Use the Holidays to Your Advantage

I love the holiday season. Everyone is friendlier. Meetings are rare. There are fewer gatekeepers.

Huh?

Yes, fewer gatekeepers. That means your odds of reaching someone on the phone go up.

Many receptionists are on vacation, so people pitch in to grab the phones. And most of those people don't screen calls or know how to forward you directly to voicemail. So, as long as your person is in the office, you have a better chance of reaching them.

And to top it off, they're probably in a good mood. Most deadlines are past, so they're probably not under the gun. They may actually have time to talk to someone who's looking.

So give it a shot. You may actually get to talk to the person you've been trying to reach.

This is a limited time offer though. Once the new year starts, the previous state of affairs returns.

Happy holidays. And good luck.

Marketing Yourself

Searching for a job is exactly that – marketing yourself.

So apply what you've learned about marketing/advertising to sell yourself as a job candidate.

• Identify your audience // Who are you targeting? Ad agencies? Design firms? Publications? Decide who you are going after, so you can ...
  
• Determine their needs // This will tell you what kinds of pieces to include in your portfolio. Also, it will help you determine which skills you have, so you can ...
  
• Let them know What's In It For Me (them, not you) // They don't care what you've done as much as they care about what you can do for them. Don't just talk about you ("I learned Flash in school") talk about how that experience/skill benefits the interviewer's company ("With my Flash experience, I can create better interactive sites in a short amount of time"). Then you can ...
  
• Make your call to action // Ask to set up an interview. Or see if you can drop off some samples. Then follow up. The worst they can do is say no. So why not ask?

Put your marketing abilities to work for your most important client. You.

(Also, here's a great post at talentzoo.com. You'll notice that much of the advice given to experienced professionals applies to you as well.)

It's All About Your Portfolio

But, you know that already, don't you?

Unfortunately, most creatives view building their portfolio as another project – with a beginning and an end. "My portfolio is together, so now I can focus exclusively on my search."

Never stop working on your portfolio. Work on it constantly. Your goal is to knock your weakest piece out of your portfolio. And then do it again. And again. And again.

That makes it stronger. And increases you chances of landing a job.

• First, look at your current work. Improve it. Have a great concept that's well-executed? Rework it until the execution is as great as the concept.
  
• Second, look around for non-profits you believe in. Volunteer to design/write/shoot something for them. It will give you a professional piece (while improving your career karma).
  
• Third, talk to your friends and family. Any of them starting or own a business? Volunteer to help them out creatively.
  
• Lastly, just create. If you're a designer, find a well-known logo you hate and redesign it. If you're a writer, give a new voice to a stodgy company. You get the idea.

Most importantly, never stop working on pieces for your portfolio. Creatives live and die by our portfolios. Give yourself a fighting chance.

Worst Resume Mistake I've Witnessed

Mistake I Witnessed // Post 2

"Dishonorable Discharge."

Right there. On the resume. What the ****?

Lesson // Don't list negative things about yourself on your resume. Your resume's job (and it's only job) is to get you an interview. It's not to serve as a history document. Or a confessional.

If there is something negative that will make a difference in getting the job, wait until after they interview you to share the information. Once they know you as a real person (and not just a piece of paper) they may be willing to hear your explanation and give you a chance.

Don't take yourself out of the running from the get-go.

Mistake Scale // Never Got in the Game

Worst Interview Mistake I've Witnessed

I started this blog to help college students avoid the mistakes I made, as well as witnessed, during the job search process.

This week I'm beginning two regular features – "Mistake I Made" and "Mistake I Witnessed." I'll rate each mistake on a scale from "Career Implosion" to "Miraculously Got the Job." If you have any you'd like to share, I'll post the best ones.

Mistake I Witnessed // Post 1

Me: "If I were to talk to your best friend, what is the worst thing she would say about you?"

Finalist for Job: "That I can get out of control. One time, while at a bar, I was so drunk I tried to pick up an entire group of baseball players ..."

And she continued her story. And wouldn't stop. Oh God, she wouldn't stop.

Sadly, it got worse. Since this was a final interview, my boss was sitting in the interview as well. He tried to stop her (my ability to speak had been taken from me by her answer) and she talked over him to finish her story.

Every question, no matter how innocuous-sounding is about getting the measure of you as a person or employee. Never ... ever ... ever forget you are being interviewed. We try to put you at ease, make you comfortable, forget you are being interviewed, so we can get to know the real you. The finalist viewed us as buddies and let her guard down. Bad move. Last I heard, this talented designer was working in fast food.

Mistake Scale: Thank You, Please Drive Through

Maintaining Your Creative Edge During "The Search"

Nothing sucks the creative life out of you like a job search.

A large part of creativity is having the confidence to experiment, think differently or just dive in. The search process can rob you of that confidence.

You have to make a conscious effort to be creative everyday. Even when you're tired. Or down. Or just plain beaten up.

If necessary, make an appointment with yourself everyday, even if it's only fifteen minutes, to be creative. And make sure it's creative for creative's sake. Allow yourself to enjoy the process. It will remind you why you want to go into the business.

Also, check out mikebrownspeaks for a daily dose of creative inspiration.

Good luck with your search. Let me know if you have any questions.

Turn Downtime to Your Advantage

I've said it before—what a suck-ass job market. And it doesn't look like it's changing soon.

What to do? Well, you can either get upset, which gets you nowhere, or you can embrace the situation.

I know quite a few talented recent grads who are hitting the wall in their job search. They're all handling it differently, but one is handling it especially well. We'll call him Mike (since that's his name).

Mike is using his downtime to get actively involved in his local ad club. He volunteered to help on two major events for the club. His theme concept was even chosen to market one of the events. Talk about a nice piece to add to his portfolio. It's also an excellent way to get his work out in front of the very people who are in a position to hire him.

Sure, Mike is frustrated in his search. But he is placing himself in the best position to land a copywriting job in the near future.

• He's expanding his portfolio with professional work.
  
• He's meeting industry people who can hire him, pass on job openings, or act as a reference for him.
  
• He's sharpening his skills while working with other talented people.
  
• He's keeping his enthusiasm high.

You can either get down about the situation, or you can take positive steps to put yourself in the best position to get a job.

I vote for the second choice.