Archive for the ‘Careers’ Category

Helping Creatives Become Better Presenters

Posted by Julie | April 8th, 2010

Is a killer idea poorly presented still a killer idea?

Maybe, but it probably has less of a chance of getting sold through.

In my experience, many of the qualities that make creative people great creatives, don’t always make them effective presenters.

I am of course generalizing, but sometimes creative types seem more comfortable interacting with their macs then they do with actual human beings across a conference table.Especially when the conference room is quite full.

Or since they don’t want to be too “salesy” (which is understandable) they come across as lacking  conviction or passion for their ideas.

That’s why I was intrigued when a former Interbrand colleague, Darrell Hayden, emailed me and told me he had created a methodology designed specifically to help designers and other creative people hone and improve their presentation skills.

It’s called Speaking of Creative. Check out his website and you can see Darrell in action with some of his students.

Keep reading »

Category: Agency/Client relations, Careers, Creativity

Making Working from Home, Work

Posted by Julie | February 10th, 2010

Snow is blanketing much of the North East and schools are closed and businesses are urging many people not to commute. So maybe you, like me, are working from home today.

Maybe this is a once in a while occurrence, or maybe it’s part of your regular routine.

But it got me thinking about how to make working from home work (for both employee and employer) and a recent article I read in the MIT Sloan Management Review titled Set Up Remote Workers to Thrive.

According to the article, more than 10% of today’s work force telecommutes from home, more than triple the levels of 2000.

Lots of forces are at play here. Better remote technology, a shift towards more freelance labor particularly in areas like IT, accounting and public relations.  I am sure there is also a rise in consultants due to the down sizing in many large corporations that also contributes to this rising trend.

The article sites some clear cost savings benefits for employers, IBM saves $100 Million a year by allowing 42% of employees to work remotely.

There are also many benefits for employees including more flexibility, lower commuting costs, and saved commuting time which presumably can be re-invested in family time.

There are also several challenges outlined;

#1 Finding the Right Work-Life Balance

#2 Overcoming Workplace Isolation

Keep reading »

Category: Careers, Finding Balance

5 Tips for Building a Better (Visual) Resume

Posted by Julie | October 27th, 2009

Portfolios have long been a critical job search component of people in Creative positions.

But I think they are an effective tool for anyone looking to sell themselves.

Pictures do paint a thousand words.

And many people in today’s visually oriented society simply respond better to images.

My advice is to create a visual resume.

There are two ways to do this.

One is an online service. I haven’t actually used this but it looks interesting.

The other, which I use, is to create a portfolio that acts as an accompanying piece to your traditional resume.

It simply brings your traditional resume to life in images.

Here’s 5 Tips on how to create this kind of impactful visual resume:

#1 Start by bringing your personal brand to life:

The first page of my visual resume talks about my background. So it’s a montage of images of people, places, and events that are important to me and help define who I am as a brand.

It’s got pictures of the town I grew up in, an emblem from my University, logos of a few of the brands that I am passionate about, and even a snap shot of my family.

It even has a picture of a pet rock.

This last image is a great conversation starter and allows me to tell a story about how I first got inspired to go into marketing at a very young age (more on that in another post).

The montage is colorful, upbeat, fun- all personality traits I want to make sure come through.

#2 Put your work experience into pictures as well as words:

The next section of my visual resume brings to life my work experience.

For example, when I talk about the accounts I worked on in advertising, I show the logos and even some of the ads.

Keep reading »

Category: Careers, QuickTips