Take These 5 Easy Steps Towards Positive Change

Neil Wadhwa

The road towards reaching personal goals or attaining positive change is difficult, and, at times, frustrating. It’s easier to keep things as they are rather than put in the time and effort needed to become a better person.

But settling for things as they are is the easy way out.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many adjustments at the same time. It’s great to be ambitious, but trying to change two or three things all at once can be stressful and difficult.

For entrepreneur Nick Crocker, lessons in personal change came early and often when he was building his first business. He spoke about useful techniques he learned to improve his personal life during TEDx Darwin, which Jessica Stillman, author, summarized in her article 10 Small Steps That’ll Help You Become the Best Version of Yourself.

Here are 5 easy steps you can follow to get on the path towards positive change.

1. Change Your Environment

Change begins with everyone and everything around you.

Take a look and see if there are people you spend time with that are generally negative and discouraging – and spend less time with them. It may be difficult at first, but when headed towards positive change, you need to be sure that the people around you aren’t going to distract you from your goals.

Tidy up your physical environment by cleaning your desk and cupboards of junk. Unnecessary clutter and weighs you down – start fresh on your way to reaching your goals in a clean, distraction-free environment.

2. Find Support

Positive change is easier to attain with encouraging and supportive people around you. If you want to get in better shape, but have trouble staying motived to get outside for a run, find a friend that will run with you and keep you on the right track (literally, and figuratively). Continue reading →

How to Know What Salary to Ask For

Lori Franze

During your job search, if you do well and get close to a job offer, you will probably get asked what your salary expectations are; and sometimes that question is posted with the job description. So what do you do? How do you value yourself? It is definitely a delicate question that needs a thoughtful answer.

While you want to get what you are worth you also want to be reasonable in what you ask for so that you don’t knock yourself out of the running for the role.

Alison Green from Ask a Manager shares some great advice in her post for US News Money. She acknowledges how stressful it can be answering a question about your future salary and makes a smart recommendation to start with research. Here are some places you can start:

Ask people in your field (try to not raise suspicions with colleagues in the process),
Search job boards for roles like yours that may show the salary range
Check with a couple recruiters (this might also open some new doors for you during your search)
Google it. You can find reports and even infographics sharing statistics on salary – by role and location. Check out ours for Graphic Designers and Marketing Manager across Canada from 2013. Some industries also release their own reports or report on salaries annually.
Research specific companies you are engaging with to see how they rate for compensation against their peers.

Continue reading →

5 Culprits That Are Killing Your Creativity

Neil Wadhwa

You’re in the boardroom with your team, everyone is brainstorming ideas, and the whiteboard is turning into a work of erasable-marker art. But you’re reluctant to add creative input, even in a space designed to be free from judgment.

Andrew and Gaia Grant, authors of the book Who Killed Creativity: …And How Do We Get It Back, and the article The 7 Biggest Creativity Killers, think you might have a creativity killer watching over your shoulder, holding you back from reaching your true creative potential.

It’s time to put an end to these creativity killers. Here are the 5 main culprits, and how you can stop them.

Isolating yourself from different ideas and viewpoints will lead to you always taking the “safe” route.

Creativity Killer #1: Pessimism

It’s hard to be creative if you’re always thinking negatively.

Pessimism is an overall negative mindset in which you’re reluctant to build upon your creative ideas. Your creative pursuits may not have been successful in the past, and you assume they won’t be successful moving forward. Not only does it stifle your creativity, but along the way you also start to undermine the ideas of others.

Quick Fix: Start reframing negative experiences by focusing on what went right. Use positive language like “and” instead of “but”. Take up a new hobby and don’t stop until you’ve mastered it.

Creativity Killer #2: Fear

Pessimism’s cousin, fear, is a notorious creativity killer. Whereas pessimism is an overall negative outlook on new ideas, fear is built on anxieties and an unwillingness to take any form of risk. It removes your childlike instinct and quest to satisfy your curiosities by focusing on the uncertainties of an idea, rather than the potential benefits and positive outcomes.

Quick Fix: Embrace the fear as part of the creative process. Yes, failure is possible, and yes, failure will happen. But it happens to everyone, and should never be the roadblock that prevents you from pursuing your creative endeavours. Continue reading →

Have you heard the buzz around The Art of Entrepreneurship in Toronto on Oct 7th?

FreshGigs.ca Team

The Art of Productions returns with an all-star lineup, this time with five world-renowned Entrepreneurs and Freshgigs.ca has an exclusive offer for you!

This full day conference will feature five internationally renowned best-selling authors, thought leaders and entrepreneurs, who will share an exciting blend of cutting edge thinking and real world experience on today’s most critical business issues. You’ll have countless opportunities to meet, network and learn with some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds in the world.

