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Archive for the ‘Career Resources’ Category
The Surprisingly Lucrative Career of a Freelancer
2/2/2012 3:39 PM By Artisan
When most people tell their friends that they are freelancers, the response is sometimes a thinly disguised concern that you aren’t making enough to support yourself. Then they often follow up with something about how great it is that you’re following your dreams and wish they had the freedom that you do. What they don’t know (and we should probably keep this just between us) is that “creative staffing” freelancers can make a very good living and that their gigs can be just as demanding as professionals with fulltime jobs.
“Creative staffing” is a pretty broad term that basically applies to anybody who gets paid to create something, from writing to web design to information architecture to anything in between. How much they get paid to create something varies based on their experience, level of skills, contacts and, most of all, what their client is willing to pay.
As you would imagine, with so many variables you can have some creative freelancers who are doing extremely well for themselves and others living paycheck to paycheck. In order to get the highest pay possible (and more consistent work), it would be advisable to get in touch with a freelance job agencies, as they can expose you to a wider group of clients.
In terms of an average salary for creative staffing, it is hard to calculate because of the range of jobs and level of experience involved, but there are some accepted ranges. For instance, according to the New Jersey Creatives Network, a person who writes advertising copy could make between $33 and $120 per hour. Clearly, the high end of that scale is nothing to sneeze at. The average, however, is in the $50 to $60 per hour range – a pretty well paying gig by anyone’s definition.
Roger C is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Hiring Solutions: Freelance Graphic Designers for Rapid-Fire Marketing Projects
1/30/2012 1:50 PM By Vince Font
Do you work for a marketing company that needs to hire Graphic Designers for projects with an incredibly rapid turnaround time? The mere thought has been known to send hardened career marketing experts into tailspins of panic, especially considering the time and effort needed to launch a search to find qualified job candidates. If this story is starting to sound all too familiar, take a deep breath and relax. It can be done.
First, consider all of your options. Finding a freelance Graphic Designer or Production Artist might just be a far better solution than making a permanent hire. But will bringing in a freelancer—or freelancers, if your project requires nothing short of a small army—into the mix be cost effective? In a word, yes. Think about the following things you won’t have to worry about if you opt to hire Graphic Designers from the freelance market.
- No legal requirement to provide healthcare benefits. And fortunately for you, Artisan offers that option for its talent.
- Far less overhead costs, especially if the Graphic Designer in question can work remotely.
- Less need to provide training unless it is project or software specific. Most professional freelance Graphic Designers for hire are highly experienced, having worked in a variety of environments.
And if you work with a talent staffer like Artisan, where we’ve already taken care of everything from background checks to prior work history, you’ll have even less on your plate. Get a jumpstart on your marketing project by contacting us today.
Most Popular APIs Used By Freelance Coders
1/27/2012 4:19 PM By ArtisanApplication programming interfaces (APIs) are the tools that enable web coders to develop applications that function with existing services and websites. A perfect example is when a developer uses YouTube’s open API to embed videos onto the main page of a client’s website or when a website uses the Google Maps API to enable brick-and-mortar establishments to map their location so customers can easily find them.
Even more websites are turning to social media platform APIs like Facebook and Twitter as a way of integrating their websites with their social media accounts. This is something that YouTube, Google, Twitter and others encourage, as it is mutually beneficial by creating an interactive, integrated user experience while promoting further use of the API provider’s services.
The following is a list of some of the most popular APIs that are commonly used by freelance coders and website designers for integration with client websites. It’s by no means a comprehensive list of all of the APIs that you can find; therefore, it should only be used as a starting point for your continuing education as a web designer:
If you’re a freelance coder eager to get your name listed in a prominent position on a heavily trafficked web designers directory, learning to be fluent in some or all of the above listed APIs can help you accomplish that. Having a dozen or more websites to your credit that utilize these APIs to drive traffic can also infuse your portfolio with the kind of pizzazz and diversity that potential employers looking to hire freelance coders will sit up and take notice of.
