The means including your email address as well, as it may not appear on the message when they open it. Make it easy for hiring managers to contact you.

Proofread. More than once. Send your email to a friend first and have them read it. Spellcheck is not sufficient.

HR execs are overworked and under stress. Make it as easy and quick as possible for them to decide that you are someone they want to talk to and your interview opportunities will definitely increase.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Your First Year in a New Job

Tue, 29 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

You’ve landed your dream job, congratulations!

The first year of a new job is not unlike the first year of a marriage, except in the obvious ways, of course. You know you love the job, the company is a good fit, and your skills fit the job responsibilities. You are compatible. But you’ve never spent every day together or figured out your routine together.

The First 90 Days

You started three weeks ago and you still don’t really know what you’re doing exactly. You still have trainings and meetingsa lot, your work space is still being set up and you're slowly getting to know you co-workers. You’re working at the easy stuff or the stuff you already knew how to do before you started. You’re still a newbie.

It’s okay. Take your time.

The first 90 days are an opportunity for you to build a solid foundation for your time at the company, learn everything you need to learn and get comfortable. It’s okay if after 30 days you wonder if it will ever happen and if at 60 days you’re still a little unsure. Really.

The Second 90 Days

You’re comfortable now and know what you’re doing to fulfill your responsibilities. The second 90 days at your new job are a time to evaluate your actual job, compared to what you thought it would be. What do you like doing best and what would you love if someone else took over? It’s too early to change anything, but start developing a plan to make your dream job even dreamier.

The Third 90 Days

This is the time when you put your plan into action. Approach your manager about your willingness to take on more of what you love. Be proactive about trying to tweak your job into exactly what you want, what will keep you there, what will keep you fulfilled. Your managers know what you’re capable of and, if you've been successful, they will want you to stay.

If it works, great!

If not…

The Fourth 90 Days

Not every job is going to be perfect, and you can’t expect them all to be. However, at this point you have a pretty good idea of how "not-perfect" the role is and will be in the coming year(s). This is when you can think about the long term. There are lots of reasons to stay in a job, especially in today’s economy. And if the pros for staying far outweigh the cons - you're in for a great finish to your first year.

But there could very well be another company out there that is a better fit for you and your experience. Get your resume out and add your current job, with your accomplishments so far. Think about your motivations for leaving and focus on positions that will improve upon them so you have a better experience next time around.

You never know what’s going to happen or what a place is really like until you’ve lived there for a while. Let the relationship develop, settle down, become comfortable. Don’t worry about the time it takes...just make sure it is the right place, before you put down roots.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Make Meetings Count!

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Creatives are not known for their love of business meetings. Give them a project and let them run with it, don’t make them sit and talk about it.

However, since clear communication between designers, marketing experts, developers and their clients is essential to happy and successful results, business meetings are a necessary evil.

But they don’t have to be! Evil, I mean.

If you are in charge of a meeting, you are also in charge of the elements that can make or break it in terms of productivity.

Here are a few tips for making your meetings smooth, efficient and engaging:

No electronics - I know, everyone will groan. But having people check out of the discussion even once during a business meeting makes it take longer and be more repetitive. No one wants to hear an explanation twice. Remind your attendees that it means they will be out of the meeting faster!

Make a schedule - It might feel over-controlling, but make a schedule for your meeting of how long you will spend on each topic. Build in time to cover "other" items or things that might come up during the meeting as well. When you are out of time for something, move on. If your team really wants it to move quickly, set a timer, so when the bell rings, that’s it!

Stay on-topic - If someone starts to go off on a tangent, politely remind them that there will be an opportunity to discuss it at a later time. Or, if required, another meeting can be scheduled to discuss it further!

Be mindful of Body Language Cues - Are your meeting participants showing signs that they are bored? Or is everyone interested in the topics being discussed. Keep attendees engaged by asking questions, encouraging participation and keeping the schedule moving.

It might sound like you are supposed to be the “bad guy” at your meeting - always telling people “time’s up!” or "off topic". One way to avoid that is to try assigning roles to different people in the meeting - note taker, time keeper, etc. If you can get everyone into the habit of running efficient meetings, your team will stop complaining about them. Promise!

Any other tried and tested techniques you can recommend?

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Resumes: One Page or Two?

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:01:00 GMT

I used to think that a one page resume is always the goal. Fit it all on there, and if you can’t, cut something or use a smaller font.

In the business world, however, there are times for a one page resume and times for a two pager. Most recruiters generally like one better than the other, but since you don’t know who is reading your resume, here are a few general guidelines:

One Page:

Entry-level candidates - if you are right out of school, you probably don’t have a lot of experience to list. And that’s fine. Make sure you do list your education and any technical skills. Remember, internships count as experience!

Transitioning candidates - if you have been working but are changing career paths, it’s okay to have a one page resume rather than filling up two pages with irrelevant work experience. However, you should take time think carefully about what skills you can transfer from your old career to your new one and use keywords relevant to your new career to describe those responsibilities. Think about every previous job before you decide not to list them.

Transitioning candidates can also benefit from using a “functional” resume rather than a chronological format. A functional resume focuses on your skills rather than your titles.

Two Page:

Experienced candidates - if you have five to ten years of experience, it’s likely you need two pages to list everything that is relevant to your job search. It’s okay to leave plenty of white space - as it makes your resume easier to read. However, be sure to use at least 75% of the second page if you go on to two pages.

When using two pages, you should have room for volunteer experience, awards and recognitions, professional affiliations and more bullet points for your job responsibilities and accomplishments.

Three Pages or More:

Unless you are a C-Level executive, three pages is too long. But if you are, go for it!

For what it’s worth, some recruiters and hiring managers never like to see a two page resume, no matter what your experience level, but since you can’t predict that, do what makes the most sense to you.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Reflections On Fear and Happiness

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

As I roam the internet, over and over again I come across articles about how unhappy people are in their jobs. I’ve written some blog posts about it before myself:

Is it time to quit your job?
Eliminate the Negative

No one is happy all the time, even if they are in their dream job. But there are ways to make happiness more frequent, more likely and more accessible if you can put aside fear and seize that happiness. Here are a few ways that work for me:

Be in the moment - Right now, right this minute, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear? Probably not much. Most of what makes us unhappy is anticipation of bad things happening in the future. Be here, now, today. Even at work, being in the moment can bring on a sense of gratitude and change your outlook.

Change - Change is both constant and inevitable. Try not to hold on to that moment we talked about, let it be and let it pass. Fighting change, fearing change, can only stop us from growing, evolving and learning. Adaptation is essential to success, especially in your career.

Impress Yourself - As opposed to those around you. Surprise yourself with what you can do by trying everything that you have the opportunity to try. I have had no more satisfying experiences than when I feel I have achieved the impossible. I don’t need someone else to tell me so to feel that satisfaction, it’s all mine. Is your boss asking for a volunteer to take on something new? Go for it!

Don’t Complain - The language we use is not just an expression of our feelings, it affects them. Complaining makes you feel worse, which makes you complain more. When you hear yourself complaining, stop and think of something good to say about the same situation. There must be something! Train yourself to focus on the positives and not feed yourself the negatives.

Don’t Panic - Douglass Adams’ motto is mine as well. Panic does not serve us, it never improves our judgment and it often makes us do the wrong thing without thinking. Count to 10, take 3 deep breaths, whatever helps you become calm, before you decide how to react. If you have an unfortunate manager - a bad boss - it is essential to have the ability to consider how you will deal with them before responding.

Everything outlined above is a change in your behavior, not in your feelings. But your behavior can help change your feelings from negative to positive and give you room to be happy. I believe in you and so do the people in your life who love you. Put aside your fears and seize the day!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Interview Tip: How to Talk about Getting Fired

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:05:00 GMT

Many people have had the experience of being fired. Hopefully it was a long time ago, like mine. But maybe it was your last job and, as you’re interviewing for a new one, you are asked “Why did you leave your last job?”

What on earth do you say?

I decided to ask our Recruiters what advice they would give talent in this situation:

Carol Conforti says to treat it as a learning experience: “Clients don't expect candidates to have not had challenges. The best way to handle it is to take responsibility and talk about what you learned from the experience. You have made mistakes that you will never make again. Also if you had it all to do again, how you would handle it differently.”
Laura Burns warns jobseekers not to make a classic interview mistake: “Regardless of how it ended, never ever talk bad about another company you worked for as it indicates a lack of professionalism and potential employers might fear you might do the same about their company. Best thing to do is indicate it was not a good fit or the right match.”

Maggie Grant gives a similar warning: ”Never say anything negative! Keep answers neutral and honest. Something like "It was time to part ways" or “we had an amicable departure" is always good.

Jamie Grossman has other cautions: “I would recommend that you connect with the HR dept of the previous [company] to find out how they are classifying the termination, since it needs to match what you say in a background check. Companies are often conducting these and checking employment history / references without candidates’ knowledge, so it's vital that this information aligns. Most companies will not include negative information, since it opens them up for liability and generally will only confirm dates of employment and whether or not a candidate is eligible for rehire.”

I’m glad my one termination is long ago and far away! But if you have been fired recently enough that you know you will be asked about it, our best advice is - Be Prepared!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Writing Better Job Descriptions

Thu, 10 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

“We are looking for…”

Hiring Managers - do you really know what you are looking for?

We post a lot of job descriptions to their Open Jobs page. Most of them could be described as formulaic: we are looking for a ___________ to do ____________, reporting to _______________ with the following experience...

This is a concise, straight-forward approach informing potential candidates about what the role will entail and, more importantly, what's required to apply.

But, if you're not a recruiter who is used to writing job descriptions on a daily basis, it's important to consider a few key items when writing your job description if you want to ensure you attract the perfect candidate:

Specificity
Don’t list every single task your candidate needs to perform from day one. Instead, identify the key responsibilities your candidate MUST be willing (and qualified) to do daily. Remember it will take any new hire time to get up to speed in a new role. Your aim is to identify potential employees who can minimize that learning curve as much as possible.

Titles
Make sure that the title you list is exactly what your company needs. Remember to choose one that portrays an accurate description of the role, despite what internal policies require the position be named. If it's a new role for your organization, do a little research to see how the job market is searching for this kind of position. You want to make sure talent can find your opportunity.

Keywords
With SEO and Social Media playing a huge role in the job searches of today, it's important to ensure that your job description will be seen by as many eyes as possible. Using accurate keywords and/or "buzzwords" throughout your job description will help increase its exposure. Don't forget to include the titles of people this person will work with/report to, the industries or brands they will manage, the programs they will use or the trends they should be following.

Spread the Wealth
If you are seeking to fill more than one role, before you post, make sure you have thought about all the ways the work could be distributed. Maybe a different combination of skillsets could fit a more senior-level person and entry-level candidate, rather than two mid-level hires.

Requirements
Before you require a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, think about what skills that individual would have and whether someone without that degree might still have the skills you need. If a skill is "nice to have" but not "required" - make a point of noting the difference.

There are definitely some absolutes when hiring and only you can say what yours are. But with so many talented people ready and willing to work today, the clearer you are in your job descriptions, the more qualified your candidate pool will be.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Asking for a Raise

Tue, 08 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

We could all use more money. And if you have been earning the same salary for a long period of time, you might be thinking about asking for a bump. Here are some tips on what to do - and what not to do - when you decide it's time for a raise:

Do:

Research the current salary range for your role. Glassdoor or PayScale are great resources for this information. They will give you a better idea of where you are in comparison to your peers in the field and where you can expect to be now (and in future).
Think about the timing. If your employer is currently downsizing or doing a reorganization, they might not have the ability to give anyone a raise right now. Bide your time.
Make an appointment. Talking about a raise shouldn’t be done on the fly.
Prepare. This meeting is a lot like a final job interview. Make a list of your accomplishments, starting with the most recent and going back. This is an opportunity to sell yourself when they already know what you can do.
Plan for a “No" Figure out what you will do if they turn you down before you go in. Think about other alternatives to a raise that could make you happier - like more vacation or personal time.

Don’ts

Send an email asking for a raise. Face-to-face is the only way to go.
Maintain a sense of entitlement. Be sure of yourself, not of the outcome.
Talk about personal reasons for needing a raise. Keep the reasons in your meeting to why you deserve a raise and how much value you bring to the table.
Get angry, yell or cry if you hear "No" First, it won’t work. And second, they might decide you’re not worth keeping at all.
Use another employee's salary as part of your argument for a raise. Of course, if you feel you are being discriminated against because of age, gender or are in another protected class, you might want to get some professional advice - as you might have an actual case.
Threaten to quit if you don’t get a raise. You could very well find yourself without any pay at all. If you decide or have already decided that you will leave if they turn you down, start the job search process calmly following this meeting.
Over-do-it on the presentation. Keep it simple.

Money is definitely a part of the work/life balance equation, but it’s not the only one. Make sure you consider how much you want to keep your job and how happy you are with your colleagues and manager. And if you think you deserve a raise, go for it!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Tips for a Successful Resignation Meeting

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

The negotiations are complete, a new job offer has been made, you've formally accepted the position and now you just have to turn in your notice. Easy, right?

For some jobseekers who are currently working, the resignation meeting can be a daunting process...

How do you say "good-bye" to your current employer, while maintaining good rapport for the future?
If you've been working for your employer a long time, how do you overcome the nerves that arise at the thought of leaving the stability you've enjoyed for the great unknown?
If you're presented with a counteroffer, do you take it?