This years speakers include:

ALEXIS OHANIAN – Co-Founder of reddit & Bestselling Author of Without Their Permission

GARY VAYNERCHUK – New York Times Bestselling Author, Entrepreneur, Co-Founder & CEO of VaynerMedia

DEBBIE TRAVIS – Design Superstar & Entrepreneur Behind the Largest Celebrity Brand in Canada

ERIC RYAN – Co-Founder & Chief Brand Architect, Method & Bestselling Author of The Method Method

CHRIS GUILLEBEAU – New York Times Bestselling Author, Entrepreneur & Modern-Day Explorer The regular rate to attend The Art of Entrepreneurship is $349

Members of the FreshGigs.ca community can register at a rate of $299 per person. Save an additional $50 when registering 2 or more people at the same time. Click Here to register online and be sure to use promo code: FG32

For more details on The Art of Entrepreneurship you can simply visit|
www.theartof.com/entrepreneurship-toronto-2014/

6 Productivity Tips That Have Stood the Test of Time

Neil Wadhwa

Life lessons are the most valuable when passed down from your parents or grandparents. “Sit up straight,” and “don’t put your elbows on the table” seemed simple at the time, but now echo in your ear during interviews and meetings.

For Demian Farnworth, author of 10 Productivity Tips from a Blue-Collar Genius, the lessons in productivity taught to him in the early 80’s from his grit and grind grandfather are still relevant to this very day.

Let’s take a look at 6 productivity tips that have held strong over the course of time.

1. Never Stop Learning

Demien’s grandfather knew how to, “operate a boiler, roof a house, frame a room, run plumbing, [and] rebuild cars.” Demien’s grandfather learned each new trade to always be able to provide for his 12 children, under any circumstance.

In 2014, the resources you can harness to learn new skills are endless, affordable, and can be done from the comfort of your own home. From the same computer (or mobile device) you’re reading this post on, you can open a new tab and learn to code, register for online courses, build a website, and more.

Continuous learning grants you the luxury of flexibility. Skills you learn in your free time can set you apart from the candidates during job interviews, present avenues for additional income, and make you more knowledgeable overall.

2. Rise Early

Wake up early to maximize the amount of time you have to get things done. Take the early hours of silence in your house or office to get tedious activities out of the way, such as replying to emails and working on assignments, or do what we discussed in the first point and take time in the morning to learn a new craft.

Instead of focusing on the end goal, set milestones for yourself. Work on small portion everyday and after a few days you’ll hit your first milestone.

3. Keep a Refined “To-Do” List.

At any given moment, you’re juggling a list that may include work responsibilities, volunteering, school, hobbies, and maintaining personal and professional relationships. It’s a lot to handle.

Being too ambitious with your daily or weekly goals will cause burnout. With a lot to manage, you’ll wear yourself thin – finishing all you wanted, but at a level not up to par if you had the time you really needed.

Stay focused and keep a short, concise to-do list. A simple to-do list means you can wake up and get started instantly, no decisions to make or worries about overworking yourself. Continue reading →

How To Spruce Up Your Resume in 7 Minutes Flat

Milton Kiang

Okay, I lied, maybe not in 7 minutes. But you can still get some good pointers here on how to update your resume quickly, efficiently, and methodically, so that you can meet a deadline to apply to an exciting job opening you just saw in Freshgigs.ca.

Below is a checklist you should follow when updating your resume:

Most job applicants have a section right at the top of their resumes which succinctly describes their professional profile. It’s the first thing that employers zero-in on, and it is, in my opinion, a critical aspect of your resume because it encapsulates who you are as a job applicant, and what you offer to the employer. It’s your “calling card,” if you will.

1. Make sure you have updated your current title.

If you’ve recently had a change in job title, make sure you use your current title. You will also need to refer to your promotion: Under the resume heading of “job responsibilities,” you can state that you were promoted from one position (e.g. Sales Representative) to another (e.g. Regional Sales Manager). Indicate the date that you were promoted.

If you’ve had multiple promotions, you can set them out in this way:

Job Responsibilities:

Promoted from Sales Representative to Regional Sales Manager (Dec. 2013)
Promoted from Assistant Sales Representative to Senior Sales Representative (March 2010)

2. Make sure you have updated your current job responsibilities.

If your department has given you more job responsibilities and duties, ensure this is reflected in your resume. Delete job responsibilities that you no longer handle.

If you’ve had a promotion, list out your most current job responsibilities and duties, and remove the jobs that you used to do in your former position.

3. Add in any recent training, certifications, and degrees you may have attained.

Job applicants often forget to update their training and professional development in their resume. But these things are important because they contribute to your credentials and qualifications. Even weekend and evening courses and in-house training seminars are important, especially if they cover a subject that’s relevant to the prospective employer’s business. Continue reading →

LUSH Vancouver Puts On Booze & Branding For Marketing & Creative Professionals On September 25th

FreshGigs.ca Team

The good folks over at LUSH Cosmetics in Vancouver are hosting a new night called “Booze and Branding LUSH Networking event” on September 25th from 6-8pm at their beautiful NEW Vancouver HQ.

