Marketing & Creative Jobs in Canada Blog - Part 70

Kathy Kohn, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Henderson Bas Kohn

Kathy Kohn is a partner and Chief Creative Officer at henderson bas kohn, an award winning advertising agency with a focus on digital, social and mobile. hbk is an agency with over 60 employees and a client list that includes Coca-Cola, Tim Hortons, LG, Mercedes Benz and The Weather Network, to name a few.

Are you a morning person? What time do you get up and moving? What are the first few things (work/business/personal) that you do each morning?
My internal clock is a mess;  I’m about 5 hours off of everyone else.  I fall asleep at 5 am and get up around 10.  The first thing I do is question why breakfast at most restaurants ends at 11.  Next, email.  People love emailing me in the morning.  Know your target.  Lastly, I get ready for work.  Which I’ve gotten down to 3-minutes.  And it shows.

When do you first check your email? And how many emails do you get a day?
10:01 am.  Hundreds.

Do you have any tips for dealing with email? (Any techniques or tools you use?)
No.  Tips from me would be like a notable metaphor that is politically incorrect to say.

What time do you usually arrive at the office? And what does your typical day look like?
11 am.  My calendar looks like a patchwork quilt;  which I love.  Lots to do and every, single entry is different from the next.

My calendar looks like a patchwork quilt;  which I love.  Lots to do and every, single entry is different from the next.

What’s the most interesting thing about your job?
Every day is different.

How do you approach productivity? What challenges do you have in this area? How are you overcoming them? Any tips for others?
Have you ever splurged on a really good restaurant, only to be served by an aspiring actor who is there because he or she needs the cash?  Productivity is directly correlated to passion, intelligence, dedication, and love for the work and company.   If all of those are in place – everything else will take care of itself.  Tip:  if you’re doing it for the money – it will show.  If you’re doing it because you are passionate, intelligent, dedicated and love what you do – it will show.

Do you have a good work-life balance? If no, why? If yes, how do you achieve it? What are you beliefs around this?
I set objectives for myself and I live my life Continue reading

Mark Nicholson, SEO and Online Marketing Expert

Mark Nicholson is the owner of reactorr.com SEO. He has been involved in SEO and online marketing since 1996 and has worked with various companies throughout Europe, Asia and North America before starting his own business. Mark currently lives and works in Vancouver.

Are you a morning person? What time do you get up and moving? What are the first few things (work/business/personal) that you do each morning?
I’d regard myself as a forced morning person, since it makes the most sense to get an early start on the day. Truthfully, I’m more of a night owl. I typically start my day with a coffee and look over news aggregators I’ve setup to monitor at least a hundred resources, along with checking Twitter (@markjnicholson) to check the latest in seo, social media, internet marketing, and online branding. I’m a big proponent to online branding as I believe it includes seo, social media, PR, advertising, along with content strategies and more. I’m also a big fan of reddit and visit the site for mini breaks throughout the day.

I’m a big proponent to online branding as I believe it includes seo, social media, PR, advertising, along with content strategies and more.

When do you first check your email? And how many emails do you get a day?
Not including spam, that would be about 70-80. But including the unsolicited offers, it might be double. For some reason I get a lot of offers from overseas with promises of a top 10 listing on my sites after some optimization. Unfortunately, these emails are often the same and all they mention for seo is directory and article submissions.

Do you have any tips for dealing with email? (Any techniques or tools you use?)
My best email tips might be only open what is urgent at the start of the day, and of course client communications. One tip worth a mention is forget your bookmarks and use gmail to save stuff. I discovered a few years ago when you hit 5,000 bookmarks in Firefox that it started to delete others to make room for new ones. Since then I have a gmail account where I email myself and keyword stuff the email to make it possible to find again. It’s actually proven more effective so long as you add a decent amount of keywords to the email, because in 3 to 9 months you’ll be likely searching with different phrases than you would while it’s a fresh thought.

One tip worth a mention is forget your bookmarks and use gmail to save stuff.