Yet another effective way of increasing your profile in the ever-competitive world of freelance developers and web coders is by allying yourself with a creative talent agency like Artisan, where you’ll be listed alongside other in-demand professionals. To get started, sign up with Artisan today.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Three Myths About Interactive Design and Web Development
1/19/2012 2:52 PM By Vince Font
Being a full-time Interactive Designer doesn’t mean you know all there is to know about building the perfect website. Believe it or not, there are tons of professional ecommerce Web Developers out there operating on totally false principles, completely obliviously. The real trouble with this is that buying into certain myths can turn a potentially fabulous designer into a mediocre one. Here are three common myths that Web Developers all too often take as gospel.
Too much white space makes a website look empty.
Wrong. While we’ll admit that too much white space can be a bad thing, it all depends on what your definition of too much is. Some people’s idea of the ideal website design is one that doesn’t waste a single solitary pixel. But as you might imagine, taking this approach can result in an incredibly unattractive and cluttered site. When used properly, white space can make a web page more digestable and leave a user with a far more positive impression of a brand or product.
Quality content isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Occasionally, you’ll hear someone ranting about how unimportant online content is by pointing to a popular website with zero content as a perfect example. The only thing is, situations like these are total anomalies and ecommerce Web Developers have to understand this. Effective interactive design balances quality content with quality layout and visuals. If one or the other falls out of balance, the whole site’s integrity is shot. Well-developed content may not be the only determining factor that gets someone to come to your website, but it can play a huge role in keeping them there long enough to make a purchase and often ensures they’ll come back again.
Copying a proven model will work every time.
This isn’t really a dangerous myth as much as it is a time-wasting one. Far too many people believe that they can take shortcuts to website preeminence by blindly following the example put forth by far more visible websites. The only problem is, that’s breaking one of the very basic tenets of organic interactive design. The most successful websites got to be that way as a result of trial and error, and years of making tweaks that not only took user feedback into account but that also anticipated the wants and needs of future users. Copying someone else’s model is like copying someone else’s Bingo sheet pattern. It just doesn’t work.
If you’re having trouble finding work as a full-time Interactive Designer, take heart. Even though companies hiring Interactive Designers and ecommerce Web Developers may seem few and far between, there are still ways to make money on the full-time or freelance market. Artisan is a creative staffing company that has established clients who are regularly seeking developers and designers for full-time and lucrative freelance projects.
The Mobile App Quandary – iPhone or Android?
1/18/2012 3:09 PM By Vince Font
One of the biggest myths about the development of smartphone apps is that there’s more money to be made on the Apple market than on the Android market. If you’re an aspiring smartphone App Developer, this sort of thing can muddle your decision on whether to focus your efforts on becoming an iPhone App Developer or an Android App Developer. Before you make that choice, it’s important to take a few things into consideration.
1. Android has quite a bit of catching up to do. No question about it, ever since the release of the first iPhone, the rest of the tech world has been busy playing catch-up with Apple. The trouble is, it’s tough to catch up with a trailblazer and Androids are still engaged in a high-speed pursuit. What’s encouraging, though, is that the Android market has something that Apple lacks: diversity. There are far more Android handsets available than there are iPhones, and at far more affordable prices to boot. What this means is that the demand for quality apps is much higher on the Android market, which could impact your earnings significantly.
2. First movers don’t always win the race. In other words, don’t declare iPhone the winning platform yet. For a perfect example of how this can work out, just look at the space race between the ex-Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviets were the first to launch satellites, monkeys and eventually men into space— but with a lot of ingenuity and even more cash backing, the US emerged victorious in that regard. If you want a more earthbound example, take a look at Google and Facebook. Neither were the first to move into their respective fields, but having seen the diminishment of Yahoo and MySpace, there’s proof that being first is no guarantee of longevity. If you’re a smartphone App Developer considering focusing your efforts solely on the Apple market, you’d do well to remember this.
3. There’s always a dark horse. In the future, the competition will expand far beyond the iPhone and Android markets. So apart from hopping into a time machine and traveling a few years into the future to see what newfangled platforms and operating systems are headed our way, what’s a smartphone App Developer to do? Keep your eyes and ears open, because if there’s one thing in this world that you can count on every time, it’s change.