Working with talent from resume to interview to offer and beyond, our recruiters have helped many jobseekers through the resignation process with the following tips:

Before you ever resign - figure out why you want to leave. Whether its the location, salary, team, boss, responsibilities, lack of challenge or simply that you're ready for something new, there is a reason you want to find a new position. Identify your real motivations for leaving and concentrate only on opportunities that will offer you what you seek. When you finally do accept that new position, there should be no question in your mind that this really is the best opportunity for you at this time.
Never accept a counteroffer; you only put yourself at a disadvantage. By starting the resignation process with your current employer and accepting more money to stay, your employer still learns that you are unhappy in your position. If salary wasn't your main reason for wanting to leave, then many (if not all) of the other reasons you wanted to leave still haven't changed. And don't be surprised if they question your loyalty when you're up for awards, honors, new clients, responsibilities or promotions. Employers could go so far as to use a counteroffer to buy them time to find your replacement, ultimately replacing you (and leaving you without another job to go to).
Always start a resignation meeting with a matter-of-fact (not apologetic) letter. It could simply state: "Dear ____, The purposed of this letter is to inform you that as of (date), I will no longer be employed with (company). I wish you continued success in future. Kindest, ________"
Upon presenting your resignation letter, reiterate that you are leaving and assume next steps. Explain the truth in a way that communicates respect for all parties and assumes the next logical step is your handover. Let them know that as of a certain date you will no longer be employed and wanted to start the turnover / handover process as soon as possible. By asking for details to start this process, you leave them less room for trying to convince you to stay or offering you something else to keep you happy. Your decision seems more final.
No matter how your employer reacts to the news, stay calm and professional. Though employment laws differ in every state, unless you feel comfortable or have a binding non-compete to honor, you do not have to disclose why you are leaving or the new company who has hired you. If your employer continues to insist, you need only state that you choose not to discuss your reasons for leaving but focus on how you can help the company before your departure.
Before sharing your departure with colleagues, ensure you have discussed how it will be addressed. Will you announce it? Will the company? Will it be done in writing or verbally? This step further conveys your respect for your employer/manager as well as solidifies the finality of your turnover.
Between the time of your resignation and departure, don't change your work ethic. While it might be tempting to come in late, leave early, leave things unfinished or not work as hard, don't do anything that might change the way your counterparts view you and your work. Burning bridges never works!

Most of all, remember that you are in control of your career - not your employer! Your new opportunity will bring with it great things. The resignation meeting is just one small thing to do, before you get there.

Good luck!

Jess Bedford, Marketing Manager

Got a Great Offer? What NOT to do Next!

Tue, 01 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I was just reading an article about a journalism student who landed his dream job - and got fired before he started. Ouch! I’m sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen often, but with everyone - and I mean everyone - on social media, these unfortunate events could easily become commonplace. Don’t let it be you in the news!

We’ve talked on the Artisan Blog about how to use social media, especially LinkedIn, to help you land a perfect role and also given you some warnings about what to post about your personal life as well as how to keep the personal and professional separate.

But securing a new job is both! Great news for your friends and family and great for your professional pages and profiles!

Here are just a few things to think about before post your big news:

Have you signed the offer/contract? Nothing is written in stone until it’s written in stone. Until you have the papers in hand, keep your great news to yourself and your immediate family.
Have you asked if it’s okay? Although your new employer might be thrilled about hiring you, they may not want you to announce it. They might want to do it themselves beforehand.
Are you on probation? Many companies hire you but aren’t truly committed until you’ve been on staff for 60 or even 90 days. During that period, learn everything you can and keep your head down!

Generally, it’s okay to post “I got a great new job! Stay tuned for the details!” anywhere you like.

But before you write a long blog post with all the details, make sure you have the go-ahead from your new employer. You wouldn’t want to get an unpleasant surprise!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Job Requirements: How Important Are They Really?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Through my work with Artisan, I read a lot of job descriptions. Chances are - if you’re here reading this blog - you probably do, too.

Some of those job descriptions are in my areas of expertise and some are not, but they all have one thing in common: the job requirements often sound incredibly hard to meet!

In my career as a performer, I do occasionally run across a job posting that might as well say, “Wendy Stackhouse, please send in your resume ASAP.” But not often. There just aren’t that many operas with witch, bird or insect roles out there. Never, however, have I seen a job description in business that perfectly calls my name.

The question for today is: how important is it that you meet all the requirements on a job listing?

The answer, of course is: it depends.

Experience
Suppose the job listing says “5 years experience required.” If you have only 3 years, but meet most of the other requirements, then go for it. If you have 1 year, don’t waste your time.

Background
If you’ve been working in your field for a while, you probably have a lot of skills that are transferable from one industry to another. Oftentimes, however, the job description might require a specific industry background. With the creative industry specifically, there is the added element of design aesthetics or copy voice to consider as well.

In these cases, if you’ve spent years in finance or healthcare – you probably can’t transfer easily into something like retail or entertainment. Don't waste time applying if a job specifically requests this experience. If, however, you’ve worked for an agency (with a variety of clients) or you've done some freelance work for a client in this sector, you can probably sell yourself a bit better into the position. Go for it!

Education
There are some companies out there who will not even review applicants without a college degree. If you are in the process of finishing your degree, even part time, you can list a B.A. or B.S. as “in progress” and often make it past the circular file - if your other qualifications are on track.

However, in the creative field, the lack of a degrees can often be made up with “equivalent years of experience in the field”. If you meet all other requirements (without being overqualified for the position), and you are only missing the degree – it's definitely worth your time to apply!

My coaches tell me that if you have 80% of the requirements, you should definitely apply; 70% you should think about it. In either case an effective cover letter, might be enough to get you to the next round of screening.

How do you do the math? We would love to hear in the comments!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Desk Pilates: Move #1

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT

If you’re like most – you probably spend most of your time each week sitting at your desk working. Some days you're lucky to even get out of the office to grab lunch! Maybe you get out one or two days a week to exercise – but wouldn’t it be nice if you could somehow build your workout into your work day?

Talent Manager Maggie Grant, a certified Pilates instructor will show us a few simple moves that you can do right at your desk to strengthen your core and improve your circulation.

Who knows – these quick workouts might just inspire a little creativity too?!

Give this first move a try and let us know what you think! And stay tuned next month for more!

Resumes: You Have 6 Seconds...Go!

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:00:00 GMT

In recent days, the internet has been a buzz about recruiters taking only 6 seconds to look at a resumes before deciding whether to toss it or read more.

6 seconds.

That is definitely a bit depressing, right?

My career coach says it takes 80 hours of work to perfect a resume and, even then, you have to tweak it every time for every application. Goodness knows how long we are working for that 6 second look.

But if your resume is effective, of course, you get a lot more than 6 seconds.

We asked the Artisan Recruiters about their thoughts on resumes and whether the 6-second rule really applies:

Account Manager, Carol Conforti, looks at resumes for more than six seconds, but often looks at a portfolio first so she can relate the work to the experience. Carol feels that creative staffing is different from typical recruiting, as often a few creative hands go into making a campaign and job titles can vary from company to company. However, if the resume is from someone that is not local and the client is not willing to relocate anyone, they get a shorter look.

MD, Katty Douraghy, definitely spends more than 6 seconds looking at resumes but, like Carol, weighs portfolios more heavily since we are a creative agency. Katty looks at resumes for: keywords, gaps in employment, agency vs. client side history and evidence of leadership skills. She checks for longevity and if jobs were for a short time or whether they were clearly freelance projects. It takes more than 6 seconds to do a thorough job.

Creative Recruiting Manager, Jamie Grossman, looks first for at least one well-recognized company, industry or brand, but if the candidate is just out of school, she considers where they went. If a talent does not meet the bare qualifications - you can tell pretty quickly they are not going to be right. But that often requires much more than 6 seconds on average.

Account Manager, Jess Bedford, says the better formatted a resume, the longer she spends looking at it. She likes the use of bold, underlining and bullet points to make it easy to read. Short descriptions of companies are also helpful to get a sense of industry experience. Education should always be at the end and the information should be contained to one page.

We all hope that our resumes get a good look - and we can definitely always improve them. A few key takeaways:

Make sure you are using the keywords from the job description in your bullet points or Summary.
Be as specific as possible about your responsibilities and achievements, especially where you showed leadership.
Leave some white space to keep it clean and clear.
Never neglect the importance of a portfolio when applying for creative roles.

Good luck!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Tax Tips for Freelancers—For Next Year!

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Although you still have until midnight tonight to file your taxes (or an extension), it is never too early to think about how to handle your taxes better next year.

As we are neither tax professionals nor claim to be so, but rather a community of freelancers and freelance placement specialists - we can only recommend the following tips to help keep our freelance talent organized for Tax Time 2013:

• Track your mileage - Especially if you drive to pick up work or deliver it to your clients, keep a record of trips back and forth. You can’t count commuting miles, but if you work offsite, mileage to and from meetings can add up to a hefty sum.

• Create a dedicated office space - You can only take a home office deduction if your space is used exclusively for work. But it doesn’t take a lot of space to count as a home office. Dedicating a small area of your home to work can help with deductions for part of your rent and utilities expenses.

• Keep your Receipts - Depending on the nature of your business, there are often a number of deductions you can make for things like Equipment, Advertising or Entertainment Expenses. Save your receipts and work with a tax professional to help you determine what can actually be written off as part of your business.

• Save some money - Depending on your situation - you may end up owing some tax next spring. You don’t want it to be a surprise. Therefore, it's always best to put a bit of each paycheck into a seperate account - just for tax payments in the following year. Worse case, if you have nothing to pay - you can always give yourself a refund!

• Make a list - If you work for a lot of different clients over the course of the year, it’s a good idea to keep a list of each client, their contact information and how much you made while working for them. There are a number of invoicing programs out there to assist with this as well. NOTE: If you go over $600 for any one client, they should send you a 1099 in January 2013. This list can help you follow up with any late documentation come Feb or March.

These are just some things that have helped my family at tax time. Do you have any great tips? We would love to hear them in the comments!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Ever Have One of “Those Days” - At Work?

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:28:00 GMT

We've all had them, right? It's those days when everything goes wrong from the very start and you find yourself at work and angry at the universe?

You spilled coffee on your new outfit, you're stuck in what must be the world's worst traffic, you didn't get the business you were expecting and/or your boss is not disappointed in the numbers from last month.

Not a great day by any stroke of the imagination, but have no fear. There are things you can do to try to nip “those days” in the bud!

Keep it to yourself
Yes, it’s fun to tell everybody how awful your day is and, sure, it makes you feel better. But what does it do to your co-workers and morale? Either they join you in bemoaning their fate (instead of working) or they get annoyed and ignore you (yet another reason to get frustrated).

Figure out what’s really bothering you
While it's not really productive to wallow in your bad mood, if you can work out what set you off, you can get past it. Take a few minutes to assess the situation and try to get a handle on it.

Take a Break
Go out for a short walk and clear your head. It’s okay. You’re not getting anything productive done anyway. The different environment could bring the fresh perspective you seek.

Think of a treat
It’s only 10:30 and you’re in a lousy mood. Think of something to treat yourself with later IF you can put your bad mood aside and get busy. There’s nothing like a reward to get us moving. Make sure you really follow through and treat yourself too.

I’m the first person to be sympathetic about a bad day - after work! But while you are there, be productive, be helpful, do your best and everyone will be glad you took a few minutes to get your head on straight.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

What Type of Interviewer Do You Have - and What to Do When You Figure It Out!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:46:00 GMT

I came across an article written by Doug Hardy of Monster.com about the “6 Types of Interviewers" and thought you might be interested in Artisan's take on how to handle them.

Of course, the secret is figuring out what kind of interviewer you have as quickly as possible by assessing their body language - so that you can tailor your style to theirs.

For example, if your interviewer is distracted and doesn’t meet your eyes when you are talking, you might be dealing with “The Absentee.” Perhaps he is just having a bad day or didn’t have time to prepare (or doesn’t know how). The best response? Have a clear message you can express in simple terms. If he cuts the interview short, you can offer to come back another time, but the best thing to do is make sure you follow up in case you can catch him at a better moment.

A tough, abrupt and perhaps even unfriendly interviewer might be “The Inquisitor.” This is a no nonsense interview - the kind no one looks forward to. Don’t make the mistake of assuming this interviewer doesn’t like you or you won’t get the job. If you can handle this interview with confidence and poise, she will respect you and possibly even become your advocate - if you can pass her test.

Find yourself answering a bunch of unrelated questions at a rapid-fire pace? You may have encountered “The Shotgun.” Preparation pays off with this kind of interviewer - especially knowing your strengths and accomplishments. Be ready with stories of projects on which you excelled and you’ll be ready for whatever comes next.

Insidious, “The Buddy” can lure you into talking about your personal life instead of your professional one. Be friendly and calm, but don’t take the bait. Steer the conversation back to the job and your skillset as soon as you can.

“The Silver Bullet” has a plan and one question which he thinks will reveal the perfect candidate. Unfortunately, he’s already decided what answer he is looking for and you might not hit the target. He will ask an unusual interview question and sit back and watch you writhe. Keep your cool. Start with “I have to think about that one for a minute,” and come up with something simple and professional.

Last but not least, “The Laser Beam” has only one issue on her mind. Go with it and worry about other issues when you get to the next stage of interviews. This type of interviewer will really appreciate technical language and specificity.

No interviewer is perfect, but no candidate gives a perfect interview, either. If you can keep your wits about you enough to figure out which type you are dealing with, you can make every interview count!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Top Tips for Starting your Management Career Right

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT

We’ve talked before about what to do when you think it’s time to quit your job and even how to handle difficult managers, but what about being a manager yourself?

I was asked recently where I wanted to be in five years and my answer was “Managing a team.” It would be so rewarding, I think, to focus strategically on a company's business while helping a team accomplish both the company's and their own personal development goals.

But wanting to be a good manager - and actually being one are two very different things. Whether you're new to the world of management - or a veteran in the field - here are some of our top tips for being a great manager from day one - the kind of manager your employees love to have:

Be a Mentor - Part of your job as a manager is developing the careers of the people who report to you. Help each of your direct reports improve their skills, even the exceptional ones. Take the time to learn how each of your team members likes to communicate, what motivates them to succeed and what their career aspirations look like long-term.

Act Quickly - Conflicts on your team will arise, and they must be dealt with right away, fairly and transparently. Leave them alone and they will get worse, without fail.

Don’t Leave Anyone Behind - Someone on your team made a big mistake. It’s going to be awfully hard - maybe impossible - for them to make it right on their own. They need your guidance and your confidence in them to recover. Even if the problem is not resolved, your relationship with and respect from your subordinate will not be tarnished.

Be Proud of Your Team - And let them know it! Always give praise to your team, and it's individual members, in a public forum if possible. Never claim success as a result of your leadership.

