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Posts Tagged ‘hiring’
Are You Qualified to be a Marketing Communications Manager?
9/15/2011 1:13 PM By Vince Font
The job descriptions that accompany listings for marketing communications managers are often intentionally vague. This may be to appeal to the greatest number of interested parties in an attempt by the hiring management to look “outside the box” for the best possible candidate. But vague job listings can also backfire, as they lead people to erroneously think they’re qualified when they aren’t – or that they’re not qualified when they are.
Aside from specific work experience and education requirements, some of the basic qualities that you’ll need to possess in order to do well as a marketing professional or marketing communications manager are the same ones you’ll need to do well in most jobs. If you can say that you possess the qualities listed below and have the necessary experience to apply for the position, don’t let anything stop you.
• Good written and verbal skills. Being able to talk a mile a minute doesn’t qualify you as having excellent command of your verbal skills, just as being able to type 120 words per minute doesn’t mean you have xcellent written skills. To succeed at both, you should be able to express yourself eloquently and clearly, without ambiguity or insecurity. Essentially you need to be able to let people know exactly what you’re talking about at all times. Ironically, that’s far easier said than done.
• People skills. As you might imagine, having the affability to yuk it up with your coworkers over a few happy-hours drinks doesn’t necessarily qualify you as having people skills. The ability to get along well with both internal team members and outside stakeholders at all levels, while maintaining high work productivity is key, as is the ability to help mediate personal conflicts between others.
• A strong work ethic. Remember that having work ethic is very different from simply showing up and doing what’s expected of you. To have truly strong work ethic, you’ve got to be willing to exceed expectations by going the extra mile for your supervisors as well as those who report directly to you. This might mean staying late at work, triple checking details and basically doing whatever it takes for the best possible results.
• Be a problem solver. This means that you’re able to come up with creative solutions to address issues that impact productivity. If this is something you can do on a regular basis, you’re a problem solver. The great news about this is that hiring managers love problem solvers.
Getting a job as a marketing communications manager is all about having the right combination of experience, education and personality traits that make you stand out as an obvious candidate for the job. If you’ve got the near perfect balance, you’ll do well. On the other hand, if you feel that you need work in any of these areas, there’s no time like the present to reinvent yourself from the ground up. It can be done; it’s just a matter of knowing what needs improvement and taking action.
Practice Makes Perfect: How to Beat Interview Stress
9/12/2011 2:29 PM By Vince Font
There are two types of people in this world: people who admit that job interviews scare them and others who lie about it. The fact is, everyone gets nervous before a job interview so take heart. Even people with the best interview skills in the world feel that stress. But there’s a big difference between feeling interview stress and letting it control the outcome of an interview. By far, the most important way of controlling this is through preparation.
Without a doubt, one of the reasons so many people feel overwhelming stress when going into a job interview is because they feel wholly unprepared and are anticipating things going poorly. This isn’t to say that butterflies in the tummy are a sign of ill preparation. As mentioned before, it’s only natural to be nervous. But that nervousness could be significantly decreased with thorough preparation. So how do you prepare for a job interview? You practice, that’s how. Over and over. Here are a few tips for how get started.
• Enlist a trusted friend, co-worker or mentor to help you prepare by running a series of mock interviews where your friend plays the interviewer. In order to better prepare for a real-life scenario and sharpen up your interview skills, have them draw up a list of difficult, thought-provoking questions that you’ll have to answer on the fly.
• Work on your handshake. This might sound silly to some, but a lot of prospective employers are put off by people who offer weak handshakes or, worse yet, sweaty palms.
• Practice your vocal delivery. True, this isn’t a talent competition and you’re not going to be asked to stand in the center of the room and perform. But pulling off a great job interview has a lot of similarities to performance, and one of the most important parts of that is to be heard loud and clear. If you mutter when you talk, work on it. If you’ve ever been accused of being mousy, now’s the time to shake that off.
• Do a dry run. One of the biggest interview stress factors is not knowing where you’re going and getting lost on the way. You can slice away a huge percentage of the stress factor by practicing the route to your interview location so that when the day comes, that’s one less thing to fret over.
Interview stress is one of the leading causes of doing poorly in a job interview. Preparation is key to being able to take the edge off of this nervous energy and giving yourself the mental peace necessary to knock it out of the park.
