personal branding

There’s Still Time! Tell Us Which GoT Character You Are and Win Swag

The Hired Guns on March 28, 2013

image via TV Guide

Last week, we announced a Game of Thrones contest. The premise is simple: tell us which Game of Thrones character you are at work and why. The winner gets epic swag from HBO’s Game of Thrones store, just in time for the season premier on Sunday, March 31. The game is still afoot — you’ve got until tomorrow afternoon (March 29) to get your submission in. In the meantime, here are a few of our favorite submissions so far:

@featpete: I’m the office Varys. I don’t say too much but I “overhear” all of the gossip that goes around. People also probably think I’m a eunuch. Read More →

We’re Having a Game of Thrones Contest! (Yes, Swag is Involved)

The Hired Guns on March 21, 2013

HBO’s Game of Thrones has been a constant source of conversation at The Hired Guns office over the last couple of years. Sunday, March 31st, marks the start of the highly anticipated third season, and we couldn’t be more excited. If you haven’t tuned in yet, you should. Pretty much everything you need to know to survive in the modern work world plays out in this medieval fantasy epic, pitting seven kingdoms against each other, all in the name of trying to regain a single throne.

If you’re navigating a complicated work environment filled with back-stabbing, envy, and mistrust, there is no better way to learn (or just be reminded) of the rules of engagement for getting ahead in a cut-throat workplace. But it’s not all about warfare. Game of Thrones also offers plenty of moral guidance for leaders who want to do right by their people. There are plenty of lessons about beating the pants off your competition, mastering the laws of shifting alliances, and the art of holding your trump card until the right moment. The story lines and the characters are rich, layered, and complex — just like work. It’s the perfect Sunday night ritual for getting your Monday game face on. Read More →

Just Say No: Declutter Your Career With These Three Product Management Rules

Lisa Schneider on March 4, 2013

“Perfection is attained, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
-Antoine de St. Exupery

As a product manager, my job is as much about deciding what features don’t make it into a product as it about what features do. Sometimes it’s more about what not to put in, or — dare I say it aloud — what to take out. Stakeholders will bristle when their pet feature is headed for the chopping block, but product managers have to press on, because the simplest and most elegant solutions are often the most powerful. The same goes for your career.

Example: At a previous website (unnamed to protect the well-intentioned), everyone had an opinion as to what the content engagement efforts should look like: Most Popular. Most Recent. Most Commented. Most Shared. More Like This. Your Cat Would Like This. I inherited an article page that had seven of these modules crammed into a pretty tight circle around the main edit well (this was in the days when “above the fold” ruled, but that’s another post altogether). It was too much, too cluttered, and too unclear what we were asking the user to do next. Instead of driving more engagement, it drove — wait for it — a 60%+ bounce rate.

You, too, are a product manager. It may not be your actual job title, but you are the architect and manager of your career. And the last thing you want is a 60% bounce rate on your professional endeavors. Here are three rules of product management that can help you remove the noise from your career narrative and engage the user in a smart, effective way. Read More →

13 For ‘13: Thirteen Books That Can Change Your Life in 2013 (If You Actually Read Them)

Todd Cherches on January 14, 2013

Every year it’s the same thing. We start out the New Year filled with good intentions, high hopes, and a formidable list of life-changing resolutions. And for an indomitable few, those resolutions result in positive changes and personal growth. But for the rest of us, life tends to get in the way.

Before we know it, January is over and February flies by (it’s such a short month!). Then the spring holidays come along. Then it’s summer, and… well, you know the rest. That pledge to “start tomorrow” just leads to the eventual realization that today is yesterday’s tomorrow. So, what can we do about it?

We can start today. For real. Right now.

What we need to do is go from “resolutions” to “real solutions.” And one real-life solution that really works, is easy to do, and can kick-start us into action, is to start reading. And my recommendation is to start your New Year’s reading with any one of the 13 inspirational and motivational books on this list. Read More →

How to Do What You Love, Part 1: The Light Bulb Moment

Carole Murko on November 6, 2012

In the first of three installments, Heirloom Meals founder and former financial services marketing exec Carole Murko talks about the moment she knew going for her dream was the right thing to do. Her Heirloom Meals Thanksgiving Special airs during the holiday week. Check your local listings!

Your Ah ha! moment probably won’t be a dramatic, lightning-strike event like you see in the movies.

