The Job Search - Portfolio Creative

The Black Hole: You Aren’t Alone

July 10, 2018

By Derik Abbott One of the most common pain points we hear from candidates that come into our office is their inability to get responses to their resume submittals for openings online. While this might seem like something that is only affecting you, rest assured, it’s an epidemic that plagues all job searches out there. We, as recruiters, actually see this happen with a lot of hiring managers we work directly with (most we’ve met in person and have some level of relationship with). It’s something that everyone from job

Asking for a Raise? Four Steps to Getting What You Want

May 17, 2018

By Kristen Harris In life, you often have to ask for what you want. You might not get everything you want but asking for it certainly helps. And asking for it in the right way really increases your odds. Let’s say you’ve been working in a role for a while and things are going really well. You feel like you’re excelling at the job, taking on increased responsibilities, and creating value for your employer. So you’ve decided to ask for a raise. You want the raise, and believe you deserve

The 5 Stages of Grief When Losing a Job

March 13, 2018

By Catherine Lang-Cline At one time or another, everyone has the unfortunate opportunity of dealing with the 5 stages of grief. Typically this is connected to death, but it can really be applied to just about all kinds of loss. That includes the loss of a job. These are the 5 stages of grief applied to losing a job and how you can get past each one and get back on track with your career. I know all of these to be true because they have happened to me. Denial

Networking Ninja: How Introverts Can Get the Most Out of Any Event

February 20, 2018

By Kristen Harris Some people love networking. They really like meeting new people, chatting in the grocery line, making friends on the airplane. When they walk into a room full of strangers they just see potential future friends. These people extroverts and they are not me. I like people, I really do. But I want to have the chance to get to know them, to understand who they are, what they think and where they’re coming from. I’m an introvert but I’m not anti-social. I just need to apply a

Leadership Strengths: Finding Your Highest and Best Use

December 21, 2017

By Kristen Harris In real estate, there’s a concept called “highest and best use.” When appraising a piece of vacant land or property, under this concept the value must be based on the most reasonable, probable, and legal use that is physically possible appropriately supported and financially feasible. For example, if a property is currently an industrial site but would have more value when redeveloped with residential buildings, that higher use is how the property value is determined. (With apologies to real estate experts–I know there are many factors that

Be Your Best: Using Strengths at Work

November 30, 2017

By Kristen Harris At Portfolio Creative we welcome every new hire for our internal team with a copy of the book StrengthsFinder 2.0. We ask them to take the assessment and share their results. Why? Because StrengthsFinder is one of the key tools we use to better understand ourselves and each other. StrengthsFinder is built on the philosophy that we each have inherent strengths. They’re part of our DNA, we can’t change them, it’s just who we are. The result of a lifetime of research, Don Clifton identified thirty-four unique

Side Hustles: It’s Not Just About the Money

September 19, 2017

By Kristen Harris Nearly a third of workers have a side gig, according to recent research conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder(1). This statistic caught my eye because I know a lot of people who do extra work on the side in addition to their regular day job. It’s pretty common in the creative industry. The research had other interesting findings, like more women than men have side hustles (35 percent vs. 28 percent), and those under 35 are more likely to have a side hustle than those

Perfecting Your Craft: Does It Really Take 10,000 Hours?

September 7, 2017

By Kristen Harris There is an oft-cited “rule” that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice are needed to become world-class in any field. People have latched onto this 10,000 Hours Rule, especially after Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling Outliers, because it’s short, simple and easy to remember. Does this mean you can’t be world-class in less than 10,000 hours? Or that you’re guaranteed to be world-class if you put in 10,000 hours of practice? No, and no. It’s more complex than this. What’s true about the 10,000 Hours Rule? The original research(1) shows that

Hiring: Plan Ahead, Ideal Fit Takes Time

August 22, 2017

By Kristen Harris “Never make a decision until you have to.” – Randy Pausch As hiring managers and job candidates, we’re all looking for an Ideal Fit. Whatever term you use to describe it, we all want to find someone who is a good fit for our team, or a work opportunity that feels “just right”. If you’re not sure how to assess an Ideal Fit, check out our article Hiring: What’s an “Ideal Fit”? Finding the Ideal Fit takes time. It’s not something you can rush through, yet we’re

Your Career: Five Common Job Search Mistakes

August 14, 2017

By Kristen Harris Looking for work might seem like a fairly straightforward process but, in fact, it’s quite complex. There are several steps, a series of interactions, and multiple people involved in your search. Each stage of the process is filled with nuance and details. One false move can take you out of the running, and you may not even know it. The job search process is challenging and stressful enough without putting barriers in your own way. Check yourself…are you making any of these five common job search mistakes?

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