Pollock Spark

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2011-03-24T12:42:00.000-04:00

We have moved the blog from here to a wordpress blog integrated into our website at Pollockspark.com

Please visit us there where you will find all the posts from this blog as well as new posts with more ideas and tips for your creative career and business.

"...exciting, creative resume..."

2011-03-03T10:51:00.000-05:00

A happy client forwarded me this note she received from a former colleague.

She told me it's “a testament to our work together.”

I clicked on (a LinkedIn update) and saw your name with an intriguing quote so I clicked again, and WOW!! Girl, you are so creative and vibrant, it just screams off the electronic page… I scanned the resume. It is the first exciting, creative resume I’ve EVER read. Anyone scanning your page would immediately offer you work, even if they didn’t have any.

This is what we aim for.

A Holiday Massage - for your dreams of independence

2011-02-23T14:45:00.000-05:00

First published in December 2010 in Sparkings

All of us in creative gigs think about starting our own thing. For your holiday gift here is some logical inspiration from a very smart lady who started hers.

I really wanted a massage. I Googled what I wanted and where I wanted it: massage, williamsburg. Guess what came up? Yes – a business called Massage Williamsburg owns most of the top organic results including several review sites. I searched no further. It must be one of the only massage businesses not called Tranquil Touch or the like.

The mastermind behind this is Rachel Beider LMT. “I put all my effort into being found by people who are looking for what we do rather than trying to find people who aren’t looking,” she told me.

Rachel had studied at SVA and run a photographer’s studio. But she didn’t like the ups and downs of project work. Escaping to the Far East – she discovered massage in Thailand and turned out to have a real knack for it. She applied online to train at the Swedish Institute in New York and hurried back.

Rachel’s research told her that 40% of Americans have had a massage and people who get it regularly have 8 a year. She realized that the 80,000 inhabitants of Williamsburg, Brooklyn were under-served.

She landed a job at a spa. “There was all day Enya – and I had to use oils that I knew contained carcinogens. I wanted my own practice, with my own oils and my own music and my own clients. One day I walked past a physical therapy practice. They had empty rooms and no massage therapist. I said: ‘2 days a week I’ll work on your clients and you let me use the space. I have always liked trading – it is very helpful.”

She traded massages for haircuts and personal training. Hairdressers talk to their customers, and gym clients are all sore! “I handed them a card I’d made from a VistaPrint template: the most expensive marketing I have ever done!” This effort produced more referrals than she could handle – she added therapists.

SEO fascinates Rachel. Focusing on massage places that came up top in searches, she added her business to the same directories and review sites they were in, boosting her own page rank.

And so on. It’s all very logical. She got the skills. She did the research. She traded work for space and for referrals. And she made full and intelligent use of the free online search and marketing tools to make sure that when people are looking for her, they will find her.

Happy Holidays and all the best for making your dreams come true in 2011.

Fear of change - Dostoevsky weighs in

2011-02-15T17:42:00.000-05:00

"All is in a man's hands and he lets it slip from cowardice, that's an axiom. It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most..."

Fyodor Dostoevsky.

How to choose a career or job

2011-02-09T14:11:00.000-05:00

You know how in brainstorming or ideation sessions a facilitator will tell you that there are no bad ideas. All ideas that surface should be kept on the table and considered – at least for the time being.
Well that kind of positivity is needed when you are searching for a job or considering a career change. You should play that game with yourself – there are no bad ideas. Not if I have them, not if my partner or friend has them. Note them all down.

When the new idea or suggestion comes to you, give it some thought – respect it. Don’t deny it out of hand or knee-jerk the response “Oh that will never work.” Instead say to yourself, “Ah yes, I see, and this is how maybe this could work.”

Keep the lists of the ideas that come to you. Review the lists and put three pros and three cons against each of the ideas. When I was a kid we were taught to debate: traditional formal debating. This was a big deal, part of the curriculum, not just an after-school club for people who liked the sound of their own voice. We had to be able to argue persuasively on either side of any argument – regardless of our prejudices and preconceptions. This is the attitude I ask you to bring to this exercise. Consider all the options on your list. Work hard at finding reasons why each one is a good idea and how it could work for you – and only then work at finding reasons why they won’t work.

Keep this kind of thinking going – it will open your mind to possibilities you hadn’t considered. If you were thinking about a career change, ask your friends what their friends do and put these occupations on your list. If you are looking for a job, look at different sections of the listings, or different job categories and put them on your list. Then debate them with yourself. See what happens. This is designed to bring ideas to the surface that may have been submerged below some of your personal default positions that are out of date, or have run their course.

If someone suggests you relocate – put that on your list and see how it could work. If someone suggests that you start your own business, take some time to visualize that and see how it might work.
Remember your initial response should be that there are no bad ideas – and try to see how each of them would work.

Open your mind. Stretch the possibilities. Most people do jobs you have never heard of. Pull yourself out of any rut you might have inadvertently gotten yourself into and imagine the sky is the limit. There are no bad ideas.

Revealing interview questions

2011-02-09T14:06:00.000-05:00

Getting the real scoop on a candidate you’re interviewing is not that hard: here are some tips from a pro. Listen up, job seekers.

The hiring manager from a Minnesota ad agency told me she starts with a couple of innocent questions: “Did you have trouble finding the office? And how was your commute? You can learn so much right off the bat from these.” Some people launch into a story of how they overslept and missed the train or couldn’t find a parking space. Or that they went past the building three times before they figured out which one it was. Really. They don’t realize that this is neither interesting nor confidence inspiring. Even if you did arrive on time, the details of this triumph are not the story you ought to be telling.

Candidates, I suggest that you scout the commute in advance, or at least build in fifteen minutes of slippage time so that you are not flustered when you do make it. The Japanese believe that arriving early is just as rude as arriving late. So they often give themselves a time bumper, and bring a book to read in a coffee shop or on a park bench - then they walk in right on the dot.

So what does she ask after the how-did-you-get-here test? “I ask if you’ve done your homework on our company, and before I start my questions, do you have any questions about us? And then I ask if the job description makes sense to them.” Their answers give a good indication of how they will approach the job.

Then one more revealing question: she asks people if they are comfortable being out in front, or if they prefer to work behind the scenes; in a team or a silo. “And when they tell me – I ask them why.”
The right questions from the interviewer – beyond the substance of work history and accomplishments, can elicit so much about the candidate’s attitude and confidence. These answers provide the first impression: the frame for everything that follows. They are extremely important indicators of how the candidate will perform and fit in.

This recruiter keeps the job description in front of her during the interview so she can be sure she remains focused on the needs of the position and the tone of the company. Just as the candidate should have clearly in mind how they want to be perceived, so too does the interviewer.
“So did you have trouble finding us today?”

Resume Feedback

2011-02-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

First published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage

I recently received a resume from an apparently extremely capable leader in the digital marketing field. He is an innovator who has launched and built digital departments in several major ad agencies.

But I had to work my way through his chronology to figure this out. His brief summary was utterly generic. It could have been written by any one of a thousand people and it didn't in any way indicate the innovations that he had been responsible for. Nor could I tell what campaigns he had worked on or what strategies he had crafted and executed. So a quick glance would not have separated him from the pack.

I sent this resume to a recruiter friend. Here is some of her feedback: "He looks good but there's a but... I don't really get the actual hands-on work or accomplishments/impacts on business from each of his roles. It's TOO topline and needs to go deeper."

Wonderful and succinct feedback. This is advice that we can all take to heart as we review our resumes. (You do do that regularly don't you?) Make sure it tells clearly and simply what you have done and what you can do. You have to show that you can do it yourself, that you have done it and with what success. The days of the manager who just sits in the office and manages other people are over.

Writing our own resume can be a trip down memory lane, with all those snapshots illustrating the twists and turns of our lives. But a stranger reviewing your resume is not interested in your life story they want to know are you the best person to fill their position. To them this is not about the story of your life, it is about the next chapter of theirs.

So select and present the details under each position so that they support your positioning as clearly stated at the top. Make them vivid put in detail that no one else could. Saying that you "built a world class division" doesn't mean much in this age of superlatives instead provide specifics that actually carry weight and bring your value to life.

Be tough on yourself. Check each element of your resume to see if it supports the clear story you want to tell. Then check each element to see if it is unique to you. If it is generic, then rewrite it reframe it. Squint at your resume (metaphorically of course!) - look at it sideways - and see if the main idea is so strong that it still shines off the page.

Pollock Spark Works...in the words of our clients

2011-02-01T10:16:00.000-05:00

Pollock*Spark works for Ad Agencies

“Michael was absolutely instrumental in helping us to design and build a new strategic broadcast capability for RedWorks. Through partnering with Michael I learned that he possesses a truly unique blend of strategic savvy and operational experience - thinking at 30,000 feet while simultaneously piecing together the jigsaw on the ground. And he does it all with a much-valued sense of humor. Without Michael's help, we would never have ended in as good a place as we ultimately did.”
Quinn O'Brien
RedWorks, an Ogilvy Company
Director of Global Operations and North American Managing Director

Pollock*Spark works for Film Companies

“I hired Pollock/Spark to help me sharpen my business efforts by focusing on the Clients likely to use my services. He challenges my thinking, helps me become the master of my own destiny and always looks at my situation from a fresh and smart perspective. He hates bullshit and is incisive but always tactful. His contribution is like having your very own management consultancy, except it's like dealing with the partner and not the pimply -faced recent graduate. His experience is earned and wisely applied. You can take away anything you want from me but don't take away my Michael!” As seen on Yelp.com
“I said good things about you to your face and I'll say them behind your back as well. I thought you navigated a potentially difficult internal political situation at our company very well (difficult because of the self-perception differences between the partners), advertised your services accurately and delivered an analysis that is relevant, clear and integral to creating forward movement.”
“You asked many questions that we had let lurk in the shadows and pointed us in the right direction.”