Be Approachable - If your team admires your acumen, they want to talk to you, ask you questions and get your feedback. Make it easy for them to do so. It makes them feel respected and like they can make a difference.

Over the years, I have had some great bosses who helped me grow, and some who couldn’t overcome a lack of confidence in their own abilities to mentor a subordinate. As for me, I would definitely like to be the former when given the opportunity!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Top 10 Interview Preparation Tips

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:35:00 GMT

A job seeker going to a job interview without preparing and practicing is like an actor performing on opening night without rehearsing.

By researching the company, becoming familiar with the interviewer(s), understanding the job description and anticipating questions, interviewees can develop appropriate answers and "rehearse" them ahead of time - overcoming much of the anxiety of typical interviews.

As Recruiters, a big part of our job is helping candidates prepare for phone, skype and face-to-face interviews. While proper preparation does require a considerable amount of time before an interview, the result is always a more successful, and often much less stressful meeting.

With this in mind, here are our Top 10 Interview Preparation Tips:

Research the company, product lines and competitors.
Conduct research on the company, look up info on LinkedIn, review the company URL. Know the products, financials, competitors and names of new leaders. This research will provide information to help you decide if you’re interested in the company as well as give you important data to differentiate yourself from other applicants as you prepare.
Image is often as important as content.
What you look like and how you say something is just as important as what you say. Studies show that as much as 85% of the conveyed message is nonverbal; gestures, eye contact, tone of voice, physical posture and your attire are highly influential during job interviews. Maintain good eye contact, offer a firm handshake, stand erect, sit tall, avoid nervous gestures and use body movements that projects confidence. Dress for your interview in accordance with the culture and expectations of the company. If you're not sure - ask whoever is coordinating the interview ahead of time.
Keep answers brief and concise.
Don’t ramble! Be brief and concise when answering questions and don’t talk “over” the interviewer. Unless you’re asked to give more detail, speak only 60-90 seconds in response to each question.
Include concrete, quantifiable data.
Don’t talk in generalities! Be sure to include measurable information (in terms of $ or #s), leadership skills (in terms of people/vendors managed) and provide details about specific accomplishments when discussing your strengths.
Repeat your key strengths three times.
Don’t be embarrassed to praise your abilities. Arrogance or obnoxious boasting is taboo, but it’s essential that you confidently articulate your strengths. By rephrasing your strengths at least three times during the interview, the interviewer is also more likely to remember them.
Prepare five or more success stories.
In preparing for interviews, make a list of your top skills. Then reflect on past jobs and write out one or two successful experiences that demonstrate each of those skills. You should have 3-5 stories or “accomplishments” that demonstrate your skills. These are perfect answers to use when you are asked some of the more typical "Tell me about you specific skills" or "Tell me about a project you are proud of."
Put yourself on their team.
Visualize yourself on the job. Whenever possible, ally yourself with the prospective employer by using the company’s name and referring to specific products or departments. It is also effective to phrase your answers and use the words “we”, “our” and “I” to position yourself as a team member. For example, “As a member of the ________ (specific product name or department) team, I would work diligently to ensure that we could achieve our objectives.”
Highlight your work.
Take your laptop, tablet or print portfolio with your latest samples. Speak about your involvement, technical skills, team mentality and any project leadership when taking the interviewer through the work. Take 3-5 additional copies of your resume in case anyone else joins the interview.
Ask questions.
The types of questions you ask and the way you ask them can make a tremendous impression on the interviewer. Don’t ask about salary and benefits. Instead, use questions to reveal your research on the company’s products and competitors. Ask questions to define company processes or hierarchy for you.
After the interview - follow-up.
Write a "Thank You” letter or email to everyone who interviewed you and re-state your key skills, stress what you can do for the company, and re-emphasize your keen interest in the company, department and/or products.

Happy Interviewing!

Overqualified? Really??

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

A friend of mine recently heard that she had not landed a job because she is “overqualified.” She was gobsmacked!

What does that mean? How could that be a bad thing? She wanted to know, and I'm sure there are many out there wondering the same thing - "How can anyone be overqualified for an empty position?"

With today’s poor, although improving, employment climate, there are many highly experienced but unemployed folks out there looking for work. Some of them are moving into freelance projects and entrepreneurship, but some are changing career paths and applying for entry-level roles in new industries, perhaps at a lower salary than they previously earned and with fewer or no direct reports.

I asked our team of recruiters what it means when a job seeker is told they are “overqualified” and what it might mean about their experience in relation to that specific position:

You may have more experience than the person that you will report to.
You may have a higher salary requirement than what they are willing to pay.
You may take a position and then be more likely to leave because you are working below your potential and are not challenged by the work.
The person you would be reporting to is intimated by your skills and knowledge.
Someone with too many years of experience may have work habits that are hard to break. The position might want someone more "green" so they can "mold" them to fit the company's style and culture.

At the end of the day, turnover and training are both expensive. A company wants to know that the investments they make in new employees will not have to be repeated anytime soon. Most companies would prefer to leave a position vacant until the right person can be found, rather than hire and then lose someone who is overqualified who takes "the first job that comes along".

If you are one of the highly-experienced job seekers in the market, here are a few ways to avoid appearing overqualified for positions, before you ever have an interview:

Edit your resume bullet points - Replace the accomplishments that don’t apply to this role with ones that do. Or simply remove them. Be sure to include keywords for the current position in your bullets.
Education - List any degrees or certifications that are relevant to the role, but leave out more advanced degrees. Your Ph.D. or MBA is an incredible accomplishment! But do you need it to get this job?
Cover Letter - A cover letter is really the only way to express why you would be challenged and excited about the role, even if you might appear to be further along in your career on your resume.

Remember that your resume is simply a tool for standing out in a pool of candidates. As long as everything on your resume is true, it doesn’t have to tell your whole life story.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Facebook Password, Please

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

It has been reported that potential employers are asking candidates for their Facebook passwords as part of the interview process or, alternatively, looking over the shoulders of candidates while they log in to Facebook to see their profiles.

Now, I haven’t actually heard from anyone who has been asked directly to supply this informaiton, but an officer of the Maryland Department of Corrections says he was asked for his log-in credentials. Someone could be testing the waters to see how asking for passwords would go over with the general public, but this report is being widely discussed. Even two US Senators have requested the Department of Justice and the EEOC look into the practice.

Whether this is becoming common or not, it’s a good idea to have a plan in place in case you’re ever asked. Everyone certainly has an opinion on how to react:

One school of thought believes that we shouldn’t be posting anything on social media we wouldn’t want the world to see anyway, so who cares.

Another opinion is that Facebook is personal and not business and no employer has any right to any of that information at any time.

Unfortunately, private isn’t really private on the internet, as we have discussed before and it is always a good idea to think before you hit that button.
Another group (me included) thinks that some information can be posted publicly for employers to see and get a feel for your social media interactions, but not all personal information. Since I use social media for work at work, I like having some updates on my public profile as writing samples and background information.

I put a link to my Facebook Page as a “business person” right on my resume and do post some information publicly on my Facebook Profile as well, but only what I would want strangers to have access to.

I would, however, never give my Facebook password to a potential employer and don’t think you should, either. If you gave it, how would they know you would protect their proprietary information? And how could you avoid disclosing information that it is illegal for them to ask for?

And remember that when someone has access to your profile, they also have access to information about your friends who have not given consent for that access to anyone but you. It’s not just your own privacy at risk.

What should you do if you are asked for your Facebook password?

Don’t panic. Give them a link to your public profile or page, if it is relevant to the job. Tell them you don’t believe that disclosing passwords is a safe practice in business (remember it might be a test to see if you would disclose something inappropriately). You can also mention that it is in violation of Facebook’s Terms and Conditions to give out your password and you respect those rules, like you would respect theirs.

If they insist, unfortunately, I believe it is time to politely and firmly end the interview. Company culture is an important factor in job search and you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. If they make you uncomfortable in the interview, how would it feel to work there?

Update: Maryland is now poised on the brink of being the first state to ban employers from asking for Facebook passwords! 49 to go!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

LinkedIn Updated: Make it Work for You

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

When LinkedIn first made headlines, and indeed when I first started writing about it on the Artisan Blog, it was good for 3 major things:

• As a place to post your resume where it could be searched
• As a way to connect with people you know and the people they know
• As a place to boost your credibility in your field as a thought leader by participating in discussions

But LinkedIn is getting bigger and its usefulness is getting broader as well.

Telling a More Complete Story
With the addition of Volunteer Experience and Skills, you can show not only what you have done as an employee, but what you can do that you have learned outside of work, how you give back to the community and where your passions lie.

Searching
Job searches are great on LinkedIn. You can also find people who work at your target companies. LinkedIn searches are also excellent for finding people who work in the role you would like or who have other things in common with you (same school, same cities, same former companies, same volunteer organizations, etc). This gives you the opportunity to broaden your network beyond the people you know in real life.

Establishing Yourself in a New Role
If you are changing the focus of your career, LinkedIn can put you in touch with people in your new field and allow you to show your expertise and knowledge even before you land a job. Get yourself into groups and discussions in your new target area and let the people there know what you bring to the table.

The social media landscape changes almost every day, with new platforms, new profiles and new ways of engaging. It’s hard to keep up with the changes sometimes, but well worth the effort.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Tips for Interviewers

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Helping candidates prepare for interviews is a big part of what recruiters do each day. However, in screening and qualifying candidates for a variety of positions, recruiters are usually also experts at how to interview too.

Some of the things we’ve previously discussed on our blog - like body language - apply to interviewers as well as interviewees. However, there are also posts, such as questions interviewers can’t ask in an interview, that are just for you.

We decided to give interviewers a few more tips for finding the perfect candidate:

Prepare - Make sure you know ahead of time what you plan to ask the candidates and how you will describe your company and the role. Don't hesitate to bring notes and be sure to keep the tone positive.

Listen - Active listening is essential to getting the information you need. Make eye contact with the candidate and listen to their tone - as well as their words.
Ask open-ended questions - Questions that start with "How", "Why" or "Can you explain" are great ways for candidates to tell a story about something they’ve done in the past. Stay away from "yes or no" questions that stop the flow of the interview.

Keep track of time - Always leave time in an interview to address any questions the candidate might have about your company and the role. This will give you some insight about what's important to them.

Arrange next steps - If an interview goes well and you think you could have the right person on the other side of the desk, don't be afraid to tell them. Enlighten them on your current interview process and set up a second interview with other hiring authorities or team members, if appropriate. If the interview did not go well - or it's too early in the process to determine a fit - let the candidate know when a decision will be made about next interview rounds or hire(s).

The right hire can make a huge difference to the success of your business; the wrong one can stop progress in its tracks. A good recruiter can help you find candidates with the right credentials and experience, but only you can decide who is the best person to add to your team.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

We’re Going Mobile!

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:42:00 GMT

Although mobile recruiting is still its infancy, it is here and it is growing. And so are we!

A study by Potentialpark of 30,000 job seekers and 350 top employers shows:

19% of job seekers are already using their mobile devices as a tool in their job search process
50% of job seekers say that they will use mobile devices in the future when looking for new roles
Only 7% of the surveyed employers have developed mobile versions of their career sites

So while 19% may not sound like a lot, 46% of us own smartphones and that number goes up every day. And - as smartphones get smarter - we'll continue to use them for more and more activities.

Any savvy recruiting company should be developing tools to reach these demographics. And it is even more important for creative recruiters. Our talent is made up of Designers, Developers, Graphic Artists, Writers and Digital Marketers, many of whom are early adopters of new technology.

And so, without further ado, we present the mobile version of the Artisan Creative website! Launched earlier this month, if you haven't seen it already - check it out with your Smart Phone or Tablet device.

Direct your mobile browser to our site and set a bookmark to get the latest job postings, apply directly for our open positions and keep up with our blog!

Your Mother Was Right - Thank You Notes are Necessary!

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:16:00 GMT

In today’s job market, getting an interview - making it past the initial resume culling process - is an achievement in itself. But where, in the past, making the cut would lead to a face-to-face interview, hiring managers often have too many qualified candidates for most positions. As a result, candidates are more and more likely to get a phone screen or Skype interview first.

Whatever the type of interview you have, follow-up is the most important thing if you want to keep your name at the top of the “maybe” list. It is the only way to be noticed when hiring managers are overrun, with so many people to consider.

Here are some tips on what to do AFTER you talk to that hiring manager:

An email thank you is appropriate for a phone interview or an in-person interview with a very quick turnaround time on a decision. An email thank you also gives you the opportunity to include a relevant link to a story or article that builds upon what you discussed in your interview--a great way to highlight your attention to detail and interest in both the company and the role.
A handwritten thank you is essential after an in-person interview. Snail mail may seem dated, but the time it takes to write a note is very much appreciated and remembered. The type of note you select can also demonstrate a bit of your personality as well.
Always have your References ready, but don’t provide them unless and until they are requested. A thank you note or email is usually NOT the best place for relaying this information.

I’m willing to bet Mom was right about a lot of things - but with regards to thank you notes - she couldn't be more on track! To stand out in the crowd of job seekers, write those thank you notes!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

8 Tips for Your Next Telephone Interview

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Telephone interviews can be one of the most uncomfortable parts of the job-seeking process. Many employers use them regularly in their hiring process as a way to reduce costs and save time. Most often they are used to disqualify candidates early in the process, before further time has been invested by all parties.

There are usually 2 types of phone interviews:

The "screening call". Quite often the HR department needs to learn additional information about candidates before forwarding their application to the Hiring Authority. Although the initial contact can be quite unassuming, HR is most likely trying to "short-list" a stack of potentials for the position.

The "committee" telephone interview. Sometimes several hiring authorities or department staff will get together on the interviewing process, so that they can share their conclusions afterwards. This rarely happens when the company is still early in the process. Rather, it usually occurs when there are too many qualified candidates for the face-to-face interview.

Depending on the nature of the person conducting the telephone interview, these calls can be either quite plesant or extremely uncomfortable. In either case, there are certainly several ways to best prepare yourself for a successful call:

The person on the other end of the phone may be just as uncomfortable as you. Concentrate less on your feelings and more on how to make the other person feel at ease.

