anne hubben, creative career coach         anne@rubycreatives.com 917.834.0354

googling yourself: not just for your ego anymore

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
 

I used to just google myself for the hell of it, after I’d exhausted old friends, ex-boyfriends, crushes, and oh yeah, all those professional things that you use google for like researching who you will be interviewing with.  But now it’s not just for your ego anymore.  It’s a very good idea to know what links come up under your name.  It’s even more important if you are in social networks or write online articles or blog posts.

First, do a search, check it out, then set up a Google Alert that can comb the internet for anything new.  For me, it’s mostly my name attached to Twitter from either my own feed or something I’ve said that has been retweeted.

But, once I did find an article that was attributed to me that I hadn’t written.  It was creepy. Especially since it was a political column and although it was pretty innocuous, I was struck by how easy it would be for anyone to write something with someone else’s name on it!   I had a few moments of panic as I blamed myself for putting myself out there like that. But, there are many people putting themselves way more out there than I am, so how could it happen to me?

Fortunately, I did some digging on the article and it turned out that it was a division of another company that I had written something for.  I wrote my contact at the organization and he very quickly took care of it.  It was an internal mix-up.  I was very relieved.

But, what I learned is that you really do have to stay on top of it.  If i hadn’t had the Google Alert set up, I never would have found that article. It also confirmed my belief that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.

So, go ahead if you’d like, put yourself out there, make comments, write articles, blog, register for conferences, but google yourself from time to time.  This applies to you even if you’re not on Facebook or Twitter or even Linked In because if you’ve run a local race, or attended a benefit, your name is probably online.  The fact is that the line between our personal and professional lives gets more and more blurry, as we live more and more on the internet.  There’s not a whole lot we can do about it, but it doesn’t mean that we’re helpless.  It’s a matter of taking responsibility for your name,  your reputation and your “personal brand.”

Posted in be ready, communication, self promotion | 2 Comments »

are you as fresh as possible?

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
 

If someone called you tomorrow for an interview would you be ready? I’m not referring to the people who are actively looking for work, but to those of you who are happy where you are.   It’s a great feeling to love your job and not have to worry about a job search, but its still a good idea to keep your online presence fresh.

When I say “presence” I mean your portfolio, resume, your Linked In profile and any other professional networking sites that you’re on.

Never before has there been such an effortless way to show off what you’re doing at your job like there is with an online portfolio. It used to be that people would have to either request your portfolio or you request that it be reviewed.  Now, people look at your portfolio without you having to do anything besides update it.

Also, most recruiters use Linked In quite a bit to find people.  So its a good idea to update your profile.  It’s also a good idea to always work on making more connections.  The more people you connect with, the more people can find you through their connections and the more people you can find when you need them.  It’s also a great way to complete a handshake with someone that you’ve done business with. It’s a way of saying, “It was nice to meet you, I like you, let’s stay in touch.”  Also, if you’re always connecting with people, then when you really are looking for a new job, nobody will get suspicious as to why you’re suddenly connecting with people.

If you stay current, and your good at what you do, you will get contacted for new opportunities.  You might not care now, but someday you will. As the Chinese Proverb says, “Only be afraid of standing still.”

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Posted in be ready, jobhunting tips | 1 Comment »

are you dreading a conversation?

Monday, March 15th, 2010
 

i often help my clients prepare for conversations with various people such as a boss, direct report, interviewer or even just a person that they’re networking with. Everyone has varying degrees of trepidation about whatever conversation or meeting they are about to have.

My own experience has shown that most of the time what we imagine will happen is much worse than what actually happens. However, it’s important to be prepared.

Preparation is different in each case, but some possibilities might be:

1 — asking for a raise: be prepared to explain why you deserve one. Talk about problems you’ve solved, results you’ve produced, accounts you’ve won, etc.

2 — talking to a direct report who is having some performance issues: Think about the person’s personality and decide what will be the most effective way to communicate with them. Hopefully you’re already familiar and comfortable with this, but just think about it with specifics. Do you have an idea of some tools that could help this person change? Do you have a solution to share or help them arrive at on their own?

3 — if you’re going to an interview: Make sure you’ve researched the company and have some questions prepared. Make sure you can present your portfolio well, that you’re prepared to discuss salary and that you’re on time.

My point with these examples it to say that you can pay attention to things that are within your control, but you don’t know exactly how it will go and that’s okay. You might really click with the person or not. You might love the vibe in the office or not. There are so many variables that you have no control over that the best thing you can do to prepare is whatever it takes to calm your mind and detach from your expectations.

Be confident in the fact that you’re as prepared as you can be, you’re smart, capable and experienced and you can handle whatever comes your way. I had someone fall of her chair in the middle of our interview and we hired her. She was very experienced but clearly very nervous. It was okay. She did fine and it just made me like her more, but I’m a sucker for slapstick.