At least, it wasn’t for me. I’ve been on a lifelong journey toward my ah-ha! moment. I had a long career in financial services and even earned the coveted CFA. In my heart, I knew from day one that I was on the wrong path. The problem was that I didn’t quite know how to access the part of me that would allow me to be me in a professional capacity. I even remember saying, “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but at least I will make some money.” Don’t get me wrong — I definitely wasn’t just waiting for lightning to strike. I was always taking classes, networking, and just thinking. I knew I’d eventually figure it out. Read More →

What You Can Learn About Public Speaking from the Presidential Debates

Joel Schwartzberg on October 4, 2012

Whatever else you thought about the performances turned in by President Obama and Governor Romney’s during Wednesday night’s presidential debate (as well as that of Jim Lehrer, who had the nerve to keep interrupting them with questions!), the occasion was generally a study in good public speaking tactics. Though President Obama and Governor Romney shared a number of similar presentational techniques, the two did take some divergent approaches. Here’s a quick review of things they did right and not-so-right, as well as a few key takeaways that can help make you a better public speaker. Read More →

Share Your #presentastrophe, Win A Seat At Our Public Speaking Class

The Hired Guns on September 28, 2012

You know that dream where you have to give a presentation and you’re woefully unprepared? The one where everyone laughs at you? The one that makes you wake up in a cold sweat?

Of course you know that dream. We all do.

That’s where Joel Schwartzberg comes in. Joel, our resident Hall of Fame public speaker, is hosting a class on that very subject this Wednesday, October 3 at The Hired Guns Hive. He’ll rework your sentences, polish your posture, and give you some invaluable tips to warm up, calm down, and get focused before a speaking engagement. Better still, you can go for free. Tell us about your worst #presentastrophe. The Gun who shares the most dire presentation moment will be given a free seat at Joel’s upcoming seminar.

Tweet your story to @TheHiredGuns using #presentastrophe or leave your tale of public speaking woe in the comments below. We’ll round them up, have Joel pick his favorite, and announce our winner on the blog next week. We’ll also share the best of the rest with the Guns’ very sympathetic audience.

What We’re Reading: A Google VP Steps Out, A New Take on Job Vacancies, and #CoffeeMugMurder

The Hired Guns on September 28, 2012

Happy Friday, Guns. Here’s a look back at the week that was:

Google parted ways this week with Dave Girouard, VP of their burgeoning Enterprise business. Girouard will head up UpStart.com, a crowdfunding site that helps young professionals and recent grads start their own businesses. via Wired.com
There are 20,000 real estate brokers in New York City. The Gray Lady talks to three new agents about what made them want to join such a crowded field. via NYT
In the brave new world of the 21st Century, your current skills are never enough. via NYT
With 3 million open jobs in the US, why is unemployment so high? It’s easy to point to a lack of skills in the available workforce, but Wharton School professor Peter Cappelli blames the employers themselves. via PBS
There’s still time to sign up for Joel Schwartzberg’s public speaking class this Wednesday! via The Hired Guns Academy
Nancy Grace is the #QueenOfHashtags via Gawker

More Than Hot Air: The Presidential Debates, Public Speaking, and Presenting Your Personal Brand

Joel Schwartzberg on September 27, 2012

Joel Scwhartzberg is the Michael Jordan of public speaking. Sure, that’s a cliche that gets thrown around a lot these days (“My uncle is pretty much the Michael Jordan of dishwasher repair”), but in this case the comparison is apt. He won the U.S. National Championship in after-dinner speaking. He won the Massachusetts State Championship in persuasive speaking. He was ranked among the top ten public speakers overall in the US. The man is in the National Forensic Association’s Hall of Fame for his public speaking.

Let that sink in for a moment.

We asked Joel to share his thoughts on the upcoming presidential debates (the first of which occurs the night of his Guns Academy class) and what the Guns’ audience can learn from them. Below is the first of several posts on the debates and career management.

The upcoming presidential debates aren’t real debates at all, of course, but a series of well-rehearsed, carefully-worded, tiny speeches written by committee. (So much for candid truths). But while not much new can be learned at this point about Obama and Romney’s policy positions, a lot can be learned from their public speaking styles. Read More →

Why It Takes Moxie To Be In Digital

Sheryl Victor Levy on September 19, 2012

I recently spoke at Moxie Camp, a women’s leadership conference and I can say — and I think many of my digital colleagues would agree — it takes moxie to be in Digital. A lot of it. When I think of having moxie, it’s about having the courage to go into uncharted territory; being comfortable with having to say, “Let me get back to you on that,” and having serious get-up-and-go. Dictionary.com’s definitions for “moxie” are: “vigor; verve; pep; courage and aggressiveness; nerve, skill; know-how.”

Yep. That’s what I’m saying.

You’re paid to be an expert in “All Things D.” From digital strategy to CRM; from social media to product development. It’s a broad term, which has its advantages and disadvantages.

I can speak from personal experience as someone who works in an agency setting, but Ferris Bueller said it best (I paraphrase, obviously): “Digital moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Read More →

The Results of Our #6wordCV Contest Are In…

The Hired Guns on September 18, 2012

In case you missed it, The Guns launched a search for the best #6wordCV yesterday. We got a lot of really great submissions — some serious, some not so serious — from our Twitter network. It was a tough call, but Larry Smith, inventor of the Six-Word Memoir Project and the brilliant mind behind tomorrow’s What’s Your Story? class, has spoken.