Smile over the phone. Believe it or not, smiling while you talk will help you sound more friendly and open.
You are not judged by the same criteria used at an in-person interview. For example, eye contact can be an excellent barometer when meeting face to face. However, on the telephone, you'll be judged by a more subtle set of factors such as the sound of your voice, your tone, your level of friendliness and enthusiasm.
Speak succinctly about your past experience and accomplishments. Many professionals launch into long, drawn-out answers to telephone interview questions. Remember, you do not have your interviewer's eye contact or other body language cues to monitor. Clear, short responses will keep the person on the other side of the line engaged (and not put them to sleep)!
Utilize "dead air" during a conversation; don't fear it. Have a list of prepared questions about the company or position when caught in one of those spots. Although good communication is theoretically up to both of you, dead air is typically your responsibility to fill.
Focus on your listening skills. You'll find that your nerves will sometimes make this very difficult. Simply close off all thoughts about whatever is going on around you and concentrate on the words and voice of the interviewer. Take notes while you listen, if it helps you focus.

Situate yourself properly before the call. Because so much of your success in this situation is determined by your comfort in the surroundings, plan the interview for a time when you can speak privately, comfortably and without distraction. Or, if the caller takes you by surprise, ask for five minutes to get organized, get their phone number and call them back.

Don't talk about issues related to compensation, company benefits or any negative issues with your current employer. This is solid advice for any first-interview situation. This initial touch point is to make enough of a connection to get to the in-person interview phase.

Do you have any tried and tested tips for phone interviews?

Need help preparing for your next Skype Interview? Check out our Skype Interview Tips.

Eliminate the Negative: Tips on What to Avoid in a Job Interview

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:23:00 GMT

Whenever I have an interview coming up, I go through my preparation process. By the time the interview arrives, I know exactly what I want to say, at least to the standard interview questions I've encountered before, and I've prepared questions to ask - if the topics don't come up naturally.

However, it’s also a good idea to make a clear list of the subjects you would rather not discuss, and how you will handle the situation if and/or when these topics do arise. Here are some ideas from the recruiters at Artisan Creative about things to avoid on your interview - and some positive alternatives:

Talent Manager, Laura Burns:

Avoid saying anything negative about your former employer. Rather, plan to talk about a good relationship you had with the company and how that helped you do a better job.
Don’t talk about your personal life, even if the interviewer does. It is very easy to get caught following their lead. Try to steer the conversation back to the workplace.
Don’t talk about salary or benefits right at the start. If you’re working with a recruiter, let them discuss those items for you. They can probably get you a better package and will most likely have more experience negotiating than you do.

Creative Recruiting Manager, Jamie Grossman:

Don’t take credit for a whole project - even if you think it sounds better. Instead, discuss your accomplishments and how you worked with all those involved in the project. Employers like to know that you are a good at collaborating, too.

Sr Account Manager & Recruiter, Carol Conforti:

Instead of "I hated my last boss,“ say "I did not share the management philosophy."
If you didn’t get along with someone try "my coworkers and I had different ideas about how things should be done."
Don’t look for a promotion before you get hired. However, you can say “I feel very capable of doing a great job; is there a career path for this role?"
Instead of "When can I get a raise?" try "What is the review process here?"
Avoid asking “Do people work hard or spend long hours here?" If you want to know, say, “What is a typical day like here?"
Always have a question ready. Even if you don’t really have any, try, “What are the next steps?"

And recent addition to the team, Account Manager & Recruiter, Melinda Geniza:

Always put a positive spin on your challenging experiences and talk about lessons learned.
Don't be too modest about your achievements or contributions on certain projects: Avoid statements like "this was just a little thing I did..."
Generalities when describing your work are not as effective as specifics. Use technical language and details when talking about your process.
Don't come across like you aren't interested in the job. Even if it’s not your dream job, you must be interested or you wouldn’t be at the interview. Interviewers can pick up on your lack of enthusiasm through body language and eye contact.

I hope you got the theme in these answers. As the song says, “Accentuate the positive!” Prepare yourself to talk about your previous employer, your experience and your hopes for working in the future in a positive light and your interview is sure to go well!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Pinterest for Creatives

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:34:00 GMT

I keep reading about Pinterest and so, of course, I started wondering…

Should I join?
What do I do with it?
Will it help me with anything or just be another social platform?

So I started my boards and took a look around, but found myself still a bit puzzled.

Pinterest is basically a photo sharing platform. A place to “pin” images of things you like and are interested in. You can put a button in your browser’s toolbar that will put almost any image you see online on one of your pinboards, with the opportunity to make a comment on it. These could be your own images or those of others that you see when you are browsing. You don’t have to download and upload as you do on other platforms.

Pinterest is definitely great for businesses that sell products. They can add a “Pin It” button to images of their offerings and customers can add those things to their pinboards, which will be seen by everyone who is following them. That’s a lot of free advertising!

Pinterest is also good for service businesses which use a portfolio of work to increase their client base. Web design companies can certainly benefit from having a pinboard of their work available here.

For the same reason, Pinterest may be a good platform for freelancers and entrepreneurs. You can pin your latest work from all different sources into one board and use that as your online portfolio site. Web and graphic designers, photographers, and artists especially will benefit from having pinboards of their work available on this platform. You can also find other people on Pinterest with similar interests that you might want to connect with. Some people are also pinning their resumes, especially the new infographic styles.

Why might Pinterest be better than other photo sharing sites? In my opinion, the advantage lies in the board concept itself. Rather than looking one at a time at photos on Flickr, or a giant page of uncategorized photos, pinboards are collections of related items. Someone who is checking out your design aesthetic can get a good overview of your logos, for example, with one click. And knowing who else likes the same thing you like might be an excellent bit of information.

I’m still a newbie at Pinterest and have been pinning mostly knitting patterns so far. I would love to hear what you think of Pinterest and if you’ve thought of any great uses for creatives, so please let me know in the comments! And if you need an invitation, email me!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

What's Your Resume Really For?

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:13:00 GMT

The purpose of your resume is to get you a job, right?

All those hours, all that tweaking, all that proofreading and when you’re finally DONE, it will get you the perfect role.

Truth is - you’re never done. Every job application needs its own resume. Every single one.

Why? The purpose of your resume is NOT to get you a job. The purpose of your resume is to get you an INTERVIEW. Only you can get the job.

So - how can your resume get you an interview?

Truth be told - it really varies from job to job. However, there is one best practice you should always follow to better your odds!

Identify and use keywords.

Read that job description again. Get out your highlighter and mark the essential responsibilities or skills. Those are your keywords. What verbs are they using? Use those verbs. What qualities do they want? Put them in your Summary or sprinkle them in your listed achievements or responsibilities. The more keywords the hiring manager (or his computer) sees in your resume - the more likely they are to identify you as a potential candidate for the position.

Everybody hates working on their resume. It's definitely tempting to just send out the same resume for every job that looks like it could be the right fit. But as more employers and recruiting firms use applicant tracking software to cull resumes, keywords will continue to play a huge role. Make sure you're not left out!

With a little extra time and a bit more focus - your customized resume will help you get you the interviews you deserve. Before long - you should notice those candidate response rates going up as well.

Happy tweaking!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Why Aren't You Blogging Yet?

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Pretty early in the life of this blog, I wrote a post on why you should be blogging.

Did you pay attention?

Did you start a blog? Did you ever write a second post?

Or a first?

Excuses, Excuses! Why not?

I don’t have anything to say
Actually, the bar here is pretty low. Do you talk? To anybody? About what’s going on? Anywhere? Excellent. Post.

Now, of course, we’re talking about a blog that has some value - to you and to your readers. Random thoughts won’t work forever, but I’m willing to bet that if you try this 2 or 3 or 4 times, you will start coming up with relevant ideas. And guess what? You can go back and get rid of the early stuff later!

Remember - you don’t have to write an essay. Think of your first few posts as updates, just like Facebook or even Twitter. A sentence or two, a paragraph. Put your toe in the water.

I’m not a writer
Believe me, most bloggers aren’t “writers” either. They’re not perfect and they’re not any better than you. They just post anyway. (Shh, they often don’t even proofread!)

A good way to get started is by doing some curated content. Find some articles that you think are interesting or relevant or well written and pick out your favorite quote. Explain why it’s your favorite and what drew you to the article. You look smart without doing much of your own writing!

Remember that you MUST (was that loud enough?) hyperlink to the original article in your post.

I don’t have time
Do you have time to update your Facebook status? You have time to blog.

Do you have time to Tweet? More than once a day? You have time to blog.

Guess what? You can use the content from your Facebook status or your Tweets to get your blog started. What are you writing about today? Make it a little longer and post it. See, you are a writer! That information was already out there in public, this is just another venue for it.

I don't know how
Technology can be intimidating, but blogging has been around long enough to have some great resources for you to get started. Here are three of my favorites:

Blogger.com is a free site which walks you through the blog creation process step-by-step—my 10 year old has a blogger blog. Blogger is part of the Google family of products so if you have a Google account, it’s even easier to start a blog there.

Tumblr.com is another free site for creating a blog. Tumblr blogs are usually shorter-form and might be less intimidating. Tumblr has lots of fun themes and also walks you through the process of creating your special place to post.

Livejournal.com is another free blogging platform that is easy to use. Commenters on Livejournal have to register, but if that doesn’t bother you take a look at this platform.

If you’re still nervous about blogging, write a few draft posts on whatever you want. Don’t publish them until you feel good about them.

A company blog, an industry blog or even a personal blog is an important part of your brand, whether you are an executive or a freelancer. Stop making excuses! Blog!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant (and blogger) for Artisan Creative

How to Choose a Recruitment Company

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:41:00 GMT

With so many firms out there vying for your attention, it’s often hard to tell which recruiting company is right for you. Here are a few criteria to consider when selecting the right recruiter for you or your business:

Types of Roles They Place
Some recruiters are generalists and some are specialists. At Artisan, we focus on Creative and Marketing roles, but not strict IT positions. If you are a back-end programmer, we are not the right agency for you. If, however, you are a User Experience Designer, Marketing Specialist, Copywriter, Production Artist or Front-End Developer, submit your resume on our website. By specializing in only select areas - we have become experts in these fields and networks of talent.

Their Mission
Not every recruiting company will have a clearly defined mission statement, but if they do, it's a good indication of what their company culture and focus is all about. Choose a company whos ideals and approach to business are similar to your own.

Artisan is committed to offering meaningful opportunities to our talent and to helping our clients achieve their creative goals using cutting-edge technology. Our Mission is:

To provide job opportunities for creative talent that has positive impact in their careers.
To provide clients with top creative resources to achieve their creative initiatives.
To be innovative, forward thinking, early adopters of industry trends as required by the market.

Their Vision
It is important to bring proper vision into one's recruitment approach. It’s so easy to lose the big picture in the day-to-day if you are not clear on your overarching objective.

What is Artisan's vision? To bring creative thinking into staffing that results in innovation and a positive impact on our community. Being committed to having that positive impact on the individuals with whom we work and our community, helps us make decisions about how we do, what we do every single day.

Their Values
Often it is difficult to know the values of a company without knowing the people who work there. When working with a recruiter - keep these values in mind as you interact and work with them each day. Do they put profit ahead of every other consideration? Do they make you feel like an individual or a number? Do they do what they say they are going to do - when they say they are going to do it? Are they family-oriented? Do you feel like you've been treated fairly?

At Artisan our values are simple: Truth, Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, Engagement & Desire to Learn and Grow. There have been times when we have had to decline projects because they were not in line with our values. At the end of the day, our integrity is more important to us than sales. We will always be honest, scrupulously fair and perform with professionalism. We feel success will come from these values.

Whichever recruitment agency you ultimately choose, you deserve to be treated both fairly and professionally. The lines of communication should always be open. Only that can lead to meaningful work, creative fulfillment and tangible rewards.

If we seem a good fit for you or your company, we hope you will get in touch with us soon.

Brainstorming: Important Factor in Company Culture?

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:06:00 GMT

There’s been a lot of chatter lately about brainstorming:

How to brainstorm better
Brainstorming isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
It’s okay if you’re not good at brainstorming
Our kids are being trained to brainstorm instead of think up their own ideas

Brainstorming, like every idea-generation technique, has its place, certainly. I have a friend who sets up great brainstorms for a very large multinational corporation, and they definitely get some wonderful ideas out of that process. They also get some lousy ones. But everyone agrees that making time for that process - coming together to "be creative" is what makes all of those ideas - good and bad - possible.

However, if brainstorming sessions are not run properly, it is remarkably easy for brainstorming to turn into groupthink without anyone realizing it. Groupthink has the negative connotations that brainstorming escapes: people getting together and forming a mob, not really a consensus. If everyone is thinking the same thing so it must be a good idea, right?

Utilizing brainstorming best practices to properly structure a brainstorming session - going for as many ideas as possible, allowing one speaker at a time, deferring all judgement during the session, allowing "builds" and visuals and ensuring all ideas are documents - groups can avoid the pitfalls of a groupthink session.

While there’s a lot to be said for working in small groups to throw ideas back and forth, many also argue the more solitary ways of coming up with ideas as well.

Recent research studies are showing that although we need criticism to improve our ideas, we need solitude to come up with them in the first place. Socializing during the creative process can help to refine ideas, but at the same time, true originality comes from one person trying to solve a problem.

When it comes to problem solving, all companies have their own culture and ideas about brainstorming. Understanding this process - especially as it relates to creative idea generation - is certainly an interesting question to ask at an interview. Knowing how you would be involved with presenting your ideas and/or editing those of others could be a big factor in whether a company's creative or marketing department is right for you?

What are you thoughts on brainstorming? Do you prefer solitary or group settings? Hours or short bursts?

Whatever the answers, knowing how you like to tackle problem solving - and the way potential companies choose to handle it - could be more telling about a long-term culture fit within an organization than we realize.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

The Creative Interview

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Most of us have interviewed for many different roles in our working lives, from our first summer job in high school (where they needed to know if we could mop floors) to interviews hours of testing to prove our skillsets were as solid as our resumes claimed.

