Letting Your Work Speak

If you’re operating in the creative field, then any job that you’ve looked at will include a request for a portfolio.  The reason is simple, it’s all well and good to talk the talk, but you’ve got to walk the walk.  Too often hiring managers will end up interviewing candidates who sound incredible, but can’t deliver the goods.  Your portfolio is the first key to an interview and beyond.

The problem here is that most professional creatives are married to a lot of their work.  Culling down the list to the best of the best is key.  Example?  Unless you’re going for a gig in the music industry, the hiring manager doesn’t want to see mock-ups of your friend’s band’s CD cover.

Before we hit the “do’s” let’s talk a bit more about the “don’ts”:

-          As mentioned, no CD covers

-          No flyers for the very same band

-          No schoolwork*

-          Nothing that isn’t yours.  I didn’t think I had to say it, but there have been times…

-          Nothing that could be NSFW (look it up, learn it, love it)

-          Not on a CD in the form of a bunch of files that need to be clicked through

*Unless you’re fresh out of school and that’s all you’ve got.

Think of the “do’s” as a checklist on your way to a new job:

-          It’s online and is easily navigated

-          It has only examples of your best work

-          It makes sense for the industry that you’re targeting

-          You can clearly state which part of the project you were a part of

Of course, I’d be lying if I told you that it’s just all about the pretty pictures.  There also has to be a knowledgeable mind at work.  The best way to show that?  Let your portfolio site have an “About Me” and “Blog” section (much like the one you’re reading right now).  Recruiters and employers alike are going to be giving this stuff a really good once over and if you can prove to us that you’ve got it where it counts, you’re going to be way ahead of the pack when it comes to getting a gig.  Use the “About Me” to talk about your past experiences and interests while you leverage the blog to drive the point home that you can think critically and are up to speed on the latest and greatest.

Oh, and speaking of interviews and such, don’t show up unprepared.  Bring a laptop or tablet to show your work on as well as hardcopies.  It’s a horrible mistake to put all your eggs in technology’s basket.

For those that aren’t in the position to need a portfolio, think of how you’ll present your amazing deeds.  It’s best to approach it like a case study.  You need to be able to tell the story, from beginning to end, about how you made a project happen.

Have any portfolio tips?  Experienced any portfolio disasters?  Now is the time to share them with us!  Leave a comment to help our other job hunters everywhere!

You Are Your Brand: Don’t Mess It Up

There are a lot of articles out there that will tell you what not to have up on social media.  For some, it’s for security reasons, for others it’s about landing a job.  I want to explain why you should have social media on the mind and what it takes to build your own brand.

That’s right, you’re a brand.  Think of any iconic company out there and your mind will flash to elements of their brand.  Be it a logo, tagline or slogan, the brand is what’s memorable.   If you’re out in the market looking for a new position, new clients or a new profession, you need to think about how to brand yourself.  Are you the stalwart professional who does it by the book and gets the job done?  Are you the wacky creative who flies by the seat of his pants but still manages to turn out brilliant work while defying authority?

These things matter.  When branding yourself professionally during a job search, you have to be true to who you are or you could potentially end up in a bad situation for you and the employer (see last month’s posts for examples).

So, how do your begin to develop a brand for yourself that will help you get the job?  Here come the bullet points:

-           

• Make sure your email isn’t something like Corona_luvr@hotmail.com.  There are so many things wrong with that I don’t even know where to start.
• Your profile shouldn’t be a picture of you at a bar, setting something on fire or any combination of those two things.  Candid is fine, tacky isn’t.
• Be prepared to offer fresh content via a blog that isn’t just what you ate for lunch.  Let employers know that you have the brains to do the job.
•   Be consistent.  We all have mood swings when it’s a good day or a bad day, but your online brand should be solid as a rock.
• Deal with your past.  This could mean going through years worth of social media content and deleting posts where you ranted about your boss or shared how messed up your weekend was.  It’s got to go.

That’s just to get the creation of your brand started.  What happens once you get all that sorted and ready to roll?  You’ve got to keep building it and manage your reputation carefully.  Look at it like this:  Paris Hilton is still getting work, which means someone out there is doing what they can do to polish that girl’s rep.  Time to do the same for yourself.

• Google yourself and your business name (if you’re a freelancer).  You have to know what is out there and being said about you.

•  Ask past coworkers/clients for recommendations and reviews. LinkedIn has this built in, but you can put them elsewhere as well.

• Learn to become politically agnostic.  We live in a weird time when it comes to politics, but who knows what your potential bosses and coworkers think, so for now?  Keep a lid on it.

This type of stuff takes time and dedication.  Many people start strong and then let the effort fade away, but if you’re serious about your job search or in an field where staying on top of things like social media matters, then this is where the race is won or lost.

Next up will be the grandfather to many of these social media sites: your portfolio of work.  Before social media there were rarely places where you could leave yourself as open as a portfolio.

See you next week!

Social Distortion: Social Media’s Role in Job Hunting

 Let’s see if I can do this off the top of my head:  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and I’m sure I’m missing others.  Look, the point is that if you’re the type of person who is plugged into the Internet for any number of hours a day you’re probably on at least a handful of social media style sites. 

Is this a good thing if you’re hunting for a new job?  Yes.

Is this a bad thing if you’re hunting for a new job?  Yes.

Amazing how that works.

Making use of social media is a great way to network, learn about jobs and try to make the two of those connect.  More employers are asking for your LinkedIn profile these days because it’s a pretty uniform version of a resume.  And you’re out of your mind if you think recruiters like myself aren’t checking up on those types of things too.

Which brings us merrily to my next point:  I, and others like me, are checking these sites, people!  It shouldn’t have to be said, but here we go anyway:  If you’re looking for a job, keep potentially negative things off your social media feeds.  Lock that stuff down and prevent yourself from being passed over because of posts that offer TMI about things like the bachelor party you attended last weekend or that last article you read about polygamy trends in the US.  Bad, bad, bad.    

This month we’re going to spend some time talking about the appropriate uses of social media.  It’s a broad topic so I want to devote some posts to it.  Namely:  how to develop an online presence, what should be included in an online portfolio and how to prep yourself for the inevitable background checks.

Before I close this out I’ll give you all a little homework before my next post.  Take the time right now and go through your social media sites and take a look at the following:

-          Your privacy settings.  Who can see what you’re posting?  Who can find you?

-          Who is following you or friends with you?  Are they a liability?

-          Is your contact information accurate?  Is your email address professional?

-          Are your pictures depicting things of a questionable nature?

We’ll spend some time talking about these things next week!

Be sure to follow TalentTap on Twitter and Facebook as well and I’ll do what I can to hand out some tips and tricks on how to get ahead using social media.  Despite what I said above, it can be an incredible tool in helping to secure a better job for yourself.