Marketing & Creative Jobs in Canada Blog - Part 59

10 Tips to Become More Creative

FG-Creativity-Blog

What is your creative process? Are you aware of it? Creativity is one of those processes that seems to have a shroud of mystery around it. Some people demonstrate regularly creativity, while others search for creativity.

I believe creativity is a muscle; not a gift. I believe that everyone has the ability to be creative, however for many reasons they don’t believe this.

Start with one day. Rest your mind and turn off the television. Read a book instead. Clean up. Exercise.

Having said that, sometimes it’s tough to be creative. Sometimes you need a push. Just like working out, you’ve got to change things up to produce the best results. Here’s 10 tips to boost creativity.

1.) Workout (Everyday)

Exercise is a wonderful thing. The benefits are incredibly vast and extend beyond purely physical. From engaging in a brisk walk to a heart-pounding gym session, exercising relaxes the mind and allows you to think clearly. For me, the best ideas tend to come after exercising.

Get outside and get sweaty. But don’t do it just once – make regular exercise a habit. Exercise for 5 minutes a day, every day. That’s all. The cumulative benefits are incredible.

2.) Throw Out The Trash

I’m talking about television here. Facebook. Your social media addiction. Watching television has been linked to lower levels of creativity, as measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. And don’t even get me started on the amount of time wasted every day watching television. (Spoiler: an average of 5 hours per day).

Start with one day. Rest your mind and turn off the television. Read a book instead. Clean up. Exercise. You’ll be amazed how much time you gain from cutting out television. And the effect on your brain, stress level, and attitude will be extremely positive. Continue reading →

How to Climb the Corporate Ladder Without Sucking Up

Climb-Corporate-Ladder

Sucking up. Kissing ass. Brown-nosing. Wearing the corporate knee pads. Is it mandatory to get ahead in the workplace?

“How to Climb the Corporate Ladder Without Sucking Up” Click to ReTweet

Some say that flattery will get you everywhere – while others vehemently warn against such a practice. The definition of sucking up is not black and white. Little compliments here, a few extra unpaid hours there. Where does one draw the line between flattery and blatant ass kissing?

But there are a few things you can do to get ahead that wont make you feel like a dirty brownnoser.

Wherever that line sits, brown-nosing actually does work in some instances. It’s been scientifically proven.

Why? Because it’s human nature. We’re attracted to people who have similar views. And when someone agrees with us, we feel more inclined to interact with them.

The problem presents itself when the agreeing, the compliments, and the flattery become insincere. And the recipient is unable to differentiate. Continue reading →

Office Design Trends for 2013

Cool Office Design 1I love looking through the online galleries of the “coolest,” “best,” and “most innovative” offices and workspaces in the world. It’s like visiting an IKEA showroom on steroids, and a great way to find inspirational ideas for my humble home office.

Contemporary office design often reflects the needs and values of society at large. When we spend more or less half of our waking hours hard at work, it only makes sense to be in workspaces that are both functional and conducive to personal well-being.

After combing through the design galleries and recent research on effective workspaces, three common themes were evident in the coolest, best, and most innovative office spaces: productivity, purpose and play. These themes will likely continue to form the essence of design in new office products and spaces throughout the rest of 2013. Continue reading →

HELP! My Co-Worker Sucks! What To Do About It

Co-Worker-Sucks

—>> “Help! My Co-Worker Sucks! What to do about it? Click to ReTweet Article

Mr. J biked to work every day. It was a far ride – and he decided early on, for some unknown reason, that he didn’t need to utilize the showers at his office. Instead he would shower himself in drug store cologne and head up to his desk to begin a long day of work.

His desk. Right beside mine.

Mr. J was my co-worker. My stinky coworker. To make matters worse, he had no idea what he was doing on the job. He was always making extra work for me. Mr. J sucked.

As long as your coworker is not abusive (emotionally, verbally, physically, etc) to you, chances are you can cope without making it a huge deal.

Unless you work alone all your life, you will – at some point – have coworkers who suck. From vaguely annoying to downright despicable, the range of suckery can vary.

Here are some common traits of the sucky coworker:

  • They love the sound of their own voice and they’re always talking.
  • They like to listen to music at work without any regard for others within earshot. Even worse, they listen to country music.
  • They’re always taking personal phone calls or texting during the workday.
  • They have terrible body odor.
  • They have terrible body odor and cover it up with drug store cologne.
  • They eat microwave popcorn in the office (that stuff reeks).
  • They whistle at their desk.
  • They’re lazy and do only just enough to get by.
  • They’re the office cheerleader. C’mon. Nobody gets that excited about a new photocopier.
  • They clip their fingernails at their desk. And God forbid, their toenails.
  • They’re never on time to meetings.
  • They ask simple questions when they could easily find the answers in Google.
  • They’re always miserable. They only open their mouth is to complain.
  • They’re always talking about other people during the day – and taking up your time with stories that you really don’t care about.
  • They talk over people.
  •  They book unnecessary meetings.

