HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR WORK:

A few years ago, it was most common to show your work divided up by the type of media, so there would be a section for interactive, another for TV and another for print.

However, now it’s preferred that you show your work by campaign or client. Recruiters and hiring managers want to see the breadth of your work and how you think across all channels. Can you take an idea and carry it through in digital, social, print, TV, outdoor?

But, sometimes a recruiter will want to quickly find something specific, like your broadcast or interactive. I have seen portfolios where the viewer can decide how they want to look at the work and organize it by campaign or by media. (This feature might take some figuring out as to how to execute, but definitely worth the effort). Another idea might be to tag your work so that people can search with tags like “interactive” or “broadcast.”

Always have a downloadable resume and all of the ways to connect with you like email, phone number and/or social media.

WHAT TO SHOW:

Show only your best work. They tell you this in school and it will be true throughout your career. If you’re not excited about the work, don’t show it. If you think a prospective client or job might like to see an example of something specific, like a DM (direct mail) piece that you’ve done, then bring it to the interview in case they ask for an example.

Have at least 8 to 10 campaigns on your site (suggested by my “go to” seasoned recruiter in Boston, Carol Taylor). But don’t put average work in to reach that amount. If you don’t have it yet, strive for it.

It’s okay to show work that didn’t get produced if you really love it. Some of the best work doesn’t get produced. But, make sure you’re showing some things that get produced or your ability to sell your ideas will be questioned.

HOW TO SHOW YOUR WORK:

Make sure the colors are clear and the copy is readable. Especially if you’re a writer, the copy absolutely must be readable. A technique that many use is to click on the screen shot to enlarge it.

Save screen shots of all the work you’ve done in case the site changes down the road. I particularly like when someone has both options available — look at the screen shot on the portfolio site or go to the live link (if it hasn’t been altered).

Specifically for UX people: Another tip from Carol: show people how you think, outline the problem/challenge/your role in solving it, how it was solved, step by step, the final outcome/results and all related documentation and designs, including post it notes when applicable.

Showing personal or experimental work is great if it enhances our understanding of who you are and what you’re capable of.

If you have proprietary work, password protect your site or portions of it. You can give it to a recruiter for a week and then have it expire. This is often done with pharmaceutical work.

Practice presenting your portfolio. No matter what level you are, it’s always a good idea to do that before a meeting, especially if you’ve changed the format. You want to be familiar with your book and able to adapt your presentation to the situation you’re presented with.

The main thing with your portfolio is to keep it up to date and always work on improving it. That’s the beauty of the digital portfolio. Once you have a system that you can work yourself, you can update it as often as you’d like.

First, a round up of resources from my site and others:

• 8 Tips On Perfecting Your Creative Portfolio
• My Pantheon of Notables Interview with Joanne Weaver.  Joanne is an elite recruiter (and sings too!). She specializes in UX and gave us some very helpful guidelines for what she looks for in a digital portfolio.
• Recent article from Behance’s site, The 99 Percent: 6 Steps To Creating a Knockout Online Portfolio.

Places to post your portfolio:

You can go one of 2 routes. You can either post it on a creative portfolio community or blogging platform or build your own site, like mine that’s on WordPress. I had someone create my site and then tell me how to use it, but I do know some smartie pants people who have figured it out on their own.  Wordpress is not the only way to go, but it’s the most common right now and it’s what I’m personally familiar with. I love how easy it is to use.

You will want to make sure that you can make updates yourself. The days of having to connect with your programmer to update your site are over, so if you’re doing that now, then it’s time to make a switch so you can make your life easier.

Portfolio communities

(there are gazillions of these so I’ve listed a few of my favorites. There are always new ones cropping up and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, so please list ones that you like in the comments below)

Behance Network

Cargo Collective (the advantage of this is that you can create your own URL. I’m not sure how to do this, but one of my clients figured it out and seems happy with it. Of course, you still have to work within their template).

Carbonmade

The Creative Finder from Design Taxi

Krop (with digital focus)

Coroflot

Blogging Platforms:

Tumblr

Posterous

Blogger

For DIY:

Indexhibit — it looks like they’re currently rebuiding a new version of this site, but check back.

WordPress

Some things to think about for your portfolio:

__ Make sure that your links work. That includes when you post the portfolio link on Linkedin.  I’ve seen many creative profiles on Linkedin who have a link that doesn’t work.

__ If you include Twitter as a way to get to know you, then use Twitter. Don’t bother if your last update was in July on your way to the pool. If it helps someone get to know you, then by all means, include it.

__ Have a point of view:  when someone looks at your portfolio, do they get to know you a little more?  Do they know what your creative vision is?  If you’re more junior, and you’re still developing it, then talk about what gave you the fire in your belly to become a professional creative. If you’re more senior and either moving in to or already are a leader, then talk about who you are as a leader.