We’ve talked a lot on our blog about how to prepare for a typical interview - and even for a more atypical one - but we’ve never talked about how a creative interview differs from a more general one. Nor have we really talked about what creative recruiters are looking for versus their counterparts in another field.

I asked the recruiters at Artisan: "How do you think 'creative' interviews differ from 'regular' job interviews?"

The answers were pretty consistent.

The portfolio is the number one factor during a creative interview. Whether the interviewer has already seen work samples via a website or a PDF, the design aesthetic and body of work are always the most important consideration. However, further explanation of that work is always required. Talent must be prepared to explain their portfolio fully.

"Creatives must be able to walk us through their work, their involvement in producing that work, their challenges, their inspiration and the effectiveness the work had," said Account Manager, Jess Bedford. "The finished work is only part of the whole creative process. Understanding how creatives work through that process, helps us better qualify talent for culture and team fit."
Creative rapport is essential. As is often the case, initial interviews may not always be held with like-minded or department-based interviewers. HR, for instance, may not understand the full creative processes as well as a Creative Director. Therefore, establishing an interviewer's level of understanding for one's creative specialty is essential. Do it up front, too. Therefore, when one gets to the portfolio review, you know which work will illustrate something relevant to their needs / interest, and how in depth your review should be.

Past resume experience is not always the key factor. What's more important than the clients you've worked for is being able to demonstrate, through both paid and/or spec work, a keen eye for design and the ability to push the creative envelope.

"For so many of our clients - the resume is second to the creative work," said Carol Conforti, Sr Account Manager and Recruiter. "Many creatives make the mistake of only including work that's been paid for and/or approved. Some of the best portfolios I've seen include both finished work and the other concepts that the clients didn't use. Many even have concepts designers have 'played with' in their free time."

What I take most from these answers (thanks, recruiters!) is how essential a portfolio is to the creative interview. And being able to review that portfolio effectively is just as important!

But that's only part of it. Research, once again, turns out to be really helpful as well. Whatever you can find out before the interview about the company, about the job responsibilities, even about the background of the interviewer or their client, will help you present your portfolio in the very best light possible.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

7 Ways to Improve your Memory

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

I am a list-maker. I also set alarms and, when they go off, I have to try to remember why I set them. I lose my keys, my phone, my iPod—I’m lucky I don’t lose the kids some days!

Who hasn't struggled to remember the name of a business associate at a networking event, a key point during a presentation or the date that big project is due?

Whatever the reason we experience a lapse in memory – chances are we could all use a few ways to help us improve it?

Here are just a few of the best exercises I’ve found to strengthen our ability to remember people, places, ideas - and everything in between:

Use pictures - If you tend to forget names, tie a person’s name to a mental picture. If their name is a word or like a word, this is easy, but using rhymes or words that sound like the name also helps. The trick is the picture, not how you got there.

Change fonts - If you’re trying to learn something from text on your computer screen, reading it in an unfamiliar font makes you concentrate on it more.

Say it out loud - If you’re going to a business meeting where you know some of the people who will be there, say their names out loud to yourself before you go to put them in your short-term memory bank.

Learn a new language - People who speak more than one language are more likely to have a good memory. If you already speak another language, translate what you’re trying to remember into it. It puts double connections down in your brain, while making you focus on the information.

Interact, in-person or even online - Using language to communicate keeps your brain engaged, no matter the medium.

Get some exercise - Exercise builds synapses and synapses are the connections your brain makes to create memories.

Get more sleep - Getting enough sleep is essential for high functioning in many areas, but memory is certainly one of them.

Where was I? Oh, yes.

We all have good days and bad days for remembering things. If you want to have more good days, try some of these techniques and let us know if you see any difference!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

3 Ways to Avoid Looking Like a Job Hopper

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:05:00 GMT

In today’s tough economic times, many candidates have been employed by companies that eventually closed their doors, were bought out or underwent massive layoffs. Instead of the average two to five year-spans of employment recruiters are used to seeing, resumes of today often list recent work histories as periods of less than a year at multiple companies. You want to list that great experience on your resume, but a long list of roles with a short duration may leave potential employers questioning your loyalty.

How can you demonstrate your commitment to a company, without having to explain your streak of bad luck? Here are some ways to tweak your resume format to accommodate short-term full time jobs or a series of freelance positions as you search for a long-term position:

Change your resume format—Instead of listing all of your work experience chronologically, use themes to bring your information together in a way that shows you at your best. Relevant Experience lets you leave out jobs that don’t apply to the current role. Contract Experience lets you list all of your freelance projects in one section, even if they are not long-term roles individually. Reverse Chronological Order is not the only way to construct a resume. Here are some others.
Leave it out—You don’t have to list every job you’ve had for every company. Instead just include your general responsibilities, companies and brands in separate lists. Then, be prepared to discuss specific accomplishments or projects from your time with each company.
Volunteer—If you’ve been out of work for a while, offer your skills to a non-profit as a volunteer. Those experiences can go on your resume and LinkedIn profile, just as any paid work would. If you have long gaps in your work history these volunteer opportunities can provide recent stories to tell in an interview – where showing passion for a cause or a project can be a great way to sell yourself.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

I Don’t Think So: Illegal Job Interview Questions

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:32:00 GMT

I’m sure you join me in wishing that “Tell me about yourself” was against the rules, but while that question may be perfectly acceptable in any interview - there are some questions hiring managers are not allowed to ask you in an interview.

Most human resources professionals know better and will not make these mistakes. However, interviews are often conducted by an inexperienced interviewer, perhaps a department head, small business owner or other hiring authority, who doesn’t know that some topics are actually taboo. These questions generally fall into common areas of discrimination - like race, sexual orientation, age and health status.

Employers are not allowed to ask questions that could determine your national origin:

Where were you born?
What is your native language?

Interviewers cannot ask questions that will reveal your marital or parental status:

Are you married?
Do you have children?
Do you plan to start a family?

Age discrimination can be a problem, too:

How old are you?
When did you graduate?

Religion can also be an issue for some employers:

Do you celebrate Yom Kippur?
What church do you go to?

Your health is your own business, not your employer’s:

Do you have a disability?
Do you have a chronic illness?

It is illegal to discriminate against you for being in the armed services or reserves:

Are you in the National Guard?

And what you do on your own time is private (as long as it’s legal):

Do you smoke?
Do you use alcohol?

You won’t encounter these questions often - again, most human resources pros are trained not to ask these questions. But you never know...

How to respond to an illegal interview question?

Well, that depends. I’ve been known to volunteer my age (if I think it’s an asset) or mention my kids (but I probably shouldn’t). I like to think of an interview as a conversation with someone I don’t know yet.

If you think the interviewer is trolling for inappropriate information on purpose, tell them they’re not allowed to ask that and politely move on to your next opportunity.

If you think they sincerely don’t know, are just being friendly without realizing they are doing something wrong, it’s a tougher call. I would probably smile, laugh a little and give them a quizzical, “Wow. I've never been asked that in an interview. Are you sure we're supposed to talk about that?” and hope for the best! Try moving the interview along if you can.

Not everyone has the best intentions and not everyone is fully trained. My recommendation - Keep your wits about you, know the rules and listen to your gut! If something feels off - you probably don't want to work there anyway!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

How to Say “Yes” Without Driving Yourself Crazy

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Creatives, your skills are in high demand by many organizations, businesses and individuals. Sometimes even by friends—if they need a website, advertising copy, graphics or other creative work produced.

Last Sunday a dear friend asked me if I could design a website for his new business. He doesn’t have a lot of money to spend and thinks of me as someone who could provide a good product. I’m very glad he has confidence in my abilities, and as much as I would like to help him, I don’t have time to do his project unless I take time away from something else that pays better.

When I do have time to add a project, however, sometimes I go ahead and say “Yes!” - even if there’s little or no monetary reward. What are the factors that help me decide?

Passion—If the project is for a cause in which I believe strongly, I will carve out the time. Volunteering our skills (or offering them for much less than market rate) for worthy causes is personally fulfilling and adds value to any project.
Career Development—I will probably say "yes" if I think that I will learn something new from the project, meet or work with someone in my field who could be a good contact, gain a skill or client that could improve my resume or add to the strength of my portfolio. This type of work experience is also a great way to fill in gaps in your work history or get great references!
Respect—It is always surprising to me how often volunteers are treated disrespectfully, as if they are only worth what they are being paid. Having worked as a professional with volunteers and as a volunteer with professionals, volunteers deserve more respect, not less. If you treat me respectfully, I am likely to help you out over and over again. Amazing how something that simple can create such loyalty.

Yes. It is hard to say “no” to a friend without feeling guilty, I know. But if you have the time, don’t need the money and can think of some way that investment of time capital pays off for you, everyone can benefit from your talent!

Wendy Stackhouse, Artisan Creative

The Proust Questionnaire for Creatives

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

You’ve heard of the Proust Questionnaire, I’m sure. Made famous in the back pages of Vanity Fair Magazine, it was named not for questions, but for the answers given by Marcel Proust to a set of questions asked by his friend Antoinette Faure.

I remember them best from a television show called “Inside the Actors Studio” where, at the end of every episode, host James Lipton would ask these questions of the famous actors he interviewed. His questions included: What is your favorite sound? What is your favorite curse word? If you weren’t an actor, what would you be instead?

Barbara Walters uses a variation of the Proust Questionnaire in her interviews - which, in turn, inspired us at Artisan.

I asked our Recruiters what Proust-like questions they would like to ask (or do ask) when they interview talent, and I love the responses! Definitely a lot more interesting than the adage “Tell me about yourself”, the answers to these questions reveal aspects of a candidate’s personality that help hiring managers determine if someone is the right cultural fit for their position.

And so I bring you…(drum roll, please)...The Proust Questionnaire for Creatives

Some that aren’t too outside the box:

What is your definition of creative?
What is your ideal job and where?
What inspires you?
Who is your favorite designer?
Who is your favorite architect?
What is your favorite source of design inspiration (website, magazine, blog, etc)?
What projects have you worked on that you are most proud of and why?

Some that would be fun to answer, take some real consideration but still be job related:

Name 3 things you could not live without?
What is your favorite part of the day or favorite part of your job?
We used to have the drop shadow, now we have the reflective surface, what do think is next?
What keeps you motivated?

Some that might make me wonder what they’re looking for exactly:

Where is your ideal travel destination and why?
What 3 things that you use in everyday life should be designed differently?
What was the last book you read?
What is your favorite TV show or Movie?
What is playing on your iPod right now?

And a few that I’ve honestly never thought about before an interview (but maybe I should)!

In your time away from work, what do you do?
Are you doing what you love or doing what pays the bills?
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
If you could invite three people (dead or alive) to dinner who would they be and why?
Do you believe in aliens?
What's the most despicable act a creative supervisor has done/can do to you?

I’m definitely going to add some of these to my interview preparation list!

Granted - these are just some of the unusual questions potential hiring authorities could ask during an interview. The best advice is to be prepared to answer these kinds of questions as honestly and calmly as possible. Guess that's just one more reason to do some practice interviews with imaginative friends!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

How to Decrease Turnover & Keep Employees Happy

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

You might think that with today’s high unemployment rate, as a business owner you don’t have to worry about turnover - nobody’s leaving, right? Wrong!

The fact is, for every person who is putting off looking for a new job, there are those who are already working and planning to move on. As soon as they can.

Why? They are unhappy where they are.

Employers have downsized and added to the remaining staff’s responsibilities. Employees are stretched thinner and thinner. Benefit packages have shrunk and, with fewer retirements, there is less opportunity for promotion and career advancement. Companies are not doing enough to recognize their talent and do what they need to do to keep them happy.

Fewer rewards, more work, less potential for advancement = looking for a new role.

But can companies really afford this kind of turnover?

In reviewing an article on the cost of turnover, although there are several formulas that try to determine an actual number, no one knows the actual answer - because every situation is unique. However, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the cost is always too high!

As the economy improves, however incrementally, unhappy employees are going to be causing more and more turnover all over the country.

The good news is that companies can combat potential talent turnover right from the start by improving their actual hiring process.

Utilizing recruiting resources - whether internally or through an expert staffing agency - is instrumental in hiring successful long-term employees. As specialists in talent search, Recruiters have access to large networks of potential talent whom they identify and qualify specifically for your company, culture and role. This multi-step approach ensures they are selecting the right talent for your position - talent who are interested in, motivated by and excited about your opportunity.
Recruiters are also vital to helping address unexpected turnover as well. With access to thousands of talent, Staffing Agencies can quickly find stopgap solutions, providing freelance or contract talent until the empty full time position is filled. With HR resources often stretched across many positions, utilizing external staffing resources for specific full time hires will usually speed the search as well. Recruiters direct access to talent networks, existing relationships in the field and use of multiple job boards all aid in a more efficient and effective candidate search.

In addition to improving internal hiring processes, employers must also be willing to make changes internally as well. Money and productivity losses due to employee turnover can be minimized by thinking about keeping your employees happy and fulfilled:

Find new ways to publicly reward good work and show talent they are valued
Offer more vacation days to counterbalance the longer hours now being required
Offer optional telecommuting opportunities to create better employee work/life balance

Unlimited Vacation?!

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:52:00 GMT

Good and Bad by vees via Flickr Creative Commons

Have you heard about the new trend in vacation policies? Unlimited vacation has taken off quickly, being put into practice at some major companies: Netflix, IBM, Morningstar and Blue Wolf, according to this article at The Grindstone.

Sounds great!

Also known as a “results-only work environment,” for a self-motivated employee who gets their work done and finds themselves with time on their hands at the office, this could be a great part of a benefits package.

But is it for everyone?

US workers get fewer paid vacation days, on average, than workers in any other First World country, with only 13 days. Here is a helpful chart I found on infoplease.com:

Italy	42 days
France	37 days
Germany	35 days
Brazil	34 days
United Kingdom	28 days
Canada	26 days
Korea	25 days
Japan	25 days
U.S.	13 days

Clearly the US has a way to go to become competitive with these countries and there is no doubt that US workers could use more time off to spend unwinding and recharging, not to mention developing their creativity.