Pollock*Spark works for Design Firms

“You took us to a whole new level that we would not have reached on our own.”
“Michael (Pollock, pollock|spark) has a very strong ability to focus deeply on a company and draw out important, often overlooked, issues. His suggestions for next steps and action plans are excellent. Michael has been instrumental in helping us clearly define goals and working towards achieving them.”
“ ...instrumental in helping us to clearly define goals and working towards achieving them.”
“Your support and wisdom have already improved our business, and we're looking forward to continuing the collaboration.”
“I am excited about moving forward”

Pollock*Spark works for Filmmakers

“Since we [worked together] I have not stopped working. I have been booked solid. I shot nine new spots in the last eight weeks. Being able to shoot with the confidence of knowing my strengths has been a great pleasure. I have never had a run this strong.”
“One of the most priceless bits of information that I learned from the sessions was the importance of being able to “tell my story”.... Once I became more comfortable with my story and goals, getting out and networking became a LOT more relaxed and enjoyable. The impact will be huge. What I learned in the coaching sessions will not only help me land jobs in the short-term, I’m certain that they will help lay a foundation for my own production company down the road. “
“this was a terrific experience at just the right time for me. Thank you, Michael, for your creativity, honesty, and insightfulness. You’re easy to open up to. I never felt judged. You were always prepared and able to quote things I had said 2 sessions before. It’s invaluable as a human being to be listened to on that level, and incredibly empowering as a businessman. I wish us both limitless success. Cheers to you!”
“Although you laid out the structure and the “mini-goals”, it gelled in our final meeting beyond what I expected. As if it were a well told story and we came to the third act. I hope we do another round 12 months from now. It’s really as important to me as seeing your doctor regularly to check your blood pressure etc.”

Pollock*Spark works for Creative Craft Associations

“The Pollock*Spark report has served as a trusted guide for the board of directors and the professional staff. It has helped navigate the substantial structural and behavioral changes the association has gone through, helped change the way AICE conducts its business and the way it informs and engages its membership. The difference has been extraordinary. From the attitude of the board to the renewed sense of purpose of the membership, AICE is a reinvigorated association thanks in no small part to the careful and insightful work of pollock*spark.”

Pollock*Spark works for Individual Creative Professionals

“I was able to see that I have way more interesting skills/experience than what is outlined on my resume.”
“I have, and will continue to recommend the coaching. The coaching sessions truly are a "spark". ...the sessions got me excited about what I've done, what I can do and what I hope to do. It's one of the best investments you can make if you're in the creative field.”
“this (coaching) was a terrific experience .... Thank you for your creativity, honesty, and insightfulness. You're easy to open up to. I never felt judged. You were always prepared and able to quote things I had said 2 sessions before. It's invaluable as a human being to be listened to on that level, and incredibly empowering as a businessman”
“I went from lackluster "brand' materials (cover letter, resume etc.) in serious need of improvement to getting job offers and finding new opportunities in the span of weeks."

How to plan your next career move

2011-02-01T10:12:00.000-05:00

I assume you have thought about a what-do-I-want-to-be-doing-in-five-years career goal. Though for lots of us it has never quite formed into anything beyond "I want to be happy and in charge of my destiny."

Maybe it feels a bit vague and you can't figure out how you think you are going to get there. So write something down; make it moderately specific. And don't panic. It can change. But find something to write down that you feel good about at least for now - don't feel you are going to be trapped by it. If you have a few ideas write them all down and then follow these steps for each one.

Now write down three (or four or five) steps that you might have to make to get there. They could be to move to a particular company or to get particular new clients. They could be taking on new responsibilities where you are. Or picking projects that will strengthen your portfolio. They could be investment you have to make or courses you have to take. Write them down. And figure out the order they need to come in.

Okay: now you have a track to head out on. So the next piece of the pie is staying on that track. Here I want to introduce you to the idea of a cognitive dissonance. I want you to stay on that track and I want you also to be open to other tracks. Got that? Since you now have the track marked out - you can on a daily and weekly basis pick the three sub-steps you will need to make to get to the next step. And each of those steps can have its steps. It is like producing a movie. When you first read a complex script involving alien creatures and locations in Rio and Shanghai and Mars and a cast of thousands it can look daunting. But a producer will break it down into tiny manageable steps: as small as booking the airline tickets or making a first sketch of the Mars base. These small steps will be easy to take - and put together they will add up to a major Memorial Day worldwide release.

So set out on your track. It is very satisfying to know why you are doing what you are doing and where it can take you. And pay attention when you pick your jobs or your clients or the color palette for your website or the typeface, or the charity you volunteer for - and ask yourself if each little choice is taking you in the direction you want to be going.

The wonderful thing about this is it will get you into a flow. Your neurons will be happy and you will be happy. You will not be floundering or guessing. You will know where you are going. You will feel justified in what you are doing because you will have justified it.

Are your business silos working for you - or bringing your company down?

2011-02-01T10:08:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered about the effectiveness of business silos? Most of us have seen them or worked in them.

The metrics, the P&L and certainly the culture, do not encourage co-operation between divisions, capabilities or regions. The results can look good from silo to silo - maybe - but the global result for the business may not be so strong.Resources are often duplicated, efforts may be directed silo against silo, and there is frequently internal competition between executives.

From inside it is often impossible to discern what would be the greater good, and the pressure to protect the near-in is too great to resist.

The Economist tells the story of how this culture changed at Ford, and how this change is credited with its recent massive financial turnaround. Here is an excerpt from that story:

Soon after Alan Mulally arrived as Ford's chief executive in September 2006 he organized a weekly meeting of his senior managers and asked them how things were going. Fine, fine, fine, came the answers from around the table.

"We are forecasting a $17 billion loss and no one has any problems!" an incredulous Mr Mulally exclaimed.

When he asked the same question the next week, Mark Fields, head of Ford's operations in the Americas, raised his hand, and - in what once would have been a moment of career suicide - admitted that a defective part threatened to delay the launch of an important new car. The room fell silent, until Mr Mulally began to clap his hands. "Great visibility," the new boss added.

Four years on, Ford is making record profits. Its revival began with this new willingness to recognize its faults. In the old days management at Ford was preoccupied with executive rivalry, recalls Mr Fields. "Now it is about who's helping whom," he says. When Mr Fields stuck his hand up at that meeting and won Mr Mulally's approval, colleagues soon began chipping in with helpful suggestions to overcome the problem with the new car. It was more than a symbolic moment for a business which used to be run like a collection of principalities rather than a global enterprise. As far as Mr Mulally is concerned, demolishing those management divisions has been the most important factor in turning Ford around.

Buffalo, Funerals and Assumptions

2011-02-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

I spent the past three weeks in Indonesia and got an amazing reminder that what is important to someone else might just not be obvious to me. We stopped in on a two-week funeral ceremony in Tana Toraja on the island of Sulawesi.

The event had taken two years to plan since the death. The hundreds of extended family and friends had come from far and wide, taking big chunks of time off work. That itself had taken a while to get together, but most of all they had needed time to find the appropriate buffaloes to slaughter (about 30 in all were required for this ceremony - also countless pigs): one with extra long horns, a white one, a spotted one, one with one horn up and one horn down and so on. The deceased had remained in the house for the duration of this planning, with food and cigarettes being provided daily.

This all made perfect sense to our guide, a wonderful man with whom outwardly we had seemed to have so much in common.

Note to self (and to you dear reader) it always behoves us to open our minds to what could be important to those with whom we have dealings. We should not make assumptions, it might not be what we expect. Even if we know they need a buffalo - did we really understand that they were holding out for one with blue eyes?

A bit of a stretch, do I hear you say? Well maybe. But the idea is valid and how many other blogs do you read with buffalo pix in them? Here is your correspondent at the weekly Rantepau buffalo market - where the deals get done.

Q+A: How to approach an interview

2010-12-02T10:04:00.000-05:00

Cynopsis: Classified Advantage
11.30.10

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: I enjoy your contributions to Cynopsis and I have a question for you or your experts on the interview itself, three times I've had what I thought were great interviews with the potential employer saying to me "You're perfect, sounds great and we'll contact you" and then I hear crickets. The only feedback I've gotten is that they know I have the job skills, experience, etc but they didn't get to "know me." I am not certain what I'm doing wrong since I doubt they really want to hear about how I have two kids, two mortgages, blah blah blah and I also am not certain why they don't just thank me for coming in instead of going out of their way to say I'm "perfect" and "love your energy" and then nothing. Perhaps some advice on the best way to wrap up an interview or to leave a good impression?

A: You are right; they don't want to hear about your mortgages. My suspicion is that you are presenting the right information about yourself but not in a sufficiently personal and engaging manner. They want to know how you'll fit in, how you'll go about what you have to do.