__ Look around at how other portfolios are set up to notice trends, and what has become outdated (like lengthy Flash intros or blasting music), but if you start to freak out about how good everyone else’s portfolios are, then stop doing it.

__ Even though your portfolio is online, you still need to work on your presentation of it, and bring it with you to an interview.  That means bring your laptop or an iPad. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a back up printed copy. Nothing fancy, just a bound notebook of printed pages.

I hope these are helpful and please share any insights or resources you have in the comments. I’d like to add them to my Resources page too.

I actually got this idea from Beth Dotolo, an Interior Designer in Dallas, who has a site called Hello, Splendor. She wrote in her New Year’s Day post that instead of making a resolution, she would just try to be better. I thought it was brilliant in its simplicity and have been thinking about it ever since.

In yoga today, I was in a pose that I hate and sometimes when I’m really tired, like I was today, I make a half-assed attempt. But, today I thought that I would do better than half-assed and give it my all, in spite of how uncomfortable I find it.

Then, as I was deep breathing and trying to let go of my thoughts, I kept thinking of how doable it is in our daily lives to just be better.

• Instead of rushing off the phone with your friend who is venting about her boyfriend, yet again, take a deep breath and sit back to really listen to her. Be a better friend.

• Even if it’s raining out, be a better citizen and let the old lady have the closer parking space.

• If you’re deciding whether to go to the gym after work, decide to be better and go, even though you’d rather go home.

• If you don’t feel like calling your Mom, be a better daughter and call her.

You get the idea. You don’t have to get in to medical school or sell your book idea to a publisher today. Just be better. You’ll be one step closer to your best.

1. Stop worrying so much about whether I’m doing things the right way. This one has plagued me for so long that I cringe as I write it. Imagine the mental space that could be freed up by letting go of this thought.

2. Be discerning. For me this relates to dating. For the past year I’ve been working on being open because a couple of people suggested that maybe I’m too picky. But, I learned today that I deserve to be discerning. That was an eye opener and a huge relief.

3. Be specific about what you want. This is important for me and for my clients who are creating a vision for their life. We can’t just say, “I want to be successful.” What does that mean? It’s different for everyone. What will it look like? How will it feel? How will you know when you’ve reached it? As Delphina said, when we order a pizza, we don’t just say, “Send me a pie.” We’re very specific on the size, the toppings, and the type of crust.

4. We create what we believe. In theory, I know this. I’ve done some affirmations here and there, but I tend to want instant results. So I’ll say something like, “I am open to the flow of money in to my life” and then when it doesn’t show up in that day’s mail, I forget about it. Things don’t happen that quickly. We have to be thorough and consistent. I can’t just say positive things intermittently. I have to do it so much that it changes the pathways in my brain so that I’m raising my energy to the energy of what I want. That’s the Law of Attraction.

5. Be authentic and realize that I can’t please everyone. A lot of people talk about being authentic. I always think I’m being authentic, but I’ve often worried about sounding too “crunchy” or “touchy feely”. So, over the years, I’ve kept a lot of what I’ve learned to myself. But now I’m a coach and some of it comes in handy. I also write about how to find satisfaction in your life or career. As I tend to write from my own experience, or those of my clients, I’ve been exposing more of my inner chakra clearing, deep breathing, candle burning self. I’m sure I’ve lost some of my posse, but it’s really true that as you get older, you care less about what people think. As my parents always said, “You win some, you lose some.”

So there you have my top 5 intentions for 2012. They’re all focused on getting what I want out of life. I’m so lucky to be doing what I love for a living, especially after many years of being completely befuddled by what my purpose is. If you’re feeling that way now, know that it doesn’t have to be that way. When we’re struggling, we’re usually getting in our own way. Not always, but one of the few things in our control is our intention. So get clear on your intention(s) for 2012. And let me know if you need some help.

Aside from continuing to work as hard, and as well, as you’ve been doing, it’s important to connect with people in a way that will turn them in to long term connections.  You do this by developing relationships that you’ve already started.

Start by creating a list of who you’ve interacted with and would like to keep in touch with.

Some possibilities to include:

• People who were “above” you and you would like to thank.

For example, did you really love the Executive Creative Director but never got to work with him?  Then, ask his assistant if he thinks that the ECD would be open to a meeting set up simply to meet him and say thank you.

Or how about the Account Director that you worked with and learned so much from?  You could either stop by her office or send a meeting invite.

• People who you worked with and appreciated.

• People who seem well connected + could be good contacts for networking moving forward.

• People who you can offer something to. 

For example, if someone asked you if you know of a realtor and you never got back to them, send it to them now. (By the way, I DO know of a really good, trustworthy realtor in NYC).

