A new year brings new opportunities. Make sure you are ready for them with an updated portfolio! Follow the 6 steps outlined by Behance’s Chief Designer, Matias Corea and you’ll be in tip-top shape. 6 Steps To Creating a Knockout Online Portfolio
Posts Tagged ‘freelance work’
Freshen up your portfolio for the new year
Friday, January 20th, 2012It’s All About Who You Know
Friday, August 5th, 2011
I know you have heard it a million times: network, network, network! I also know that the thought of ‘networking’ makes most people’s skin crawl. You hear that word and picture attending an ‘industry event’ and schmoozing your way around a room with a name tag and fake smile pasted on, schlepping business cards and shaking hands… ICK. Well, I have good news for you, it does not have to be that way AT ALL.
It is no big secret the best way to land a sweet gig is through a personal connection or referral. That is why 52ltd works the way we do. We sit down and get to know every person we match with a job and do the same with clients before sending anyone over. If you are looking for your next opportunity, start chatting up friends and old co-workers, people you met at that bb-q last weekend, and your friend’s roommate that has a million friends. Invite them to get coffee or meet up for happy hour. Start a conversation on your way out to float the river, or while 
you are out on a hike. Ask them questions about what they do, talk about what you would love to do and what you are good at. Just plant the seed so they are aware you are available and looking. Be nice. Be positive. Don’t be a salesman. You are just being friendly and hanging out, getting on their radar.
The Harvard Business Review talks about how networking is the key to breaking in to the ‘hidden’ job market. It really is common sense, and more painless than you think!
Teamwork Tips From Our Project Manager
Thursday, July 7th, 2011What is it about teams that work?
As a project manager I often get asked what makes a team work well together. I tried to distill it down to a few attributes that I think are what matters most.
They communicate directly and respectfully.
That may differ from person to person, conversation to conversation. Building a solid working relationship with your teammates is the key. Understanding that relationship should inform how you cater your communication style to match the situation and recipient.
They are clear with their expectations.
This means making sure each party has heard AND UNDERSTOOD the expectations, just because they are stated does not mean they are heard or understood.
They come from a position of understanding, not of being right.
For the good of the team, put your own agenda off the table. Being right makes someone else wrong. Work to understand the situation together and work together toward a resolution.
They are flexible.
Schedules slip, expectations change, time flies…find ways to work together to deal with change, if you’ve planned properly you’ve probably anticipated the change and can adjust accordingly.
They trust each other.
As we know, trust is earned; you earn it by setting expectations, meeting expectations and being consistent. It doesn’t hurt to be kind.
They deal with tension directly and swiftly.
Don’t let tension fester, if it happens, address it head on, trust that if you have a good relationship with your team you can communicate directly about the tension and work together to move through it.
They have more fun.
Work is called work, not play. Whatever…if you have taken the time to do all of the things listed above, work can and will be fun.
-A note from the ugly PM in the room.
Out of the woods… into the tall grass
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
The recession is over!! Right? Uh…well, I guess that kinda depends.
IF you’re a highly connected designer, with a killer book/site, AND you are well versed in something digital (e.g. Mobile Apps, web development, etc.) you are probably feeling a fair upswing. However, for the new grad, the newly relocated, or those otherwise without ALL three aforementioned qualities, you are probably still wildly wielding your machete to maintain a slight view out of the woods. Well folks, this isn’t a Get-The-Answers-to-Finding-Your-Perfect-Gig-Post. In fact if you see one of those…it’s probably loaded with a bunch of cockamamie information that doesn’t really apply to you 100%. You see, and this is going to be profound, you may consider employing some advance jaw support in case of abrupt droppage: everyone’s situation is different. Whoa… huh.
So, you ask, if I’m not offering the holy grail of Job-Acquiring-Advice, then what is the point?
Answer: The one thing all ye of the struggling design class do have in common, is that you do plan to eventually leave your filler job at “Cuppa Joe” or “Jiggles” (a specialty Jello mold shop, of course) to return to your design career. So… you need to stay sharp!
One good way to keep your skills honed and your portfolio from starving a slow death from lack of new content is to pick up pro bono work. Easier said than done, I’m aware. But, check with non-profits, small businesses, your brother’s snow cone stand. Check out organizations like Creative Cares . If that doesn’t work out, when you’re not making iced skinny caramel macchiatos, develop a personal project. Learn letterpress, make a series of t-shirts or create spec work. (You have to be careful not to misrepresent spec work in your book though!) To keep costs down, and to avoid a skipping-record-redundancy in your work, check out sites like Bittbox.com. Bittbox offers high quality “freebies” to any designer looking. Things like fonts, backgrounds, brushes, textures, vectors, etc. Pretty wicked cool if you ask me. Don’t forget to post all this work where the people that do the hiring will see it: LinkedIn. Yes, we all know about Behance, and Coroflot but many hiring managers do not. So, go ahead and create a profile and throw the link to your portfolio site up there. It can only help your chances!
