A blueprint for finding the perfect job

What is a blueprint?

Traditionally, a blueprint is regarded as a paper-based reproduction documenting an architecture or engineering design, with technical drawing emphasizing the plan.

On a more general basis, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan.

We will use the later to describe a job search in the current market and to stay competitive no matter the situation. Your dream job should be more than just filling for an open position. If you are looking for employment, in any field, you can follow these steps and adjust them to your particular situation. The result will speak for itself.


The following is a strategic way to conduct a job search.

Most job seekers turn to want ads in newspapers and online websites as the crux of their job searches. Here are the facts: an online search is akin to going to a bar to find a mate. Most people will be forgotten amid other suitors wearing similar scents and attire.

If you're new to this tradition or just out of school you may feel dumbfounded and frustrated. That is normal, due to the fact that most people don't get a job this way or that easy. You must have a plan instead.

I'll tell you right now: ditch the newspapers and job search websites. The current job search is about being cutting-edge and taking risks.

Say no to tradition

Ignore the old advice of going to newspaper and online websites first. They're for the desperate, the uncreative and the people stuck in the 20th century. They can be useful, but not as a primary place to search for jobs. Most of those jobs often get filled internally or by someone who knows someone either before they are posted or soon after the jobs get posted.

These jobs are better choices for someone who is desperate and needs to apply to as many jobs as soon as possible or they'll be in financial peril. If in your current situation you find it better to follow tradition then stay with tradition, however there's more to strategy should you want to set yourself apart.


The cutting-edge job search blueprint

1. Scout - The first step is not to search for available jobs, but to search for companies. Pick the most appealing companies to you. These should be the companies you want to work for.

2. Sort - Sort your list of companies by letter grade from A to F after you've weighed the pros and cons, checked for unlisted openings and scaled the jobs for desirability.

3. Focus - At this state, we'll ignore anything that gets lower than a C on your scale. You should never focus on a job or company because of the salary they pay. We know money is important, but to really be competitive and happy in the end consider what you are interested and love, not just the greens. With that said, focus on the jobs you want. These are the jobs where you should invest the most time, resources and creativity. Start with your A companies and then go to B companies after following the other steps.

4. Research - You've already scouted the companies, now is the time for the research. Learn about the areas they need to improve and where they've had success. This insider information will set you apart in your job search.

5. Adapt - With the information in hand, adapt your skills and message to how you can help them. Make sure your message shows that you've done your homework.

6. Impress - These companies may or may not be hiring. Either way, your goal is to impress. You've spent time on these specific companies for a reason. Treat this like a first date. Start with a phone call then send your package. Wait and deliver a friendly call back. During these calls, establish a rapport so you can call back in a few weeks to keep inquiring about openings and keep your name in the game.

Rather than send out dozens of resumes, you've put your best forward with a few jobs. This cutting-edge job search blueprint will first separate you from the mob of online job applicants. The blueprint then puts you in a position to take advantage of opportunities you want. There is no worse feeling than having rushed to take an average job when you could have had your dream job, but you thought they weren't hiring or limited your job search to only what you and everyone else saw.

source: http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com/resumes/job-search-blueprint/

How to be known and build your client base

Here are a few ways to build up that strong client base from your existing network.

1. Tell everyone that you are open for business. Be it through Facebook, Tweeter, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. connect with your friends and colleagues. Tell them you're open for business and what you do.

2. Create some promotions for new clients. Even if the new business isn’t a big revenue generator, once people are comfortable working with you, bigger projects will hopefully follow. But while promotions are great marketing, don’t work for free. If they don’t pay you, you can’t call them clients.

3. Bring more to the table than existing clients expect. Promotions are good, but many clients prefer free advice in your area of expertise. Try a direct marketing mail-out to let people know there’s more to your services than they think.

4. Be open-minded. Some of our best web marketing success stories have come from listening to clients’ ideas and feedback, and tweaking them to make them amazing.

5. Be worthy of people’s trust. There is inherent risk in any business transaction. Minimize that risk by being transparent to work with. Be considerate of a client’s time, but make sure you always communicate the most important details, such as what actions they need to take, when they need to take them, what they get from you in return and when they get it.

This is an excerpt from http://us.moo.com/ideas/build-up-your-client-base.html

How to stand out and get noticed as a Graphic Designer

There are thousands of designers on the internet today in all types of fields. They range from web designers to print designers to graphic designers and more. They have different personalities, skill sets and mindsets. They are all designers, just like you, but they all have something different to offer.

So now you’re just starting up and you want to be just like them? That’s not the best way to approach your business. In the design profession, the best way to be recognized is to be unique and to stand out when compared to other designers. These easy tips will help you prove you are different in a market of thousands.