If you’re a Mobile App Developer, the best thing you can do is pursue as many opportunities as you can while building your resume and gaining valuable experience. You can accomplish this handily by getting registered with Artisan, a staffing agency that focuses on matching up talented freelancers with companies hiring for freelance projects. To crack open a new chapter on your earnings potential, visit our job board today.
How to Answer the Most Frequently Asked Job Interview Question
1/16/2012 3:13 PM By Vince FontEveryone’s always looking for new and innovative job interview techniques. But the fact is, job interviews haven’t really changed much; they have no need to. Therefore you’d think it wouldn’t be that tough to learn how to ace them, but still we all struggle sometimes. For example, one of the most frequently asked job interview questions—“Tell us about yourself”—is one that many people find the most difficult to answer.
Why? Because very few people are comfortable divulging personal details to strangers. If this sounds like you, then it’s very possible you’re going about answering that question in the entirely wrong way. Your potential bosses don’t want to know how you like to spend your Saturday nights. What they’re asking for is a fleshed out picture of the “professional you.”
Here are a few tips to help you answer the most common of all job interview questions.
• Come up with a list of talking points that speak to your work life and leave out personal details.
• Include statements and circumstances that exemplify your passion for what you do.
• Discuss what drove you to pursue your career, and what’s driven you to apply for the job you’re applying for.
• Work in a statement about your talents and abilities without sounding cocky, but don’t shy away from letting a potential employer know that you think you’re worth hiring.
It’s also important that you not go on too long with your answer. One of the most effective job interview techniques is to give them what they want without overstaying your welcome, but also without being monosyllabic or too short. Aim for an answer that takes you a full minute to deliver and you’ll nail it.
Weeding Out Web Designer Pros From the Flakes
1/9/2012 1:15 PM By Vince Font
The trouble many companies face when hiring Web Designers has little to do with finding people of skill and more to do with finding individuals who can produce high quality work on time. The reason? It’s easy for someone to get an education as a Web Designer. Work ethic, on the other hand, can’t always be learned and is seemingly in short quantity these days. If you’re looking to hire a Web Designer but want to avoid finding certain things out the hard way, we’ve got a few tips to help you out.
• Approach a creative talent agency in your search. You can still hire a Web Designer by listing the position on your company website or job boards, but top staffing agencies pre-screen all candidates and even perform pre-qualification interviews to be able to present you with a list of ideal job candidates.
• Know what you’re looking for. You don’t have to be an expert in web design to hire a Web Designer, but you should know enough to be able to discuss what you expect of them. It’s not enough to know what you don’t want, and it’s certainly unfair to expect someone to read your mind.
• Follow up on referrals. This is particularly important if you’re not using a creative talent agency or other staffing firm to find qualified people, since they’ll usually take care of all of the verification for you. You don’t want to find out that the individual you’ve hired for a critical project is not at all who you thought, so do your homework before signing a contract.
If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, it’s strongly recommended that you work with a staffing agency like Artisan who will be able to work with you to determine the quality of Web Designer you need and can provide a qualified match faster than it’ll take you to say “We should have come here sooner.”
The Top 3 Realities of Being a Freelance Marketing Consultant
1/6/2012 3:18 PM By Vince FontIf you’re considering leaving your day job to pursue a career as a freelance marketing consultant, it’s critical that you look before you leap. Most importantly, you should take a long hard look at some of the realities that freelance marketing professionals face on a daily basis.
• Reality #1: There’s no guarantee that you’ll get to work from home in your jammies. While this might sound like the dream environment for many, even if you’re a wildly successful freelance marketing consultant you may never spend any work time in slippers and sweats. Lots of companies that hire marketing professionals require an in-person presence, in which case you’d better not get rid of your business wardrobe prematurely.
• Reality #2: There’s no such thing as long-term job security. Although you can improve your chances of never running out of work by hooking up with a staffing agency like Artisan, there are no assurances that the job market for freelance Marketing Consultants won’t dry up. Then again, there are no assurances these days in any job market at all… so why not explore your opportunities in the freelance field?