Congratulations, @vdlr. Your #6wordCV took first prize:

“Digital storyteller igniting innovation, strategy, analytics.”

In Larry’s own words, “the specificity of it, as well as the art of what person can do for their clients” was the clincher. In addition to having something to lord over all her friends for eternity, she also wins free admission to Larry’s class tomorrow night. Read More →

Larry Smith: On Tomorrow’s Class, Knowing Yourself, and Keeping it Simple

The Hired Guns on September 18, 2012

We sat down with Larry Smith, our coach for tomorrow’s What’s Your Story? course, to talk about work, life, and presenting it all in just six words.

What is a Six-Word Memoir®?
Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. As the legend goes, he wrote: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” In November 2006, at the online storytelling community I founded called SMITH Magazine, we gave the six-word story a personal twist, calling it a “Six-Word Memoir.” (And partnering with a little-know company called Twitter for what was supposed to be just a one-month contest to win an iPod). The idea is as simple as it sounds: tell the story of your life in exactly six words. Those six words can be an attempt to sum up your whole life — think of it as the title of your autobiography or epitaph on your tombstone, as Mario Batali did when he wrote, “Brought it to a boil often” — or one aspect of your personal life (“According to Facebook we broke up”) or professional life (“I tell amazing stories in PowerPoint”).

How does it help professionals refine their personal brand?
The parameters of just six words help you get to the essence of who you are and what you do best. Ever notice that the higher up you get on the ladder, the shorter your emails and meetings can be? Being brief, precise and very much in tight control of your own personal story is a boon for anyone in any part of their life — from your online dating profile to your resume. Read More →

Six-word CVs, Four New Classes, and One Chance to Win.

The Hired Guns on September 14, 2012

As impossible as it may seem, summer’s already over. It’s time to put away the board shorts and flip flops and start thinking seriously about honing your professional skills. But unlike your kids, your fall schedule has something to look forward to. This fall, The Hired Guns Academy offers four distinct courses to help you take the next step in your career.

First off is What’s Your Story? Master the Art of the Elevator Pitch and Harness the Power of Short-Storytelling. On Wednesday, September 19, Larry Smith, founder of SMITH magazine and author of It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, helps you hone your “elevator pitch” and teaches you how to make it “flex” depending on the audience you’re speaking to and the stage of your career you’re in, so people remember your name and what you do best. Sign up here.

But wait – there’s more (yes, we just went there.) We want you to take a crack at crafting your own six-word CV. Make them funny, make them heart-wrenching, make them suit-and-tie serious — just make sure they sell you in just six words. Tweet them @TheHiredGuns using #6wordCV, email them to us at hired.guns.editorial@gmail.com, or just leave them in the comments below. The best six-word CV, as determined by our eminently qualified and highly vetted panel of celebrity judges, wins free admission to Larry’s September 19 class. We’ll share the best submissions on our blog, but only the best six words will win. Read More →

It Takes More Than Buzzwords to be an Expert

Lisa Schneider on August 8, 2012

The other day I took part in a hysterical exchange on Facebook: After watching AMC’s The Pitch (think Mad Men meets reality TV), my friend Deb Gabor, who heads up Austin-based consulting shop Sol Marketing Concepts, posted that she couldn’t stand hearing the contestants talk about “about mind spaces, brand platforms, value propositions, empowering consumers and other sundry bullsh*t.” She followed that with a comment along the lines of, “I’m afraid I sound like this at work – please help me.” Of course I jumped in with a snappy and equally buzzword-laden response, as did a few other folks. We cracked ourselves up. (I know, I need to get out more.) Read More →

Give ‘Em a Taste and Leave ‘Em Wanting More: Your Job Search and the Little Pink Spoon

Todd Cherches on July 12, 2012

Mint Chocolate Chip

It’s all about the Little Pink Spoon.

One of my all-time favorite summertime pleasures is going to Baskin-Robbins and trying out a few new flavors with those little pink spoons of theirs. Ninety percent of the time I just end up getting Rocky Road, but I always enjoy tasting a few other flavors before ordering my cone.

Why is Baskin-Robbins so willing to give away their product for free? It’s obvious: they hope that by giving us a free taste, we’ll end up buying a cup or a cone or a pint or a gallon. So they gladly give away millions of little pink spoonfuls in order to make many millions of dollars more in return. It’s the same reason movies show trailers, cosmetics companies offer samples, and car dealers offer test drives: people want to try before they buy.

