design:related has a new & improved portfolio tool!

Looks great so far. Check it out and remember, just because you may have one online presence, doesn't mean you shouldn't have more -- SEO varies from site to site so if you want to get noticed, you have to be in more places. Try design:related!

Another free platform for your online portfolio

Created by one of our own, a CD in NY, David Lee, this is a very cool place to upload some work. Since I love my soap boxes, I'll remind you to always add some kind of contact information! Make it easy for us to find you and ask you "Hey, wanna job?"

Now, this guy REALLY gets it!

Meet Jasen Dickan. Learn from Jasen Dickan.
His Linkedin profile makes me weak in the knees.
His online portfolio has me taking cold showers.
Why? Because he REALLY gets it -- he tells me everything I need to know about him. He is saving in-house and external recruiters probably 2 hours of up-front time that might otherwise be wasted going back and forth with questions about his skills.
Right away, we know EXACTLY what he does, how well he does it, where he's done it and how much of it he's done. Moreover, by noting what's not listed, we can determine the things that he likely DOESN'T do that much of, again saving us time.

So, does Jasen just want to save me valuable time? We do have a good rapport, so I can tell myself that's his aim, however, there's definitely a better reason for it and it's the reason I write this post. He's opening up more of the world to himself. He's getting valuable keywords out there and coming up in more searches. By doing so, he appears more professional and buttoned-up. This in turn ups his stock.

I mention him here with his permission -- I told him my goal is to get more people to follow suit. Everyone from Project Managers to Account Services to IAs to Creatives: give us the juicy details upfront and you'll reap the rewards.

Here are his summary and specialties sections from Linkedin:

Summary

Award-winning leader with 12 years of interactive, marketing, and branding experience. Proven ability to supervise teams and develop design talent in others. Passion for innovative strategy, design, and technology.

Specialties

creative leadership, web design, web sites, intranets, interaction design, usability, branding, business strategy, ecommerce, financial services, pharmaceutical, photoshop, typography, color theory, HTML, CSS, photography, successful new business pitches, inspiration

It's wonderful stuff, very informative. Now check out his portfolio: http://www.jasen.net/
Notice the way he specifies his % of involvement in various capacities AND how he gives credit to the other contributors. Providing the level AND kind of involvement you had on specific projects when you have a breadth of skills, goes a long way in establishing credibilty and setting expectations.

If you're looking for work - or just like to keep yourself current like Jasen - please take some time to enhance your profiles and portfolios. And make sure they all link to one another. Do it not for the sake of us recruiters, but for you.

Jasen, congrats on being this "teacher's pet", and thank you for letting me use you as an example! Keep on truckin'.

Necessity is the mother of all [re]invention

Recently I was emailing with a very talented designer. I realized that much of what I was telling her could be valuable to other Designers and Art Directors. So here's a bit of what I hope is helpful advice:

Freelance is big right now and growing. (There are no employee head count issues for companies, no extra taxes, insurance or benefits to pay for, and even if they pay an agency fee, it's cheaper to use freelance and easier to manage costs day-to-day.) Unfortunately, there are fewer projects and for the first time, I want to say since maybe 2002, online ad spending is down too.

So what can you do?
Hit the pavement. This is a time when local independent shops are vying for consumer dollars, but they don't have the $$$ for a "proper" design firm or ad agency to do the marketing materials. Print up some leave-behinds of your work with a fee card, link to full portfolio online your contact info, and go knock on doors. Flash a smile, make notes after visits of names and potential needs, and follow up. See if you can generate some project work around town. It may feel strange at first but it will make you better at presenting to clients when you're back to work full-time again. Additionally, you will be adding to your portfolio and have more say in the work than perhaps a client like AT&T would give you. As a side benefit, you'll be helping neighborhood businesses get through this tough time as well. In fact, looked at that way, you may even get into the pro bono spirit.

Having a skill you can sell is a leg-up in times like these. Truly - there's work out there, it just might be in unexpected places and you need to be willing to actually get out there and actively seek it out. Remember, in any economy, someone's making money.

*For non-designers, brainstorm with a friend about your skills and how they may be transferable to other endeavors. For example: Account people, Producers, Project Managers, Business Development gurus and Planners -- you can help people start new businesses! Copywriters can help people by editing proposals and business plans. Commercial real estate prices are going down enough to tempt many entrepreneurs out of the shadows. They need sales tools, they need to know how to frame their ideas, how to organize their vision and make it a reality, how to plan for and project manage opening a store... think about who's set up for success in this economy and reapply your skills. Necessity is the mother of all [re]invention!

**Everyone: Don't forget to make your intentions known on your linkedin status -- networking is always important but it is especially important when you're reshaping your skills and need as many leg-ups and connections as you can generate. Join groups. Let fellow alumni and former colleagues know what your doing. Don't be bashful; be bold! And remember to make it easy for people to know how to contact you!!!

Tip for the day #7 when applying for a job

KEEP YOUR PORTFOLIO UP-TO-DATE AT ALL TIMES

Since we already know how easy it is to have a free, online, portfolio (see TPFD #2 if you don't) there is no reason you can't find 10 minutes every other week to post some new work. Like to go out for an afternoon Charbuck's? Just twice a month instead, make a cup of their new instant coffee at your desk and upload the latest work you've done onto your portfolio.