Pairing Information Architects with Employers Proves Challenging
9/7/2011 3:42 PM By Vince FontIf you ask two information architecture specialists what they do for a living, you’ll likely get two very different answers. That’s because it’s not very often that two information architects perform the same job function, even within the same company. Add to this the fact that the field of information architecture is still really in its infancy – even though the work itself isn’t anything that anyone would relegate to a child to handle – and you’ve just asked an even more difficult question.
At the risk of further encouraging your insistence on asking tough questions, we’ll tell you this much: Information architecture specialists are tasked with doing something that very few people know how to do – designing complex information systems that drive a business. Enterprise information architecture can run the gamut from designing proprietary systems that are used on a daily basis by company employees, to designing the architecture of interactive websites that customers use.
Because enterprise information architecture is so difficult to nail down, it makes sense that many employers end up taking a hit and miss approach when filling positions in this particular line of work. To phrase it simply, companies are sometimes at a loss to be able to determine if the person they’re about to hire will be a complete wash or a knockout success. It’s for this reason that many approach third party creative staffing agencies to help them narrow their potential employee choices.
If you’re an information architecture specialist seeking employment or a company interested in hiring information architects, working with a third party staffing agency can be that one smart move that eliminates the guesswork and facilitates the act of getting on with business.
Creative Staffing: Not Your Average Job Placement Agency
9/1/2011 3:47 PM By Vince FontDespite what you may have heard to the contrary, the job outlook for people with creative skills is no less viable than the job market for people with mechanical ability. But if you’ve been struggling for quite some time to land gainful employment that makes better use of your creative skills, you’re probably understandably frustrated.
If this is the case, maybe it’s time you looked at what a creative staffing firm can do for you. Creative job placement agencies can offer quite a bit by way of giving you increased visibility and preferential access to job listings.
So how does it work? First you have to understand that creative staffing agencies put a special emphasis on helping people with niche abilities like yourself make money doing what you do best. Whether that’s designing websites or managing fast-paced interactive projects, the answer is yes – there are placement agencies for people in your line of work. Here are just a few of the benefits of working with them.
• Creative job placement firms have existing connections with companies that employ individuals in your professional field and can leverage those connections to help get your foot in the door.
• Creative staffing companies can give you access to job listings that haven’t been publicized yet, precisely as a result of these connections. Very often the staffing agency may be under an exclusive contract with the hiring company, in which case the only way to go about getting an interview is by going through the staffing company.
• Using a creative staffing agency broadens the scope of your search and can clue you in on job opportunities you might have otherwise missed if you went about the hunt on your own.
Are you ready to find a job that will actually use your talents and training? Stop banging your head against a brick wall and get yourself registered with a creative job placement agency. You may soon find a job doing something that you love.
How to Hire and Get Hired in Chicago
8/24/2011 4:37 PM By William PirragliaAs Chicago freelance work opportunities increase in the post-recession economy, entrepreneurs and small businesses often face challenges in finding the employees they want. Likewise, many newer freelancers are unsure of the best strategy to get the jobs they desire.
Technori.com writer Adam Robinson wrote an article “How to Hire in Chicago” that has suggestions for employers to find the best talent. Among the tips for entrepreneurs, the simplest tend to be most effective. For example, consider the following suggestions:
- Allocate what’s necessary to your freelancer search. Do not get distracted by other issues at the expense of spending quality time finding your best candidate. Invest around 30 to 50 percent of your time evaluating resumes, interviewing, and selecting your preferred candidates.
- Create a standardized hiring process. This strategy helps you avoid wasting time recreating the process for every candidate. It also allows you to establish consistent evaluation standards, leading to more effective hires.
- Start recruiting early. Hopefully, you can begin your search 60 days before you need a candidate to be on the job. This strategy should minimize wrong hiring decisions and the high cost that accompanies bad hires. Installing new employees on the job without painful gaps improves your operational efficiency.
Freelancers must do their part to find the best jobs and terms available. For example, assume you’re looking for a Chicago web designer position, quite popular in this market. With expanding job opportunities in Chicago, consider taking some or all of the following steps.
- Prepare a clear resume of your specific talents and achievements. This is a good recommendation for all candidates but is particularly important for creative freelancers. Save yourself and potential employer time by clearly stating your expertise. Little is gained by confusing employers, leading to missed opportunities or fruitless interviews.
- Use top freelance job agencies. These firms have the most up-to-date lucrative jobs, expertise and experience in matching creative talent with the right employers, and credibility with their client companies.