So, how do you bring the Little Pink Spoon Principle into play in your job search? By giving a prospective employer a “free sample” of what you have to offer, you’ll dramatically improve your chances of success. Here are three ways to do it … Read More →

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 →

Get Your Blog On: Justin Lambert of “Words That Begin with You” Talks About Setting Goals and Avoiding Blogger Obscurity

Bill Brazell on April 26, 2012

One day, the consultant and copywriter Justin Lambert found himself thinking that he was “getting absolutely nowhere” in his blogging. Not a good place to be, and probably not an uncommon sentiment, either. But what was different was what he did next. Read More →

Public Speaking: The Art of “Selling” Out

Joel Schwartzberg on April 3, 2012

Too often, people approach their public speeches as if they were book reports. In lots of book reports, you simply describe something in which you generally have no stake. But to succeed in just about every conceivable professional setting, you need to not just describe your point, but SELL your point. Read More →

THG @SXSW: Stand Out (in a Good Way!) in the Workplace

Meryl Weinsaft Cooper on March 5, 2012

In the days leading up to SXSW Interactive, we’ve been looking at the Hired Guns and Hired Guns pals who will be there. Up today: co-author of Be Your Own Best Publicist, Meryl Cooper:

Mentor Session
Saturday, March 10, 11:00

Book Signing
Sunday, March 11, 2:30

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Author/BeYourOwn @BestPublicist & PRGal w/12+yrs of exp promoting ppl/places/prods. Spare time=producing films & eating/drinking around NYC

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
I’ve always enjoyed attending SXSW — and now I’m excited to share the tenets of “Be Your Own Best Publicist” as part of its new mentor programming. Read More →

THG @SXSW: Get a Creativity Tune-Up

Noah Scalin on March 2, 2012

In the days leading up to SXSW Interactive, we’ve been looking at the Hired Guns and Hired Guns pals who will be there. Up today: artist Noah Scalin:

Unstuck: Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing
Friday, March 9, 3:30
Book signing: 4:05
Presenter: Noah Scalin

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Artist, designer, activist, and author of 365: A daily creativity journal and Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work, & in your Studio. I made a skull a day for a year and it changed my life!

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
I wanted a chance to share my story with the terrific range of folks that SXSW attracts; and of course I love having the excuse to visit Austin again! Read More →

When to Bring the Funny — And When to Leave It at Home

Joel Schwartzberg on February 3, 2012

President Obama got panned last week for a very pan-worthy joke about spilled milk he made during his State of the Union address. Should he have gone there? Should you go there? I often get asked if people should use humor in their speeches and presentations.

Frankly, it’s like me asking my wife if I should whip up a soufflé for our next dinner — or like Mitt Romney asking if he should sing at his next campaign stop. The answer is simple: do it if you can; absolutely not if you cannot. Read More →

How to Succeed on Panels and Q&As: Make Yourself a “Point” Guard

Joel Schwartzberg on January 4, 2012

I give an annual presentation for members of a religious group about how to ensure that their faith is presented fairly in the media and in the rest of society. What they most want to know is what to do during panel discussions, TV interviews, and other unscripted scenarios in which participants aren’t in control and are sometimes taking unfriendly fire. Here’s what I tell them…. Read More →

Freelancers: Just Where Did the Year Go? And What Are You Planning for 2012?

Beth Temple on December 21, 2011

If you are like me, a solopreneuer, you get to the end of the year and wonder where where it all went. Hopefully you’ve been busy doing great work and enjoying making and keeping in touch with new connections, but you probably haven’t been thinking about how to wrap up the year. You’re not alone!

Here are four things you can do now to end the year on a high note:

Taxes: This is the time of the year you really need to start planning for your 2011 taxes. It’s best if you do it year-round, but we’re busy and often don’t keep up. Be sure you have all your receipts in order and you’ve got all your billings tallied. If you work with an accountant, be sure to schedule a December checkup to do some taxes preplanning. For instance, it may make sense to pay your state taxes for 2011 before January 15 in order to relieve some tax burden come April. Read More →

How to Survive a “Perry” Bad Public Speaking Misstep

Joel Schwartzberg on November 11, 2011

Rick Perry’s debate “oops” on Wednesday night deserves sympathy, even if you’re no fan of his politics. Who hasn’t lost a thought before? And the painful truth is that the more pressure you put on yourself to remember a forgotten point, the less likely it will be to come. Anxiety is a mortal enemy to thinking calmly, or even coherently. By the time Perry relaxed and remembered “Department of Energy,” the damage was done.

This wouldn’t have happened had Perry been allowed to use notes. Where’s Sarah Palin’s palm when you need it? If you know you have trouble remembering a key phrase or point, write it down. The purpose of notes is to help you remember your key points, nothing more.

