Uncategorized - Portfolio Creative

Whirlwind at Portfolio Creative

August 20, 2009

It’s been a whirlwind day week at Portfolio Creative! Yes, Portfolio Creative. We’re in the midst of a brand update, including a refresh of our name and logo. To be seen on High Street and at a website near you very, very soon.

Meanwhile, since Portfolio Creative made the Inc.500 list we’ve caught the attention of some local media. Apparently this wonderful creative industry that we think is so interesting is interesting to others as well. It’s fun to get to talk about our work, our people,

Working with a Recruiter: 5 Tips to a Successful Relationship

August 17, 2009

Whether you’re currently looking for a position, or just planning your future career development, recruiters are valuable people to know. Here are a few tips for a more successful recruiter/candidate relationship.

1. Understand areas of expertise. Every recruiter or firm has an area of focus–even within general firms people tend to specialize in some way. This may be by profession (IT, legal, healthcare), level of expertise (mid-level manager, executive, C-suite), location or other factors. Define the type of position you’re looking for, and then research to find which recruiters

Positive Economic Indicator?

August 13, 2009

In looking for my own indicators that the economy is headed in a more positive direction, I’ve noticed one recent trend–more job postings. On the CSCA job board it seemed that we were suddenly having A LOT more postings. More employers are looking for help, both freelance and full-time, which (presumably) means their business is picking up as well. June and July had an equal number of postings, but in August we’ve already had that same number of postings and it’s not even mid-month. I like

Portfolio Creative Makes the Inc. 500 List

August 12, 2009

Portfolio has earned the position of #326 on the 2009 Inc. 500 annual ranking of the fastest-growing companies in America! This definitive list measures revenue growth from 2005 through 2008 of U.S. based, privately held companies. Additionally, this puts us at 7th in country for our industry (Human Resources) and tops in Ohio.

Thank you! We couldn’t have accomplished this without the support and loyalty of our clients, associates, and staff.

Advertising that IS Good and DOES Good

August 3, 2009

In my ongoing belief that advertising can both BE good and DO good, I submit this recent campaign for Salvation Army. A local agency and more than fifty businesses in Portland, Maine pooled resources to create a clever and cost-effective free campaign. And doesn’t that just make sense for an organization who is asking for money to help others? Who strengthens their community with the work they do? Who wants your money, but has to justify how and where they’ll spend it? Plus they

Black Holes: Mystery of Corporate Sites Unraveled

July 30, 2009

The opportunity of a lifetime is staring you in the face. You think you’re the perfect person for the position that the company has posted on their site. You jump through their hoops to get your brief cover letter and resume submitted. It’s exciting… your life is about to change. Then, you wait. “They’ll call”, you tell yourself. They don’t. “Well, at least they’ll let me know if I’m a candidate or not.” They don’t… in fact, you never hear anything from them ever again. It’s as if your

Do you really need a Facebook page for your business?

July 28, 2009

The short answer is yes. I attended Social Media Summer Camp this morning at sparkspace and Todd Swickard of People To My Site provided these surprising Facebook statistics:

More than 4 million users become fans of pages daily
Facebook users share more than 1 billion forms of content each week
Site membership grew 85% in 2008
Currently, there are more than 150 million users (54 million unique visitors per month)
85% of users are between 18-54 years old
Facebook is the #2

Study Finds Ill-Prepared Workforce

July 23, 2009

A recent study produced by four key workforce and training organizations shows that “U.S. employers continue to struggle with an ill-prepared workforce, finding new hires lack critical basic and applied skills.” And employer-sponsored training is not successfully correcting the deficiencies.

What does that tell me? That employees (or wanna be employees) need to work to correct the deficiencies on their own. Knowledge is power–if you know what employers are looking for, you can highlight the key skills that you have and improve where you’re lacking. Employers aren’t going to

Portfolio Summer Calendar

July 22, 2009

Each quarter we put together a calendar of local creative events that is mailed to Portfolio clients and potential clients. We pull the events and other interesting goings on in Central Ohio, and ask one of our fantastic designers to design the calendar. They really have free reign, and always turns out to be wonderful and creative.

For Summer 2009 uber-talented designer and photographer Alan McClelland created the calendar, you can check it out here and here. Thanks Alan!

House Swapping for Creatives

July 20, 2009

Next big thing? Started in Australia, but serving international clients and locations, Creative Caravan helps on-the-move creative people find places to stay. Specifically focused on people in creative fields, like designers, directors, photographers and stylists, the idea is to help people find places to stay and potentially connect people in similar industries. Searching the board is free–you only pay if you find a place you like. Clever, and maybe a “next big thing”! From Springwise.

PORTFOLIO CREATIVE BLOG