- Concentrate on discussing employer expectations at interviews. Many problems arise from simple misunderstandings about the specific results employers want. Successful freelancers must understand their employer’s desired outcome or result and how it will be measured.
- Stress your commitment to meeting goals and deadlines. Although important in full time hiring situations, this issue is critical in freelance and project assignments. By taking the initiative at interviews, freelancers can strongly impress employers with their professionalism and dedication.
The Chicago freelance work environment is experiencing a renaissance in new opportunities. Area employers and freelancers must work together to save time (which, of course, means money) by establishing effective hiring practices (employers) and maintaining clear and precise dialogue (freelancers) to forge the best matches.
Benefits of Hiring a Freelance Designer Over a Mega Design Firm
8/17/2011 1:28 PM By William PirragliaWhile there are numerous outstanding large design companies, hiring a freelance designer often delivers better benefits. Employers choosing a user experience designer in lieu of a prestigious large design firm often enjoy better results at a more reasonable cost.
Some of the benefits of filling designer jobs with freelancers include the following:
- Newer freelance designers are committed to outstanding performance to establish their personal brand. A commitment to excellence, when accompanied with skill, is a consistent winning combination. Even the newest freelancer may deliver more excellence than superstar large firm designers.
- Freelance designers typically take employer deadlines more seriously and dedicate themselves to delivering work early. Deadlines are important to freelancers and clients alike. However, employers can face deadlines that can mean the difference between profit and loss in many situations. Freelancers often target delivery of project work early to help their clients enjoy less stressful operations. They also want to move on to their next project quickly for a consistent source of income.
- Freelance designers are more accessible during odd hours. Freelancers, committed to enhancing their brand, typically offer accessibility and consultation. They typically understand that other entrepreneurs and business owners seldom work only 9-to-5 on scheduled workdays. Success is often dependent on going the extra mile to deliver added value to those in need.
- Design changes are not obstacles, but expected activities from employers. Companies who want design changes may face roadblocks with large, prestigious design firms. Freelancers are often open to making desired changes for their clients.
- Freelancers are often more innovative and receptive to cutting edge ideas, technology and suggestions. While large firms can offer innovation and wonderful ideas, freelancers, unburdened with pre-conceived attitudes, can install cutting edge solutions to design issues that challenge even the best professionals at large firms.
- Employers can usually depend on freelance designers to be a resource for future upgrades and improvements. Entrepreneurial freelance designers seldom fire themselves. Most successful talented freelancers love their work and their professional lives, never feeling the need to leave their specialty. Clients usually find their favorite freelancers hungry for additional assignments in the future.
Find or Create Full-Time Web Design Jobs in a Down Market
8/16/2011 3:42 PM By William Pirraglia
Full Time web design jobs were a rare, hard-to-find species during the recession, but the economy is finally rebounding. Unfortunately, the recovery is modestat best. Web designers, like many other professionals, must recharge their creativity and imaginations to secure creative jobs. While full-time web designer jobs and other opportunities remain scarce, businesses are changing from a survival to growth mode.
Do not wait for the job market to improve; take a proactive stance to jump start your career. As a cutting edge professional, extend your state-of-the-art mentality to recharging your future. While the national jobless rate is declining, you should adopt an entrepreneur focus. Simply stated, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” Here are a few simple suggestions to revitalize your web design career:
- Expand your sphere of influence.If you’ve ever attended sales or entrepreneurial training seminars, you’re aware of the mantras “manage and use your network” or “make two to four new contacts every week.” Adopt or recharge these theories. They work. Everyone has a network, even just a few friends and family. However modest your network may be, expand, enlarge and activate it. At a minimum, use the growing power of social networks to expand your familiarity and, thereby, influence.
- Be visible. As the economy rebounds, more employers restart recruiting activities. Unless you’re already recognized as a superstar in your field, make it a priority to get out and about. Make time to attend job fairs, industry conferences and seminars, and become active in appropriate professional organizations. As hiring managers “put a face and personality with a name,” you improve your chances of moving up the credibility ladder of potential employers.
- Accept part time and contract assignments for less compensation than you desire.Even if you seek full time web designer jobs or other creative jobs, consider freelancing or part time employment to re-energize your career. In so doing, you make it easier for creative staffing agencies and employers to give you the opportunity to display your expertise in your field. Employers perceive less risk without the necessity of a cumbersome long-term job commitment, and love the budget-friendly cost controls that come with contract employees. As you demonstrate your considerable talent, these assignments may become full time employment offers.
