2012 May

Monster to Mentor: 5 Tips for Becoming a Great Manager

Mandy Gresh on May 30, 2012

Our newest blogger, Mandy Gresh, is a coach and strategist devoted to helping others hone their plans for their career. Which parts of your current job are the most important for your future? Why is it so important to think like an entrepreneur? And how do you know when it’s time to head out on your own? These are the kinds of questions she’ll be helping us answer….

Becoming a manager is a little like becoming a parent. Although you can do a lot to prep for the job (reading books, observing others, coming up with lots of mental notes, thinking about best practices), it’s not until the day you actually have a staff that you get a clue what it’s really about.

I’m speaking from experience, on the management side at least. At 26 years old I was handed a team in a foreign country, with my manager in New York. The truth is that I was a nightmare to work for: micromanaging, with a very top-down style; only telling people things on a need-to-know basis; keeping track of when people arrived and left…. in other words, the exact person you don’t want to work for. Read More →

Job Board Shows Why “Life’s Too Short for the Wrong Job”

The Hired Guns on May 29, 2012

Whatever you may be doing at the moment, we doubt it’s quite as unpleasant as the job of the woman in this ad, who’s stuck hand-scrubbing other people’s clothes from within the stifling interior of a … washing machine. It’s one of series of clever ads from Jobsintown.de, a German job board.

You can check out the rest of the series at The Collared Sheep.

Listen to the Numbers, Not the HiPPO

Lisa Schneider on May 24, 2012

You’ve heard of HiPPOs, right? They’re the Highest Paid Person’s Opinions, and there’s someone with them in every group.

Whether they come straight from the actual Highest Paid Person’s mouth, or just someone who sucks up to her, or the guy who’s super-charismatic and persuasive, there’s always someone who has the last word. “I think it should be like this,” they intone. And so it shall be done. Read More →

Five Things to Do Before Launching a Paid Search Campaign

Jacqueline Dooley on May 24, 2012

Jacqueline Dooley has been working in the fields of online marketing and search marketing for over a decade — we’re so happy to welcome her to the blog. In her posts, she’ll be laying out for us the basics of paid search, and the ways to make sure you get the most out of it. The post below appeared first on her own blog, Search. Click. Find.

Paid search is a do-it-yourself medium. It takes literally five minutes to set up an AdWords account, fund it, create your first campaign, and launch. And Google has been aggressively targeting small businesses by providing $100 coupons and vouchers through hosting companies and ISPs, as well as reaching out directly to small businesses.

For all of the above reasons, as well as the continued pressure to find new leads and generate new business, many of my small business clients are confused about how to move forward. They feel a sense of urgency to launch an AdWords campaign (everybody’s doing it!) but they aren’t sure how to approach it. Add to this that it’s so easy to get started with AdWords -– just register, plug in your credit card, and GO! — that the temptation to launch before you develop a thoughtful strategy can be overwhelming. Read More →

Get Those Lies Off Your Resume (and Keep Your Job!)

The Hired Guns on May 23, 2012

Ousted Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is only the latest high-profile example of an employee let go because of lies or inaccuracies on his resume or CV. Telling whoppers is risky business: a survey by Findlaw.com found that a full 25% of those who lied on their resume got fired because of it.

But if you’ve been less-than-accurate on your resume, how can you remove those ticking time bombs without causing more problems for yourself? The HR Capitalist has a game plan for setting the record straight — and doing it without getting fired.

The Good Guns: Help the Mammalfish Agency Fund Its Innovative “App Lab”

The Hired Guns on May 22, 2012

Mammalfish is a Williamsburg, Brooklyn–based digital agency focusing on family and education. They’re hoping to land a $250K grant from Chase Bank and LivingSocial, which they plan to use for a new project: App Lab. It will feature a traveling lab that will provide intensive, three-day app-development workshops for students in lower-income areas. The kids will get a solid intro to the design, development, and business of making apps.

Here’s how to vote for Mammalfish and App Lab:

1) Go to Mission: Small Business and click on “Log in & Support.” By logging in via Facebook, you add $5 to the general grant pool — Chase puts in the $5, not you!

2) School down and search for “Mammalfish” under the “Vote Local” heading. Click “Vote,” and you’re done.

Thanks for helping them out!

