JOBS

WHAT A WEEK

Thursday, July 12, 2007

I’ve felt severe blogger’s guilt about not posting much new this week, so here are a couple scraps from a project I’ve been working on. I’m stranded at a library in Coventry, and I seem to have misplaced my Wacom pen, so I can’t complete the other two caricatures. (Not on the computer, anyways.)

This week I’ve had three phone interviews**, a busted radiator and bad ball joints on my car (there goes a paycheck), an album cover I’ve been trying to finish for Hawkline, and I’ve been going to work. Not a whole lot of time to blog.

If you wanted to, you could check out my Google Shared Items, which is pretty much like another blog without my commentary.

Next week we’re at the beach. I’m going to try my best not to blog from there. We’ll see.

**I can’t really complain about having three job interviews in three days. At the end of all this job search madness, I’m going to write a nice long blog post about any wisdom I’ve gleaned from the process. I will tell you the one thing I’ve learned this week: you have to be yourself. The interview process is a lot like dating: if you get into a relationship being someone you’re not, it’s not gonna work out in the long run. Have the faith that you’re a great mind, a great bargain, and a great person, most importantly.

Thus ends my public service announcement.

BECAUSE THIS BLOG HAS SEEMED TOO MUCH LIKE A BLOG RECENTLY…

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

…here is a sketchbook page I drew half-asleep at 1:30 last night:

Should I be posting pages like this in the middle of a job search? Should I be posting pages like this at all? Probably not. But why not? Shouldn’t we all be honest with each other?

Looking for work sucks. It sucks horribly. The worst part is figuring out how to fit what it is that you do into language that a hiring manager can dig.

And quite honestly, I’m sympathetic with hiring managers. I’m sympathetic with all participants in the hiring process. How do we communicate what we’re looking for? How can we get on the same page? Finding work sure is a pain in the ass, so I can imagine hiring good workers must be a real pain in the ass, too.

I did a re-tooling of my sidebar on this page to try to distill what it is that I do and do well into a few sentences. I want to make my living communicating with pictures and words. It’s that simple. Communicating with pictures and words. That’s my passion, that’s my skill.

“But we need health care” is the punchline to our lives.

SPEAKING OF JOBS

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Calling All MySpace Addicts: The Ad Industry Needs You

Want to get ahead in advertising? Then learn how to navigate MySpace, and pick up a programming language or two.

Ad agencies are about to trade three-martini lunches, schmooze-fests and fast-talking account executives for programmers, custom software and anthropologists who can navigate MySpace.

At an American Association of Advertising Agencies conference in New York last week, Colleen DeCourcy, chief experience officer for JWT, spoke about how social networks can be exploited for advertising purposes.

…. “Digital anthropologists are going to be the next people you scramble to hire,” DeCourcy said.

Maybe I should add “digital anthropologist” to my résumé. Save yourself the trouble! Hire me!

DO WHAT YOU ARE

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

A friend of a friend, Jeff Johannigman, of People Type Consulting, recommended this little gem of a book.

Do What You Are uses the Myers-Briggs system to give career advice based on your personality type. My dad and stepmom have taught Myers-Briggs for years, and it really is a helpful system to start thinking about “what makes you tick, and what ticks you off” (my stepmom’s words). I’m usually skeptical of this kind of stuff, but I have to say, the listings for my specific personality type in Do What You Are were spot-on. (Information Graphics Designer was right at the top of the list.)

You can learn more about Myers-Briggs at the foundation’s website. If you dig Jung, you might dig Myers-Briggs. They also have an online test to determine your type.

I’m an ENTP. Meg is an INFJ.

If you’re looking for a new career or just looking for a new job, Do What You Are — combined with the old standard, What Color Is Your Parachute? — is a great starting point.