Then what?

Think about what you’d like to say to each person. 

Some possible points to touch on:

• Let them know when your last day is.

• Thank them for the opportunity and tell them what you liked about working there.

• Ask them if they know of any openings at another company that you might pursue.

• Ask if they work with any headhunters that they really like or if they have any internal recruiter names that you could reach out to. 

Then depending on what you want to communicate with each person, you could casually stop by their office, schedule a brief meeting or invite them out for coffee or lunch.

Hopefully by now, you know how these people like to communicate.  If not, and they have an assistant, ask them.

Often, I hear from my clients that they don’t want to bother people. But, think about it.  If someone approached you like this, how would you feel?  I doubt you’d be annoyed.  People love to hear that someone enjoyed working with them.  Most people like to help someone else out too. Not everyone follows through and that’s why I added the step about connecting with the people that you have something to offer to.  Be a connector. It’s takes a little extra effort, but it’s always appreciated and we could always use more connectors.

Finally, after you’ve done all of that, still send out an email to your contacts to give them your contact information. After they’ve heard from you directly, that good-bye email will have that extra OOMPH.

In Bikram yoga it’s the same routine every day. The same 26 poses, the same monologue from the teacher, the same bright room with the mirrors where I have to face myself again, each day. But, within the structure you start to see variety. We had a guest teacher the other day and his pacing was so different that it really threw me off. It made me realize what I loved about the regular teachers at my studio. One focuses on stilling our minds, the other gives a lot of instruction on correct poses, while the other leaves more silence in between her words. I love them all.

I feel calmer, happier and stronger than I’ve felt in a long time. It’s the endorphins and getting stronger, but also the routine of it. In my other yoga classes, I never knew what to expect. Will I like the teacher? Will I like her sequence today? Should I even go? When the sequence is the same every day, I don’t ask these questions. Instead I just show up.

As I pointed out in my recent interview with Thekla Richter, Twyla Tharp talks about the importance of ritual to the creative person:

“It’s vital to establish some rituals – automatic but decisive patterns of behavior – at the beginning of the creative process, when you are most at peril of turning back, chickening out, giving up, or going the wrong way.”

When I fill up my bag to go to yoga, it’s part of my ritual. I walk in to the studio and talk to everyone there and I’m enriching my experience with people, but once I’m in that studio, and class starts, I’m back to the structure.  It’s outside of the studio that I feel the effects. What are these exactly? Well, I’m calmer and I’m more productive. I procrastinate less on things like my bookkeeping. My satisfaction quotient is not just higher, but steadier.

Yoga may not be your thing, but think about what kind of structure or ritual you can create and commit to in your life. Give it a set amount of time to turn it in to a habit. I mostly hear 90 days is a good goal to create a habit, but I’ve recently heard 40 as well. Personally, I like to do it in 30-day chunks that add up to 90. But give it a try and see if it doesn’t change your life in some way.

Last month I wrote a column for Talent Zoo about My 24-hour Break up with Facebook. With all of the changes they were making I needed a break, and ended up having an important revelation about keeping up with my friends and networking.

This month’s column is called To Tweet or Not To Tweet: Decide For Yourself. Twitter can be very overwhelming and mysterious for a lot of people so I decided to explain how I grew to love it and how to not give up before you’ve given it a chance.

In other news, I did an interview with Thekla Richter on her blog and the topic is: Productivity Tips for Creatives Thekla is a time management coach and i interviewed her on my site here.

I also recently joined a co-working space here in Cleveland called the Launch House. This is a wonderful organization that connects entrepreneurs with mentors, investors and a multitude of resources. Since I love the whole concept of co-working and it’s a wonderful option for freelancers, I’ve created a spot on my Resources page for co-working space in other cities. If you know of any that you like, please let me know, so i can add them to the list. Having battled the solitary nature of working for myself, I’ve found this to be a wonderful solution.

Last week she interviewed me on the topic of salary. This can be a touchy subject for some so I made sure to check my facts with my posse of recruiters that are still in the trenches.

Please share this post with any junior creatives that you know. Neisha’s site has some great interviews and information that will be helpful for anyone starting out in their advertising career.

It did occur to me that perhaps this type of yoga could be detrimental to my creative spirit. After all, aren’t we supposed to walk a different way to work, eat something different for breakfast each day and generally steer clear of potential ruts?

Yes, all those things are true, but there’s also the belief that within the structure of a daily practice, we can free our minds for more creativity. 

Or as Gustave Flaubert said:

“Be orderly and disciplined in daily life… so that I might be wild and violent in my art.” 

A yoga teacher once said in class that discipline (in our practice or in anything) creates Freedom.  Freedom to create, to be bold, to be true to ourselves and not worry about what others think.