Introducing Yourself: How to Get Your Speech Off to a Great Start

Joel Schwartzberg on May 22, 2012

Movies and television shows don’t start with the big reveal. Essays and articles don’t put their conclusions first. Your speech is no different — audiences want you to slowly but deftly ease them into the topics of your speeches. (Foreplay would be another apt analogy, but let’s keep this PG.) Successful introductions establish three things first and foremost:

1. A comfort level and rapport between you and your audience
2. Who you are
3. Your point — what you’re going to be discussing — and its relevance

Not all intros fit the bill. For example, you may want to start with the funniest joke or anecdote in the world, but if it doesn’t connect with these objectives, it does you no good.

Suggestions for strong introductions: Read More →

How to “Backchannel” Your Way to a Job

Tom Burg on May 17, 2012

The way that people find jobs, particularly digital jobs, has changed substantially in just the last three years. These days, by the time someone is requesting your resume, they probably know quite a bit about you, not just via Google but also by digging a little on social-media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.

And in a hyper-connected city like New York, there’s a great chance that you and the recruiter or hiring manager know at least a couple of the same people. Read More →

Don’t Get Fooled Again: Be Ready to Freelance

Allison Hemming on May 15, 2012

We’re not all the way out of the woods yet with this up-and-down, on-again-off-again economic recovery. But the news is a little bit better each day. We’re feeling the tide turn here at The Hired Guns, which is a good sign, but it’s been a long slog for us, and I’m sure for many of you. So whether or not things are headed up and up from here, let’s collectively make a pact that “we won’t get fooled again.” What I mean is, let’s act now on the lessons we’ve learned, so that whatever the economy does in the future, we won’t be blindsided next time.

1. We are all Hired Guns now.
You are the master of your own career. It’s no secret that company loyalty is dead. Along with it died the notion that someone else was going to take care of us. For the last 50 years employees have outsourced career ownership to their bosses; the trade seemed fair when security was on offer. Without that available, there’s a trade imbalance between employees and companies, which is why everything is out of whack. Read More →

Bullet Points: Freelance Success

The Hired Guns on May 14, 2012

GigaOm ponders the rise of the “stealth freelancers.”
Tax Tips for the First-Time Freelancer [BI]
6 reasons freelancers should rent an office [CBS]
How can you go on vacation if you’re the boss? Adelaide Lancaster of The Big Enough Company says it’s possible to get out of Dodge and still be sure that everything will still be there once you get back. [Forbes]
Madison Avenue is learning to loves its new ranks of freelancing advertising talent. [AdAge]

Are you thinking about taking the freelance plunge yourself? Or are you already freelancing, and looking for strategies to grow the number of your clients — and your bank account? Our Hired Gun Coach, the digital strategist Beth Temple, will be teaching a class this Wednesday, May 16, for freelancers at all stages of their career: Freelance Success: Independence, Not Insecurity.

Previous freelancing tips from Beth:

Show Me the Money: How to Price Your Work (and Get Paid for It)

Beth Temple on May 10, 2012

Freelancers and freelancers-in-training: for more of Beth Temple’s hard-won, practical tips on getting paid what you deserve, check out her May 16th Hired Guns Academy class on Freelance Success: Independence, Not Insecurity.

It’s no surprise that the two most common questions I get in my class are about how to price yourself and how to get paid. Although we are in it for the love, love can’t buy food and shelter, or a ticket to a movie now and again. Read More →

Tonight at the Hired Guns: Help and Advice for Working Moms

The Hired Guns on May 8, 2012

A quick reminder that tonight at 6:00 we’ll be hosting “How Does She Do It?” — a panel set up by and for working moms. It will be a forum to discuss working-mom challenges and successes around career management.

Becoming a mom is a pivot point in many women’s careers. We believe that through great coaching, mentorship, and community, career missteps can be averted in favor of successful work/life balance. At tonight’s event, we’re hoping that our panelists will help unlock some smart strategies for getting ahead — at whatever stage you are on on your working-mom journey.

To find out about the event panelists and the full agenda, and to register yourself, head here:
Hired Guns Panel: How Does She Do It? Hope to see you there!

Flextime: How to Bend (Not Break!) in Today’s Turbulent Workplace

Beth Temple on May 8, 2012

The digital business consultant Beth Temple will be bringing her newest class, Freelance Success: Independence, Not Insecurity, to the Hired Guns Academy on Wednesday, May 16. This three-hour course is designed to help freelancers at all stages of their career become more successful at what they do best. They’ll learn how to bring in more business, develop a unique selling proposition, and be better at navigating corporate politics and managing their own finances.

