Creative Ways to Find Creative Work by Anne Stewart

Posted: February 13, 2009 at 11.09 pm
Posted by Anne Stewart in Guest, graphic design

Guest Post : Anne Stewart
WebSite : http://www.hotcards.com/blog 

True Stories from the Job Hunt

It’s a weird time to be a creative type. Sure, the economy is in the toilet all over the world, which makes it a rotten climate for job-hunting. But an intrepid artist has the opportunity to thrive, because the trick to success, especially now, is to get a little crazy, and USE YOUR CREATIVE STRENGTH to promote yourself in ways that those with less imagination might never consider. 

Here are some success stories I’ve heard over the years, involving people using unorthodox means of getting creative jobs. And no, none of them involve hand-lettering your resume in crayon. That never works.

Send a Greeting Card

Over the holiday season, an old co-worker of mine who was rebounding from a failed start-up designed and printed 1000 greeting cards. The card folded out into a mini comic of his work history and where he was at now. He sent them to every friend, colleague, and business he’d ever had contact with, as well as to several hundred design studios and ad agencies. 

The total cost was just under $300.00, and resulted in four serious job offers.

Make a Video

You’ve probably been hearing that you should have a video resume for a while. Personally, I’ve been skeptical, but now that I’ve seen some in action, I’m converted. You need almost no video editing talent or experience to put together a short piece of yourself simply talking about what you do and showing off your portfolio.

I’m seeing the video resume do particularly good things for freelancers that work remotely. A web designer friend of mine is currently getting 2-3 project offers a week that say they were convinced by her video to give her the job. And it costs nothing but time.

Collaborate

Odds are, if you’re short on projects at the moment, you know more than a few friends who are in the same boat. I do some work for a printing house, and we recently printed a catalogue for a group of creatives who decided to get together and sell their skills collectively.

The catalogue was small – just four pages, a sell sheet could have the same effect – but it showcased each individual’s talents, work experience, and contact information, and it was very prettily put together. 

I think there were seven people in on it altogether, which broke the cost of printing up nicely, and their plan was to hand deliver and mail the catalogues to target employers. 

Throw a Gallery Show

If you like the idea of collaboration, try putting on a gallery show. I was part of one a few years ago, organized by designers looking for a forum to showcase their work. Instead of advertising to the arts community, we advertised to design studios, and other potential employers. We held it at a bar, got a couple of bands, and each had a well-lit area displaying our work, in print and on screen. We even had special business cards made that reminded recipients where they had met us. 

Not only did the design gallery show lead to some cool jobs, it led to connecting with others interested in creative collaboration. And we each invested only about $60.00 for advertising and rental of the space.

Add Social Media to Your Resume

It might seem audacious at first, but if you have people who will say good things about you, consider starting a fan page for yourself on Facebook, or creating a site devoted entirely to other people’s thoughts and opinions about you. 

When the economy is down, most hires are based on recommendations, so don’t depend on self-promotion and make references ‘available upon request.’ Offer employers a place where they can go and read references, recommendations, and even candid stories about you. 

Something for the Truly Adventurous

If the above options sound a big tame, check out the story of how one of my clients found their current CTO:

This web developer sent out personal dinner invitations to the CTOs of ten of his favorite companies in Vancouver, Canada, where he lives. The invitation said that he was a fan of the company, and was hoping to pick some brains for a venture he was planning. 

Five of the invitees accepted. And this web designer wined them, dined them, and listened to their stories. With dessert, he revealed his ‘venture’ scheme by handing them each a folder containing his resume, his business card, and a few screen shots of portfolio items.

The next day, he got a call. One of the CTOs had been planning on leaving the company he was with. He’d been reluctant to do it because hiring a replacement would be his responsibility. But after that dinner, he felt like he’d found not just a good employee, but someone to take his job. 

So there you have it. Ten invites. Five guests. A major budget blitz, admittedly. But the result? One offer beyond all expectation. 

And that’s all you need, right? Just for someone to give you one shot to get in there and prove how creative and talented you really are. The above strategies, albeit a bit extreme, have worked for others. It’s all about using your creative skill-set to manufacture that next big break.