But the biggest “oops” actually has nothing to do with Perry’s memory; it has to do with how he handled — or in this case, mishandled — the embarrassing moment. Instead of distancing himself from his mental hiccup immediately, he allowed it to linger for nearly a minute. If that seemed like a long time to you, imagine how it felt to him! Read More →

Tell Your Story, and Make It Fast

Larry Smith on October 24, 2011

This Thursday, October 27, The Hired Guns Academy will be hosting “What’s Your Story?,” our popular class on storytelling and elevator pitches. Below, the class’s instructor and creator, Larry Smith, talks about when he first realized that limits and parameters are your friend when it comes to creating a powerful, authentic story about your work life.

I was at a wedding this past weekend. The happy couple kissed. The dancing began. And soon enough it was toast time. One by one friends and family took the microphone to pay tribute to the bride and groom. And one by one those loving tributes turned into rambling disasters — often with no end in sight. “Somebody needs to wrestle the mic from him,” I heard a guest say at one point, in a less-than-hushed tone. Still, everyone was in a good mood and laughed off the hot messes who were doing their best to fete the happy couple.

After all, you’re allowed a certain amount of slack at a wedding. But when you fail to get your story straight when the stakes are higher — at a job interview, for example — the consequences are often much worse.

Want to Speak Well? Look to the Pros.

Joel Schwartzberg on September 8, 2011

In this new series, experienced speaker, teacher, and consultant Joel Schwartzberg breaks down for us the best ways to improve your presentation skills, whether you’re still in school, in mid-career, or in upper management.

With just over a year before the next presidential election, we’re about to be deluged with political debates, speeches, pontification, and more passionate punditry than any human not employed by Fox News or MSNBC can stand. But whether those speakers are conservative, progressive, or somewhere in the middle (or just trying to be) their goals are always the same: to make their points clearly, concisely, effectively, memorably, convincingly, and credibly.

And that should be your goal, too. Whether you’re speaking in front of a vast audience or a prospective employer, you want to make your own points clearly, concisely, effectively, memorably, convincingly and credibly.

In this blog and in my upcoming Hired Guns Academy course, we’ll be looking at ways to do just
that. But for now, while there’s so much speech-making all around you, it’s a good idea to examine how politicians do it. Remember two things: One, good speakers aren’t born; they’re trained. Two, when it comes to strong public presentations, how you say it as important (if not more important) than what you’re saying. Read More →

Bullet Points: Ways of Thinking That Sink Startups; No Tech Bubble (This Time)

The Hired Guns on July 12, 2011

“This bubble talk is about everybody being unbelievably psychologically scarred from 10 years ago.” Mark Andreessen puts us all on the couch to explain why there’s no tech bubble. [NYT]
Goldman Sachs Won’t Let Its Employee Work At Dealbreaker Without Taking 60 (Paid) Days Off First [Business Insider]
Why are people using LinkedIn? A survey of 500 users gets the pretty-infographic treatment . . . [Lab42, via Mashable]
What makes a great company name? Inc. magazine finds some common threads.
At Businessweek, Karen E. Klein looks at the tech incubator Idealab and the “thinking traps” the company tries to avoid.

Get Your Blog On: Meredith Phillips of “Church Avenue Chomp” Talks About Making Room for Grief

Bill Brazell on July 11, 2011

Life rarely stays on the path any one of us could or would predict, and for a blogger, it can be hard to talk about life-changing events with readers who only know one small slice of your life.

When Meredith Phillips began Church Avenue Chomp, the idea was to write mainly about the food scene in her neighborhood in Brooklyn. “That’s how it started,” she says. “That is not how it has progressed….”

Meredith talks about her decision to write publicly about her sister’s untimely death from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; aka Lou Gerhig’s disease), as well as the one thing that every grieving person wants from comforting friends (it’s probably not what you think). After all, loss and grief are universal concerns. As she puts it, “Loss is the kind of thing that you can either tap into, because you’ve experienced it—or that you’re so afraid of, that it’s of interest to you.” See what else she has to say by listening in below:

Listen to internet radio with Bill Brazell on Blog Talk Radio

Internet Week: How Technology Helps (and Hurts) Small Businesses (NYC)

The Hired Guns on June 9, 2011

Tomorrow, June 10, from noon to 1pm, The Hired Guns founder Allison Hemming will appear on a panel as part of the day-long Some Things Digital: Business 2.0 seminar. She and other small-business owners will talk about how technology and the Internet have changed the way they run their companies.

Some Things Digital is completely free, but you need to register in advance. Find out more here.

The Good Guns: Edit a Short Film to Help Teen Photographers

The Hired Guns on June 1, 2011

“The Good Guns” is a series of volunteer opportunities put together by The Hired Gun community.

