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I’m pleased to announce that I just finished The Corporate Creative: Tips and Tactics for Thriving as an In-House Designer by Andy Epstein. I had the pleasure of attending two of Andy’s seminars at the 2009 HOW Design Conference in Austin, and it’s worth reporting that Andy is responsible for my current quest for knowledge on the intricacies of running (or being a part of) an in-house corporate design department.
I’ve described a few of Andy’s points that really hit home for me:
One of the most powerful actions you can take is to consistently forge strong personal relationships with your clients and upper management. Embrace the tenets of customer service! Your clients will be the biggest advocates for you (and your department) when you provide them with great service. Want some real-life proof? Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail my in-house team got yesterday:
“Hey marketing geniuses, our meeting with [name omitted] could not have gone any better! The book you all prepared for us made the meeting go incredibly smooth… It’s one thing to have a good program and talk about it, its another to back it up with the style and class you put forth… Thank you again! [Department name omitted] would still be in the dark ages if it weren’t for Marketing.”
Practice the Three-R’s: Retreat, Reflect, and Respond. Whatever that zinger is about to slip out, either mentally or physically withdraw from the situation, think about what result you’d like to have come out of that situation, and act appropriately to achieve that result. Us designers tend to wear our hearts on our sleeves… my current boss even told me once that I have no poker face. (This further explains why I don’t really care for poker.) Be professional, be polished, and be proactive.
If a client asks for something to be completed in an unworkably short period of time, don’t use the word unreasonable, which could be interpreted as your seemingly self-serving option. Use the word “unworkable” and explain why it’s unworkable. Technical constraints? Quality concerns? Need time for the creative process to happen? Tell the client, be specific about it, and over-communicate your progress!
Remember, it’s who you are that matters. Andy suggests remembering these four points:
1. It’s not enough just to be a good designer when working in-house.
2. It’s not enough to satisfy your creative muse through the practice of design.
3. It’s not enough to coast through your job.
4. And it’s definitely not enough to skirt the big issues regarding your career and blow off taking the time to really determine what you want in your professional life…As an in-house designer, you need skills that your peers in agencies and studios don’t.
As a designer, you are one of the “experts” of your brand. Andy advocates avoiding “brand blindness” by asking yourself these three questions:
1. Who buys our product?
2. Where is the first point of contact made?
3. Is the brand message clearly communicated in our design?
Focus! Interpret what the client is saying (ie. “Make the logo bigger!”) into something that will make the design better (“The client is telling me that our branding needs to be clearer to the end user… making the logo bigger may not be the best solution, but I’ll think of other ways to achieve this goal.”).
Define the problem before you offer any solutions! Whenever your client starts to art direct (and they will), move the conversation back to the marketing goals. As I mentioned in a previous post, ask questions… ask a ton of questions!
Don’t forget about quality: in your work, in your relationships, in your environment, and in your talent… if you don’t effectively advocate for quality in your companies, you and your team are destined to become mere order takers with fixed inputs and outputs, devoid of quality thought and design, that add no real value to your company.
Don’t give up! We all have our bad days, but remember to stay positive; your mood will be reflected IN your work, and in your performance AT work.
When your job beats you down, or your clients disrespect you, when you get little support from upper management, and all your peers are constantly complaining, it’s easy to throw in the towel and become just another apathetic disaffected in-house designer. If you’re unfortunate enough to get to that point, you should either quit (your job) or start taking positive action to improve your environment. Otherwise, you’ll end up far worse professionally, creatively, and personally.
Be a creative consultant; think differently than your nondesign peers and contribute perspectives and insights on nondesign problems that will be innovative and valuable. What else can be said? Make yourself available, and make yourself known as a knowledgeable and talented resource to your clients!
Andy’s book is full of very useful, and incredibly relevant information on all aspects of building, working in, and maintaining a successful, productive, and respected in-house design department. This book is so comprehensive that I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone: a current in-house designer, a designer switching over from an agency, a student, or perhaps most importantly, the Vice President of your company (who’s probably not exactly sure what the heck it is you do).
In the meantime, go buy Andy’s book at Amazon.com, or at MyDesignShop.com. While you wait for that to arrive, visit Andy’s blog, the InHOWse Designer Blog, which offers daily posts on in-house design.
Produced by the College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern University (my alma mater), and Harvard Medical School at Harvard University, the above infograph was built using over 300 million tweets and shows density-preserving cartograms for each hour of the day (EST), by U.S. state. According to this data, us New Englanders are indeed a cranky bunch, only tweeting happy things in the early morning and late at night! (It also kind of makes me want to drop everything and move to California.)
Download a high-resolution PDF here.
…comes from the Miller Brewing Company and Landor San Francisco. As much of a beer snob that I am, there’s nothing like a frosty High Life on a hot summer’s day, because sometimes a man just likes to kick back and relax with a cheap beer.
Via the DieLine.
Designed by Eric Fischer, these graphics log where tourists (red dots) and locals (blue dots) take photographs in a city.