Of course, unlimited vacation sounds wonderful and for many workers it is a great benefit—increasing productivity and efficiency, while boosting morale and reducing turnover. But there are some potential downsides:

If you are a natural workaholic, you might not ever feel like you are truly “off” if you can work whenever you want.
If you function better with more structure—and many of us do—you might find it difficult to get your work done without daily the daily accountability that comes with being in the office.
Employers save money on recordkeeping, but they don’t pay for any accrued vacation if you leave your job—use it or lose it for real!
Dynamics with co-workers can suffer if you get to leave when you’re done, but they can’t because they still have work to do. If you are very efficient, you could go home early every day while the methodical person in the office next door has to stay.

Unlimited vacation sounds to me like getting some of the benefits of freelancing without the disadvantages: work on your own schedule but still have health insurance and paid days off. Then again, I’m fast and disciplined about getting my work done.

How do you think you would do with unlimited vacation?

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Jumpstarting your Creative Process

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Photo by yajamesu via Flickr Creative Commons

I read an interesting article in The Atlantic last week, and it got me thinking about my creative process and the creative process in general.

Then one of our Facebook friends was talking about how he didn’t understand how anyone could work before 8am and that was why IT people weren’t creative. I had to disagree.

Every job, no matter the industry, takes some level of creativity.

The roles we place at Artisan Creative, of course, all involve a great deal of creative thought, but even people who work in creative fields have trouble getting started—and finishing—at times.

Once your problem has been clearly defined, the following are the stages of the creative process that can apply to literally any role:

Step One: Saturation

For me, this step is research. If I’m going to write about the creative process, I need to determine what has already been written about the topic? I have to immerse myself as much as possible in what is already out there, partly to avoid being obvious and derivative, but mostly to make sure I know what I’m talking about and that the conclusions I will draw are my own.

For a Web Designer, this could mean looking at a lot of websites in the same industry as the client for whom they are planning.

For an Application Developer working on a new app, it could be making sure they are familiar with the apps that already exist to accomplish similar tasks.

Step Two: Incubation

Sometimes this seems like procrastination - and it is hard to do this step properly because of that. You want to be working on the project, but it’s hard to get down to it. Maybe you haven’t let it grow in your mind—even in your subconscious—long enough yet.

A lot of people do some physical activity to help their incubation process. I like to knit or read fiction. Sometimes even clean the house or do laundry! Walk away from the project and let it grow on its own.

When I’m writing a blog (like now!), by the time I reach this stage I have an outline, sometimes even only a title and the background information, and I go do something else for a while. It is incredibly easier to write after the time away. I’m always surprised, but it always works.

Step Three: Illumination

The solution often comes to you while you’re thinking about something else or doing some other activity. Most creative people would think of this as the moment when creative thought is really going on—when they get that brilliant idea. But creativity is going on all the time or you would never get here.

Many people think they are not creative because they never have this experience in their day-to-day lives, but it is more likely that they are not allowing the process to take place!

Step Four: Verification

After those moments of illumination, creative people rush back to their workspace and get to it. It is always very exciting at this stage. An artist gets focused on a work until it is as perfect as possible. A musician will practice until they can interpret a piece exactly the way it sounds in his or her mind. A Web Designer will tweak a site for hours until it is clean and user-friendly. They “make it work,” as Tim Gunn would say.

This is the satisfying part of the creative process: when you are making something unique, putting your own spin on something you understand thoroughly, expressing yourself as only you can do.

Every time we have a problem to solve, whether it is a personnel issue for an HR professional, a difficult passage of Mozart, a perfect seasonal design for a website, or even a blog post to write, we are engaging in creativity.

Isn’t it nice to know a way to get there every time?

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Work Harder and Get Less Done?!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Did you ever have one of those days when you worked and worked hard for hours on end and still felt like you didn’t get anything done?
Yesterday?

Well, you may be working harder than you need to.

Wait! That doesn’t make any sense!

But maybe it does?

I read an article last month on the Harvard Business Review blog called “How to Accomplish More by Doing Less” and it really struck a chord with me. Combined with my New Year’s resolution to manage my time better (and have more free time for the things I enjoy outside of work), I wanted to think this concept through for myself and for you.

You might be like me and be juggling what seems like a multitude of freelance projects, each of which need attention every workday. What is the most productive way to get everything done?

Tony Schwartz’s idea is if we work intensely for shorter periods of time and then take breaks, we will get more done and be more creative. But if we multitask for long periods, we get less and less productive as the day wears on and those good ideas will never come to us.

You want the maximum time per day to be spent at your maximum creativity, right?

Schwartz says if you start your day at 80% of your capacity and take no breaks, your productivity will get lower and lower as the day progresses. By the end of the day you are dragging and not doing any good work

But if you start at 90% and take a break every hour and a half or so, you can stay above 70% productivity, even in the late afternoon slump time, and get a tremendous amount of work done.

I’ve tried days both ways—one day when I work as hard and as long as I can, but don’t plan out blocks of time for particular projects, and another when I plan my time, including breaks.

I like that second day a lot better:

• When I can focus on one task, I’m more likely to finish it and check it off my list
• Creative ideas come during my breaks and make it easier to get started on new projects
• I don’t get as frustrated by interruptions
• Since I finish tasks, I have a greater sense of satisfaction at the end of the day

The title of this post should really be Take Breaks and Get More Done. We can all make ourselves crazy trying to get everything done at once. But often that means we don’t get anything done at all. Try 90 minutes and then taking a break and let me know how it went in the comments!

[My son has interrupted me about 800 times since I started writing this post. Perhaps the real trick is making sure there’s no one else home while I’m working!]

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Creatives and Business Meetings: 5 Tips on How to Stay Engaged

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:19:00 GMT

Photo by Chloe Dietz, Flickr Creative Commons

Creatives are not known for being comfortable in a formal business setting. Suits and ties and long strategy sessions are not their normal M.O.

But freelancers do end up going to business meetings or formal pitches and it is important to stay involved in the material and remember what was discussed, since they will probably be sent home to work on the project at hand.

Some meetings, sad to say, are not as interesting and exciting as they could be and creatives may very well have trouble staying engaged. Here are some tips to keep you looking and feeling like you are fully present at your next formal business meeting:

1. Active listening—When someone is talking, we all receive much more information non-verbally than verbally. Put your attention on the body language, facial expression and tone of the speaker. Concentrate on how that information adds to (or detracts from) what is being said.

2. Look at the speaker—Making eye contact will make a good impression on your meeting leaders and keep you on track. Your mind is bound to wander if you stare at the table or out the window.

3. Don’t chat with your neighbor—Although it is a good idea to sit near someone of like mind at a business meeting, don’t start side conversations while the main speaker is presenting. Not only is it bad manners, but you will miss the main points of the presentation.

4. Take notes - During any meeting there are bound to be hundreds of topics (big and small) discussed. No one could remember them all. By continuing your active listening, noting key facts or action items on paper, you can stay more focused on the topics being discussed. Because you've written them, you will also be more likely to remember them later as well.

5. Ask questions—If you have trouble keeping your mind on the topic at hand, while listening, think of a question to ask. When there is an opportunity, ask them. A good question can help a presenter further engage with his or her audience and enable all to remember the material better if a discussion occurs as a result.

We’ve all been to meetings that seem like a waste of time, led by unskilled presenters, or the coverage of information we already know. They can be very frustrating. Best advice for dealing with these types of meetings: find a way to get something out of the meeting, whether it be a lesson in reading body language, making a positive impression on a manager or adding value to a presentation by asking questions or offering your own expertise as a resource. Any meeting can be useful, even if you have to set your own agenda.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Places Talent in All 5 of the "Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012"

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:22:00 GMT

Photo by rob.knight via Flickr Creative Commons

I saw an article in Inc. Magazine this week about the 5 Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012 so I clicked to see what they could possibly be, and I was in for quite a surprise!

In today’s rough economy, everyone with a good idea is starting their own business and they all need great websites with fantastic graphic design, user-friendly interfaces and talented staff to design, manufacture and sell their products and services. This tremendous growth in entrepreneurship is leading to a great deal of demand in these 5 creative fields:

Web Developers—Web Developers are in high demand, especially in major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Every business needs a website or they cannot function in today’s business climate.

Creative Design and User Experience—Companies are having trouble finding talent with a demonstrated track record in these areas. If you have an extensive portfolio with top work and are looking for new opportunities, you are in good shape. There are more opportunities than can be filled.

Product Management—Especially in the area of ecommerce, companies need people with experience in customer interaction and working in the cloud.

Online Marketing—Tech savvy communicators with great language and interpersonal skills don’t grow on trees. Companies need Marketers who can generate viral traffic through the web, social media, and engaging content. Talented writers and bloggers who really know the interactive space are in high demand.

Analytics—Thanks to the variety of measurement tools available, CEO’s are starting to understand the value of search and social media, but now they demand the best ROI. Analysts who can show C-level executives how their marketing strategies are working to build their business will do very well next year.

It looks like 2012 will be a good year for creatives—let us know if Artisan can help you find talent or find a perfect role in the New Year!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan's Setting Goals for Success

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:01:00 GMT

New Year. New Resolutions.

While some would say resolutions are just an unattainable goal we set in January and forget about by February – at Artisan we believe having goals (and helping to hold each other accountable for reaching them) is critical for success.

Each month – we set and focus on achieving goals that are vital to our business. We report back regularly and help to motivate each other to achieve them.

So the idea of a personal goal for the year makes perfect sense. When we asked about everyone’s New Year’s Resolution, not only did the team all have a goal in mind, but most had a plan to help them achieve it. Now they have all of us to hold them accountable, too.

We’ll check in at the end of the year to see how everyone did!

______________________

Kevin, Talent Manager – Learn how to play the piano - possibly starting with Travie McCoy’s Billionaire.
Katty, Managing Director – Learn Spanish. I even signed up for classes. They start next week – every Thursday night!
Stephanie, Accounting – Establish a daily and weekly routine. And stick to it.
Laura, Talent Manager – Lose 30 pounds and get my glucose and cholesterol levels back to normal.
Wendy, Consultant – I want to knit something for my cousin’s twins every time I knit something for someone else (or myself ) all year. First up – blankets!
Carol, Sr Account Manager & Recruiter – I want to plan out my weekend activities ahead of time and start lifting weights.
Maggie, Account Manager – I don’t want to forget a single birthday for my friends and family and want to send a card or gift to each person to let them know I am thinking of them.
Jamie G, Creative Recruiting Manager – Put together a few photo/memory books with our thousands of digital photos.
Jess, Marketing & Project Manager – Expand my culinary expertise by trying at least one new recipe each week.

What’s your resolution?

Freelancers: Use Online Marketing to Kickstart 2012

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

We are about to go into a quiet time of year, whether you choose to work less or there is just less work, and so it is a good time to think about what you can do to get a jumpstart on your freelancing in 2012.

With today’s technology, it is easy and cost-effective to do some online marketing for your career as a freelance entrepreneur. Let’s look at some ways to make online marketing work for you:

Social Media Profiles - Now is a great time to take a look at all of your social media profiles to make sure they:
- Reflect most recent work experience
- Are Consistent
- Tell your story
- Use keywords to help search engines find your skills
- Have been carefully edited for professional purposes
Facebook Timelines - You’ve probably heard that Facebook profiles are changing into timelines, but you might not know that you need to go to your timeline and make sure there is nothing posted there from the past that you don’t want potential clients to see. You might not have been as careful in 2006 or ’07 about the photographs you posted and Timelines make it much easier for people to see your posts of long ago.
New Platforms - While you have a couple of free hours, set up your Google+ Circles and start getting comfortable there. Still new-kid-on-the-block, Google+ may very well be a big player in 2012.
Build or Tweak Your Website - If you are a Designer, you have a website, but maybe you haven’t had time to update it for a while. If you are in other creative fields, it is great to have a website of your own and there are free and inexpensive places to host. A domain name only costs $10 a year and Google Sites is one place where you can build a site easily without any knowledge of coding.
Start a Blog - Since you are an entrepreneur, you own a business—you! Your business needs a blog where you can talk about recent projects, things that inspire you, link to articles that are interesting and give the world your take on current creative trends. Give blogging a try, it’s fun!
Comment - If you’re like me, even on your downtime you’re surfing the web for interesting information. Now is the time to take a moment to comment on relevant articles in your field or in LinkedIn Group discussions and build your credibility. If you add a link to your website or blog, you might increase your own traffic as well.

See, you thought you had nothing to do over the holiday break! Get to work!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Social Networks Are Your Friend—But Not Your BFF

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Photo by mags3737, Flickr Creative Commons

I’m the first person to evangelize for social media. I’m on Facebook and Twitter all day for work and personal reasons, my daughter uses it to get information about and help with her homework, we all find links to interesting stuff every day, right? I don’t want to miss a single photo of my cousin’s twins!

We’ve talked on our blog about how important it is to be careful on LinkedIn, but it’s easy to remember there, since it is a social network for professional development and networking. With careful thought, the other social media platforms can be just as useful to a potential employer when they are deciding whom to interview.

When I have an interview, I search for the person I will meet everywhere—be sure they are doing the same. What are they finding about you?

Photos

Although you think you have tweaked your privacy settings so that you are safe, it is still never a good idea to post photographs of yourself in questionable situations which employers might be uncomfortable with. Facebook owns the rights to any photo you post and they change their privacy rules all the time, often without notice. You don’t want the wrong person searching for you at the wrong moment, so don’t post anything you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see.

Language
Free speech is great and blogs and social media platforms are places for us to express ourselves. However, using coarse language makes more of a statement than you might mean. There are also some taboo subjects you might want to avoid except with your personal friends: politics, race, and religion are only a few. These subjects are best kept to a very small circle.

Venting
As unappreciated as you felt at your previous employer, keep it to yourself online. A typical interview question like “How was your relationship with your last manager?” is a good guideline. Anything past generally positive, unless it was better than that, is something you should take a pass on.

Dishonesty
Make sure everything that refers to your employment history anywhere is strictly true. If a potential employer finds different information on different sites, they will wonder if you are being truthful anywhere.