Try telling little stories about the projects you have done and use them to illustrate your obsessiveness, or passion or how well you led a particular team or how you overcame some specific set of obstacles. Think about these stories as something that only you could tell. They should demonstrate something about how you approach your work and your co-workers. These are the things that help them to get to know you. Having the qualifications and experience is only half the battle: do you have a sense of humor, are you curious, do you pay attention to detail and so on? These are qualities that fall into the "knowing you" category.

As you leave, you could say "I really enjoyed this interview, and I learned a lot from it ... in fact I am going to follow up on such and such a thing and will get back to you with what I discover." This is not a script, but an attitude that says so much about you. But of course make it your own, otherwise it won't work.

Defining Career Goals and Making Choices

2010-11-03T10:12:00.000-04:00

Having a goal is critical to your career. Not just the short termism of getting through today’s to-do list or the default goal of not getting fired. But the longer term vision of where you would like to find yourself in five years or so. Would you like to be working for yourself? Would you like to be traveling the world? Would you like to own the company you work for? Would you like to have your boss’s job?

If you have a long list of dreams and are confused, I recommend using the prioritizer: http://tinyurl.com/rx2o7 to help you see which ones rise to the top.

Once you have settled on something, then every day think about what you can do in the next 24 hours to advance towards your chosen goal. If travel is your dream, be investigating which overseas offices or clients. If promotion is your goal then figure out who is in charge of that decision and what you think they might be looking for in their next upgrade. If a career change is on your mind, then do the research, learn about the new business, build your network, polish your chops, get the qualification to get you moving in the right direction.

Clarity about your goal will make many things easier for you. When you are faced with more than one option, you have a basis for deciding: by considering which one moves you further in the direction you want to go. Having a goal will help you from the moment you get up in the morning to decide what is important and which choice to make.

If you have a job that isn’t challenging you, challenge yourself. Even if your client or boss is not demanding, you can surely come up with some spin on your work that will make it more relevant to where your interests lie and move you closer to your goal. Pick challenges that will make you smarter, more marketable, more relevantly experienced. All with an eye on where you want to get to.

So here is the actionable part of this column where I ask you to write down your goal. Your “What-do-I-want-to-be-doing-in-five-years” goal. Yes, write it down. Interesting how it changes and focuses itself when you aren’t just holding it somewhere in the back of your mind, where it never quite formed into anything beyond “I want to be happy and in charge of my destiny”. And don’t panic, it can change – don’t feel you are going to be trapped by it.

If you are always working towards your goal, then you will find satisfaction and maintain your drive. If you are just trying to stay afloat each day, then that is the best you can hope for. Get yourself a goal and work yourself towards it. It is fun, productive and so very much more satisfying than drifting.

The importance of listening

2010-09-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
First Published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage

One of the most important skills you should use in your job search is listening carefully, both literally and metaphorically. You have to listen to your friends when they tell you about opportunities. You have to listen to your bosses and clients to learn about your strengths and weaknesses. You have to listen to your heart to know what you really want to pursue.

You especially have to listen to the wording of the job ad. What does it actually say they are looking for? You have to listen closely to the recruiter and to your interviewer.

You will already have invested large chunks of time developing your own unique positioning to separate you from the pack. You have probably crafted yourself a script for your elevator meetings, a template for your cover letter, a set of anecdotes for your interview. And all this as it should be. If you have thought it all through and internalized it and what it means, it will do its magic for you. But if you are determined to stick to your script willy-nilly this investment might all be for nought.

Listen carefully to what is said and also between the lines to what is unsaid. And that means listening not only in the moment of the interview, but it means listening to the research you will have done in advance. Listen to what the company says on the website. Listen to the story the recruiter tells you about the job. Listen to the LinkedIn profile of your interviewer. Take it all in and frame your responses and approaches accordingly.

If you are safely in a job but aspire to a promotion or a new assignment, listen to your boss, to your co-workers, to the press so that you can create the opportunity and be there as the obvious person to fill it. This comes not just from wanting it and telling your boss "I want the bigger title," but from asking the right questions of the right people and listening to what is needed, so you can tell them you will provide just that.

People like to be listened to. They like to be heard. They do not like to be ignored. So tell them you heard them by responding directly and positively to something they said. Don' t stick to a script be ready to improvise. If they feel you have not listened to them, or worse yet responded with a " No, " they will shut down and they will not listen to you. Listening keeps you relevant and smart. Their awareness of your listening to them keeps them engaged with you. I can' t stress this enough.

Successful job hunt

2010-09-07T17:45:00.000-04:00

I received this today from a recent Coaching client and thought I would share it.

Dear Michael,

I did it -- got a job!!!! I can hardly believe it. Never would have happened without your coaching, seriously.

In a tough market this experienced professional had almost given up hope of working again, so this news is especially welcome.

Q+A: LinkedIn profiles and personality

2010-09-07T12:27:00.000-04:00

As published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: Recently, I lost my job due to my company's financial state. Downsizing was a must, and I, unfortunately, got the cut. The thing is, it was almost a blessing in disguise. After leaving, I was happier, not something you'd expect after losing one's job. After re- evaluating my industry and the role I played, in the pursuit of happiness, I have decided to career change. It's not been easy, as the unstructured freedom during the work-week has lost a little bit of it's glitter, but I still think I'm heading in the right direction. I have chosen a new career path, but my question is this: how can I make my Linkedin profile reflect my career change? I of course want to put down all of my prior work experience, however, I also want to prove that I can do another job and that my skills translate. If I post my past experience, won't a potential employer think, why would I hire this person from X industry, when we're looking for someone who has experience in Y industry? Does that make sense? Please let me know what you would recommend.

A: I suggest you think very carefully about the skills and experience that will be desirable in your new career. Consider the needs of your potential new employer and find the angle on your past that could be relevant and persuasive. Make the fact of the change and your prior experience an added value. Use the summary section to express this emphasizing the relevant and unique strengths that come from your rich background in other fields that makes you a stronger candidate than the pack of straight-liners you'll be competing with. Reframe the skills section as well as the details on all your prior positions to support your new positioning. Certain things that were awesome in your old field may have to be dropped because they are no longer relevant, or worse, contradict your new story. With a strong but unusual background, you are most likely to appeal to a smart employer who thinks outside the envelope, and that is likely to be someone you would want to work for.

Q: I find that LinkedIn is so business oriented, that it doesn't have much opportunity for one's personality to come through. Is this a good thing? Or is there something I can do with my account to make it seem less like a cover letter and resume, and reflect other aspects of my life?

A: LinkedIn is primarily a source for business connections. If you really want to express your entire personality in a social media setting, Facebook may be a better vehicle for you.

That said, on LinkedIn, the writing style you use for your summary section is an important way to let your personality shine through. Casual, jargony, straightforward, insightful all these attributes will tell your reader something important. Different employers and industries have different codes and standards. The formal, passive writing style that appeals to academe is anathema to media people.

Another way to express your personality is through the updates you can post near the top of your profile, though do bear your target audience in mind when you update and remember what qualities they are looking for. By all means if it supports your business case you can mention your hobbies or other interests. If you are an ex-Marine, or a nonprofit board member for example these could certainly be important to include.

But do be sure not to make it look as if your eye will always be on the clock and your mind not on the job.

Don't forget LinkedIn for your job search

2010-09-07T12:24:00.000-04:00

This article first appeared in Cynopsis Classified Advantage

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
By Michael Pollock

I am sure you are well established on LinkedIn, but are you using it effectively in your job search? It is just too easy for us to let it sit there passively in the background, but there are some simple and effective ways to extract value.

Start by connecting to as many people as you can think of. Duh! But I am sure there are some you have missed. Don' t just think of people who might hire you...connect to people you once worked with. Connect to people who worked for you. Connect to people who might know someone who could help you in the future. Look closely at who is connected to your connections; I know you will have several, " Oh, yes. I had forgotten about her!" moments.

I was working today with a filmmaker who has been specializing in medical topics. He is going to see his dentist in a couple of weeks. This dentist goes to medical conferences and knows lots of people who might need film. What if he was on LinkedIn? What if some of his professional connections wanted film made for their professional associations? What if they worked for pharmaceutical companies? Sounds like a valuable connection for this filmmaker. Who are the equivalents in your field?

Another excellent use: as you look at job ads on Cynopsis Classified Advantage or other boards, note the companies who seem to have good opportunities for you. Then search those companies on LinkedIn there is a drop down menu on the search field that lets you search for people or for companies. See if anyone from those firms knows anyone that you know. Then email your friend and ask to be introduced. I recommend not using the automated LinkedIn introduction tool make the request something more personal. So now you can network your way into the hiring company and do your research and make the connections you need to get you in there.

Does your LinkedIn headline clearly indicate your value to a hirer? As with all communications each piece needs to make the reader want more. Does your summary give a clear expression of what you offer and engagingly differentiate you from all the others? Does your chronology include experience and specifics that support and flesh out your summary? Does your specialty list include all the keywords that recruiters might use in a job search?

As with so many of these online systems there are depths that I never plumb, and I' m not taking you there. But start with the easy-to-use pieces; get them working together guided by your constant attention and research and insight. It really is an adventure, a voyage of exploration. Keep poking around and you will find valuable connections you never knew you had and see more and more ways to get your carefully constructed message into the right hands.

