1. Listing Word, Excel, Windows, The Internet, Macintosh or Microsoft Office as skills. Ummm, Duh.
2. Any of the following words: Team Player, Multi-Tasker, Hard Worker, Detail Oriented, World Class, Aforementioned, Right Brain, Whole Brain, Holistic Thinker, Marketing Professional.
3. A QR code. I am not going to pick up my phone, take a shot, then peruse your portfolio on my phone. Ever.
4. More than 3 fonts. More is not more.
5. A 5-paragraph cover letter. I actually think creatives should skip the cover letter.
6. Links to a Blog or Twitter account that have content a recruiter really shouldn't see. If you are going to give me more content that you author, make sure it enforces the reasons I'd want to hire you.
7. Referencing yourself in the 3rd person. Creepy.
8. A design that makes any part of the resume hard to read.
9. A lack of personality. You must show something that differentiates you from the next person.
10. An Objective section that starts with "To Obtain. . ." I already know you want a job, no need to muddle it up with corporate speak.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Inspiration & Your Responsibility to Find It
Last night I gave a talk at Chapman University, as part of their Visual Arts Speaker Series.
One of the points I made was about inspiration and the responsibility of a creative student to continually find sources of inspiration. You can only concept ideas from the contents that currently exist in your brain. If you do nothing to increase those contents, well then, your ability to think up new and innovative ideas is somewhat limited.
But, those who travel more, read more, research more current trends, watch more of the best ads, solicit different points of views, eat at different restaurants, and generally indulge in random and varied activities more, those folks will be the ones who have a wider (and way more interesting) foundation to extract new ideas from.
In this interview of John C. Jay, Global Executive Creative Director and Partner of Wieden + Kennedy, Mr, Jay echos the same thought that creatives have an obligation to search out sources of inspiration. He says, "As a creative, it's your job to stay current. It's your job to make sure you look outside your own silos."
He also talks about his time working at Bloomingdale's under a CEO that made seeking out sources of creative inspiration a top priority. Have a watch of this video, you'll be jealous of Mr. Jay's early experience I'm sure. I am.
One of the points I made was about inspiration and the responsibility of a creative student to continually find sources of inspiration. You can only concept ideas from the contents that currently exist in your brain. If you do nothing to increase those contents, well then, your ability to think up new and innovative ideas is somewhat limited.
But, those who travel more, read more, research more current trends, watch more of the best ads, solicit different points of views, eat at different restaurants, and generally indulge in random and varied activities more, those folks will be the ones who have a wider (and way more interesting) foundation to extract new ideas from.
In this interview of John C. Jay, Global Executive Creative Director and Partner of Wieden + Kennedy, Mr, Jay echos the same thought that creatives have an obligation to search out sources of inspiration. He says, "As a creative, it's your job to stay current. It's your job to make sure you look outside your own silos."
He also talks about his time working at Bloomingdale's under a CEO that made seeking out sources of creative inspiration a top priority. Have a watch of this video, you'll be jealous of Mr. Jay's early experience I'm sure. I am.
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