Creative Cultures: Skyrocket soars to new heights

Crystal Henrickson

In our Creative Cultures series, writer Crystal Henrickson spends a day inside companies to learn how hiring, onboarding, and company culture play a role in employee happiness. From startups to design firms and all in-between, we’re pulling back the curtain on what it’s like to work in inventive and productive environments.

In the vast land of startups, the laser-precision focus is often directed atproduct, with less thought to building a brand. But when it’s time to go to market, that can cause difficulties for young companies who don’t yet have the in-house expertise to articulate what and who they are.

Cue Skyrocket, a digital branding agency in Vancouver, specializing in developing and telling the full brand story of startups, festivals and social organizations.

“We’re a full-stack shop: we have developers, designers and strategists. We can develop apps and websites, but the focus is on brand. We work on who a company is rather than simply what it does. We craft its message internally and then use this core message to share the brand story with the target audiences,” says Content Strategist Misha Berveno. Continue reading →

Your next resume: get creative to get hired

Guest Author

Image of young man working on his laptop from Shutterstock

Sure, landing a job interview can seem difficult, but with some creative twists to your resume you can be sure to stand out among the crowd and make a memorable impression on any hiring manager. Writer Chandra Lye tells you how.

When applying for jobs it helps if you think of your resume as your marketing document. Adding a creative element to your application will also highlight your talents. Some of the top ways to make your resume stand out can include anything from an infographic resume to a video version of your work experience. Continue reading →

Endgame: how to deal when you’ve lost your job

Guest Author

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Here’s the scenario: You score a great job with the perfect organization. Life is humming along nicely and then, seemingly out of nowhere, it happens: you’re downsized. Or outsized. Restructured. Let go. Fired. Laid off. Dunzo.

Whatever the ca(u)se, suddenly losing a job means that you’re the casualty in the company’s endgame.

While it’s tempting to want to stay in bed with the covers over your face (and actually, you should throw yourself a small, inexpensive pity-party), how you move on from the disappoint could be a key factor in how long it takes you to find your next – better, more suitable – gig. Continue reading →

The 3 critical soft skills you’ll need in a creative career

Guest Author

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Developing one’s soft skills, particularly in creative fields that often require a holistic expertise, can help develop your career whether you’re a novice intern, a motivated employee or an experienced manager. Laura Burton-Bloom delves into her top three.

Soft skills are intangible skills associated with a person’s personality and their ability to emotionally relate to those around them. However, the value of soft skills is frequently downplayed; hiring managers make the assumption that people “just know” how to behave, cope and survive the working environment. Not so. There’s a list of soft skills floating around someplace, and it lists over 80 of them (!) – the three listed below are a good starting point.

Self-Confidence

It’s easy to let uncertainty define our approach to the world, especially when we’re just starting out. We look at the art that inspires us and are all but overwhelmed at the technical prowess and creative depth needed to achieve it. Continue reading →

On the hunt with: Nicky Bruno

Joanne M. Brathwaite

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In our On The Hunt series, we interview potential job-seekers (whether out-of-work or transitioning) and talk to them about what the challenges have been, what their goals are, as well as any advice or tips they may have for other job seekers to stay motivated. This week, FreshGigs’ own Joanne M. Brathwaite talks to job hunter Nicky Bruno.

Are you working right now? If so, what are you doing? (how) Does it align with your ultimate job-hunting goal (if at all)?

Yes, I am currently working as an Executive Assistant at Arthur Murray Dance Studio, but I volunteer at Rogers TV, in a live TV environment. When I made the decision that working in television is what I wanted to do I wasn’t quite sure what to do at first; there were so many questions that I had to ask myself: Do I go back to school? Do I even need to go back to school to work in television? Will I have to start over again?

I decided to reach out to a few friends, as well as employment agencies to get some advice on what my next steps should be. I spoke with people who already worked in the industry and they informed me that post-secondary education was not a necessity. Continue reading →

Conference Notes: The Art of Leadership For Women

Guest Author

On June 15 2016, Guest writer Helen Bullingham attended The Art of Leadership for Women conference at Toronto’s Metro Convention Centre. The standing-room only event hosted close to 1,000 women (and a handful of men). Speakers and panelists included successful women entrepreneurs and senior corporate leaders. The following is a summary of some of the topics and discussions.

Speaker: Kirstine Stewart | VP Media North America, Twitter

Kirstine revealed that her very first job out of university was a receptionist and office admin role for a television distribution company. Her original ambitions were to get into publishing but she could not break into the market post-graduation. Eventually, she was recognized for her initiative and promoted into a Sales role. Seven years later, she left the company as President.

Kirstine went on to become the first woman to join the Board of Directors of The Score on June 9^th 2016. Continue reading →

Freelancing is working. Okay?

Guest Author

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If you’re a freelancer on a months-long contract, or are just going from gig to gig, one thing you’re probably tired of is people assuming that you do nothing but watch Netflix or peruse the innerwebs all day. Le sigh. Writer Melissa Ligertwood would like to set a few things straight.

One of the best things about my co-work office is that I get to share space with entrepreneurs from a diverse cross-section of crafts and industries. What do a math geek, a zen author and a self-made search marketer have in common? Every freelancer has a story…. Continue reading →

Always an interview, never an offer

Guest Author

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You find the job of your dreams, and craft a killer cover letter to accompany the Best. Resume. Ever. Amazingly, you get a call the very next day; the hiring manager asks if you wouldn’t mind coming in first thing tomorrow? You meet, you chat, you click, and she wants to set up another meeting – this time, for you to meet The Team.

Another interview. More questions. More clicking. Awesome! Would you mind doing a test? You spend the night carefully answering all the questions, attaching all the samples, linking all the linky-things. You get your editor friend, your mom, your lawyer cousin, your dog to read it over. Error-free. Perfect. You submit. And then, you wait.

And wait. And wait. And FINALLY, you get the call. Continue reading →

Want more success at work? Make friends

Emma Bullen

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Experts say making friends at work not only increases work satisfaction, but it also increases your chance of success. It’s time to stop trying to keep our work life and our personal life separate and learn to embrace office friendships. Writer Emma Bullen shares the benefits of having a workplace buddy system.

When I first started managing a team, I had so much work to do that I made little time for my work friends. The more I skipped lunch to work harder at my role and the later hours I worked, I noticed something interesting start to happen. I began to feel lonely, demotivated, and crazy stressed. It didn’t help that I sat in an office by myself.

Gallup sites that having friends at work increases employee satisfaction and productivity. That’s good for business, but it’s also great for the success of your career. Continue reading →