After a few days of this practice, I’ve noticed a change in my state of mind.  I feel “progress” and like I can do anything. I’m calmer, more organized and getting some new ideas that had previously eluded me.

In fact, with any type of yoga a structure can be found — in each pose as we get in to it correctly, and in the breath as we inhale and exhale with our movements.  

Our breath is a structure that’s always accessible to us. 

When we experience stress, we might hold our breath which creates more stress in our body as we hunch our shoulders, clench our stomach or even our fists.

So if we can notice that and tell ourselves to breathe, it brings oxygen back to our brain and our minds back to the present moment, where really, everything is usually okay. Stress is often projecting in to the future when we’re sure something horrible is going to happen. (If something horrible IS happening in that moment, breathing can still help.)

So think about what kind of practice you can do to create more calm in your life, nurture your creativity or find motivation or inspiration. It could be anything: meditating, playing guitar, walking, or writing in a journal.

Do it often and consistently, even when you don’t feel like it. 

The times that you don’t feel like it, but still do it are the times that really make a difference. That creates a practice that makes progress happen.

Or do you get really down on yourself when nobody calls you back or gives you any feedback at all?

If so, give yourself a break because you ARE doing enough and you’re not a loser if your phone’s not ringing.  It’s just the nature of looking for work.   It’s a lot of “planting seeds” and if you keep doing it, it will pay off eventually.  Unfortunately, it’s not always on your timetable, so in the meantime, I’ve come up with a few pointers to help shift your thinking.

1. If you’re not working at all and looking for full time, don’t feel you must fill 40 hours a week with looking for a job.  I know that it’s common advice that this is exactly how you get a job, and I’m not saying to spend all week shopping or lounging in the park, I’m just saying be realistic about how you work.

For one thing, remember that 40 hours in an office with constant meetings and interruptions is a lot different than 40 hours of working solo.   I know many people who get more done in 3 hours at home than they could in 8 hours at the office.

Sure, it’s easy to goof off when you’re on your own too, but if you’re honest with yourself, you can figure out the best times of day to be productive, where to work most effectively and strategies to stay focused.

Jane might find she’s most productive in the morning before anyone in her family wakes up, while Bob can only focus at night with headphones on.   Only you will know and if you don’t, figure it out.  You just have to be persistent, realistic and honest with yourself.  It also can help to track your time for a few days.

2. Networking means thanking people. I’ve mentioned this before in Dos and Don’ts of Freelancing, but I think it’s very important. Sometimes it’s worth doing a little extra. If someone introduces you to a decision maker, but you don’t get the job, they still took the time out of their day to help you and should be thanked.

It’s also a great way to remind them that you’re still looking. You could say something like, “Hi Joe, I didn’t hear back from Kathy on that job, but thanks so much for introducing me to her and please keep me in mind if you hear of anything else.”

This way, if Joe thinks you really should have heard from Kathy, he might be inclined to reach out to her or suggest something further you could do. Or, it’s simply another reminder to Joe that you’re still looking.

3. Be flexible with your “to do” list. If your plan for the day was to make a list of target companies, but you ended up applying for two jobs that someone sent you, then that’s still being productive.

When looking for work, there are many actions to take and the way to prioritize is to do what’s time sensitive first.  In other words, don’t wait to apply for a job so you can finish up the “target list” you had to get done today.  That just gives everybody else a head start.

But, this can be frustrating at times.  I hear many of my clients say they can’t get anything done. Then they tell me all the great connections that they made over the past week. Again, because they’ve not yet received anything concrete, they tend to feel like they’re spinning their wheels, but if they’re taking actions, they’re not.

If you’re consistently feeling unproductive, create a “got done” list at the end of the day or week. You could surprise yourself.

4. Make time for exercise/meditation or whatever keeps you sane. This is another thing I mention a lot, but I believe so strongly in it’s importance that I’ll just keep on saying it.  Most of us feel really good after working out. Many of us say we’re too busy to do it.  But, if you’re not working right now, you have time to do it, so make it work.  If you work for yourself, then make time for this very important thing that you always wanted to do when you were working for someone else.

5. Consider a co-working space.  If, like me, you sometimes get a little kookoo in your home office, consider a coffee shop or a co-working space.  Here are a few resources to get you started:

Citizen Space (San Francisco)

Grind Spaces (NYC)

New Work City (NYC)

PariSoma (San Francisco)

I have no affiliation with any of these places, but they were all recommended to me. You can also find more by googling co-work space and the city name.

The bottom line is that it’s not easy looking for work of any kind.  It can be really tough on one’s self esteem and confidence.  The key is to be aware of this inclination and take steps to keep yourself moving forward.

Because that’s really the key:

Keep taking actions so that you’re always moving forward and quit worrying about the results.