- Stay focused, positive and confident. The lay off, downsizing and retrenching policies of employers during the recession are moving to a more favorable growth attitude for many companies. This is no time for you to become discouraged with your job search. Stay focused and confident in your talent and the future possibilities for re-energizing your career.
How to Hire the Best Designer for Your Project
8/10/2011 1:20 PM By Jeff OrloffA number of employers have reported being burned at least once when working with freelance designers. Either projects are not completed on time, budgets are exceeded or the quality of work doesn’t match expectations. While it may seem easy to blame the freelancer for such mishaps, more can be done on the part of the person looking to hire a graphic designer.
Look for experience that meets your requirements
One of the biggest mistakes made is to immediately jump at freelance designers with a great deal of experience because we feel safer with them. Instead of looking at the number of years they have been working or the number of projects, look at the type of work they have done. Does it apply to your project and needs?
Clearly describe your needs
Telling someone you want a logo isn’t going to be enough. Explain to potential designers exactly what you want and listen to possible feedback. Another thing that causes a rift between freelance designers and their clients is when the client continuously changes their mind. That is why most contracts only allow for two to three versions before it costs extra. You can really save a great deal of money, get better results and keep your designer happy if you are clear about what you want and stick to it throughout the course of the project.
Be willing to pay for results
One complaint among many freelancers is that clients often balk at their rates. The truth is, if you want to hire a professional you are going to have to pay for their quality and experience. If you want a job done as cheaply and quickly as possible then be prepared to be disappointed with the end result.
Of course no one expects the client to be the only one working at forming a healthy professional relationship, but when they do put forth that effort they are often rewarded with not only an outstanding product but a partner they can count on for future projects.
Revamp Your Resume to Impress Freelance Hiring Managers
8/9/2011 1:33 PM By Jeff Orloff
As companies scale back on permanent staff, more look to hire freelance designers and writers to handle their design, development and communication needs. However, just because there is more work in these fields does not mean it is easier to find employment. Conversely, because there are more freelancers applying for these jobs it makes the competition even stiffer.
Since your resume is one of the first things a hiring manager or client will see, take some time to give your CV a bit of a makeover so that you can feel confident it stands out among the rest.
Update your skills
If your resume notes Image Ready, Front Page or Write! as software that you are familiar with or Cold Fusion as part of your web site development skills, you should consider updating your skill set. People like to see that you understand legacy tools, but they also want to know you have evolved with the times and can master current programs.
Make sure to reflect your latest work
If you haven’t touched up your resume for some time then you may need to revisit it to update any projects you have worked on recently. While you’re at it, make sure that when describing the project you describe actionable outcomes that showcase your strengths.
Give your resume a youthful look
Experience is definitely a good thing to show in a resume, but you don’t need to go all the way back to the paper route you had as a kid. Find a cutoff point for your experience and keep it relevant to the job or assignment at hand. If you feel the need to list older jobs, add an Additional Experience section to your resume. Many people will not read anything beyond a third page.
When you have revamped your resume to make it reflect your current abilities, take the time to read over it for any grammatical errors or formatting issues. This is your first shot to prove your professionalism, so do it right!
Why Hiring a Freelance Designer Can Help Your Project Succeed
8/2/2011 2:46 PM By William PirragliaMany small businesses would never consider hiring a full-time designer for their company. However, some growing businesses find the need to turn to designers more frequently and begin to question whether they should hire someone full time or if bringing in a freelancer is a better choice. These reasons strongly support turning to freelance designers as a solution.
Flexible staffing
When you hire a permanent employee for design work you are locked into that individual’s skill set. So while they may be an outstanding graphic designer, their web design skills may not be as strong. Using freelance designers allows you to match an individual’s strong points to your different projects.
A fresh perspective
Salaried employees make decisions based on what is best for their careers and are sometimes afraid to be honest for fear of losing a job or promotion. Freelance workers can bring not only honesty without fear of backlash, but they also bring with them new ideas and experiences that can help drive a project forward.
Focus on the project
Freelance designers know that you are their client and if they want repeat business or recommendations, they need to remain focused 100% on the project they are working on. Unfortunately for salaried employees, they are often given a multitude of different projects to work on simultaneously so they cannot dedicate their time entirely to one over another.
Cost savings
Business success depends on capital resources. Salaries are usually one of the greatest expenses that a business has to contend with. However, by using freelance talent you can pay the market price for quality workers while still saving money that can be used to grow your business.