Don’t get discouraged. Keep hacking away at the foliage standing between you and that design gig. It’ll give eventually. We don’t know when… could be 50 more lattes, could be 5,000… but it will. And when it does, you want to be ready!
Livin’ the Freelance Dream
Monday, November 1st, 2010Written by Nancy L. for 52′s blog. Thanks so much Nancy.
If there’s one question I’ve heard the most over the years, it’s “How did you become a freelance writer?” People are somewhat fascinated by this career path, and I’m happy to share the story (it all started with my 6th grade English teacher, Mrs. Robbins).
Lately, I’ve been turning the tables, and asking that very same question to my writer-type friends and colleagues. Here’s what Liz B., a fellow freelance writer and photographer, had to say about her journey into the world of freelancing:
“I was working at a record label here in Portland—helping them with everything from publicity to distribution—and some musician friends of mine asked if I’d like to join them on tour. So, I took a break and went on the road with them. One afternoon, we were at a rooftop party for SXSW in Austin, and I was introduced to Brooke Denisco. She was an Arts and Culture editor from Willamette Week.
When I got back to Portland, I ran into Brooke again at a show and we got to talking. I had studied journalism in college, and always wanted to write. So I asked her about freelance opportunities and she assigned me a story—even though I had no clips to show her. The assignment went well, and I started writing for the paper: arts and culture, fashion, and music. Eventually I became a columnist.
Newspapers don’t pay that well, so I wanted to branch out. So I answered a classified ad in the Oregonian to write for a natural medicine publication (I studied nutrition in college, too). From there, I was introduced to an editor of a health food magazine. One thing led to another and I kept adding more health magazines. Then a few years later, I pitched Spa Magazine. I never heard anything. A year and a half later, the Spa editor got in touch with me and I started writing about natural medicine and nutrition. Then I worked my way into travel and experiential spa articles.”
Liz isn’t just a freelance writer. She lives the dream: traveling all over the world, getting paid to visit spas, and having her writing published in national magazine. But Liz is realistic, too. “If you really want to be a freelance writer,” she says. “Be open to all kinds of opportunities. It’s hard to make enough money if you only write about one topic, so I supplement my income with copywriting, which is much more lucrative.”
From the Woods.. to the Tall Grass
Thursday, July 1st, 2010By Ashley ‘Findley’ Diehl, 52LTD PDX
The recession is over!! Right? Uh…well, I guess that kinda depends.
IF you’re highly connected designer, WITH a killer (and I’m talkin’ “holy shit that’s insanely awesome”) book/site, AND you are well versed in something digital (e.g. Mobile Apps, websites, etc.) you are probably feeling a fair upswing.
HOWEVER, for the new grad, the newly relocated, or those otherwise without ALL three aforementioned qualities, you are probably still wildly wielding your machete to maintain a slight view out of the woods.
Well folks, this isn’t a Get-The-Answers-to-Finding-Your-Perfect-Gig-Post. In fact if you see one of those…it’s probably loaded with a bunch of cockamamie information that doesn’t really apply to you 100%. You see, and this is going to be profound so you may consider employing some advance jaw support in case of abrupt droppage: everyone’s situation is different. Whoa… huh.
So, you ask, if you’re not offering the holy grail of Job-Acquiring-Advice, then what the hell is the point?
Answer: The one thing all ye of the struggling design class do have in common is you do plan to eventually leave your filler job at “Cuppa Joe” or “Jiggles” (a specialty Jello mold shop, of course) to return to your design career. So… you need to stay sharp!
Resume Re-do?
Monday, June 28th, 2010Here at 52 Limited, we see a lot of resumes. Many of them very well done… some over done… and some a tad too vanilla.
You’re a creative right? Well, look like it.
The hard part is: what does a good “creative” resume look like? Tough to say. Here’s a blog post that spells it out, both with examples as well as with some top tips and tricks.
Enjoy!
________________________________________________________________________________________
Cavan Riley
F. Claire Scroggins
Sebastien Nikolaou
________________________________________________________________________________________
Also.. here are some tips to create by. I’m a huge fan of #7 and #9.
1. If the job you are applying to has resume requirements, follow them. Even if it means keeping a Word version of your resume for such occasions.
Our two cents… or I guess better stated: “52-cents,” get it?: It’s totally OK to have multiple copies of your resume. In fact some folks who have a very multifaceted background are encouraged to keep a somewhat modular resume where sections can be moved, arranged, or omitted depending on what sort of job requirements the opening or company prefers.
2. Typography is key. This is your potential employer’s first chance to judge your design skills, and almost all design includes some form of type. You are expected to refine and perfect your text layout on your resume just as you would a design for a client.
3. Organization is also key. If people can’t find your information, they won’t be calling you. Some design positions bring in hundreds of resumes daily. There is no time to search for information.