Confidentiality
It is best to limit how you talk about previous employers to elements which specifically apply to your role there and your relationship with the company. Anything about the company itself, its plans or projects, is theirs to discuss, not yours.

It would be nice to think we could say whatever we like with no consequences on social media, but of course, it is no different from real life.

Think before you post!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan Holidays: Past and Present

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:18:00 GMT

As work finally winds down for most of our clients (and for us!), we thought it would be fun to ask our team for their favorite Winter Holiday memories as well as where they’d be celebrating this year.

Their responses were a lot of fun…

“The Best Holiday Gift I ever received…”

My parents made me go with them on a ride. I threw a fit. Didn't want to go. As I cried my way to the car, they said that I'd like where we were going, and if I don't like where we were going, I’d NEVER have to go with them anywhere again! About a half hour later, I was standing face-to-face with our first and only great dane, Babar. Needless to say, my parents and I have traveled together since.
Kevin Kahn, Talent Manager

Seriously, I loved them all. I am easy person to get things for, so keep them coming!
Katty Douraghy, Managing Director

The gift that still stands out the most was my first "big kid" bike. It was blue and had a blue and white floral banana seat. It didn't have training wheels and my dad spent the next few days teaching me how to ride it. This was essentially him running alongside me while I pedaled and after a bit he'd let go. I think I was about 6 or 7 years old. Honestly the bike was cool, but I think fondly back at my dad running along side me quite a few times before I was able to balance alone and what a gift that was. As a parent now it's always a good reminder that the gift of time, teaching and interacting with your kids or any child for that matter, is worth more than any material item.
Jamie Grossman, Creative Recruiting Manager

The best holiday gift I've ever received was the year my in-laws got together and bought me a spinning wheel. Yes, I really have a spinning wheel and I use it all the time! They were skeptical, of course, but they know me and my passion for all things fibery. Every time I sit down at my wheel, especially to make gifts for others, I thank them again!
Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant

Going back to my childhood, I will never forget when I got Barbies Dream house...it had an elevator and all. I am a real girly girl...so I never had enough Barbies.
Laura Burns, Talent Manager

My Grandma bought me EMU boots for Christmas one year. These are sheep-skin, similar to UGGS. I was vegan at the time. This created a huge conflict for me or rather was a huge eye opener. As I thought about what to do with these boots and how distraught I was about the whole thing and how excited my Grandma was to have bought them for me and how very cold my feet were, I realized that I almost all of my tennis shoes, loafers & heals were leather or suede and that I was in fact not as "vegan" as I thought. It caused me to stop and look at all the aspects of my life that fall into "being vegan" and "not being vegan" and one by one I made individual choices for myself, based on what I wanted to do, not decisions based on the technical definitions of "vegan". It was a surprisingly life changing gift.
Stephanie Jacobs, Accounting

The best gift for me has always been the gift of sharing time with family.
Jamie Douraghy, President

It’s funny. Thinking back I know I was always blessed with a number of wonderful gifts at Christmas. My brother and I always seemed to get everything we wanted and more. But when I try to remember the “best gift”, all I can recall are all the fun (and crazy!) family traditions that made the holiday so special. Now that I have passed many of them onto my own family – they mean even more.
Jess Bedford, Marketing & Project Manager

I have not exchanged gifts with friends or family in many years. It is now our family tradition to make a donation to any deserving group or individual, rather than spend $$ on each other when we truly are blessed and NEED nothing more.
Ana Rubio, Accounting

Staycation or Getting away?

• Kevin – Celebrating the holidays at home

• Katty – In Vegas with family for Christmas Eve and then up to SF on Christmas Day to see her inlaws and brother.

• Jamie G – Spending the holidays at home, seeing some family and friends and relaxing

• Wendy – Spending their family’s second Christmas at home, instead of heading back East to see extended family.

• Laura – Will be doing a lot of travelling - New York City, Long Island, New Orleans and Baton Rouge!

• Stephanie – Early Christmas in CA with family and then going to West Virginia with her boyfriend to celebrate with his family.

• Jamie D – Will be with his parents and brother’s family in San Francisco

• Jess – Off to Arizona to see family and enjoy some R&R

• Ana – Spending the holidays with her mom and siblings in Escondido

Whatever you plan to do this holiday - we wish you and your loved ones a very joyous season and a peaceful and prosperous new year!

To Work or Not to Work, That is the Question: Freelancing over the Holidays

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Photo by hartlandmartin via Flickr Creative Commons

If you are like me, you are busy with holiday preparations while still maintaining a busy freelance work routine. There are a lot of extra things to do this time of year: shopping, baking, social events, writing cards.

Even volunteer opportunities abound at this time of year, with everyone holding holiday fundraisers and toy drives.

It’s easy to look forward to some quiet time when everything closes down for a few days of family celebration, but for a freelancer, there’s no such thing as a paid holiday. It can be hard to relax when you know your income will be affected by your time off.

Here are some ways to handle taking time off without worry:
Plan Ahead

It might be too late for this year, but next year you can be mindful about putting some money aside so that you can take a couple of weeks off for the holidays.

Reach Out

If you want to take on some extra work or try to keep busy, get in touch with your clients and make sure they know you’re available to do last minute projects or pick up projects that have stalled because their regular staff is on vacation.

For creatives, now is a great time to come up with a new graphic design or image to put on a holiday ecard and send it out to your network!

Schedule Your Free Time

Everyone deserves a break this time of year, so carve out some specific time for yourself and quality time with your family and friends. If you look at your calendar and it says “Christmas Party, 7-11pm” you won’t feel guilty when you walk out the door!

Post-Date Some Blog Posts

If a holiday falls on a day when you would normally publish a blog post for yourself or a client, write a holiday-themed post in the days leading up to your day off and schedule it to post on the day you plan to be roasting chestnuts.

Here’s the most difficult task, though.

Don’t feel guilty!

If work slows down, try to think of it as a gift. Appreciate the precious time you have with your loved ones. Use it to play board games, cook together, spend time at home doing that you don’t normally have time for, but that don’t cost a lot. Walk around and see the holiday lights in your neighborhood. Think up projects for the new year. Watch old movies and drink lots of tea.

Everyone at Artisan Creative wishes you and yours a wonderful, relaxing and guilt-free holiday season!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Managing Your Brand

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Not only are you an entrepreneur, you are a brand. If you are participating in social media, your brand has a logo, a mission statement, and work product that other people might want to buy or invest in. Or it should!

It is important to make sure that your brand is consistent and sending the messages that you want it to send across your entire internet presence so that no matter where a potential client might look, he or she will find the information needed to decide whether they want to start a business relationship with you.

Here are some things to think about when managing your brand online:

On Facebook
Especially important if you are a freelancer, have a Facebook Page for yourself as a Business Person as well as a Profile for your personal friends. This gives people you don’t know a window into your work if Facebook is their favorite social media platform.

This Page is a place you can put links to your blog, your work from your online portfolio or interesting news about you and your business life.

Don’t forget to keep it updated!

Your Logo
The image you use in your profile on any platform is your logo. For some with an actual company or brand name – this should be your designed logo. For others – your photo is the perfect representation of your brand.

If using a photo, it should be close-up enough for someone who’s meeting you at a coffee shop to recognize you when they get there. It shouldn’t be your cat or your baby - cute as they are. Save that for your friends. Use the same photo across all social media platforms. If you want to be creative with it, you can make your photo seasonal, but, again, be consistent and change it everywhere.

Mission Statement
Your Facebook Page Info tab, your LinkedIn profile and your Twitter profile all provide a place for you to put your mission statement.

Don’t think you have a mission statement? What are you passionate about? Why do you do what you do? Why are you so committed to your work? Your mission statement can be found in there. Once established, it’s important to keep your mission statement consistent across platforms.

Links
Be sure to provide links to your pages, profiles, feeds and portfolio wherever you can: email signature, business cards, ecards for holidays, resume, everywhere. Make it easy to find you, find out about you and contact you for work!

I’ve had quite a few potential clients find me through blog posts, Facebook updates and LinkedIn group updates for my current clients. They are comfortable with me even before we meet because they have seen my work, are familiar with my “voice” and can assess my communication skills. Consistent branding has led to a good “Return on Investment” of my time capital and it will for you, too!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Artisan’s Resume DOs & DONTs List: Part 2

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:34:00 GMT

If you’ve ever sent out your resume through an online application – you’ll probably find yourself wondering, at some point, if you’ll ever hear back from that potential employer. Did your resume stand out? Did it contain everything it should? Did you include something you shouldn’t have?

While every employer is looking for something different – most hiring authorities would agree that there are certainly things to avoid on resumes – and other things they love to see. While we can’t guarantee you’ll get a call-back – we’d love to help improve your odds with a few tips!

Last week we discussed some of our suggested resume must haves. Today, we take a look at some key things to avoid on your resume:

TOP 7 RESUME DONTs

1. Don’t make it longer than 2 pages. Remember you need only include a concise description of your positions and major achievements/successes for those positions in the last 10 years. Your resume should simply whet the appetite of future employers. Leave something to discuss during your interview!

2. Don’t use your LinkedIn profile as your resume. While your LinkedIn Profile can certainly be a great point of reference – and should include much of what you include in your resume – it is not a substitute for your resume. Resumes should be customized for the positions/companies to which you apply.

3. Don't be vague with dates. Potential employers want to know the duration of time you spent at a company. 2009 to 2010 isn't clear. Was that 2 years or 2 months? NOTE: If you are a freelancer who has returned to a client many times during a multi-year period, more general annual dates are acceptable.

4. Don’t include a salary history. Salary is just one of the elements in negotiating an offer. But it’s a powerful one. Don’t show your hand before you’ve even interviewed. Wait until it’s requested – if it’s ever requested.

5. Don't list your references; employers or recruiters will ask for them. No need to tell us “Reference Provided Upon Request” either. This is given. You should have updated contact details ready to provide potential employers at any time during an active job search. Make sure references are aware they might be contacted about your professional relationship.

6. Don't talk about yourself in third person. This practice is not usually received well by most hiring managers. No matter your intention, this normally comes off as awkward, unfriendly and disconnected - none of which are good if you’re being considered for a position with a new company who doesn’t yet know you. Save the third person for your bio on the company website after you get the job!

7. Do not include a picture of yourself or busy design elements on your resume. They are simply distracting from what’s important – your experience and accomplishments. If you simply MUST have a prospective employer know what you look like – include a link to your LinkedIn Profile and make sure your picture is professional. Chances are – they will be checking you out there anyway. On the flip side – especially for Designers – feel free to include design elements as part of your resume – just make sure they are clean, simple, tasteful and emphasize your written content, not detract form it.

Jess Bedford, Marketing Manager

Artisan’s Resume DOs & DONTs List: Part 1

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

In our line of work, we review hundreds of resumes each week. While no two resumes look the same – there are definitely things that work. And things that don’t.

Does your resume get a passing grade? Here’s a quick checklist before you apply for another job:

TOP 7 RESUME DOs
1. Proofread! There is no quicker way to end up in the “No” pile than a misspelled name, word or obvious grammatical error in your resume (portfolio or cover letter). Review your resume for grammatical errors both on the computer and in a printed copy. Have at least 1 – 2 other people review it as well.

2. List both your email and phone number. Even if you prefer one method over the other (and note this on your resume) – it is best to offer alternate ways for employers to get ahold of you. Feel free to add your LinkedIn Profile and/or Twitter Handle as well – so long as you check each of these regularly. Nothing annoys employers more than for interview requests to go unanswered for days (without good reason)!

3. List your physical address. Even if you do not list your street address – let employers know in which city you are located. Without this information (and especially if your contact number is not local), you could be easily discounted for positions that require “Local candidates only”

4. Include a Portfolio / Website link of your work. If you are in the creative field, your portfolio is just as powerful as (and in some cases even more powerful than) your resume. Make sure your resume includes a link to your work. And that your link is working! If you’re work is a PDF instead of a site, attach it to the end of the resume so prospective employers are sure to see it!

5. Provide a brief “Overview”. This should be a 3 – 5 line paragraph or 5 – 7 bullet points customized for each job you apply for and summarizing your key skills and specific experience for that position. It should also mention what kinds of opportunities you are currently considering (full time, freelance, on site, telecommute, etc)

6. Describe your positions in detail. Because job titles vary so much from company to company, it’s important to include a concise description of your role – as well as list your major achievements/successes. As a general rule, this applies to positions in the last 10 years. Any relevant work prior to that can be summarized with just a 1 – 2 line description of your major responsibility and the team/company of which you were a part. *NOTE: If you are a freelancer, you need only describe your position & capabilities once. Then just list your clients.

7. Differentiate Contracts or Freelance work from Full Time work. This helps employers distinguish between a “job-hopper” and genuine freelancer.

For more Resume Tips, check out part two next week with our Resume Donts.

Jess Bedford, Marketing Manager

Preparing for a Behavioral Interview

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

In doing research for this article, I went back to basics.

What is a Behavioral Interview?

A Behavioral Interview is one in which the interviewer asks questions about past behavior in the hope of being able to predict how you would handle a situation at their company in the future.

An example of a behavioral interview question would be: Tell me about a time when you set a goal & achieved it.

This and other behavioral interview questions are the perfect opportunity to tell a great story. We have talked before on our blog about telling stories and here is where those stories come in handy.

During your general interview preparation, write out a few stories about specific events or projects which were very successful or fulfilling for you. Even something that didn’t work out perfectly can make a good story, if you can talk about what you learned from it.

If you have been preparing for interviews very thoroughly, you will have compiled a list of stories from which to choose and can focus on a few for each interview. Read the job description again and see if any of your stories involve any aspects of that job and practice telling them.

Many people use a technique known as STARR to prepare for these kinds of questions. STARR provides an outline for your answer which ensures that you will hit all the important points and stay on track while telling your story. STARR stands for:

Situation - be specific about where you were and what you were doing.
Task - what you were trying to accomplish.
Action - what you did to accomplish the goal you were working toward.
Result - the outcome of your efforts.
Reflection - what you learned from your experience.

Practice moving from one of these elements seamlessly into the next. Be sure to point out positive results and reflections.