Read This!

2010-08-31T15:59:00.000-04:00

I was asked by another media business newsletter to put together a reading list for the end of summer. I share it with you here - as the summer draws on and all those things we have put off until after Labor Day are starting to loom!

Summer reading is a wonderful thing. I have read in tents high up in Yosemite, on a cruise from Venice, on the beach at Bridgehampton, and on a bench in Central Park. Out of your routine, your mind is attuned to pay extra attention and reap fresh insights. Here are some ideas for the last precious days of this summer.

1. How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer. Perhaps this is the first book you should pick up as it delves fascinatingly into the processes our minds go through when we are - for example – deciding which book to pick up next. It tells you that in an MIT test, a group of stock investors with less information have ended up earning more than twice as much as a well-informed group.

2. A must-read for all creative thinkers is James Webb Youngʼs classic: A Technique For Producing Ideas. First published in 1965 this small but important work has helped countless ad guys and painters, poets and engineers to break the deadly jam of the blank page and let their creativity do what itʼs supposed to do. To me this is not an optional book.

3. Innovate Like Edison by Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott. This account of Thomas Edisonʼs life and methods tells us that apparently he invented everything: integrated marketing, smart hiring practices, networking, oh yes the light bulb, methods for innovation, even for thinking. This book will leave you bursting with ideas and annoying your family with his famous quotes.

4. John Steinbeck's delightful book Sea of Cortez. This is a great travel and science book all in one. Wonderfully written, it is exceptionally joyful reading. He tells of an expedition made around the coast of Baja California. It's witty, humane and most charming. Itʼs about survival and biology and exploration and discovery and politics and "civilization". And drinking. One of its most vivid characters is the Sea-Cow: his willful outboard motor!

5. For lovers of history and politics, David Kynastonʼs account of the rise of the welfare state in Austerity Britain gives us much to think about as we review our own political system. This is a story full of anecdotes about activist government - and how the British felt about it.

6. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years, by Sonia Shah, is a page turner. We learn how the Plasmodium parasite carried by mosquitoes, constantly adapting to outflank our attacks, has controlled so much of our history. This might be a fight we canʼt win. The book is spellbinding investigative reporting.

7. This is a controversial pick, but we are grown-ups here and can understand and interpret. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell is a novel about a man who worked for an organization. He had to deal with tedious bureaucracy and arrogant bosses. (Sound familiar?) He was measured by his success at the task with no thought as to whether the task was right. His job? He worked for the SS and his assignment was to ensure that killing was done as efficiently as possible. The book is violent and nasty. It was hugely successful in France, Germany and England, winning two major French literary awards. It is not for the squeamish. But this book will surely jolt us into reflection on the value of our own work.

8. The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis brings him back to his early “bad boy” style. His 21 year old hero is inching toward a stunning 20-year-old blonde called Sheherazade, with whom heʼs sharing a summer in an Italian castle, along with several friends including his semi-platonic and semi-liberated girlfriend, Lily. Itʼs the summer of 1970, with all that that entails!

9. Stefan Sagmeisterʼs Things I Learned In My Life So Far is really 15 small booklets. Shuffle them and youʼll drastically change the look of your book. Itʼs a series of design projects spelling out personal truths that he identified in his diary: “Worrying solves nothing," "Trying to look good limits my life," “Complaining is silly: either act or forget” and so on. It is visually stimulating, provocative and fun.

8. I just finished the third of Stieg Larssonʼs Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked Over The Hornets Nest. I couldnʼt put it down. There is plotting and hackers and politics and murder and bikers and shady dealings on all fronts. See the Swedish film versions and tell me what you think. A friend, seeing that David Fincher is slated to direct a US version, wondered why another one was needed. For myself, I canʼt wait to see what he does with it.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, journalism, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

© 2010 Pollock Spark

Changing technology, storytelling and evolving skills.

2010-08-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

I was in a conversation today about the importance of evolving our skillsets as media technology changes, and was reminded of this story from early Hollywood. What follows is excerpted from a book which has been lost to me; it was given to me by a wonderful production assistant many years ago.

Ernst Lubitsch - Film Director

Lubitsch had a habit of crooking his forefinger over that enormous nose of his, and he said, “Junge, I want you never to forget this - what I am about to tell you. When the decision was made to change from silent films to talking films, the producers called together the greatest stars they had - this was in each studio. And the producers said, ‘You ladies and gentlemen who are the stars of the great silent screen, you must now learn to talk. You can no longer make faces and look camera left, camera right, up, down, what the director tells you to do, and then hope that he can put it together into a performance. You’ve got to learn to talk dialogue and play it. Those of you who can - you'll be greater than ever. Those of you who can't - overnight, no matter how great you are, you’ll be finished .’

“Then,” said Lubitsch, “they called together all the great directors. And they said, ‘All you directors of the silent screen, no more running out in the morning with that box, a camera and an assistant, you shoot something here and you shoot something there, and then you bring it back . . . No, no. You gentlemen have got to learn to read scripts, to digest characterization, pace and how to tell a story that is written - and those of you who don’t - overnight, you’ll be forgotten .’

“And then,” said Lubitsch, “they called together all the great title writers, those who’d been the biggest of the silent screen, and they said, ‘You writers, no longer is it going to be something that you can bring in on the back of an envelope, - you have to become dramatists - you have to learn how to write dialogue, conflict, and so forth. And those of you who can’t - you’re finished .’

“And,” said Lubitsch, “that really happened, as you know. You could name the great stars of the silent screen who were finished - the great directors, gone - the great title writers who were washed up - but, boy, remember this as long as you live: The producers didn’t lose a man. They all made the switch! That’s where the great talent is. Remember this.”

Basic Presentation Tips

2010-08-20T14:20:00.000-04:00

It never hurts to restate the things that we all know but don't always remember to do. I recently turned up these old notes from an Edward Tufte presentation.

Tufte's Presentation Tips
1. Show up early.
2. Early on in the presentation, tell your audience what to expect from you.
3. Give everyone in the room a piece of paper, such as detailed evidence of a point you are going to make.
4. AVOID OVERHEADS. (Today = Powerpoint?) Use them only if you are showing very complex information.
5. Never apologize.
6. Practice and rehearse. (do both I guess!)
7. If you use humor, it should be directly relevant to the target at hand.
8. Don't use the singular male as universal; use the plural "they/them" instead.
9. Finish early.
10. Be very careful when answering questions. You're often judged solely on Q & A. If a question requires a long answer, you may be better off answering it privately, after the presentation.
11. Don't be afraid to show pride in what you've done (often accomplished thought your gestures)
12. Drink a lot of water. (Public speaking and flying are the 2 most dehydrating things you can do.)

Here is more Tufte

A way to help your client and grow your business

2010-08-18T11:34:00.000-04:00

Do you have clients who don't know what else you can do for them? You know all the things that your company can do, but unless you tell your clients, how are they going to know?

I was talking to the client of a design firm I was working with, and discovered she was taking a huge chunk of her creative project - which my client could have been doing - to another company. "I didn't know they could do that too," she said. "Why didn't they tell me? It would have saved me a lot of trouble."

And she's right. You can't just assume that everyone knows what's going on in that room down the hall. Since your client already trusts you creatively, she will very likely consider a new service or talent that you are offering. So it is up to you to make sure she knows about them. Introduce her to your other teams. Cross-sell her your other services. Show her the work and tell her how it can help her.

How to Develop a Happier, More Productive Creative Team

2010-08-18T11:24:00.000-04:00

There are people in your company who don’t know what your company does. Sometimes people who sit right next to each other have no idea what their colleagues do, and they don’t have any way of understanding what it all adds up to. Are the designers talking to the tech people? Do the creative directors talk to each other? Does the receptionist know what the company does? Do they know where their part fits into the overall vision? Do they know what the overall vision is? If each understands what the other can do, they can use it and learn from it. If people know where their part fits in and what the company as a whole is trying to do, they can help to support and grow it, and the organization will get stronger.

There are people on your team who aren’t on your team. You might have a hard time believing this (or not), but I have actually met someone in a company whose personal agenda is working against the greater good. (“Say it’s not so,” I hear you cry!) The creative business encourages individualism and outside-the-box thinking, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some common goals and work together. There are creatives who go to their workstation, put on their headphones and don’t resurface all day. You know who I mean. Get in there and talk to them. Find out what they want. Find out how you can help them, and how they can help others in the organization: and in so doing make a better product and build their career and the business together.

These things could never happen in your company …right? But I’ve seen it happen all around. Take a look and see. Maybe there are some simple ways to engage and involve your team so you can build a stronger, happier, more cohesive and more productive creative operation.

Put Serendipity to Work for You

2010-08-16T18:03:00.000-04:00

Knowledge of all sorts - including where the perfect job or client is waiting for you - is spread far and wide. Itʼs easy and cheap to connect and interact with people who we never thought in the past would be reachable. The Internet makes it possible for us to tap into so many fast-moving resources and information streams.

This is bad news and good news. First the bad: since what we need to know is so widely spread about, it has become harder than ever to get what we want with a traditional search. But the good news for us is that it is more likely than in the past that we will find something valuable through a chance encounter.