Posted in be ready, communication, networking, solutions, state of mind | No Comments »

copywriter Neisha Tweed finds a new job

Monday, November 30th, 2009
 

Neisha Tweed is a very talented copywriter who I met a few years ago. I was impressed by Neisha’s talent and by her enthusiasm for being creative. I knew that she would make her mark in the world. Recently, she made the big decision to leave a big name agency to work for another smaller agency so that she could expand on her portfolio and experience.

Because it can be very challenging for junior people to navigate decisions like these, I thought it would be interesting to hear about how she made this change.

Me: Could you tell us about your career so far as a copywriter?

Neisha: I knew I wanted to be a CW. I majored in Advertising and English at University of Florida (Go Gators). Did internships, a writing independent study then went to portfolio school at the Creative Circus and more internships.

Then I decided I didn’t want to do it anymore. Ha. Just like that. I wanted to move to Costa Rica and teach. But 3 months later, a series of unfortunate and fortunate events led me to NYC, freelancing at an awesome small shop and then a small branch of a big agency then a big agency and now a smaller, multicultural agency. The adventure has only just begun.

Me: You were working at one of the leading agencies in the industry, was it a difficult decision to leave?

Neisha: Definitely. With all the layoffs going on, I thanked my jujubeans every day I had a job. But some days I felt like I was in a loveless marriage. I wanted more. Something different. More challenges. More “something”.

The new opportunity came at a weird time too. I wasn’t actively looking. I had just been put on a new team a few months before and loved them. I was doing a lot more work, more responsibility and for the first time starting to feel like I fit in.

But that feeling would come back every now and then, that loveless, “pot-roast-again” feeling. It’s so easy to get lost or become complacent at a big agency. I wanted more things for my book. I wanted new experiences. I figure I’m young so I should go explore and learn and grow. You know, fairy tale things like that.

Everything about the new place was different. Multicultural. Small agency. New people. New clients. New partner. TV and radio (I’d been doing mostly interactive for the last 2 years). What if it sucks? What if I suck?

It all terrified me. And that’s why I went there.

I believe that you should feel terrified sometimes. I think that’s what keeps us fighting to be better.

Me: What’s the most important thing for you as you move forward in your career?

Neisha: Being amazing.

Me: How is advertising different (or the same) than what you thought it would be when you were in school?

Neisha: Different – in school everything had to be great. Everything had a crazy timeline and everything felt like the impending end of humanity. At work you realize that’s only really with pitches. And sometimes you’re doing things to pay the bills so you can just tuck your creativity in your pocket this go around.

At school you also didn’t have clients, budgets or briefs. So there was all this magical freedom. At work, you’ve got to be smarter in order to be great. And some clients are allergic to greatness, so you’ve got to be a good salesman.

Same – everybody is a hilarious, borderline brilliant, borderline lazy, slightly socially awkward alcoholic.

Me: What do you wish someone had told you before you started looking for work?

Neisha: Something like “Your only loyalty is to Neisha.com. No one else. You make sure you’re looking out for you and getting what you need.” – Someone awesome named George told me this a few months into my first full-time gig.

Me: What inspires you?

Neisha: The children. They are our future.

Also, seeing great work. Creative, insightful, strategic work. And good writing – especially poetry. And sunrise.

Me: What do you think you’d like to be doing in 10 years?

Neisha: Hmm. Being happy.

Posted in be ready, change, interviews | 3 Comments »

to go or not to go

Friday, August 28th, 2009
 

Sometimes it’s really obvious that it’s time to look for a new job. Sometimes you’re really happy where you are, but you watch other people move on and wonder to yourself “Should I leave too? Am I missing something?” If you’re still happy and you’re producing good work, and being challenged and learning new things, then it doesn’t sound like it’s time to leave yet.

But even if you think you’ll retire where you are now, it’s a good idea to keep things current and up-to-date. For creative people, that means making sure your portfolio has your most recent work in it. Also, your downloadable resume with your current job on it. Not only is it important to keep your stuff out there (and I’m assuming that you have an online portfolio), it’s a great opportunity to show off the great work you’re doing.

The wonderful thing about everything going online is that you really don’t have to be actively looking to have recruiters find you. You just put your portfolio up (including posting it on Linked In)and if the work is good, you’ll get calls. If you’re younger, this might not seem so amazing, but for the people that have had to send physical portfolios all over town, doing drop offs at agencies, worrying about getting it back, this is revolutionary.

Another good thing to do is pay attention to what’s going on in the industry, outside of your agency. Go to events, meet people, swap information. Just be connected with more people than those on your immediate team.

If you’re happy, enjoy it. It’s a great feeling when you love your job. Be sure to get the contact info of people that leave so that you’re building your network.
If you start to get the itch, put some feelers out there, go on an interview or two. Sometimes it’s just what you need to realize you’ve got a pretty good situation where you are now. Or you realize you have options and can pursue them if you’d like.

Ideally, it’s best to not wait until you’re close to losing your shit and storming out. That’s just bad form and if you hold it all inside, well, that’s not healthy. Try to stay on top of things so it doesn’t come to that.

Posted in be ready | No Comments »