If your coworker does any of the above, they suck.

So how do you deal?  As long as your coworker is not abusive (emotionally, verbally, physically, etc) to you, chances are you can cope without making it a huge deal. If your coworker is abusive, you should start documenting your interactions and get Human Resources involved.  Abuse goes beyond ‘sucky co-worker’ and it should not be tolerated.

But here are some tips on how to deal with mild – to moderately sucky coworkers. Continue reading →

Online Advertising Trends in Canada: INFOGRAPHIC

According to those who ‘predict’ the future, newspapers were supposed to be ‘dead’ by now. They’re not. Maybe they never will be.

While that debate rages on, one shift that leaves little room for argument is the growth seen in online advertising. We put together this infographic that explores trends in online advertising in Canada, media comparisons and how Canada stacks up against other countries.

“16% Increase in Online Advertising in Canada: Infographic” Click to Tweet

Online Advertising Trends Canada Infographic(Click the image to view it at full size)

Embed this infographic: Copy the code in the box below and paste it into your own website 


<a href="https://www.freshgigs.ca/blog/online-advertising-trends-in-canada-infographic"><img title="Online Advertising Trends in Canada: INFOGRAPHIC" alt="Online Advertising Trends in Canada: INFOGRAPHIC" src="https://www.freshgigs.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/OnlineAdvertisingTrendsCanada-384x1024.jpg"></a>
<a href="https://www.freshgigs.ca/">Infographic brought to you by FreshGigs.ca</a>

How to Deal with a Bad Boss

How-to-deal-bad-boss

Bad Bosses. They’re unavoidable. But knowing how to identify and deal with them will make your life a little bit easier. There are different types of bad bosses. They usually fall into one of the following categories;

1. THE BULLY BOSS

They lead by fear. These bosses yell. They verbally abuse their employees and belittle them in front of their coworkers. Bully bosses can even go so far as trying to sabotage workers. They can hold back information necessary to do a job. They don’t communicate. And they create such a miserable work environment that many employees have no other choice than to pack up and leave.

 You can always spot a micromanager by their lack of ability to delegate tasks

But how do you identify between a bully boss and a tough boss?

Jennifer V. Miller, a former HR generalist and training manager addresses this very topic on her blog, and says “A tough boss has employees’ best interests in mind. The tough boss challenges employees to think beyond their current capabilities, to go beyond what they thought they could do. Tough bosses have difficult conversations. They don’t shy away from poor performance; they address it immediately. The tough boss might not be “warm and fuzzy” but they are compassionate. The one thing a tough boss will never do is belittle their employees in any way.”

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE BULLY

As difficult as it is, try to maintain a positive attitude and don’t take the boss’s comments personally. Prepare yourself by anticipating your boss’s negative remarks or comments. Come up with, and practice delivering constructive replies, such as “when you do that, it isn’t very motivating.” Continue reading →

Networking Tips to Land Your Dream Job

Business-Networking-1

Most professionals who work within marketing communications, media or the creative industries will inform you that if you are participating in the great job hunt your chance of successfully landing your dream job or finding an ideal client will often be based on ‘who you know’ rather than ‘what you know’.

This can, at times, be disheartening especially for those of you who have moved cities, changed careers or are entering the job market after an extended period of time away.

Only connecting with someone when you need something from them is not sincere and will cause you to lose connections.

However by following a few simple rules, successfully building a strong professional network is not as daunting or difficult as it may seem.

Think about who you already know?

Take a moment to write down a list of all the people you currently have in your network, this may include close friends, family members and previous colleagues. You will soon discover that you network is actually larger than you first thought and that people who you may see every day could very well be the key to your success.

Find and attend RELEVANT networking events.

There are many associations and groups within Canada that regularly hold networking events. These events are great places to meet like-minded professionals in a casual and often fun setting.  Websites such as www.meetup.com, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are also great tools that you can use to find out about local networking opportunities. Continue reading →

Marketing & Media Trends for 2013 in Canada: Insights From Industry Thought Leaders

BCAMA-Breakfast

Four thought leaders in the marketing, media and advertising industries share their insights into trends for 2013. Thanks to BCAMA for holding this great marketing and advertising panel event.

Lance-Saunders-DDB-Canada

  • Marketing world is more liquid.
  • Be more inclusive in every way you operate.
  • Listen to new interns.
  • Brands need more full frontal nudity.
  • Need more transparency and to have more honest conversations.
  • Use big data as a force for good, not evil.
  • Help each other, rather than be intrusive.
  • Everything has changed (social media, etc). But, values haven’t.
  • Understand the need you are fulfilling.

Ute-Preusse-Cossette

  • While we have less control on many things these days, we can still control our brands.
  • Find meaning and purpose that end audience is after.
  • Think “Why” and not just “What” and “How”.
  • Key considerations: Brand Purpose / Retail is Everywhere / Emerging Markets / P2P / Transparency / Private in Public / Alpha Boomers / Big Data / Hyper Predictive.

Continue reading →