I have been inspired by The Economistʼs review of a book called The Power of Pull: How Small Moves Smartly Made Can Set Big Things in Motion. It speaks to something I believe is most important in a job search, indeed in all of our business development: and that is being open to serendipity - even actually encouraging it. The authors propose a straightforward three-pronged strategy. First: approach the right people. Second: get the right people to approach you. And third: use these relationships to do things better and faster.

They have three tips. One is to live near brainy changophiles. For example, people of interest cluster together in Silicon Valley, NYC, London, Shanghai, Bangalore and so on.

So if you are in such a locale, every social interaction is potentially profitable. Even chatting to your dentist, or to another parent at the little league game could lead to something interesting.

Second go on the conference trail. There are many new conferences popping up as our businesses are changing so very rapidly. They remind me, as I have so often found, that corridor conversations are far more often useful than the formal sessions.

Their third tip is to make better use of online social networks; particularly to make contact with new people. Your friendsʼ friends may be just who you need to be talking to.

So get out there. Be open. Be smart. Ask questions. Ask your friends who you should meet. Do it online, do it in the flesh.

Make the serendipitous possible. Position yourself both physically and psychically. The chance encounter could be your ticket to a new gig or to the new idea that changes everything.

Goofing off can be good for business

2010-08-10T15:13:00.001-04:00

I can’t stress enough the importance of downtime. And this is the time of year when you can practice taking some and remember how good it is. Turn off your internet (but not until after you’ve read this article). Put away your smartphone. Tell people you have gone away and can’t be reached. Go away and be unreachable. Read a novel. Catch a fish. Build a wall. Cut the grass. Go to a concert. Invite your friends for a bbq.

And do these things whole heartedly. Don’t be checking in. Don’t be planning next week’s to-do list.

And here is an interesting idea I got from a commencement address given by David Foster Wallace shortly before his death – don’t be the center of your own universe. Or at least consider the universe that you inhabit – whether its your family or your job or your town – and look at it afresh and consider your position in it and where it fits with everything else and what everyone else in it is doing and feeling and what the opportunities are and what your dreams are and close your eyes and let them fly.

DFW tells the following story: “There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, "Morning, boys, how's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, "What the hell is water?"

So go think about your water. What is your water? And where can it take you. Go read the inside of your eyelids and see what they tell you.

It is summer. Give yourself a break. All the stuff you have been thinking about and fretting about and staying awake about will still be in there, but it will be sorting itself out in your unconscious. It will be making connections you couldn’t make if you were trying. Let it simmer and percolate.

Put on the calendar the days you will be taking off and go camping. Or hiking. Go on, challenge yourself. There is nothing like some serious walking to keep you concentrated, focused. You think about your feet and your water bottle. You think about your food and the awesomeness of nature, or you think about how waterproof is your poncho and where you will pitch your tent. It is completely engrossing and it is a wonderful way to put the cares of the workaday world aside and sort themselves out without your conscious interference.

Give it a try.

Job Hunting: Research, Connect and Summarize

2010-06-30T08:36:00.001-04:00

This article by Michael Pollock first appeared in Cynopsis Classified Advantage.

Once you are clear in your own mind on the value you offer a potential employer, there are three main keys to focus on as you look for a job: research, connect and summarize.

Research: Start by identifying at least 10 companies that look as if they need exactly that thing that you are good at: businesses that operate in your niche and surely need the skills and experience that only you offer. The more specific your value statement, the narrower and more productive will be your list of target companies. Learn as much as you can about these businesses. As you dive into this research, you will be led to other companies and you will relegate some to the back burner. Become clearer about the work you want to do, and keep this goal in mind to help you prioritize.

Connect: Use your search engines and LinkedIn and exploit all your networks to get introduced to people who work in the companies on your target list. Volunteer for work in the field so you can get experience and build your network. Ask the people you meet how they do their work, what they need, what keeps them up at night, where they are headed, and you will start to figure out where you can fit in. Keep in touch with everyone not in an annoying "What have you done for me recently" sort of way, but in a helpful "Here is what I have been doing and learned that might interest you" sort of way.

Summarize: As you meet new contacts, listen to yourself. You will find yourself telling them who you are, and as you do so you'll be summarizing your value concisely and effectively: "Here is what I can do and here are three reasons why I am the best person to do it." See how it sounds. Do they engage with it and want to know more? Was it in fact concise and effective? Try out new versions. Make it better and stronger. Use it in your cover letters and resume.

That summary of your value is what people will remember about you. It focuses on what value you provide and not on the tiresome fact that you need a job. They will then tell their relevant colleagues that they should see you because you are precisely who they are searching for. Your story could start going viral!

These steps bear very much in mind that statistics tell us you are vastly more likely to get a job from a personal connection than not. And that many jobs are not advertised publicly.

So the three keys to remember: research, connect and summarize.

Coaching results - TV biz client

2010-06-23T13:25:00.001-04:00

Here are excerpts from the report of an executive in the TV business who wanted to refresh her career and recently completed a course of Pollock Spark coaching:

Q: What are some of the things that you were enabled to understand or to achieve as a result of our work?

I have a much better understanding of what I’d been doing wrong.

You helped me figure out who I am professionally and that my identity is potentially valuable to clients or an employer.

I have clear sense of what I really want to be doing versus what kind of jobs I thought I should be looking for.

I am able to think about Me and My Experience as “products” and/or “services” that need to be branded and marketed.

I understand the importance of synthesizing my core value to a potential employer/client and how to use that as a frame for an interview and my website.

I learned how to tell stories that distinguish me from other(s in my field).

I learned how to write a shorter, better cover letter that is an advertisement for Me.

Your guidance and suggestions concerning my website were awesome.

It was also really good for me to have deadlines and “assignments” and to have upcoming sessions sort of hanging over my head so that I wouldn’t procrastinate.

Q: We conducted many of our sessions on the phone – did you find this to be an effective method? What was good or not good about it?

On the phone versus in person is a bit like the difference between radio and TV. Radio allows the listener to focus more on meaning, so your brain is actually more engaged in the topic, as opposed to TV which engages brain activity that in some ways is superfluous and emotionally off target.

Q: Would you recommend this coaching to others? How would you describe it?

I would definitely recommend it to others. How I would describe it would be tailored to who the person is, kind of like tailoring a cover letter and resume. But in general, I will tell people that you are wonderful, brilliant, insightful and that I wish I had discovered you a year ago.

Could you be stifling innovation instead of encouraging it?

2010-06-17T16:07:00.000-04:00

Change is a pre-requisite for survival - whether as an individual or as part of an organization.

How are you going to get the people in your team to think and act innovatively so that you can change and improve the services or products you offer to keep up with demand and with the competition.

The challenge is nicely laid out by Prof John Bessant in his eminently readable book "High Involvement Innovation" (see below).

When you start to look at whether your organization supports innovation or whether it actually inhibits it, a good way is to ask people to tell you their favorite "killer phrases". This will quickly show the ways that ideas are getting killed - and how this can work to prevent the kind of effective innovations that we perhaps thought we were encouraging.

They often take for form of "Great idea...BUT..." BUT: now that's how to stop an idea in its tracks. If people get used being told "no" in these ways they will soon stop even trying to propose new ideas.

Here are some "killer phrases" running inside people's heads:

I've got a good idea - BUT
   No-one will listen to me
   It's not my job to offer ideas
   Someone else must already have thought of it
   I'll look stupid if I say anything

At the group or organization level they might look like this:

That's a great idea - BUT
   We've already tried it
   We've never tried it
   We don't have time / money/people/other resources
   X wouldn't like it
   X would like it (!)
   It's not the way we do things around here
   We did that last year and look what happened.

So start by asking yourself or your teams what are their killer phrases. Then you will begin to see what has to be done to alter the climate so that the ideas, some of which will mean the difference between success and failure, can come to the surface and be taken seriously, tested and implemented.

If your culture has evolved to stifle innovation - then innovation you will not get.

Coaching feedback - this stuff works!

2010-05-25T19:20:00.001-04:00

I just completed a course of coaching with a client in the film/TV business. Here are some excerpts from his review of our work:

We accomplished the goals extremely well. I went from lackluster “brand” materials (cover letter, resume, etc) in serious need of improvement to getting job offers and finding new opportunities in the span of weeks. Before the sessions, my general outlook was also somewhat dire. From the beginning, Michael saw my strengths and encouraged them. Every bit of advice has come in handy so far and I am 100% confident that it will for years to come.

I genuinely feel that this whole experience was priceless and look forward to continuing to use what I learned from the coaching sessions for years to come…My only regret is that I did not find Pollock|Spark sooner! Thank you so much, Michael! I can’t say that enough.

What one man did to get hired

2010-05-25T18:48:00.002-04:00

This is the story of a man who really wanted a job. For 5 years he had run a successful small web design firm in Gainesville, getting clients by word of mouth and by befriending small business owners. But he had moved to New York and this was a different kettle of fish. “In New York all the doors are locked” he told me. “There was no dropping by and making friends, and I had no word of mouth. New York kicked my ass. So I started looking for a proper corporate job in web design.”

He started with Craigslist. It had worked well for him in Florida and he was comfortable with it. But he only got back a couple of thank-you notes. He tried Monster and other job sites: from them he got back nothing but spam.