It’s been a few months since Fast Company’s much talked- and tweeted-about cover story on Generation Flux. The title’s been bothering me ever since I read it. The magazine had it wrong by a vowel! We don’t need a generation in flux (which sounds negative and unstable), we need one that has flex (which is much more agile and proactive).

Flexibility is going to be the key to the next few decades for every business, big and small. It is also going to be the defining characteristic for those individuals who want to thrive in the next few decades. Read More →

How Do You Respond to a Job Rejection?

The Hired Guns on May 7, 2012

Nobody likes emails that basically say “thanks but no thanks.” But what do you do when you get them? Do you just trash them, or do you write back?

Chances are that whatever you’re doing is a lot better than Ask A Manager’s examples of what NOT to write, such as “You’re making a mistake; I’d be a great candidate.” Or the equally pushy “I’d think I’m at least worth an interview.” Read More →

“The Freelance Shift” Breakfast, May 7

The Hired Guns on May 4, 2012

Creative Week kicks off bright and early this Monday (May 7) with “The Freelance Shift,” a networking breakfast and panel that looks at the move away from working as a full-time employee — at least in the advertising and tech industries and related fields. Bklyn Haus hosts the breakfast, which starts at 8:30 am at Galapagos, in Dumbo.

Meet the Mentors: Laura Lubman Hamburg, Communications Pro

The Hired Guns on May 3, 2012

When both her kids were in their teens, Laura Lubman Hamburg left a major job working in communications at IBM. She’s now the head of her own communications agency, with an eye toward later working full-time in a new career. Here’s a taste of what she’ll have to say about re-entering the workforce and similar hot topics as part of next week’s Hired Guns panel for working mothers .

Do you have any advice for working women who are about to be moms? What should they be doing NOW if they plan on going back to work later?
People will ask if you plan on coming back immediately. Say yes, even if you aren’t sure. You may decide to stay home for a while. You may go back right away. Don’t play your hand. You want to have the option, not them.

Before you take maternity leave, transfer all email contacts to your home computer. Be sure to put them in a “@company.com” format, not in the internal-address format. Bulk up your Linkedin profile with recommendations, if you can do so without being obvious. Follow your industry news, and if you see something, send a few key emails mentioning it. Read More →

Meet the Mentors: Jacqui Stafford, Fashion and Style Maven

The Hired Guns on May 3, 2012

Next up in our series of interviews with the accomplished women who will be sharing their expert advice and ideas in next Tuesday’s mentorship panel for working mothers is Jacqui Stafford. You may recognize Jacqui from one of her many appearances on TV, or have read the style and beauty advice she’s given in the pages of Vogue, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, and many other magazines. She’s also the mother of a four-year-old adopted daughter.

Do you have any style or fashion advice for working women who are about to be moms?
Look for uncomplicated, fuss-free separates that don’t require much thought in the morning. Go for coordinating colors that make getting dressed really easy. Punch up your “wow!” factor with statement necklaces, scarves, and a great bag rather than over-trendy clothes. Read More →

Meet the Mentors: Kelly Day, CEO of the Blip Video Network

The Hired Guns on May 2, 2012

Next Tuesday, May 8, The Hired Guns will be hosting How Does She Do It? — a panel and discussion that we believe working moms at all stages of their career will find inspiring and fun as well as incredibly useful. We’re interviewing each of the panelists to find out where they’re coming from. Today we chatted a bit with Kelly Day, who has two daughters and whose husband is the primary caregiver. Recently appointed CEO of the web network Blip, Kelly has a career that comes with a hefty amount of travel….

How do you deal with all the business travel you do? How do you make it all work?
I’ve always traveled a lot, so my family is fairly used to it. I work hard to try to condense my trips as much as possible. I (almost) always try to make sure I’m home for the important things — school plays, recitals, etc. And I try to be as engaged with my kids as possible on the weekends, when I am home. I’m also a planner. I make sure that on Sundays everything is ready to go for the week — lunches planned, homework checked, appointments on the calendar, etc., to avoid as much chaos as possible while I’m on the road. Read More →

It’s the Platform, Stupid: Why Different Devices Need Different Kinds of Content

Lisa Schneider on May 1, 2012

I was at a product manager’s gathering a while ago, and the topic of video came up. Someone threw out the idea of taking short-form video — say, 90-second clips, the kinds of video you watch on mobile phones and laptops — and having it available on internet TV, which one would navigate using a standard remote control. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” the manager said. Well, yeah, there’s actually a lot wrong with that. Read More →

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