This is going to be a great event with the LUSH marketing and creative team and other industry professionals.

LUSH told us to let you folks know so if you are in the marketing, PR, communication, design, branding, e-commerce industries with best practices to share and are open to learning some new ones come and meet the LUSH Brand Communications Team!

To sign up for free and to ask any other questions please email the LUSH team at: RSVP@lush.com

See you there FreshGigs.ca community!

The Art of Entrepreneurship Hits Toronto! Contest & Discount Pricing For FreshGigs.ca Community

FreshGigs.ca Team

Introducing The Art of Entrepreneurship

Well folks the good people over at “The Art Of” series of conferences are at it again. This time they’ll be hitting up Toronto on October 7th with an insane line up of visionaries, creatives, and thought leaders for The Art of Entrepreneurship.

If you’re part of the FreshGigs.ca family we’re sure this will be an inspiration filled event for you if you can make it. Whether you’re starting your own company, into business, marketing, or design it doesn’t matter as this conference is sure to get those juices going. Some of the key speakers on this day will include Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Guillebeau, Debbie Travis, Eric Ryan, Alexis Ohanian.

How Your Can Win A Free Ticket

If you’d like to attend this event and are part of the FreshGigs.ca job seeking community all you have to do is ReTweet the following and on September 19th we’ll choose 1 lucky winner that will receive a free ticket.

Tweet This: I’m itching to go to @TheArtOf Entrepreneurship in Toronto – Come on @FreshGigsca let me hit it up!

Guarantee Your Spot – Buy a Ticket Here & Get $50-$100 OFF (Only For FreshGigs.ca Community)

FreshGigs.ca has teamed up with The Art Of to offer our members $50-$100 off per ticket if you buy your conference tickets on this page:
http://info.theartof.com/et14/fg32

Creative Thinking: An Award-Winning Musician’s 4 Keys

Neil Wadhwa

It’s a challenge producing creative content that audiences want to engage with at a time when people are swamped with messaging everywhere they look.

Like marketers, producing creative content for targeted audiences is the core responsibility for musicians. One such musician is R&B singer John Legend, who has picked up a few lessons throughout his 13 year career on how to constantly improve creativity. And his results show it, having recently scored his first chart-topper with the song “All of Me.”

By building a large library of ideas at the start, and refining them later, you give yourself more choices to pick from, as well as full quality control over your ideas as you move along.

He recently shared his keys to creativity during Interact 2014, Oracle’s Marketing Cloud Conference, which have been summarized in the article John Legend’s 5 Tips To Marketers For Improving Creativityby author John Ellett. Let’s take a quick look at John Legend’s tips below.

Be a Great Collaborator

Collaborating opens up paths and ideas you wouldn’t have explored on your own, pushing aside any preconceived notions you have along the way. Collaborating also introduces you to people with specific expertise on varying subjects, allowing you to watch and learn from the best during the collaborative process.

Sometimes, collaborations between musicians lead to… interesting results.

Get Things Done

Waiting around for inspiration can take a while. While you should always be open to inspiration, you also need to be intentional with your time and get things done. If you want to write a short story, put pencil to paper and let your ideas flow.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t be inspired, but waiting until you always “feel inspired” to start a project or creative idea isn’t a productive approach. Continue reading →

How to Become a Productivity Ninja by Doing Less

Neil Wadhwa

How many items are on your to-do list for the day? If you’re often overwhelmed by the amount of tasks you have, or have to rush to complete them, you may be doing more work than necessary.

Sometimes, the easiest path to productivity is to simply do less. In the article The Best Productivity Trick of All: Do Less, author Alex Cavoulacos explains that knowing what not to do can have a significant impact on your productivity. Next time you’re planning your week, keep these 5 questions in mind to become a productivity ninja:

Clean out your inbox and archive anything old and irrelevant. Unsubscribe to newsletters that you never check.

1. Are Those Meetings Required?

Meetings are often scheduled on an ad-hoc or recurring basis even when they’re not required. Take a look at your schedule and see how many meetings can be replaced with a simple email. For the meetings you end up keeping, see if they can be restructured to increase their overall effectiveness, such as shortening meeting length and sticking to a hard schedule.

For meetings you’re invited to, ask the organizer if your presence will be missed if you don’t attend. Colleagues will often invite you to meetings without asking your permission first – don’t be afraid to decline. You can easily say no if the meeting isn’t critical to your job.

2. Do You Say No?

Much like declining a meeting invite, people are often reluctant to say no to taking on projects, assignments, tasks, and even team lunches. If you’re feeling overworked and notice your productivity lagging, go through your schedule and see how many times you’ve said yes to a request. If it looks like you say yes to a majority of invites, it’s time to start saying no if it isn’t a critical request.

3. Is the Task Necessary?

Continue reading →