“So I created two fake job postings on Craigslist to see what the competition was like. I got 200-300 emails in the first 6 hours – they were all super-qualified. I looked at what they had written and I created a template letter of my own, based on the best of what I saw.”

“I gave up on the other sites and focused 100% of my energy on Craigslist, refining my search and hitting refresh, refresh so I could see the latest jobs. As soon as a new posting appeared I sent my application. And I knew my letter was good because I had studied the best ones out there.”

“But my experience with the fake postings, the hundreds of applications, made me think that an employer is going to get bored after reading just 30 or so. So I realized that my own job was to be number one in their inbox. I was refreshing my search every ten minutes. But this wasnʼt quick enough. This was a giant race with 200 people, all starting at the same time. Seconds matter if you want to be the first.”

So instead of refreshing the web page and then going to his mail to apply, he set up an RSS feed from his Craigslist search directly into his mail client, so he could get from the posting to his response in fewer clicks.

“In a week or so I had it down to a science. I was super-comfortable with it. I deleted any new jobs when I got up in the morning, as I was already too late for them. I had the bugs removed and everything was virtually perfect. I figure I had my response time down to about 7 seconds after a job had posted.”

Driven by his drive to be first in the inbox, the system quickly produced results. In the following week he received four requests for interviews. One of them was at MLB.com, a dream position – where he now happily works.

From corporate to own business - Part two

2010-05-25T18:45:00.002-04:00

Priti Punjabi had left a good corporate job to challenge herself and awaken her creative spirit. She started a dog daycare business – to see if she could do it. (For the story so far )

Once she had the space rented, Priti found that her advertising expertise was a big asset. “I actually know more about consumers than about dogs,” she told me. “I started building a brand and working out what the consumer wanted. I wanted to reflect the neighborhood (young professionals, music clubs, creative freelancers and hipsters) so I called it Dog Addiction. To really set it apart from the competition we play music to the dogs at all times: Iʼve trademarked the name BehaviorBeats“

She did all the PR and advertising herself, placing toy dogs by mailboxes and bike racks all over the area with a note tied to them saying “Iʼd rather be at Dog Addiction.” Ads told freelancers that their dogs were getting bored sitting at home watching them work all day.

Asked what is the hardest part, Priti says firmly, “Managing the budget. My mum taught me to pay everyone else before you pay yourself. I have always paid every employee on time. I like being the boss. I have the same employees since I opened. I keep them happy.”

“As humans we lose the fearlessness with age and are too afraid to take a gamble. I am 30 now. My business is breaking even. When I first opened I never wanted to leave it – it became my baby.”

Running her own business has given her more flexibility. She has written a 17-chapter novel and had a show of her photographs. “I would never have been able to do these if I had been working in a corporation. It is essential to explore your creative juices.”

Growth has been slower than expected, due to the poor economy, so she is considering going back for a stint in the ad business and leaving her manager in charge of the store. “My business is going to make me a living – and I will never be prisoner to the corporation. I donʼt ever want to be called into an office and told that: an issue has arisen…”

“And donʼt feel defeated if your business is not a flying success – that doesnʼt make you a failure – on the contrary you are a success for having tried it and for everything you learned from it. Even if you decide to go back – you have the experience under your belt. This experience makes you a more valuable employee. You understand the value of a dollar and how to work better with your co-workers. It has given you the opportunity to release the creative spirit that has to be allowed to flourish.”

“The point is to do something that is your own.”

13 snapshots from coaching = 13 ideas for you

2010-05-06T16:07:00.000-04:00

Journalist or personal brand?
A journalist is working with me to define her long term goal. Super-busy and writing for major titles now, but where is this going, she wants to know. Is it about books or appearances or a content specialty? We have moved towards defining the aspirational goal and are embarking on tactics that will bring us closer to it while still maintaining and enriching the base of work.

But it’s not self-promotion!
A client who was never comfortable promoting herself has developed an effective way to reach out. She now says “I’ve proved the theory: if you ask you get it. I feel good about myself. I am more comfortable calling people: its not pushy, it’s doing something for them.”

Transition to a management role
A client who was a very good craftsman had been promoted to running his whole creative office. This transition is not as easy as it looks for most creative types. He was helped to develop more effective time management practices, prioritization and delegation techniques and to figure out how to motivate creative staff and to keep them happy.

Meeting Prep
Research as much as you can about the person you are going to be meeting. Don't assume anything. The more you know the smarter you will be. A client followed this advice this week and what she discovered “gave me a different sense of the company.”

Strength in your stories
Another client fed back to me in her own words one of the core ideas we had been working on: “I have to have my stories back in my mind and draw on them and bring them out at the appropriate time. The fact that I have been working on them and focusing them makes them that much stronger.”

Sweat your resume
A client working on a resume discovered that its communication can be powerfully affected by the choice of layout, type face and emphasis. He created several versions, varying the summary and the layout. Together we evaluated them making choices to get the best possible result.

But what do you really want to do?
I am working with clients to focus their long term dreams and goals, so that we know whether short to medium term decisions are heading us in the right direction.

How to think about your website
Planning a website with a client we thought through what a potential buyer is looking for when they come to the site and then decided what we want him to do when he gets there.

Interview prep rocks results
During interview prep with a senior executive who was meeting with a corporate CEO I made up some likely questions and we practiced her responses. After the interview she emailed me that many of his questions were “straight from our rehearsal.” So she was ready for them.

How to thrive in a corporate restructure
I have a client in a leading TV firm who is facing corporate restructuring. She will thrive and advance in the evolution, not least because we have put thought and time into defining her turf and job scope and strategizing, on a weekly basis, how to manage up and across effectively.

Plan B and Plan A
Working with a couple of clients on two fronts: a "corporate job" front and a "start my own business" front. In the short term when there are bills to be paid and investment to be made it is the practical solution.

Startup marketing
With a client who is starting a new business we have developed the main message and begun on the website – now we are moving to targeted outreach. We have defined our tactics and are now providing the motivation to make progress on sales calls and affordable marketing programs.

KickStart your marketing
A design firm for whom I led a Marketing Intensive KickStart Workshop has launched its new website – on schedule. They emailed: “Thanks for all your input in helping us pull this together."

Q+A: Resume format and functional resumes

2010-05-05T15:20:00.000-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS ADVANTAGE

Q: Is there "one" format for resumes or does anything work as long as its clear and easy to read?

A: Don't get boxed in by a resume template you should format your resume to suit your situation. Your resume has to make the hirer see quickly that you are a match for their needs and want to meet you. Actually, in this competitive climate you have to be better than a match. The format should make this possible. In the words of a recruiter I spoke with: "The focus and thread through the experience needs to be clear and concise."

The format you decide to use can depend on the type of role you seek and your level of experience. A junior level candidate would not have all the "key words experience" of a more senior candidate, but still needs to tell a compelling story of what they do offer. A technical producer or information architect would choose to focus on software and site technical skills, where a creative candidate would focus more on the types of projects, indicating their contribution and providing links to online samples. Marketers should get specific on areas of special expertise.

This content is what the resume is about first and foremost. The format you present in needs to be a quick easy-to-read communication that hits all the buttons appropriate to the position in question.

Q: I have heard negative things about functional resumes. Is there a time where someone without anything to hide use a functional resume?

A: A recruiter told me: "I always question the functional resumes. I prefer to see those who are transparent and clear about what they've done and where they've done it. It may make sense for career transitioners, those who have minimal experience in their chosen field. In these cases, it's important to take the necessary steps towards experience to get back on a career track displayed in a chronological resume format."

So try and present a chronological story, but remember that with layout and careful writing and smart choices you can emphasize your functional skills and experience even within this format so that the overall impression is the one you want to give.

Q+A: What if my boss doesn't like me?

2010-05-05T15:17:00.000-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS ADVANTAGE

Q: I'm pretty sure my boss does not like me, though my work has always been complimented. Should I remain silent about this awkward issue, talk to him about it, talk to someone else? I really believe it's personal, and it makes me feel uncomfortable, but what if I am wrong and do talk to him? Doesn't that make me look like an idiot? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

A: If your boss is making you uncomfortable by demonstrating his dislike in an inappropriate way then you should talk to someone in HR. I do not recommend that you ask him directly why he doesn't like you: this will not be productive. But I do suggest that you go to him and say that you would like a performance review and please could you set a time to meet with him for this. This review is not going to overtly address his personal likes and dislikes, but it is likely to uncover issues that pertain, and it gives you the opportunity to ask how you could improve your performance. This exchange may elicit what you need to know. If this doesn't clear the air, then the next step could be to ask for transfer to another group.

Q+A: Should I leave things off the resume?

2010-05-05T15:14:00.000-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS ADVANTAGE

Q: The current philosophy in applying for jobs is to tailor your resume to the specific job. This make total sense, however, leaving off positions that don't directly relate can cause large gaps in dates and omit some of your most recent experience. How should this be handled?

A: First a presentation trick: if you list your jobs by year and are not specific as to months then for instance a gap from February 2008 to November 2009 could well disappear.