Diversify your portfolio

Look around at design portfolios similar to yours. You will notice that most designers use same style and techniques. Whether it is similar color schemes or similar design styles, we become accustom to comfortable styles. How can you stand out?

• Try something new – If you find yourself doing the same kinds of designs, do something new! One of the best ways to stand out is to show that you can do different types of projects. Look around on the internet and find tutorials that have a different style than what you’re used to and try it out. Instead of always creating a clean, modern layout, for example, try creating a grungy layout.

• Flaunt it! – If you have created something for yourself or a client that is different from the rest of your designs, flaunt it! All clients have different ideas in mind, so when you show clients that you can do very different designs; they will be more likely to pick you over others.

Have a unique business card

Every design professional should carry around a business card. You never know when you might meet somebody that needs your services. With that in mind, here’s how to use that business card to your advantage:

• Don’t use a premade template – You can use a boring premade template or you can create an exciting business card yourself. Both options are easy, but which one do you think will attract attention? The boring, unoriginal business card or the exciting business card created by you? The answer is the exciting business card because it shows your style to prospective clients and helps you stand out.

• Design it with your personality – Your business card is a representation of you and your services, so design it with your personality. Design it with your tone of voice and with your creativity. If you show your personality to the prospective client, you become memorable in their minds and they will most likely pick you to lead their project.

Respond quickly to clients

Step into your clients shoes for a moment. Imagine you’re contacting a designer about your next project. You’re very excited to make your idea come to life and you’re hoping this designer can make it happen. Now imagine it is a few days later and you still haven’t heard from that designer. Your time is limited, so you decide this designer is never going to return your call and you contact another instead. The following tips will help you respond more quickly to client requests:

• Get an email client for your desktop – I personally recommend Thunderbird from Mozilla. Thunderbird allows you to link your email account and promptly respond back to emails all from your desktop. Best of all, it’s free and easy to use.

• Remember, quick responses go a long way – When you respond quickly to a client, it shows that you are interested and committed to that client’s idea. This will go a long way because the client will think of you when recommending designers to their friends and associates. Plus, it’s a good business habit to practice because it shows professionalism to your client.

Go the extra mile for your clients

This may sound tedious and not worth it, but it goes a long way. Clients love when somebody goes the extra mile for them. Whether it is giving a free service away or putting more effort into their project, it really shows a difference between you and other designers they could have hired. Here’s a couple of things you might consider doing:

• Offer a free service – Suppose you’re designing a small business’ website that is just starting up. Go the extra mile and offer to design a free business card for them. Offering a small service for free leaves a great impression on a client. It shows that you care about the client and you want to help them as much as you can.

• Send a holiday card – Whether it is through email or an actual letter, send your clients a card during major holidays. It shows that you’re still thinking of the client and it will remind them of you and your services. Be careful what you send them though. Make sure your holiday cards are general and never specific. You don’t want to end up sending a Christmas card to a client who celebrates Hanukah.

Taken from: http://www.graphicdesignblender.com/

Useful Websites and Services

...and what they mean for you.


Bookkeeping:

Set an account on wave accounting http://waveaccounting.com/
an ease to use, free service. Wave accounting categorizes your expenses and business transactions.

Graphic Design Blender:

The website address is http://graphicdesignblender.com/
a user friendly, great GD website for any design professional and those who are just starting out.

Wikipedia:

It may not seem as important right now, but with so many venues and ways to get answers to common problems it easy to overlook this free resource. The free encyclopedia can help you with research on hard-to-grasp topics and terms, and whenever you need to research for your next presentation, et cetera.
The website address is http://www.wikipedia.org/

CafePress:

A site to express your passion and love for art and design. Here you can sell your products for free, as the about us page states:
From your favorite T-shirt and hoodie, to the tote bag over your shoulder and bumper sticker on your car, we're here to let you express your interests. And what makes our products so unique, and so expressive, is that we don't create the designs on them. Our community of
designers do - all through millions of shops we help them run.

You can upload your design and put it on t-shirts, mugs, hats, bags, etc. and instantly begin selling your products online for free. Its easy to sign up and set up a store within the sire. Users have reported that for the most part all you have to essentially do is upload your design and set it up for sale. You can make money if you have an idea that you think other people would be interested in.

If you would like to start selling your designs online through CafePress, follow these five easy steps [also found on http://www.ehow.com/how_4874189_cafepress-bad-place-business.html]:

1. Go to CafePress and become familiar with the site, the designs and products you are interested in, and check out some of the stores.