What time do you usually arrive at the office? And what does your typical day look like?
The day usually starts about 8am. No day seems to be the same. I might run some rankings updates for a few sites, check analytics, do some keyword research, develop content strategies, create reports, site optimization, Continue reading

How to get a Job in Online Marketing

If you’re looking to break into online marketing but don’t have any experience, getting your first job can be tough.

But it doesn’t have to be.

With some work and hustle you can separate yourself from 95% of the other job applicants out there. Here are some tips to help you land your first online marketing job.

With some work and hustle you can separate yourself from 95% of the other job applicants out there.

Passion

Don’t fake the funk. If you don’t genuinely get excited about online marketing, don’t bother looking for work in the industry. Why?

  1. It requires constant education, self-directed study and research. And if you don’t love it, you’ll burn out quick.
  2. You’ll never truly succeed in online marketing without a burning passion. Those who do succeed live and breathe this stuff, and you won’t be able to compete with them in the long-run.

If you have a real passion for online marketing, you’ll find it much easier to find a job. Because so many aspects of online marketing are new, it can be difficult to find people with good experience – which means attitude and passion are often the things that get you the job. If you can find a way to communicate your passion in an Continue reading

Tessa Wegert, Business Writer & Marketing Professional

Tessa Wegert is a Canadian business writer and marketing professional currently residing in Chicago. In addition to being a long-time contributor to the Globe and Mail newspaper and its marketing site Globelink.ca, Tessa writes the weekly media buying column for the Internet marketing news publication ClickZ.com and manages communications for digital marketing agency Enlighten. Over the past ten years Tessa has covered business and technology news for such publications as the National Post, The Montreal Gazette, and USA Today’s USA Weekend magazine, and has created advertising strategies and ad copy for such brands as Audi, Audible, Blue Cross, Bell Canada, CIBC, and P&G.

Are you a morning person? What are the first few things (work/business/personal) that you do each morning?
I’ve always worked best late in the day and at night, so my morning routine is typically conducted from a pretty foggy place. Fortunately there are few urgent issues to deal with at 6 am and it’s nothing a few cups of coffee can’t cure.

When do you first check your email? And how many emails do you get a day?
My iPhone is in my hand within a few minutes of waking up. I check my email, the weather, and Facebook – in that order. I probably get more emails than most people in a day simply because of the glut of newsletters I subscribe to, which I use to research stories. Between my personal and my work accounts I get anywhere from 130 to 160 messages each day.

My iPhone is in my hand within a few minutes of waking up. I check my email, the weather, and Facebook – in that order.

Do you have any tips for dealing with email? (Any techniques or tools you use?)
Managing a large amount of email on a regular basis is all about organization. The more folders you can use to classify and catalogue your email content, the better. It’s also not a bad idea to keep absolutely everything – or as much as space will allow. You never know when a single word response from a client or colleague might prove to be irreplaceable.

What time do you usually arrive at the office? And what does your typical day look like?
For the past few years I’ve worked entirely from home, a routine I was lucky enough to establish shortly after my first child was born. Because I split my time between multiple organizations and projects my days can vary dramatically but always include several hours of research and writing. Often the work I can’t get to during the day spills over into the evening – a hazard of having no tangible divide between work and home. Given my penchant for working at night, it suits me fine.

Because I split my time between multiple organizations and projects my days can vary dramatically but always include several hours of research and writing.

What’s the most interesting thing about your job?
The variety of topics I have the opportunity to cover, and the different styles of writing I’m able to employ.

How do you approach productivity? What challenges do you have in this area? How are you overcoming them? Any tips for others?
I’m a firm believer in identifying your ideal work strategy, and sticking to it. I happen to be a big multitasker and am constantly flipping from one project to another based on my current levels of inspiration and preparation. My biggest challenge Continue reading

Liz Hover, Digital Media Manager

Brit gal Liz Hover is the Digital Media Manager at the National Screen Institute (NSI) in Winnipeg. She’s been named one of the world’s top “125 fearless female bloggers.” Liz teaches social media marketing and blogging to students at NSI and also manages the organization’s website. If you dig dogs you’ll love Liz’s dog’s blog Hi, I’m Sadie Shih Tzu.