But maybe you don't have to leave things off. First you should try and identify an aspect of what you did or experienced at the apparently irrelevant job that can be presented to actually strengthen your case. For an extreme example: if you took a year out to work in your father's shoe store you probably gained invaluable experience in selling or in fashion changes or something that might make you that much more valuable to the job you are going after. So don't throw anything out until you are sure it will hurt you. You should present everything you have done in a way that demonstrates that you are unique and special. The apparently unrelated job may look at first sight like a lemon but do try and find the lemonade inside it!

But yes, you should avoid gaps - or plug them with something. Were you working on a personal project or volunteering at a nonprofit or traveling? These could all be completely laudable explanations for not having a formal job for a period of time and may even strengthen your case.

Creative Manager - Part two

2010-05-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

Itʼs always helpful to know what the boss is thinking – whether you are trying to advance within a company, or to get hired. I spoke recently to Aaron Harvey, Partner/COO of digital agency Purple, Rock, Scissors of FL and NY. Asked how he recruits creatives, Harvey told me that he doesnʼt advertise jobs – he posts them on the companyʼs website and they have some partnerships with select schools; but mostly the way they get new employees is by word of mouth. And he added: “We are all music fans here – when we are hiring we look at peoples iPod lists.”

When Harvey first came to Purple Rock Scissors, he told me: “We were a revolving door. There is a challenge when you bring in young people to a smaller company. They get to do a lot more and get much more experience than in a larger company, so they are likely to be wearing more hats more quickly. If they talk to their friends at bigger shops they start to think – ʻHey, I am underpaid for what I am doing here.ʼ A lot of this comes down to the culture,” he says. “There is a lot more that goes into the decision to stay with a firm than just money. The culture and the vision of the company are very important in the decisions made by creative employees.”

“The title thing is important to empower people: there s a level of achievement. We may want to give the best, most devoted developer a promotion – though he may not be able to stand up in front of a client or have the ability to sell his work. So we try to groom people as much as possible. We include them in more and more client meetings – first to watch and then gradually to participate until they can do it on their own.”

“The issue comes when the internal move isnʼt working and you bring someone new in. Then toes are stepped on. I may have promoted the designer to Creative Director, but they canʼt sell the work and canʼt manage a team. We learned to deal with this by being very specific in defining job specs, with the employeeʼs help, so they know they are not just evaluated on their design but also on selling, and management and other factors. There is a formal evaluation process: we have them do self-evaluations and then see how they stacked up – and on how they manage their time sheets.”

Click here to see more of Aaron Harvey's insights

This article by Michael Pollock first appeared in Cynopsis Digital Advantage.

Keeping staff happy: a creative manager's POV

2010-04-19T12:10:00.001-04:00

I have been talking to the COO of a digital agency about the special issues that arise when managing a staff of creatives. This is certainly interesting to other creative managers; but job-seekers too will find useful insights and there is good information for staffers aiming for promotions. Part One of this conversation is contained here.

"Without constant revitalization, minds can start to wander," says Aaron Harvey, Partner/COO of digital agency Purple, Rock, Scissors of Orlando and New York, as we talk about the special issues related to managing creative staff. "If you don't have a revival on a quarterly basis then people do start to complain. The conversations start very quietly with whispers."

"The only way to mitigate that," he says, "is to get involved one-on-one with your employees on a personal basis - so they can let out the things they are thinking and you can do a temperature check and quash the issues before they become a problem. Otherwise unhappiness can spiral out of control very quickly."

"Information is also key - when people are disconnected strategically - when they don't understand the direction of the company and are not invested - when thy don't know about new business pitches, or a new sector the company is pursuing - if they are siloed off - this is a cause of discontent." He tells me that communication with the staff is "a two-way street. We open up dialog through social space. We have an online area in a Basecamp where we get ideas from staff - but this needs nurturing, sometimes it is active, but sometimes it goes quiet."

"To motivate better work, we have to play to how they like to do it; give them freedom to get in the zone and not just have to stamp against the clock; give the freedom to work from home or the beach - letting them know that it is due on Friday," Harvey told me. As the company grows, things get more complex: "We have to empower mid-level people to find a way that says: If you rock this out for me over the weekend - here's a little reward."

Harvey says that he believes there's an inbred mentality in ad agencies to exploit their employees. "We hire out of school: super-green, super-hungry. We give them the experience and we make them work. We are a deadline driven industry - so when we hire them, we tell them they may have to work a 40-hour week or an 80-hour week - that is the nature of the beast. Every ad agency has a foosball team. I am a major advocate of the bonding that comes with this. It is good to be able to take a break at 6 o'clock and play foosball together. It makes it that much easier to get back to work later."

Learn what Aaron Harvey had to say about giving promotions and how he recruits new employees in Part Two.

Steinbeck on jargon

2010-04-19T12:05:00.000-04:00

Since we returned from a winter break in Mexico's Baja California, I have been reading John Steinbeck's delightful book Sea of Cortez.

An account of an expedition he undertook just as WWII was breaking out in Europe, it's witty, humane and most charming. It is about survival and biology and exploration and discovery and politics and "civilization". And drinking. One of its most vivid characters is the Sea-Cow: his willful outboard motor!

In this excerpt Steinbeck goes on a rant about scientists and their obscure jargon. This is something that we should all pay attention to in our own fields - whether marketing or architecture or design or film. You know what I'm talking about.

"It has seemed sometimes that the little men in scientific work assumed the awe-fullness of a priesthood to hide their deficiencies, as the witch-doctor does with his stilts and high masks, as the priesthoods of all cults have, with secret or unfamiliar languages and symbols. It is usually found that only the little stuffy men object to what is called "popularization," by which they mean writing with a clarity understandable to one not familiar with the tricks and codes of the cult. We have not known a single great scientist who could not discourse freely and interestingly with a child. Can it be that the haters of clarity have nothing to say, have observed nothing, have no clear picture of even their own fields? A dull man seems to be a dull man no matter what his field, and of course it is the right of a dull scientist to protect himself with feathers and robes, emblems and degrees, as do other dull men who are potentates and grand imperial rulers of lodges of dull men."

Leaving a corporate job to start a business - Part one

2010-04-19T12:03:00.000-04:00

I recently saw the movie Lemonade." Priti Punjabi told me. "Itʼs about really smart people who got laid off from advertising. They had been stuck into the routine of a job and the spirit inside them had gone to sleep. When I quit my corporate job I had wanted to awaken that spirit in myself and not be forced to have to do it by circumstances beyond my control."

Priti got her first advertising job around 9/11. "I was green," she said. "But I soon realized that you could lose your job at any time." After stints in a couple of ad agencies, she landed a job in a well-known global ad corporation. "It is a great company. I was passionate about my work. But then came the little reminder. I got a new boss around the time I was facing some personal issues. She had not seen how
hard I had been working, and she challenged me, asking ʻDo you want this job or not?ʼ I looked at the employee manual and discovered that the company policy for bereavement leave was just three days. And then I looked across at the person in the office opposite:she had to come back to work just 3 months after having a baby."

Her conversation with her new boss had stirred something up. Priti asked herself if the corporate structure was really for her. "I decided I wanted to challenge myself to open my own business. But," she wondered, "Can I do this?" She first thought about opening a youth hostel; but quickly realized that would cost too much money - and besides, she wasnʼt sure she had the confidence to take on
something that big. Then a friend suggested that dog daycare was a growing business.

Priti had a new dog and was paying someone $30 a day to play with it. This felt like a business she could get her feet wet in. "Williamsburg in Brooklyn is a busy, hot area - this is where I wanted to put it. I found a place - and a silent partner to help fund it."

She prepared a business plan, though she told me "I think it is kinda bullshit. After all, what are those projected numbers? They are just made up." But her landlord asked to see it before he would give her a lease on the space - so it was not in vain.

"The whole thing was very scary - but I thrive on the gamble. I think that itʼs about retaining the youthful fearlessness - you need to keep it alive for your own sake."

Read more of Pritiʼs story here soon

Hybrid background? A terrific job qualification.

2010-03-16T11:51:00.002-04:00

I spoke recently with an executive who had a most successful corporate career in the TV business and has since for some years been in more entrepreneurial positions developing projects and new businesses. He wants to get back to a more structured environment but is concerned that having been out of the corporate system for some years might disqualify him. His thought was that corporations are looking for neat fits of people who are currently or have recently been in corporate jobs and that his time outside the fence would disqualify him.

Well it shouldn' t. Everyone I talk to in big media firms is telling me the same story and that is of restructuring and rethinking and new business models and fewer people doing the work that used to be done by many ... and smaller paychecks. Does that sound right, my corporate friends?

My experience is that people who have grown up in highly structured organizations where everyone knows where they fit into the pecking order, and who has what title and so on, are not always the best people to implement the kinds of changes that are needed to bring media firms up to date. The status quo that corporate employees have long thrived on is dead. That security blanket is no more. In fact things will be in a constant state of flux for the foreseeable future so anyone who works best in a fixed orbit with known parameters will not fare well or be sufficiently effective.

But someone who has not only worked successfully in a corporate environment, yet can also bring first hand experience of an inventive, open and entrepreneurial way of thinking to the table, will be enormously valuable in so many companies today. This combination is something that corporate managers should be looking for.

I suggest to you that if you have this hybrid background, you would do well to frame yourself in those terms: as an entrepreneurial change agent who is excited at the prospect of helping to mold the new media world, yet still able to work collegially within the system. This combo could be your edge.

