Every so often, my creative marketing agency does a call-out on various job boards and forums to bring in some new talent to work on upcoming projects and initiatives. Whether we post on design-specific job boards like FSw Jobs, Krop, or FlashinTO, or on more generic boards like CraigsList, we always seem to get a nice pool of respondents. However, like anyone in HR can attest to, only a small handful ever end up actually being considered.
The ones that don’t make it past the cut form a nice collection application faux-pas. Some are mind-blowing. Some are sad. Some are just plain funny. In light of one of our recent call-outs for creative talent, I thought I would shed some light on some of the things that get an application a line by-pass… to the garbage. Here are 7 ways to not get a job.
In my periodic search for musical inspiration, I came upon this clip of John Mayer performing in a music store somewhere for a small crowd. John combines two of my favourite songs in this clip, and whether you’re a music/John Mayer fan or not, I guarantee you this will leave you in awe.
It takes some time before it starts, but he gets into things around 5:00 (counting down). The real magic begins at around 1:15.
Besides showcasing what a phenomenal musician John is, this video truly was an inspiration to watch. When he gets to the solo, you can really tell John leaves the music store for about 20 seconds and hits musical euphoria. Caught in his own moment of glory, doing only what he does best - create music.
These moments are pure, rich, and rare. They are moments that define exactly what you’re made of. These are moments you should strive for, whether you’re a designer, a writer, a strategist, or in this case, a musician. These are your moments of brilliance.
Scratch project management. In the long list of skills that successfully get me from one day to the next, I’d say that people management ranks as one of the most valuable skills anybody can have in any profession. Its significance is no less in the creative field. Designers and developers are definitely, for the most part, an ecentric group. Brimming on creative genius-ness and madness (sometimes all at the same time), managing a creative group can certainly take some extra umph.
While I promise to never depict designers and developers as a breed of mad scientists again, you have to admit that people management plays a big role in helping a creative team channel their energy appropriately into effective deliverables. Throw into the mix the fact that you run a virtual company, and you’ve got yourself the weight that sits on my shoulder every day.
I’m certainly no Atlas, but to keep the creative magic flowing, here are a few tactics and values I subscribe to.