Summary:
NYC SALT is a nonprofit visual arts program teaching photography to socioeconomically disadvantaged inner-city teenagers. The group is looking for 11 Final Cut Pro gurus to help 11 teens tell a two-minute story of their work for the 1st Annual NYC SALT fund-raiser and retrospective gallery show on June 16th. Email Alicia ASAP if you’re interested in helping. We’d also love to find one producer/editor volunteer to create a video master for the other volunteers so that all 11 shorts have a similar look and feel.

Good Gun Profile
You’ll need to be quick on your feet. We have one hour of video footage on each teen. This footage needs to be edited and combined with images shot by the students for the retrospective into a two-minute short. These video shorts will be distributed virally to promote the NYC SALT fund-raiser and will also be edited into a larger video montage for the June 16th event. Read More →

For Designers, Credibility Comes from Small Wins

Jeff Gothelf on June 1, 2011

Credibility is capital, and it’s crucial to your success as a designer. You earn it, save it, and spend it in order to make your work come to life. Credibility is also a way for your true talents to get exposure to the outside world through the products you design that actually launch.

As a designer, you get hired on the basis of your beautiful portfolio and strong resume. But that’s as far as those historical recaps can take you. From day one on the new job you need to start building credibility through small wins. It’s those small wins that immediately begin to earn you credibility. But there are subtle differences on how to best get those small wins, depending on if you’re a freelancer or a full-time employee.

Freelancers are expected to start performing immediately, from their first minute on the job. You’re there to fill a temporary gap, and there are likely projects that need your attention immediately. Small wins for a freelancer include asking the right questions. What are you there to do? What are the immediate fires to be put out? Who are the stakeholders? Whom will you be working with? Showing expertise at diagnosing the problem right away is a terrific small win. Next, ask questions about the timelines. Engaging clients with a quick discussion about the schedule shows that you’re conscious of their situation and want to help them meet their goals. Finally, earn credibility by getting to work. Waste as little time as possible before you get started. If you can start delivering work on your first day, you’ve shown your client that you’re serious, you’re there to help and can get the job done (win, win and win!). All of this adds up to a big chunk of credibility that will help you secure another gig with that company. It will also help spread good word of mouth about you to other clients. Read More →

Bullet Points: Horrible PowerPoint Slides; How to Get Ahead in 1959; Craigslist’s Founder Starts Temping for the Feds

The Hired Guns on May 27, 2011

If you haven’t voted already, check out our poll on dealing with email. A surprisingly unpopular method: filing every message.
The projector company InFocus recently ran a contest looking for the worst PowerPoint slides it could find. To the right is a detail of the winner, “IT Modernization Roadmap.” Easy to follow, right? [via Boing Boing]
Craig Newmark was recently sworn in as a temporary worker for the Social Security Administration. He’ll be advising the SSA’s chief information officer about customer service and online authentication. A good example of a portfolio career….
Welcome to “in-sourcing”: lawyers are being hired by big firms to do high-value work in small American cities. The trick is that they’re doing it for far less than the partner-track gets you in the big city. Expect to see this attempted in other industries as well, if it hasn’t been tried already. [NYT]
“Begin at the very beginning to see how USEFUL you can be…” In 1959, Billy Marchal’s grandfather wrote him a letter with advice on how to excel at his first job. It still holds up. [Times-Picayune]

“Every Hero Needs a Bad Guy”: Who Are You Fighting Against?

Todd Henry on May 19, 2011

Todd Henry runs The Accidental Creative, a speaking and consulting firm that helps teams do their best work consistently, not haphazardly. His book of the same name, about “how to be brilliant at a moment’s notice,” will be published this July by Portfolio.

My two sons are obsessed with superheroes. They asked for something very specific for their birthdays–two action figures. One is a superhero and one is “bad guy,” as they called him. Curious, my wife asked our oldest son why he wanted those two particular action figures instead of two superheroes, to which he quickly responded, “Mommy…every superhero needs a bad guy to fight.”

Word of profundity often come out of nowhere in our house. As I sat to write later that day, my son’s words echoed through my mind. Every hero needs a bad guy… I thought about purpose, uniqueness, brilliance, and the importance of doing meaningful work.

It’s easy to identify what you’re “for.” For example, I know that my mission is to bring freedom to creatives; to unleash them so that they can do brilliant work. I like to consider myself an arms dealer for the creative revolution.

But I had difficulty identifying my “bad guy.” I know what I’m fighting for, but what am I fighting against? I tried to think about the times when I’ve been emotionally moved in my work. It’s usually when I encounter a creative who is in a season of incredible productivity, someone who’s doing work beyond their expectations and is thoroughly thriving both personally and professionally.

On the flip side, I’m also moved when I first encounter someone who is living in a kind of self-imposed prison. Though the bars are obvious to those around them, they continue to live in mediocrity. I grieve their loss of freedom. In the end, I think apathy is my bad guy. My arch-nemesis. My Lex Luthor.

As a creative, it’s important to know what you’re fighting for, but it’s also important to know what you’re fighting against. This is the yang to your yin. We need two points of reference in order to navigate properly. Otherwise, we can never be certain what direction we’re truly headed in.

What are you fighting for? What’s the “why” behind the work you do? But equally as important, what are you fighting against? This is a critical question for any creative, brand, or leader to answer.

Creative work is a series of small, everyday battles. It’s an assault on the beachhead of apathy. Know your enemy, kick some butt, and take some ground.

Eliot Glazer and His Celebration of Awesome Moms and Dads

Allison Hemming on May 5, 2011

“Sharpshooters” is a new series of interviews looking at members of The Hired Guns network and the amazing books, websites, and other projects they’re creating. First up is Eliot Glazer, whose (highly Mother’s Day-friendly!) book, My Parents Were Awesome, came out last month.

Twesume? (your resume/bio in 144 characters or less.)
Comedian, digital-media genius-head, blogger/author/editor, live event producer, amazing dog owner, and nice Jewish boy.

Hometown?
Long Island

Where did the idea for My Parents Were Awesome come from?
I was working as an editor at Urlesque at the time, and as a professional blogger, it’s so easy to get caught up in the snark of the blogosphere that I decided I wanted to create a warmer, more friendly online destination. And I knew that one thing so many people have in common is a really cool picture of [their] parents or grandparents. And we’re in the age of sharing everything, of course, so all the elements kind of hit at once. Read More →

The Haiku Resume: Boiling Down Your Career into One Line

Daryl Lang on May 2, 2011

Think First Then Type, a column by the copywriter par excellence Daryl Lang, comes with tips and techniques to help you use language more effectively at work. After all, even the best and brightest ideas won’t catch on if you can’t get them understood.

You’ve spent hours perfecting your resume. It glows with relevant skills and accomplishments, it’s optimized for keyword-crawling job sites, and it’s been PDF’d in perfectly kerned Helvetica.

Great work. But when somebody visits your website, your resume isn’t the “front door.” Your visitors want to see a few words that describe what you do. And if the first words that greet them are a boring biography (“an award-winning whatever with X years of experience”), you’re missing an opportunity.

You are a brand in the marketplace, and the best brands say what they do in a few concise words. You can identify many companies by their taglines alone. “The ultimate driving machine.” “Good to the last drop.” “What’s in your wallet?” You need a compelling tagline too. Read More →

The Good Guns: Songs of Love for Japan

The Hired Guns on April 18, 2011

The Good Guns is a series of volunteer opportunities put together by The Hired Gun community; its members serve as active sponsors. Today’s effort is from Bryce Longton, a writer and longtime Gun. She’s using the power of music and social media to help people on the other side of the globe.

Summary: This one’s for all you Groupon addicts: Songs of Love for Japan (SOLFJ) is a 72-hour flash sale of great music for a great cause–it starts in an hour and runs until 10 am on Thursday. For $100, you can buy 100 rare and unique songs donated from 100 leading artists, including Josh Ritter, Ani DiFranco, Runaway Dorothy, Wolf Parade, and Heather Nova. If you buy the compilation, you also get a chance at concert tickets, signed CDs and other one-of-a-kind items. If $100 is too much for you, don’t despair: for $20, you can get one of the sale’s 20-song samplers (the sampler mix changes every day).
The Good Gun Profile: The project was put together by the writer Bryce Longton and the musician Cheryl B. Engelhardt. As they and everyone else were having fun meeting, greeting, and partying at South by Southwest last month, the bad news from Japan kept pouring in. Through Songs of Love for Japan, Bryce, Cheryl, and the rest of the team hope to raise a great deal of cash through the power of music. All money raised will be donated to the ShelterBox charity, which deliveries supplies and logistical support to those affected by disasters. To get your music and do your part, head to SOLFJ. And to help out even more, you can tweet something like this to your network: Check out @SOLFJapan, a 72-hour flash sale of great music for a great cause. http://solfj.org #solfj

[Image by Yoko Furusho, who hand-drew all the art on the SOLFJ site]

“Write Drunk, Edit Sober”: Kick-start Your Elevator Pitch

Larry Smith on March 16, 2011

The storytelling community I started, SMITH Magazine, is best known for the Six-Word Memoir project, but my core philosophy of telling your story comes down to even fewer words than that: Write drunk, edit sober.

Not that you should actually be drunk (the inebriated writer is a silly, antiquated idea, among other things). Rather, you should just let the words fall out of you, however messily and spastically, whether you’re writing a memoir, a letter, a flirty email, a toast, reports for work, or your Elevator Pitch.

In my class at the Hired Guns Academy, “What’s Your Story: Master the Art of the Elevator Pitch and Harness the Power of Short-Storytelling“, we’ll spend part of our time together “writing drunk.” Read More →

THG @SXSW: Getting Internet Buzz Without Spending a Fortune

Larry Smith on March 9, 2011

How to Create an Internet Phenomenon for Peanuts
Tuesday, March 15, 12:30
Presenter: Larry Smith

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less).
“Everyone has a story. I help you tell yours.”

What inspired you to submit your idea?
As I’ve told and retold the origins and subsequent amazing journey of the Six-Word Memoir project, I’ve thought a lot about the reasons it caught on. Whether the audience is members of a youth writing center in Bushwick or 800 big brains at PopTech, there are some clear lessons about why Six Words works so well, and how and why it spread across the world in an organic, authentic way.

Why are you the expert on it?
I created the phenom and have nurtured its growth carefully and obsessively for five years.

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
These are my people! I’ve learned so much in the years I’ve gone to SXSW, and I’m thrilled to offer any knowledge I can back. Above all, it will just be fun.

Who should come to your talk?
Anyone who loves stories on how things start and grow; anyone who is interested in starting or growing his or her own project; anyone who loves the Six-Word Memoir project and other projects that have gone from nothing to wildly popular without tons of money….

What will people walk away learning from you?
How I did it and how they can, too. If you stick to it and truly, truly love it, it’s quite possible to turn a passion into something that goes viral and even makes a profit.

What do you hope you learn from your SXSW experience?
Same as always: meet new people; fill my head with new ideas; stay up late and get up early; have a blast in Austin.

House Rules: Commenting on the Blog

The Hired Guns on March 8, 2011

We have but one overarching rule for comments: Do not add to the chaos of the universe.

Our new blog is devoted to developing a point of view around the future of work through the lens of the digital creative class. The goal is to deliver some of the best career management writing out there, so that you can take advantage of where work is going, not where it’s been. It’ll also offer an inside look at your fellow guns livin’ the dream and tellin’ it like it is. We encourage you to use the comments to drive conversations to the next level, bounce ideas off our bloggers and each other, and engage in dialogue with your fellow readers.

The one thing that we’ve learned about the DNA of our Guns network is that you are all seriously curious, are great teachers, and are often pretty darn opinionated. We really can’t build this thing without you. Before you set off, guns ablazin’, please read and abide by our very few “house rules”: Read More →

In the News: CNN on Career Longevity

The Hired Guns on March 8, 2011

CNN’s Eliza Ridgeway interviews The Hired Guns founder Allison Hemming to find out what job strategies can make you as timeless as Bruce Springsteen–or David Byrne:

The Steven Tyler-model of career planning is starting to look like the norm in the business world: frequent changes of venue, constant reinvention, and, hopefully, a loyal fan base that sticks with you through it all.

That’s the gist of career expert Allison Hemming’s upcoming presentation at South by Southwest this year. Her DJ-assisted riff on how to “build your brand the rockstar way” on March 15 is part of the glitzy-but-geeky business content that has proliferated at the Austin, Texas-based SXSW festival in recent years. Read more….

How Not to Succeed in Business: Success Is Not An Option

Todd Tarpley on March 8, 2011

There are hundreds of business blogs that tell you how to succeed as a new manager. But there are none that tell you how to fail.

Until now. Read More →

THG @SXSW: Love Lessons from our Avatars

The Hired Guns on March 8, 2011

A number of Hired Guns are presenting at SXSW Interactive this year. This series profiles a few of the proud and the brave. Please tweet and like this story so as a community we can build a little buzz for them.
Avatar Secrets to Real Life and Love
Hashtag: #AvatarSecrets
Friday, March 11, 5:00
Presenter: Ramona Pringle

Your Twesume
(your resume in 140 characters or less):
Multiplatform producer, digital journalist, actor and prof. of new media & film. Gutsy & brave game-world explorer, on a quest for meaning.

What inspired you to submit this idea?
While some people turn to God in their quests for meaning, and others turn to therapy, I turned to video games in search of real-world wisdom.

Why are you the expert on it?
I’ve interviewed hundreds of gamers, and documented every step of my own journey into World of Warcraft, in search of meaning, love and real-world fulfillment.

Why did you want to speak at SXSW?
Games are fulfilling something that people are missing in real life–purpose, a sense of accomplishment… but more than anything, community and connection. SXSW is a chance to share that… and connect.

Who should come to your talk?
Everyone! This presentation will be just as informative, and just as much fun, for people who have never played a game in their lives as it will be for those who play every day… After all, it’s the game-world guide to real-world fulfillment.

What will people walk away learning from you?
People will walk out of the Avatar Secrets presentation inspired and ready to play their way to real-world happiness.

What do you hope you learn from your SXSW experience?
I’ve never been to SXSW before, but I love new experiences. I’m excited to learn from the other amazing panelists as well as from the feedback of people who come out to my session.

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