What time do you get up and moving? What are the first few things (work/business/personal) that you do each morning?
I get up everyday at 5:30 a.m. Even on the weekends. The first thing I do is switch on my laptop which lives on the dining-room table. While I’m waiting for it to do its thing, I go outside for a cigarette. Yes – I’m one of THOSE people. Then I read a lot of emails. I usually also check the Daily Mail website (a British tabloid newspaper).

I get up everyday at 5:30 a.m. Even on the weekends.

When do you first check your email? And how many emails do you get a day?
I check my email as soon as my computer will let me. I probably get around a couple of hundred emails a day. I have two accounts myself and one for my dog, Sadie. I always check my work email too.

Do you have any tips for dealing with email? (Any techniques or tools you use?)
If I don’t read and action an email straight away it usually gets forgotten. I make a point of reading and replying straight away. Whenever I think, ‘I’ll read that later’ I don’t so it’s now or never.

I subscribe to email updates from lots of design, social media marketing and pet blogs. If the email is still in my inbox unread after a couple of days, I’ll delete it. Of course I check its importance but ultimately if I couldn’t find time to read it, it loses its relevance.

What time do you usually arrive at the office? And what does your typical day look like?
I’m at the office anywhere between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. First thing I do is grab a glass of water (I never drink coffee!).

Log on to my computer and open up Outlook to see what has arrived in my inbox since earlier that morning.

I read A LOT. I subscribe to zillions of blogs and websites – both film and TV industry news and social media marketing stuff.

I read A LOT. I subscribe to zillions of blogs and websites

So a large part of my day is spent reading through emails. Sometimes what I read might become a blog post or I’ll post it to NSI’s Facebook or Twitter.

I don’t think I really have a typical day.

Working as a website manager can often mean I’m very reactive – waiting for things from others. I might have to edit a bunch of stories for our website. Or I might have to fix sponsorship logos on our site.

I use Photoshop a lot. I don’t think there’s a day when it isn’t open on my computer. I might be creating a small ad for our website or resizing a photo for someone’s blog post. Opening up Photoshop is almost as routine as opening Outlook.

Three times a week I see a personal trainer for an hour between 11:30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. I do a lot of sitting in my job so exercise is super important. In the summer months I cycle to and from work but we get snow for half the year so regular exercise is essential for me. I do a lot of running, skipping and weight training.

I do a lot of sitting in my job so exercise is super important.

I rarely go out for lunch. It’s usually eaten at my desk (sushi or salad). And that’s just the way I like it. Invite me for wine after work if you want a meeting with me J I prefer to carry on working while I eat.

I tend to work very quickly. While I’m waiting for a photo to open, I’ll be checking NSI’s Twitter account or reading emails. I think the idea of multi-tasking is a myth. I can’t read emails and listen to a webinar at the same time. I usually fill small gaps of time with lots of little things.

Our office tends to wrap up around 5 p.m. I won’t stay much later than that because if I have more stuff to do, I’ll do it at home.

I use DropBox a lot so if I have to use work Continue reading

7 Ways To Make Your Resume Stand Out

One of the most important tools in any job hunter’s arsenal is his or her resume. An excellent resume can be your foot in the door to the opportunity you’ve been looking for. We’ll go over 7 ways you can make your resume stand out from the pack and get you the interview you deserve.

Keep It Short
Many people feel obligated to go on at great length about their accomplishments and experience in their resume. There’s nothing wrong with this, but bear in mind that your employer-to-be is likely reading many resumes like your own, and won’t spend much time with any. So keep it to one page. Move the margins out to .5″ on every side, leave as little white space as you can, and leave off any information that isn’t engaging.

Know Your Audience
Try not to have a generalized, catch-all resume. Create a template for yourself, and adapt to what the particular employer you’re sending it to might need to know. Remember, the resume isn’t intended to get you the job, just the interview. If some of your experience isn’t relevant to the employer who’s looking at it, replace it.

Emphasize Your Name
The title of a book is the biggest part of the cover. Your name is the title of your resume, and it should be the biggest part. Put it in 16 or 18 point font, and make it bold.

