Glamour Don't

At some point I am going to publish photos, like Glamour magazine does, showcasing the Dos and Don'ts of creative portfolios. For now, the description of a major don't is all I've got.

First off, a candidate called yesterday and told me he left his book with reception and asked if I could have look. Sure, no problem. And, oh, could he get the book back as soon as possible. Again, sure, no problem.

After that brief conversation I naively equated his urgency to quality and I imagined this guy had scores of recruiters all in line to get a hold of his portfolio.

Yea, well, not so much. First, if you can't respect your resume I have a hard time being open to the work that follows it. This candidate's resume looked like it had be carried around in his back pocket since the 8th grade, was folded into quarters and, as an afterthought, had been shoved into the folds of his work for safekeeping.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think. Isn't a resume your calling card? Should I just have been glad to get it no matter what the condition? Maybe I'm being a snob when it comes to the presentation of your work. But, I truly feel like your creative pieces should be presented to prospective employers as the evidence that you are a true creative professional. Now, I don't mean that every book needs to be gilded in gold, but to err on the side of quality and presentation would certainly be a good thing.

Chalk it up to a Don't and take heed.

It never fails

Whenever I have absolutely no creative positions open, I get a deluge of portfolios sent to me. There must be some inverse relationship between job openings and the presence of candidates. When you have one, you don't have the other.

And so the case with me right now. I must have been sent about 15 links in the last week and barely one job opening on the horizon. Blame it on the economy, the subsequent bailout, the dollar menu, whatever. Clients are cutting back, scopes are slimming down, and there are less creative jobs available. Or maybe it just seems that way.

Whenever I go onto LinkedIn or Creative Hotlist, which is practically daily, I see lots of jobs. If I were an art director looking for a job right now, I'd feel confident that there are a lot of choices out there. Granted those choices might be in Smalltown America but they are there.

This Summer I saw a huge load of jobs in Arkansas; Saatchi X was hiring like crazy. So I asked a few people if they would ever take a job in Arkansas. (Mind you, these are Californians I was asking). Resounding no all around. Ditto to Austin, Texas where Enfatico is currently hiring like crazy.

So I know the jobs are there, it just becomes a matter of where. And who will take them. Maybe the gutsy people. People willing to trade off location for opportunity. People far more brave than I. But at least I know who to share all these new links with.