• Reality #3: You may have to move around a lot. At very least, you should be prepared to do a lot of traveling. Part of being a successful marketing professional will require that you take project assignments in various locations throughout the country. If you’re not comfortable moving around or traveling, freelance work in this role might not be for you. At Artisan, we not only offer to connect you with plenty of hiring companies—we also offer health benefits and time off. To find out more, contact us today.
Three Tips to Success for Mobile App Developers
1/5/2012 2:47 PM By Vince Font
One of the biggest misconceptions that Mobile App Developers have about their work is that it’s identical to developing computer applications, only on a smaller visual scale. But nothing could be further from the truth—as exemplified by smartphone applications that cater specifically to mobile users and don’t translate well to a large scale PC or laptop environment. If you want to be a successful Mobile App Developer, you’ve got to learn to think outside the box. Easier said than done? Yes. But here are some great ideas to help grease the wheels.
• Study the competition. Don’t spend all your time thinking of how to revolutionize the application market. It’s not a bad mental exercise, but just don’t let this activity run your daily work life. Mobile App Developers more often than not create programs that are incredibly simplistic and improve upon existing applications. For this reason, you should make studying the competition (i.e., all other successful mobile apps) your full-time job when you’re not actually coding.
• Embrace simplicity. If you look around, you’ll see that the most popular apps on the market were made by Mobile App Developers for the express purpose of performing basic tasks. Take, for example, barcode scanner applications. Or weather apps. Or note-taking apps. Trying to design a mobile app that takes on more than a single task is not only a gargantuan undertaking, but also a counterproductive one. People like simplicity and reject complexity, especially on their mobile devices.
• Don’t procrastinate releasing your app. If you wait to release an app until you feel that you’ve worked out all the kinks and that you’ve produced a flawless design, you’ll be waiting until the end of time. Do your due diligence by testing, but accept the fact that you’ll be working out bugs and releasing updates on a near-constant basis. Releasing early also gives you an opportunity to make improvements that you might not have thought of based on the feedback of those who matter most: end users. Never discourage or discount any feedback. It can only help you refine your application.
Without a doubt, the best way to become a truly successful Developer is to rack up an enormous amount of experience working in as many mobile design roles as possible, and for a wide variety of clients. The encouraging news is that the world is rife with companies seeking talented Mobile App Developers for one-off projects, short-term assignments or full-time employment.
Tips to Keeping Your Resume Locked and Loaded
1/4/2012 2:01 PM By Vince FontA lot of jobseekers aren’t aware that keeping their resume up to date is critical. The fact is, if you’re a freelancer for instance, you can go for months at a time from one job to another, not needing to provide your resume. Then all of a sudden, a potential client asks for it. If you haven’t worked on your resume in nearly a year, this can induce something akin to panic. But if you take action now, you won’t have to rely on scouring the web for freelance writing resume samples at the last minute. Here are a couple of tips to help you out.
• Get yourself signed up with a creative staffing agency. One of the benefits of being represented by a recruitment firm like Artisan is that we’ll assign you a Talent Representative who will go through your resume and make suggestions on how you can improve it. They may also remind you what key points to mention on your resume from your last gig. Having this free service at your disposal can be an invaluable tool to helping you land future copywriter freelance jobs, graphic design jobs or any other kind of gig you’re qualified for.
• Dedicate an hour per week to working on your resume. This may not seem like much, but in the long run it can make all the difference between being able to spring a job opportunity and missing out because you didn’t have your act together.
• Keep a text copy of all job postings for projects you get hired for. Even those who specialize in editorially-oriented fields like copywriting or technical writing need help with their resumes from time to time, and having these pre-written job descriptions can come in handy when updating your resume. The less thought you have to put into it, the better.
Even if it’s been years since anyone last requested your resume, don’t take this as indication that nobody ever will again. Use all of the tools at your disposal to keep your resume updated frequently so that if and when a potential employer asks for it, you won’t have to delay your response or rely on cheap resume samples to get you through.