With the press of the page down button, you’ll be able to confirm that it’s been over two months since I last posted on this blog. Well, I’m happy to officially report (on this blog) that I’ve just recently started a new job back in Boston, and everything is going well. I feel like I’ve adjusted very quickly to my new surroundings, and I’m already looking forward to a productive tenure with the new company.
The six months leading up to this job offer were difficult. The unemployment rate hovered in the 9-10% range for months, and it seemed as though there would be no reprieve. Slowly but surely, the economy improved, bringing with it a less-grim job market.
Before all that, though, the year at work leading up to my September 2009 lay-off was very difficult. Each morning, I pep-talked myself out of bed: today will be different… you’ve done great things for this company… you’ve brought them to the next level… you’re doing the work of three people… you continue to provide value here! When your entire industry is in economic shambles, and layoffs are looming, there’s often little you can do.
My time with that company turned out to be a really great learning experience; working there opened my eyes to a lot of things. Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way, both from personal experiences, and watching those around me.
- Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.
- You really do reap what you sew.
- Ask for help when you need it.
- Always keep an open eye on the big picture.
- Always have data to back up your decision or recommendation. “Gut feelings” rarely get recognized.
- Be able to hear and give the bad news when needed.
- Research pays dividends. Look before you leap.
- Take care of your employees—they’re the best advocates for your company, and their loyalty pays off.
- A house in order will stand over a house divided.
I set off to Florida in 2005 to get work experience: I gave myself one year, and that quickly turned into four. Having closed this chapter in my life, I look forward to the learning experiences yet to come as I start over.
I can hardly believe how fast time goes by when you’re unemployed. Personally, the worst part about it is the amount of downtime I have; there are only so many episodes of ‘Law and Order’ out there, and I’m getting to the point where I can probably pen an entire season. Dick Wolf, if you’re reading this, please call me: I can guarantee you another Emmy.
I’m the kind of person that needs to have something (a job or hobby) occupying his mind at all times. For most of my life, a job was there to keep me engaged in something (with hobbies filling in the gaps), and when I lost my job due to layoffs, my calendar suddenly cleared right up. Again, Mr. Wolf, if you’re reading this, call me.
In any event, as the job growth numbers still don’t look promising, I thought that I might try to sum up my current strategy and share it with my fellow job-seekers. Here’s how I’ve been going about my search for the past few months; I hope that you can find at least one useful idea from my experiences.
Still employed? Have a plan.
At my previous place of employment, I saw the writing on the wall for quite some time and I was already forming a contingency plan for a layoff situation.
If you’re currently employed and it looks as though layoffs are eminent, take this time to get your résumé in shape. While your current responsibilities are still fresh in your mind, start jotting them down and rephrasing them to fit into your résumé. Comb over your previous job descriptions, and at this point it wouldn’t hurt to reconnect with some of your former co-workers or supervisors (if you’re planning on using them as references).
Otherwise, just try to be aware of what’s going on in your industry, your company’s competitors, and your company. Read industry blogs, magazines, and set up news alerts to keep abreast of what’s happening. Arm yourself with as much information as possible, and start preparing your résumé now so you won’t be caught off guard. This goes without saying, but if you suspect that your company is in layoff-mode, start preparing yourself financially, as well!
I just got the axe. Now what? Networking!
Your first action should be to notify those in your personal and professional networks that you’re seeking a new opportunity. These are people that have known you for years, know what you’re capable of, and know your reputation. In other words, they are the people that will go to bat for you. Reach out in person, or even online through sites like twitter and LinkedIn. Nothing can take the place of having a strong network!
Where do I want to work?
If you didn’t make the cut, at least you’ve prepared yourself for it… but now isn’t the time to rest on your laurels.
In my case, I moved back to the Boston area. I made up a list of companies that I wanted to work for- companies whose brands or product I respect- and started bookmarking their websites’ hiring pages in my web browser. When I started, I had about seven companies on my list; now there’s about sixty, and I make sure to visit their hiring pages every week to search for new job postings.
Another tool that I found useful was to visit sites like Boston.com or the Boston Business Journal to read about their annual “Best Places to Work” surveys. This is a great way to find companies in your area who are healthy, and more importantly, hiring.
Personal Branding
The next step, and if you’re looking for a marketing or creative role like I am, is an absolute must.
Design an online portfolio, participate in social networking sites like Facebook and twitter, and make it easy for potential employers to find you. Go ahead, toot you own horn, but be careful not to over-expose your brand. Make sure that if you do have a Facebook page, you have customized the privacy settings appropriately… after all, you don’t want a potential employer looking at all the pictures from your last party, do you?
Sites like Brand Yourself.com and Personal Branding Blog will give you a better idea on how to get started, but the main takeaway here is:
- Be consistent
- Be yourself
- Stay engaged
- Give it time
Inbound Marketing: Getting Others to Notice You
As for inbound marketing, it starts with creating relevant content. Write new things, post things that interest you, or respond to other people’s ideas! Make yourself an expert, and write about what you know.
A good friend of mine, among her other duties, writes press releases and articles for an architecture firm. Often when she writes these pieces, the name of one of the partners of her firm gets attached to the article (as the author) and sent in to various industry trade magazines and blogs. My advice to her was to start her own blog to showcase her writing talents, previous work, and more importantly her extensive knowledge on her industry. By creating her own content and showing her expertise, she could expose her talents to other industry experts, which would lead to the expansion of her personal network, and possibly lead to a job offer.
I’ve read about several people “blogging their way to a job” by having potential employers find them through their personal branding initiatives. Check out blogs like HubSpot’s Internet Marketing Blog (@HubSpot) for great ideas on how you can adapt their principles of inbound marketing (to gain leads and customers) to your personal branding initiatives (to gain the interest of potential employers).
If you have a website or blog, it would be in your best interest to deploy some sort of hit tracking software as well… after all, how are you going to know who is visiting your site, and who is sending traffic to it? There are many ways to do this, but few easier than Google Analytics (it’s free, too).
In my case, if I send out a résumé to “Company X”, and I know that “Company X” is located in Waltham, MA, I can monitor my site traffic to see if anyone from Waltham, MA, or from “Company X’s” network has visited. In sales terms, I found the lead (the job posting), reached out to my customer (the hiring manager), and now the customer has responded to my call to action (“visit my site at joerib.com to view some of my past work…”). This gives me a good indication as to if I should expect a phone call from “Company X”, or at the very least, that my résumé was compelling enough for them to visit my website.
Online Job Posting Sites
Once you’ve established your personal brand, and you’ve got a solid résumé designed, it’s time to post it online. Monster.com (who has recently acquired Yahoo! HotJobs), and Career Builder are still the job-search mainstays, but dig deeper than that. Every industry has specialized job search sites… for creative/marketing folks like myself, take a look at sites like:
- Please Feed the Animals (from the creator of the film ‘Lemonade’)
- Coroflot
- Creative Hotlist
- Authentic Jobs
- Krop
- AIGA
- the Ad Club Job Board
- MITX Career Exchange (New England)
- Koda
Job Delivery
Have an RSS feed reader like iGoogle or Netvibes? Good… time to put it to work for you.
The job posting pages of some companies actually have RSS feeds that you can subscribe to, and most job-search sites do the same. Gather these RSS feeds and make yourself a job-search dashboard on your favorite feed reader. As new opportunities are published, you’ll be alerted to them with no searching involved.
Remember how I mentioned personal branding and creating a network through twitter? This is another area where you can make technology work for you. What I’ve done is to create several search agents through popular twitter dashboard, TweetDeck. Each search term (#boston, #jobs; #boston, #design; #boston, #hiring; etc.) gets it’s own column.
Furthermore, I’ve started following my companies of interest (when applicable) and several twitter accounts that post jobs (or advice) like @Coroflot, @MITX, @AuthenticJobs, @BrandYourself, @JobsBoston, @CreativeBoston, @MonsterCareers, @BrazenCareerist, @JulieSimsTCG, @TalentZoo, @CBforJobSeekers, and @TMJ_BOS_ADV (Tweet my Jobs) to name a few. As content gets published, I’ll get them in my dashboard- live.
If you’re new to twitter, TweetDeck actually has a pretty comprehensive directory to get you started.
Résumés and Cover Letters
By now, you should have found a few places to apply to. Remember that résumé that you started working on back when you still had a job? It’s not finished. It’s always good to have a “generic” version of your résumé, but this should not be the version you send out to a hiring manager. Tailor your generic copy to fit each job you apply for.
Moreover, never use a generic cover letter. Do your homework to find the physical address to the company you’re applying to, and see if the job description mentions a “this position reports to Manager X”. Hop on over to LinkedIn to see if you can find “Manager X” at said company, and you now have an “in”. I’ve found it beneficial to not only apply through the company’s website, but to send a résumé and cover letter directly to the hiring manager and recruiter. LinkedIn has proven itself to be a valuable research tool.
In your cover letter, don’t re-write your résumé:
- Reference the job posting and where you found it
- Introduce yourself to the hiring manager
- After you’ve studied the job posting, write about your past experience and how it fits the need of the hiring manager/company (this is the bulk of your letter, and this should be specifically written for each opportunity)
- Close your letter with a follow-up date and method (and actually do it)
- Don’t forget to spell-check!
Remember to research this company as much as you can. The better you understand their product/service, industry, and challenges, the better you can tailor your résumé and cover letter to the specific needs of that hiring manager and company. Don’t forget- they’re looking to hire someone to fill a need. Explain in your letter that you know what that need is, and how you can fulfill it!
Keep Yourself Busy
Treat your job search like a full time job; if you put effort into your search it will show, and it will yield results. Don’t get complacent, either. If you send out a résumé to one company, don’t sit by your phone. Be proactive, take the initiative, and start looking for new opportunities to apply to!
In your downtime, why not work on your personal brand, do some “just-for-fun projects” (easier to do if you’re a creative), or do some consulting/freelancing to keep your skills sharp?
Successes and Failures
So what’s working for you; what hasn’t worked? Did you employ an unorthodox strategy to gain employment? Share your story in the comments below.
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