If you are prepared with a few relevant stories, you will never again be thrown by behavioral interview questions!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Body Language Tips for Creatives

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:00:00 GMT

Have you ever come out of a meeting with no clue how it went? You feel like your presentation was clear and effective. You know you were prepared and your materials were informative.

Maybe you were paying more attention to what you were doing than how your audience was reacting, but if you play it back in your head, you might have more of an idea of how your presentation was received.

You also might be able to make it work better!

If you can put some of your attention on watching your listeners, you can learn a lot about how your pitch is going and maybe even change it up midstream and close the deal.

Is your listener…

Leaning his head on his hand? He is bored. Change the pace of your presentation or ask a question to re-engage his attention.
Leaning forward in her chair? She is interested. Keep up what you’re doing.
Touching his ears? You are connecting. Give him more information.
Making a suggestion with her palms down? This is no suggestion, this is what she wants. Tell her how you can give her what she has suggested in a definitive way.
Making a suggestion with his palms up? He is looking for a discussion of the issue and is open to your input as well as his own.
Putting her hand over her mouth? She doesn’t believe what you’re saying. This is a good time to offer some quantitative evidence or examples.

How about you? What are you revealing with your body language and how can you make sure your messaging is what you want it to be?

Are you…

Slouching? Sit with your back touching the chair, but leaning forward a bit. This projects confidence and engagement without seeming stiff or nervous.
Crossing your arms? This makes you seem defensive or closed off. Stop as soon as you realize it.
Restless? If you know you are a “wiggler,” it is a good idea to practice your interview or meeting with a trusted friend who can help you become more aware of your habits. Restless behavior like twirling your hair or bouncing your knee can be distracting to your listener when you want them to hear what you have to say.
Making eye contact? Great! Active listening is an important skill and keeps your mind on the question at hand.

Both you and your interviewer are getting more information from each other nonverbally than verbally. If you are paying attention, you can control the information they are getting from you and understand the information they are giving you back.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Reflections: Is it Time to Quit Your Job?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

The other day I was looking back at my writing of a year ago and realized it has been exactly a year since I quit my job.

Yes, I quit. In a terrible economy, with high unemployment, I willingly chose to leave.

I have never regretted quitting, but even now it’s interesting to look back on why it was the right decision for me at the time.

As a new year approaches, there are probably many people out there working in jobs they don’t love and wondering if there isn’t something better somewhere else. Before quitting, however, it’s important to properly evaluate whether it’s really time.

Is your job making you sick? Some jobs, for various reasons, are so stressful that they cause you to have medical problems like headaches, back pain, reduced immunity and sleeplessness. If the health issues are inhibiting your creativity or stopping you from enjoying your life outside of work, it might be time to look elsewhere.

Has your employer downsized your job too much? Many employers have reduced hours, and pay, in recent years, especially in creative fields. They are not investing in as many new projects and don’t feel that they need as many staff hours. A downsizing can be good for your work/life balance or it could mean you have to add another part-time job to your schedule. Remember--you’re investing your “time capital” in your employer. If it becomes a money-losing proposition, put your capital into a better investment.

How is your relationship with your Manager? If this relationship has somehow been damaged beyond repair, there is very little likelihood that your situation will improve or they will recommend you for a promotion or transfer to another department. If your ambitions rise above your current role, you need to find somewhere you can grow.

Dread. If you start every workday with a shudder and a sense of impending doom, leave.

Have you learned everything you’re going to learn? This is the one I realized was true after I had already decided to quit. I would have spent my remaining time in my role doing the same projects over and over. Easy, yes. Also boring and a waste of time and talent. That “time capital” is not endless—don’t waste it!

With the holiday season already upon us, it is a great time to evaluate your situation at work. If you find yourself thankful for the relationships you have built, for the rewards your job offers, for the opportunities for growth and learning that it brings, stay where you are. But if you are suffering, you can take your talents to freelancing, to entrepreneurship or to another role that offers you what you need to flourish.

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:11:00 GMT

Hard to believe another Autumn is upon us and the beginning of the holiday season already here.

This Thanksgiving our team is especially grateful for so very much:

Jamie D: This year I am most thankful that I have been able to collaborate with people who are focused on making a difference in the success of others.

Jess: I am most thankful for the love, support and health of those family members and friends who mean so much to me.

Ana: I am grateful for the realization that I can begin again in every moment - drop the past and BE present!

Margaret: I am most grateful for having such a loving husband who is so good to me! I am also thankful for my mom who is 82 and for the most part healthy and happy.

Stephanie: I am grateful to be working with Artisan!

Laura: I am grateful for my family and health...might seem cliche, but it's so true!

Kevin: I am thankful for massive snowfall at Heavenly (and Mammoth), getting to work with reasonable & ethical partners, my dogs, being able to so easily describe myself as "short and bald with glasses", my always-accommodating and welcoming immediate family and extended family all over the USA and Black Label.

Katty: I am thankful for the Love and Support of Family and Friends. Definitely came in handy this year!

Wendy: This year I am most thankful for the support of my friends and family. I made a lot of decisions that were very risky and they have all worked out beautifully, but I never could have arrived where I am without the inspiration, encouragement and acceptance of the people in my life.

From all of us at Artisan - we wish you and yours a very Happy (and tasty!) Thanksgiving Holiday!

Time Management Tips for Freelance Entrepreneurs

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

“Freelance Entrepreneur” might sound like an oxymoron, but freelancing is entrepreneurship at its most basic. Entrepreneurship means taking risks with your income, your career, your security in the service of innovation.

As a freelancer your capital isn’t money, it’s time.

As a Freelance Entrepreneur you offer your capital to others to help complete their projects. How you spend that capital is up to you. You choose what projects you want to work on, you choose with whom you work, and you choose when you want to do the work.

If you think of your time as capital, you can also think if it as an investment. Then it becomes very clear that your time needs to be managed well in order to make it grow. We would all like the time we have with our families or the time we spend pursuing our passions to be greater. The more successful our investments, the more rewards we will reap.

Here are some tips for managing your capital:

Start with a plan. Whether you plan a week in advance, the night before for the next day or in the morning before you jump into the day’s work - plan your time. Although you need to be flexible—you never know when a client will call with an emergency—try to stick to the plan.
Set goals for the day. You will never feel like you accomplished anything if you don’t know what it was you set out to accomplish.
Set an ending time for work. You will be more productive if you know when you’re going to step away from the computer. Without an end time, there is a greater temptation to continue working on things you don’t need to and, therefore, never accomplish what you set out to do.
Take scheduled breaks. Walk away. Stretch. Look at something other than the screen. Go outside. When you plan out the day, plan your breaks too.
Track your time. This is easy to overlook. If you set a specific amount of time to work on something – make sure you keep to that schedule. If you need more time – and have to push something else back – make up for it tomorrow. By knowing how much time you work on projects – you can also better manage your time on future projects that are similar in nature.

I’m not always good at following my own guidelines, but I’m resolved to try. When I plan my day and know that I spent enough time on each project, I don’t feel guilty when break time comes and I get to spend a relaxing evening with my family. And isn’t that the real reason we’re freelancers?

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

Are You an Entrepreneur? Yes, You Are!

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

No matter what industry or field you work in, whether you work for a multinational corporation, a mom-and-pop storefront or in your home office, you are an entrepreneur. Congratulations!

Today’s workforce will have a completely different career experience from their parents and grandparents. Gone are the days of getting an entry-level job out of college, moving up, and retiring, all in the same company. Also gone are the days of having one career your entire working life, even if you change employers.

Today’s workforce is will change jobs every 3-5 years. Today’s workforce will have between three and seven entirely different careers. Whether you work for yourself or for others, if you think of yourself as an entrepreneur, you will succeed at life as well as work.

Entrepreneurs start new ventures despite the risks. Are you an Entrepreneur?

I work in an office. How am I an Entrepreneur?

You are a person with skills, providing a product. You take risks by spending your time on someone else’s projects in the hope that they will give you more business and eventually give you the opportunity to start something new. You are an entrepreneur.

I work in retail. How am I an Entrepreneur?

Working in a retail business doesn’t feel like entrepreneurship, but you can think of it as an internship by immersion. If retail is where you want to be, you can use this experience to learn the business from the bottom up and pick up lessons you could never learn any other way. You take the risk that the time you spend training will be valuable when you start your own new venture. You are an entrepreneur.

I am an artist. How am I an Entrepreneur?

If an artist does not think like an entrepreneur, no one will ever see their work. Artists are not traditionally comfortable with the business aspects of their careers, but without sales, all you have is living room full of paintings. Without auditions and demo tapes, you’re just singing in the shower.

Artists are familiar with risk and being accountable only to themselves. All they need is to put some of their drive into making art a business. If you are not thinking about marketing, you are missing out on a big part of your career. You are an entrepreneur!

I am a freelancer. How am I an Entrepreneur?

This one is easy! Your business is yourself. You develop a brand, a list of customers and a marketing strategy. You are out there scratching for more business and making connections to broaden your customer base. You are taking a risk every day that you might not have a steady income stream. You are clearly an entrepreneur.

I read an article on the Entrepreneurs’ Organization website called “What’s Your Personal Culture?” It really spoke to me about how to achieve an entrepreneurial mindset. If you have a clear mission, make smart business decisions about where to spend your time, and develop and implement a marketing strategy for yourself, you are indeed an Entrepreneur.

Wendy Stackhouse, Entrepreneur and Consultant for Artisan Creative

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

This week entrepreneurship is being celebrated in 123 countries engaging more than 10 million current and aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Entities such as The Kaufman Foundation and EO are helping the world learn how entrepreneurs are driving the change we need to overcome these challenging times. By coming together to share their collective experience, participating entrepreneurs will inspire and support the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Kiva is just one prime example of how a small group of entrepreneurs can positively impact a much broader base of global ones, by giving them the opportunity to build something that will return on their investment. Who knows the impact a week like this will have on the entrepreneurs of tomorrow!

Whether by necessity or choice, the entrepreneurial spirit comes from within, and in many ways the freelancers our company works with are entrepreneurs. By running their own business every day - selling, marketing, creating, invoicing and collecting - freelancers face the same business challenges that entrepreneurs do.

I encourage each of our freelancers to spend some time this week learning about what it takes to change your community and the world as an entrepreneur!

Jamie Douraghy, President

7 Tips for Better Negotiating: How to Close the Deal

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

As a freelancer, I found myself presented with a rather unattractive job offer this past week and ended up thinking a lot about negotiating and how I wanted to handle the situation. I would like to close the deal and have some additional work – but was I willing to compromise significantly to make it happen? I decided to do some research about successful negotiating and found some pretty useful tips for anyone who might be searching for a job or freelance work:

Be prepared. Once an offer has been made, you should have an answer ready for any scenario. The salary might be lower than expected, but you get to work from home. The drive might be further, but you would be working with one of your dream companies. Know your deal-breakers and on what you are willing to compromise.
Plan your next move. When the offer is not ideal, make sure you are clear on what is most important to you. It might be vacation days, overtime, salary or telecommuting opportunities. There might be a way to get a concession on whatever your sticking point might be. Don’t be afraid to get creative with a counter-offer.
Know what the other side needs. Their agenda is not your agenda, but they do need something from you. When presenting a counter offer - lay out exactly what value you bring to the table and make sure they understand that what they are getting from you is unique.
Be sincere, polite and business-like. By being yourself you remind them how much they would like to work with you day in and day out. Even if these negotiations don’t work out for either party, don’t burn any bridges. If they really need you, they might come back to you at a later time - but not if your relationship has been damaged by the negotiation process.
Practice. Try out your presentation on someone else first. It will help clarify your thoughts and the language you will use in the negotiation. The more constructive feedback – the more focused your presentation. The more you practice, the better you will deliver.
Know when to walk away. This is the hardest one, especially in a down market for employment. Remember that the way they treat you before you are hired is a good indicator of their company culture. A deal that negatively affects either party in some way is not a good deal. If it doesn’t offer you something you can be happy with, try again somewhere else.

As for me, I have decided to walk away from my unattractive offer for a few reasons and am preparing for that conversation later today. I have run my arguments by a few trusted friends and am determined to be polite and sincere, but express very clearly that this is no longer a good deal for me. We shall see if there is a counter-offer in the cards!

UPDATE: My negotiation meeting went very well and I received a better offer a few days later, which I accepted!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative

LinkedIn for Creatives

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT

We’ve written quite a few articles on how to use LinkedIn for your creative job search and thought it would be helpful to put them all in one place.

LinkedIn is a necessary social media platform for anyone in today's workforce, whether working, looking for work or freelancing. It is where businesspeople are looking to get details about our lives and interests before they interview (or decide whom to interview) and where we can find commonalities with those who might be looking to hire us.

It also provides opportunities for us to help one another by introducing people we trust to other trusted professionals who would never have had the chance to meet without our assistance. We have all heard of a friend who is looking for work and would like to be able to help them but don’t know what to do. LinkedIn is a place to do something tangible for the people we care about.

Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile: Getting Started

This post discusses why to join LinkedIn if you are in a creative field and gave tips for the initial sign-up process as well as pitfalls to avoid. We also talk about the importance of telling your story and how to adapt the information on your resume to make it work for you on this platform.

Maximizing LinkedIn: Connections

In this article, we help you decide with whom you want to connect. There are some simple questions you want to ask about each person you are considering and those who invite you to be in their network. I also tell a personal story about how LinkedIn provided me with amazing opportunity!

Maximizing LinkedIn: Groups

Here we talk about why you should join LinkedIn Groups, how to find Groups that are valuable to you and what to do once you are a member. The interaction that happens in groups is very important to using LinkedIn to promote your brand and your expertise.

Maximizing LinkedIn: Job Search

Finally, we brought it all together to highlight how LinkedIn can help creatives in particular in their job search process. We offer many ways LinkedIn can give you an advantage, help you do better in your interviews and feel empowered.

Being a member of LinkedIn has definitely been an advantage in my job search journey. I am grateful to my coaches and colleagues for pushing me to use it often and well. I hope our articles can help make LinkedIn a valuable part of your job search process!

Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative