Best Graphic Design Career and Business Books - Ultimate List of Books for Freelancers & New Designers

Best Graphic Design Career and Business Books - Ultimate List of Books for Freelancers & New Designers I decided to compile a list of the best graphic design career and business books collected from reading people's favorites listed on forum posts and blogs. I came up with the following graphic design career and business books. Read More>>

How to Build a Strong Relationship with Your Customers

A Guide to Customer Relationships for Freelancers & Self Employed

One of the best ways to run a good business as well as keep the clients which you currently have is to build a strong relationship with your clients. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and this is true for those who have a business relationship. The clients want to feel as if they matter to the business owner as they are part of the reason why the business is still in existence. There are a few ways for business owners to build a strong relationship with their customers as doing so will not only maintain their client base but possibly expand it as well through recommendations.
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Become a Graphic Designer - Design Careers & Design Education Advice from Professional Designer

Please welcome our guest writer, Elle Phillips, back to All Graphic Design. Today she wrote an article that is full of wonderful advice to individuals who are looking to become a Graphic Designer. She was inspired to write this wonderful article by a young man who emailed her about his dream of becoming a Designer. Elle realized that she could write an informative article to help many other people who also wish to become a Graphic Designer. We are lucky enough that she decided to reach a larger audience, by publishing her article on All Graphic Design. Elle received a lot of traffic to her site by publishing her previous article - Designing A Catalog From Conception To Completion - A Catalog Design Tutorial - on All Graphic Design. If you also wish to publish your article on All Graphic Design, please visit our Submit a Graphic Design Article page to see how to do so. Read More>>

Four Ways to Get Hired Faster

The difference between being proactive and reactive is time. Reactive people wait for things to happen to them, while proactive people go out and make things happen. Timing is key in any career move, so it is up to you to make things happen. Be proactive and professional, and you will find yourself in the mix come decision time.

A typical hiring process takes anywhere from three to eight weeks, depending on the policies of the company and the scheduling that must take place to get all of the decision-makers aligned. A key to keeping to the shorter end of this three to eight week time frame is to have a thorough picture of the company's hiring process. If you are working with a recruiter, get the details from him or her. If you are going it alone, ask the following questions during the initial telephone interview: "When do you need this position filled?" "Can you describe for me your last successful hire?" "What is the process and time between each step, so I can get a clear picture of what to expect going forward?" Once you are aware of the process, you can set your expectations accordingly. If you want the job, you must be certain they know it. Let's explore four sure-fire ways to move a hiring process forward as quickly as the company will allow:

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Top Ten Amazing Tips for Effective Networking

Networking is one of those business buzzwords that makes many people cringe. But networking is not about shoving your business card into the hands of strangers while boasting about yourself.

Self-promotion specialist Ilise Benun defines networking as talking about your work to people who want to listen and helping them get to know you and what you have to offer. “People want to work with people they trust,” says Benun, “but how will anyone work with you if they don't know you're there? And if you don't tell them, who will?” Here are some tips for networking effectively-without making anyone uncomfortable.

1. Join professional organizations and get busy. Just joining an organization isn't enough; you need to get to know people on a personal level and allow them to see you in action. Volunteer for a working committee, take minutes, organize events, or get involved in any way that makes a contribution and helps you become visible in the organization.
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Six Ways to Prepare for a Layoff

Bill Healy never saw it coming. The head of a successful division of a major financial institution, he'd just been interviewed for his company's newsletter when he got the call. He was to be one of the 103 employees let go as part of a corporate restructuring.

Healy felt blindsided and betrayed. "I had over 15 years of service and even sat on a restructuring task force," he relates. "I had no idea I was vulnerable."

When layoffs are ahead, you need to watch your behind. Here are six ways to prepare and protect yourself:

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Ace the Job Interview: Sample Interview Questions with Knock-out Answers

You get the call that Big Name Company wants to interview you. You know they will be interviewing others and you really want this job. How can you stand out among a crowd? What will they ask and how should you answer? Here's a quick list of popular job interview questions and how your answers can help you land the job you want.

Tell us about yourself. This is not the time to recount your weekend hunting and fishing activities, or to go on about your cute kids and how much you love them. What the interviewer wants to know includes your educational background and your professional experience. They are trying to figure out if you're a good fit for the company and how you can help the company remain profitable. What do you have to offer that others don't? A job interview is like a first date. You are trying to get to know each other, to see if this is going to be a long-term relationship and to see if the chemistry is there between you and the company. Make sure you tailor your answer so that the interviewer will get a sense of your professional self and background, not your personal life.

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10 Real-Life Interview Mistakes

Hiring managers don't want to hear a lot of things during an interview – confessions of a violent past, a cell phone ring, a toilet flush. Yet job seekers have committed these interview gaffes and worse, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual survey of the worst interview mistakes.

Odd behavior isn't the only way to ruin your chances of landing a job. When hiring managers were asked to name the most common and damaging interview mistakes a candidate can make, 51 percent listed dressing inappropriately. Forty-nine percent cited badmouthing a former boss as the worst offense, while 48 percent said appearing disinterested. Arrogance (44 percent), insufficient answers (30 percent) and not asking good questions (29 percent) were also top answers.

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Get Interview Feedback

You know the feeling: That moment in the interview when you realize the opportunity has passed you by. Or perhaps you think you're interviewing well, but you aren't getting any results. You need to figure out what you are doing wrong and fix it ASAP. But where do you start?

Third-party headhunters and recruitment agencies often provide invaluable feedback when they interview you or send you on interviews. But how do you determine how to improve your interviewing performance if you're going it alone?

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7 Signs of Poor Productivity

If you're like most professionals, there never seems to be enough time in the day. A handful of e-mails may keep you in the office past the time you had planned to leave, or you might find yourself working on Saturday after barely touching a key project during the week. Short of adding an extra hour or two to the day, what can you do to complete everything on your plate?

One solution is to identify and eliminate productivity pitfalls from your workday. Consider the following signs of poor productivity and ways of improving your habits:

1. Not knowing what to tackle first.
If you have dozens of to-dos, it can be difficult to determine which to work on first; you may approach a low-priority project immediately only because it was top of mind. Spending just 10 to 15 minutes at the start of your day organizing your work is a simple and highly effective way to boost your productivity. You'll be able to prioritize and identify the most pressing projects.

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Follow Up for the Win

Your follow-up letter could be what sets you apart from other candidates. If you're neck and neck with another candidate, the way you follow up could put you over the top -- or it could sink you.

To Send or Not to Send -- Does It Make a Difference?

Catherine was looking for a business analyst to fill a position that had been open for weeks. She was eager to hire but wanted the right person for the job. She had narrowed the field to three candidates: Jim, Kelly and Steven.

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Five Steps to an E-friendly Résumé

Today's Internet-driven world has changed the way we look and apply for jobs. Gone are the days of handwritten cover letters, typewritten résumés and hand-delivered job applications. Given the increasing number of online job boards that require Web-based applications, many employers don't want a hard copy of your résumé. Instead, they'll ask you to submit an electronic résumé, either online or via e-mail.

Electronic résumés are plain text or HTML documents, which can also be included in the body of an e-mail for job applications online. It may not be as attractive as your word-formatted résumé in all its bulleted, bold-text, fancy-font glory, but it gets the job done.

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Groomed for Success

Presenting an appropriately formal, suitably neat image at job interviews is a must.

A suitable outfit is a must when you are attending a job interview. It is crucial to be well groomed and have fitting, coordinated, frills-free and somewhat formal attire, especially if you are applying for an executive or managerial position in a corporation which places great emphasis on professional image. It can make or break an employment opportunity. Here are some pointers you should take note of when heading for your recruitment meeting:

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How to Identify Your Transferable Skills

This "finding a career" thing is tricky business.

You go to college and major in one thing -- but find yourself in a job opposite from what you spent four years studying. Or, you land a job that's exactly in line with your college major -- but discover it's not what you had in mind. Or even still, you score a gig doing what you love and are content for many years -- until you get bored and want to make a switch.

So what happens to the experience you've gained from your current job and those before it? What about the hours, years and dollars spent studying this vocation in school? Do you really have to start at square one if you decide to drastically switch careers?

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AeA: U.S. high tech jobs jumped in 2007 and tech unemployment remains low

On April 2, the American Electronics Association (AeA) released 148 page report on high tech employment trends in the U.S. called Cyberstates 2008: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry. The report showed that the overall number of high tech jobs in the U.S. increased by 91,400 (1.6%) to 5.9 million during 2007, and that all but four states increased high tech jobs.

However, the 91,400 for 2007 was less than the 139,00 high tech jobs that the U.S. added in 2006. The study looked at all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The four who had a net loss of IT jobs in 2007 were:

• Michigan (-1500)
• Puerto Rico (-1100)
• Delaware (-900)
• Colorado (-900)

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How to Handle References

Once you began the hunt for a new job, you updated your résumé, took your suit to the cleaners, practiced your handshake and interviewed yourself in the mirror until your answers came out just right. You’re prepared for everything.

Except a reference check.

Employers do make the call.

Many applicants are under the impression that employers no longer ask for references or that they never actually call them. Not so, says Linda Finkle, executive coach and CEO of Incedo Group, an organizational coaching and consulting company. “Reference checking is a critical factor in hiring.”

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Career sampling service

When choosing a career path, it's one thing to think about a job from
the outside, but quite another to experience it day to day. Figuring Out
offers a combination of career coaching and trial work experience.
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25 Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search

When you're job hunting, you can go mad if you think about the amount of factors beyond your control that affect your chances of getting hired. The economy, your location, industry trends – even the hiring manager's mood – can influence whether or not you get a job. Still, as nice as it would be to blame your lack of offers on external factors, you can't forget that the common denominator in your job hunt – from the résumé to the interview – is you.

Here are 25 ways you might be unknowingly sabotaging your own job search:

The first steps

1. Not keeping track of your accomplishments

When you're happy with your job, it's easy to forget about possible future job hunts. You never know when you'll end up looking for new work, and if you don't keep a running list of awards, promotions and accomplishments, you might not remember them when it's time to update your résumé.

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Fighting Fair: 10 Constructive Suggestions for Getting What You Want Anywhere

Do you desire more recognition and reward in your place of employment? Here are ten suggestions that might help you receive that promotion in the workplace.

Disagreements are a part of our human society. No one is an island for too long.

As soon as there are two people in a room there is always the potential for differing viewpoints and heated arguments. In the workplace and in everyday life we must learn how to engage in constructive arguments without crying, using profanity or swinging fists. The way that you handle a difficult situation may well get you that promotion and company recognition that you seek. Diplomacy will take you much further in the business world than a hot, raging temper.

Here are some suggestions for the art of debating your point graciously and fighting fair:

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The 10 best ways to handle a job interview

Given the current economy, maintaining contacts with other companies can be critical. Knowing the right people can help you land a better job, one with more pay or perhaps the chance of advancement. Getting that next job, of course, often involves an interview. Here are some tips to help you excel.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: Be on time

Give yourself enough time to reach your destination, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the area. You will have enough stress with respect to the actual interview. Don’t add to it by complicating your travel to there. Consider a dry run prior to interview day, especially if you’re driving. Remember that mapping and navigational services could take you (as they did me) through an empty field or the wrong way on a one-way street.

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Confessions of Hiring Experts

If you worry about every possible way you can blow a job interview -- from mispronouncing the boss's name to babbling incessantly when you don't know what else to say -- you're going to walk in there feeling like you're destined to fail. True, job interviews are rife with opportunities for you to embarrass yourself, but hiring managers are more forgiving than you might think.

We consulted some hiring experts about what is really going on inside their heads when interviewing job applicants. They offered the following insights:

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OpenAd.net

OpenAd.net, a sponsor of the 2008 ADC Portfolio Review, is the world's first online marketplace for buying and selling advertising, marketing, public relations and design ideas. It has a network of over 11,000 creatives in 125 countries offering work to a growing number of international clients. OpenAd opened their US office in New York City in 2008. OpenAd.net has opened to its creatives the opportunity to pitch a creative brief for People to People, the organization founded by US President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 that offers life changing, unique educational, travel programs to teens and tweens around the world. This is a chance to win a $500 and $2500 licensing prize by creating a viral campaign that will bring additional traffic to the People to People website. Go here for more information.

OpenAd.net membership is free for creatives, offering exposure to the industry and clients alike, while also allowing access to all kinds of brands from around the world, and the potential for real world advancement and compensation. Check it all out here.

Job Search Tips to Survive the Recession

Today's economic news may be gloom and doom but it needn't derail your job hunt. You can still win a great job, even in a lousy economy. You will have to get smarter in your job search strategy, though.

Here are five tips to incorporate into your job search approach during an economic downturn:

1. Research your options

Does your industry or line of work offer little promise of employment in the coming months? If so, now is a good time to step back to identify the projected top performing industries and jobs. The best place to find this info is on the Web through Google or Yahoo. Start with "best industries work recession" or "recession jobs 2008" to uncover articles describing some of the more "recession-proof" sectors to target.

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