2. Sign up and start a basic shop. It's free and you can always decide to upgrade later, if you find that your designs are selling well, or cancel it depending on your needs and interests. Customize your shop and add products.

3. Get to work! Start designing and let your passion overflow you surrounding space. Use Photoshop, Illustrator, or any other program to create art and make your designs. Be sure to read CafePress's specifications on file type and size according to the products you choose.

4. Upload your designs and be sure to enter keywords so that people can find your designs then they do an online search. Chose the products to put your designs on and enter a price amount.

5. Sit back and watch your designs sell. It may take a while for your designs to show up in the CafePress search, but after a few days they will appear and if people like your designs, they will buy and you will begin to make money.

Moo

The website address is: www.moo.com

A U.K. based growing company, this is a great source for printing out business cards, postcards, greeting cards, tickerbooks, envelopes, packaging, and ideas! The main thing here is cards, they have a ton of resources and advice for your small and growing business.

Yola

The website address is: www.yola.com

Yola allows you to create a basic free website, with free hosting and a free website address. Should you decide to upgrade the service can be charged to your paypal account. Currently they are partnered with Moo to help users who plan on creating a website.

There are many useful services that can help you build a website, while some are free there are others that charge a fee, a commission or place ads on your venue. Do your research and choose based on your needs.

Flickriver

This website is all about photographs. This is a gold mine, if you are looking for photos in a specific criteria you may type into the search box and browse through the thousands of files uploaded by flickr.com users. Get inspired, get tons of ideas, and definitely get in the game!

http://www.flickriver.com/

Getting Rich as a Freelance Graphic Designer

Why some freelance designers become rich while others don’t

Take a moment and scan the web for successful freelance designers. I mean financially successful freelance designers. I’m not talking about designers who have a great following on their blog, I’m not even talking about designers who crank out phenomenal work on Dribbble. I’m talking about designers who make more-than-enough money to get them by. Freelance designers who are rich.

So why is it that some freelance designers get rich while others barely get by (all under the guise that there’s no problem because they are doing what they love, so it’s okay)? Why can’t you be happy at work and be rich at the same time?

You can. This article will cover tips on how to turn your passion for design into a steady profit. I can’t guarantee you’ll be making a professional athlete’s salary, but at least you won’t be begging for food and hoping for a solid design job to come around.

Pay attention to your numbers

And your numbers will reward you.

Do you know how much you make an hour? A lot of designers charge clients per project (which is absolutely fine) and fail to keep track of how many hours they work on a project. Inspiration comes at 2:00 am, so you wake up and work on a project for a few hours. By the time you’re finished, a $250 business card project has taken you 50 hours and you haven’t made very good money at all.

After all, no one is more rich in time than anyone else.

And if you waste your time doing something that pays little, there’s no time to do things that pay more. You’ll never get rich that way. Therein lies the first secret that rich freelance designers won’t tell you: Pay attention to your numbers (hours spent, costs incurred, etc) and your numbers will reward you.

Stop treating design like a hobby

For most freelance designers, what is now your career started as just a hobby. After you gained the experience you needed, you began to realize that people would pay money (and in some cases really good money) for your services. The problem is, while you may have made all the exterior changes needed to start a freelance design business, you still treat design like a hobby instead of a business.

So how can you treat design more like a business?

We’ve already mentioned one point: pay attention to numbers. Other tips include not feeling obligated to take every job you’re offered, not wasting potentially lucrative hours arguing with clients, and finding steady work (read on).

Once you realize you’re in the business of design to make money (admittedly, you can and should still enjoy it), your decision-making process will change. Instead of asking “which projects are the most fun?” or “Which project will look best in my portfolio?”, you’ll ask “Which projects will give me a great return on my investment?” and the like.

Freelance designers who get rich, treat design like a business, not a hobby.

Find steady work

The last secret that rich freelance designers will never tell you is to find steady work. Most freelancers who make a lot of money have a lot of steady jobs. This usually means they have paired with a local design agency, ad agency, etc. who passes the smaller, “less-important” jobs off to them.

I did this for a while and it worked excellently:

I had worked for around a year at a design agency when it came time to go back to school. Instead of dealing with a long commute and/or night classes to accommodate my work schedule, I offered to work as a freelancer from home. They paid me the same rate, and it was steady work.

Finding steady work is a key to getting rich as a freelance designer.

- This post is a paste from the website http://graphicdesignblender.com/why-some-freelancers-get-rich

I will paste more from different sources as I encounter information around. The ultimate point is to have this information available when needed in one source. All citations will be available on the bottom of the page. All comments, queries, complaints and feedback are welcome!