Why? Well, ask anyone who's been laid off after several years of service with not a clue how to begin the arduous task of getting a portfolio together. Getting laid-off is emotional enough without the overwhelming feeling of climbing Mt. Everest with nothing but your PJ's and a can of soup. So plan ahead. Live each day in advertising like it may be your last. Because it really might.

Afraid that having a public online portfolio will make your employer suspicious? In my mind, you're part of a community, you're keeping your ideas fresh by putting them out there, letting them be critiqued, admired. It's a place you keep your work collected and it makes them look better if/when clients go online to look up the team assigned to them. You're helping your employer look better - this is the modern world and if they want to claim (to clients) to be expert at it, you (the entire agency) need to show you're walking the talk. So, get that portfolio started and update it regularly. Always be prepared. Happy and working hard, but prepared.

*BTW: Don't put online/Web/interactive/digital samples in the "misc." or "other" or "various" or "whatnot" category. Think about it - if you were a digital marketing shop, would you refer to what you did as "miscellaneous"? It's insulting even to the integrated shops; online ad sales have been the last to be effected by this crazy economy -- hardly making them fodder for the "other" category. So raise up your interactive experience, keep "various" things limited to your extra-curricular activities like photography or drawing.

Tip for the day #3 when applying for a job

Hopefully you've read "Tip for the Day (a.k.a. TFTD) #2" before reading this one. If not, please do!

...Now that you've read it and have that online portfolio, some things to keep in mind (recruiters and hiring managers, feel free to add some comments):

• No downloading required, please! Your work needs to be viewable without having to download individual images of each sample. If you are guilty of having this kind of site, you have just given the very busy Creative Director an excuse to check out the next person's book instead.
• How do we know you can write if we can't read the text? Copywriters, please! We never expect that you have a gorgeous, flashy, hi-tech site. (Though if you use one of the sites I mentioned in TFTD #2, you'll have a nice looking one!) We simply expect the text within samples to be a legible size. Often when we are able to zoom in on the image, the text blurs. Since getting a hold of good sample files isn't always easy, this may be one of those times when sending a follow-up pdf "mini-book" is required. In that case, please have everything in one document, compressed or low-res, and if the text is too small to read, have the copy you wrote in a call-out boxes so we can read it. (Oh, that mini-book document you're sending should have your resume as the last page, a cover sheet with name, title and contact info as the front page.)
  

Tip for the day #2 when applying for a job

*Please note that when I use the phrase "we", "our", "us", it is by no means meant to create a rift between job seekers and employers -- this is not meant to come off as a "holier than thou" diatribe. On the contrary, the attempt here is to let job seekers inside the minds of those reviewing portfolios, to give them a better shot at making the best possible impression.*

There is no reason not to have an online portfolio these days.

The site you are on this very moment is one possible place to create an online portfolio; you can upload JPG files and have the freedom to do a little show and tell. Likewise carbonmade and behance exist so people can create free online portfolios. Those are just a few of the many sites that are free and easy to use. The days of sending discs that get lost or 17-meg files that get jammed up in cyberspace are over. (See LINKS section)

We understand many of you are busy being good at what you do. If you're a "passive" candidate, more allowances will be made. ("Passive" means we came to you, you didn't come knocking on our door.) However, it you are NOT a passive candidate, if you raised your hand asking for consideration, you really should hold off on doing that until you are a complete package ready for presentation, and that includes having an online portfolio.

For added assurances, don't forget to have that resume uploaded within that online portfolio, too! This way, in all future correspondence, you can simply sign off with your embedded email signature which should include name, title, phone, email, and portfolio url. Remember, the less anyone has to dig, the more likely you'll be contacted.

Tip for the day #1 when applying for a job

Who, What, When, Where, Why?

Yup, it's not just for journalism anymore! In ANY correspondence you make requesting that someone take the time to consider you for a job, don't play cat and mouse. Don't expect people to come to you for the most basic information. Don't just send an email saying simply you're an [insert title] and to "call with questions". (Yes, we've gotten these kinds of emails.) Instead, include a resume and *BRIEFLY* tell us who you are, what you do, where you live or are willing to move to, and why you think you would be a good fit for the company. (The "when" should be reflected in an attached resume as dates of employment, despite the fact that it might "look cleaner" without showing those pesky dates.)

Try to avoid making desperate pleas; this IS advertising after all and you are a brand, so show us how well you can create demand. Employers want the best in breed, what's hot, what the other guys want. They don't want merchandise from the clearance rack. So when you reach out to a Recruiter or Creative Director or Human Resources, avoid saying you "need help". When introducing yourself to perspective employers or recruiters, follow the guidelines in the first paragraph and let them know you're simply ready for a change.

Also very important, the resume AND the actual email should both have the link to your online portfolio. No one should need to ask how they can see your work and if you provide the information upfront, then they won't need to hunt for the link at a later date. Consider successful hotel chains -- you can't go 2 feet without some element of branding. And if it's allowed to leave the room, you know it has a website or a phone number on it. That way, they make it really easy to reach them, and to remember why you'd want to. So establish your brand and build on it.