Use The Four-Section Rule
There are four general sections to a resume: education, experience, skills, and a section about you. There ought to be equal page space to devoted to each, and these can be broken into subsections. This leads into our next pointer.

Use Accurate Section Headings
Some creativity is called for here. For example, unless your entire employment history is on the resume, a section called “Work History” is misleading. Use something like “Relevant Professional Experience.” This logic applies to sections like “Skills” or “Abilities” as well.

Bullet Lists For Each Job
Bullet lists are an eye-catching way to display your work experiences. A great, easy formula is no more than 4 or 5 bullets for any given job, and each bullet should have 3 elements: a strong action verb, the name of the task itself, and specific details such as when, where, and who.

Compare Your Work
The best way to learn what works is to find out what others have done. Looking at a large, quality database of sample resumes, such as ResumeIndex.com, can teach you a lot about formatting and style.

If you use these simple tips, employers will swear your resume leaps out at them. You’ll see great results for not much work on your end!

Erik Lawson is a master’s level career counselor. He is internationally certified as a Career Management Practitioner (CMP) by the Institute for Career Certification International and has been recognized as a National Certified Counselor (NCC) through the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Proof? Formal Education Is Overvalued

There has been a back and forth going on for years between those that believe that formal education is one of the greatest keys to success and those that our proud to point out all the exceptions to the rule.

Let’s look at an interesting fact:

90% of CEOs heading America’s top 500 companies didn’t graduate from Ivy league schools, that’s according to an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Any College Will do”. The Canadian pattern is likely much the same.

VentureBeat summarized it nicely by saying:

“…the majority of chief executives at the most successful companies — like Intel chief executive and University of San Francisco grad Paul Otellini, and Costco chief executive and San Diego City College grad James Sinegal — were not Ivy League grads.”

Okay, those examples give some cred to the idea that you don’t have to graduate from the best schools. But what about graduating at all?

Here are 7 people you may have heard of before that didn’t graduate from college/university and went on to run ‘successful’ companies:

  • Bill Gates
  • David Oreck
  • Phillip Ruffin
  • Paul Allen
  • Richard Branson
  • Felix Dennis
  • Michael Dell

Thoughts anyone?

HR + Social Media at Impact99

On November 7th at the Evergreen Brick Works HR and Social Media will come together at the Impact99 Conference.

This 1 day conference focuses on helping businesses and employees better understand and leverage social media in the workplace. You’ll be instructed by 20 of North America’s most respected social media coaches on what you need to know in each of the top social media platforms.”

For the full agenda, list of speakers and to register visit: http://www.impact99.ca/toronto/home.html

Get Ready For CreativeMix

Feeling Creative? If so, and if you’ll be in or around Vancouver on November 3rd, be sure to check out the CreativeMix conference.

Dubbed “a professional development conference for both emerging and established creative professionals, entrepreneurs and artists.”

Speakers
The speaker lineup includes an advertising agency founder, an investor/entrepreneur, festival and games producers, a photographer and others.

Networking
There will be plenty of time for networking before, during and after this event. And there looks to be quite a bit of learning to to be done too!

Date/Time/Location
CreativeMix starts at 9am on November 3rd and will be held at the Roundhouse Mews in Yaletown.

Special for FreshGigs.ca Members
FreshGigs.ca members can get 10% off the price of a conference pass by using coupon code: FRESHGIGS

Details
For full details visit: http://creativemix.ca

Your Years of Experience Don’t Matter Anymore?

How important is experience when you’re going after a job or landing a project?

Most employers ask that you have 3, 5, 7, 10 years of experience.

What if you only have 1 or 2 years? Should you still apply for the job?

According the book Rework (I’ll be sharing some interesting tid-bits from it) once someone has 6 months on the job they should have enough “experience” to understand what needs to be done.

After the 6 months, it’s not how much or how long they’ve worked that is important, but rather how good of a job they’re doing at it.

John has 10 years experience but he’s slow at his work and takes too many breaks.

Jen has a year of experience. She’s a real go-getter and works not just hard, but smart too.

Who do you want on your team?

What will it be?

Time in or Results out?