So this is a word to corporate hiring executives and to those who aspire to get in there and help reinvent the media business. All experience is good experience. And a candidate with a variety of experience is often a stronger one than the person who has stayed "on track" for their whole career.

This article by Michael Pollock first published in Cynopsis Advantage.

Q+A:How should I address my interviewer?

2010-03-16T11:48:00.001-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS ADVANTAGE

Q: If the interviewer doesn't tell you want to call him/her, should I use their last name? Show confidence and refer to them by their first name? Go formal and use Miss, Mrs. or Ms.? Sir? Ma'am?

A: For the media business I would avoid anything too formal. But of course be polite. You should probably enter the room confidently and as you go for the handshake, introduce yourself by your first and last name. Perhaps you'll get a cue from your interviewer: if they call you by your first name then you can respond in kind.

But really, if there are only two of you in the room, why do you need to use a name at all? They know who you are talking to. I myself find it extremely irritating when people use my name to me in a form like, "I am glad you asked that, Michael." Or "Let me tell you something, Mr. Pollock." (Was Dale Carnegie responsible for this?)

So on balance you will most likely get through the whole interview without needing to call them anything. Just keep your mind on being the best person to solve their problem, and try not to fret about the name thing.

Q+A:What should I bring to an interview?

2010-03-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS ADVANTAGE

Q: What should I bring to an interview? I don't want to bring too much stuff, and yet be prepared for anything.

A: Bring your portfolio of work if that applies. Bring your sizzle reel or other material that can be left behind. Bring a few copies of your resume. Bring a notebook and pen in case you get any ideas or learn anything that you need to remember. That is about it.

The most important stuff will be in your head: who you are, why you are valuable, your stories that demonstrate this, your knowledge of the company and understanding of their brand, your grasp of what they are looking for. Internalize all this, relax and remember they need you just as much as you need them. And don't forget to turn your phone off!

Have your stories ready

2010-03-10T17:44:00.000-05:00

Pitching an idea? Looking for a job? Facing an interview? Then tell stories. This simple and time-honored technique lies at the heart of the way to sell yourself and your ideas.

Tell your stories. Tell stories that will suck people in, make their eyes open wider and then watch them lean in and want to hear more.

If you choose your stories well – which incidentally I insist that you do – then each of these stories will, as subtext, tell the story of you that you want to tell. Tell of things that you did in your career, of successes and excitements. (Donʼt bother with the disasters and the failures – the story of how you were not able to sell your great idea will work against you, however good the idea may have been.)

Make them vivid and specific – name names and brands and programs and networks. If you have worked in another country, if you have built a business or started from scratch or developed a team – have the story ready. When you do this you will find that the stories engage not only the listener, but also you the storyteller. Telling your stories will give you energy you didnʼt know you had, and that will be infectious.

I am working with a client who is enormously accomplished but had been talking about herself in generalizations. Even she was bored when she talked about herself. We worked on choosing some stories that would speak volumes about her value and experience. We talked about picking from among them, the stories that would work for a particular situation or interviewer. We talked about how the
stories she told would add up to a compelling picture of who she is and what sheʼs done and what value she brings: in specifics not in generalizations.

My client had an interview yesterday. She told me today that it was a “Great” interview.” “Why?” I asked. “Because for the first time in an interview I told stories. Telling them gave me a confidence that I never had. And while usually I feel I am too quiet, this gave me energy.”

So think about the stories from your career. Pick the ones that you get excited about and frame them so that they frame you brilliantly. And tell them.

Design firm gets team in sync for marketing effort

2010-03-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

It’s critical that my clients – especially the creative people I work with – are deeply involved with their own professional development, both strategically and tactically. Just telling them what they should do doesn’t work. Without full understanding of why to take a particular course of action – and without having worked through the possibilities and come to the conclusion themselves – they will not follow through.

So the way I work has developed over time, moving from traditional consulting methods to incorporate the tools and techniques of coaching and workshops: I help my clients to arrive at their own conclusions. I create the framework, bringing my experience and suggestions to the table so that ultimately my clients are enabled to address their own challenges and discover their own opportunities.

The effect is magnified when I work with a team as it's reinforced and multiplied by their collaboration over time. A most valuable added benefit for teams is that they learn anew how to work with each other. A Workshop takes them out of their regular day-to day roles and they step back and revisit the larger picture.

I recently led a Marketing Workshop with the core team of a design firm and here is what the owner told me afterwards:

“The work we did together was certainly helpful, for me to have an outside perspective, but perhaps the most important thing being that we all thought as a team and came to an understanding of what it means to work at (the company) and what we stand for.”

These words made my heart glad. After all, how effective can your marketing be if it does not spring from these fundamental understandings. This is exactly the sort of result that a Workshop can provide.

Q+A: How many interviews?

2010-02-23T18:04:00.001-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

If I am interviewing at a large corporation, how many interviews will I have before interviewing with the person that actually makes the decision?

The hiring decision is effectively made jointly by all your interviewers you often can' t tell who are the ones that really count. Any one of them could have veto power.

Often the second person you meet is the one who is kinda sorta making the decision except that they may need to run it by some others who could say no: could be other team members, or it could be their supervisor who wants to vet the one or two finalists.

So you have to assume that each person you meet is the key one. In my corporate life I have seen candidates meet with five or six people after the key manager and they each had veto power. Overkill? Probably. A way of stalling a decision? Certainly. But each of those interview reports added to the picture. And don' t ever forget that it is easier for them to say no than to say yes.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals.

How to make word of mouth work for you

2010-02-23T11:55:00.000-05:00

We know that most business and most jobs come from connections. So it is much to be desired that your friends and colleagues and clients tell their connections about your value and what you can do for them.

In fact since valuable information is a premier form of currency, in business and socially, people actually like to pass it on. It gives them credit, it aggrandizes them as someone in the know. They get points for good leads.

So do them a favor and make it easy for them. Give them guidance in what they say about you. Give them the words, the value statement, the anecdotes, that will make them eager to pass it on. But you won't be saying to them directly "Here's what you should say when you talk about my business." You will be talking about yourself and your work in such a way that it becomes clear to them how they will talk about you. They will have loved the story you told them - that carefully chosen story that underscores your capabilities. They will have loved it so much that they will tell it over and over again. Because it makes them seem - yes - in the know.

Are people pleased to hear from you?

2010-02-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

When people hear your name in a voice-mail or see you in their inbox, how do they feel? Which messages do they want to respond to first (or at all)?

My guess is that they will want to reply to someone who is going to help them; someone who can offer them advice, or come up with just the service they need; someone who'll give them some useful information. They probably will not be so interested in talking to someone who always wants something from them, or is going to nag them or make them feel guilty, or have to explain themselves.

And please don't say to them, "Didn't you get my messages last week?" That puts them way on the back foot. If they haven't responded, just go into the conversation, or message, as if this was the first time.

Think about it; when you look at your messages, whose calls do you respond to? Put yourself in their place when you pick up the phone, or hit "send."

BehavioraI Interviewing - what it means to you

2010-02-23T09:41:00.001-05:00

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
by Michael Pollock
This article first appeared in Cynopsis Digital Advantage

I love that people give things names. I guess it helps the search engines. So there is an interview practice called Behavioral Interviewing. It posits that you can tell most about how someone will perform by finding out how they performed in similar situations in the past. We have all probably asked, or responded to, interview questions that tip the hat to this thinking.

Interviewers decide what skills and aptitudes are needed for a particular position: problem solving, leadership, communication, team building and so on. Then they will ask candidates to recount how they have behaved in the past in situations that will demonstrate past performance at these.

Here are some behavioral interview questions developed by The College at Brockport of SUNY:

Give me an example of a time when you had to keep from speaking or making a decision because you did not have enough information.
Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?
Have you ever had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers or group? How did you do it? Did they "buy" it?
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself from a difficult situation.

This style is a simple and effective discovery format for interviewers and provides candidates with the perfect platform for using their pre-prepared career-success anecdotes to best advantage.

The SUNY report also tells me the following:

Candidates who prepare for behavioral interviews are better prepared - even for traditional interviews.
Using behavioral answers works well with inexperienced interviewers.
Companies that invest the time and energy in developing behavioral interviews often attract top candidates. Top candidates make the company a more desirable place to work.

You should in any case have developed a whole slew of anecdotes that illustrate your past performance (see my columns passim). Make them totally specific, with as many details as you can to make them vivid and powerful.

Do your due diligence on the job you are going after. Make some smart guesses as to what they are going to be needing there will be clues in the job ad and also in any conversations you have had with them. Think about each of your stories and what it exemplifies about your experience and your approach to situations. This will give you the ammunition you need to impress at any interview, behavioral or traditional.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com ). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

What does your next level look like?

2010-02-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

I sent this as a special and yes, loving, Valentine's Day Sparkings dedicated to my clients past, present and future. I love your ambition, your ideas, your determination and most of all your passion. It's our passion that appeals to clients and employers. Its our passion that appeals to the talented people we work with. And its our passion that propels our careers or businesses to the next level. (What, you surely didn't think this was going to be some sort of sappy Hallmark card?)

But what is the next level? What does it mean to you? Of course each of us has our own passion - our own idea of what that next level is. Life is no Prince of Persia where we are all after the same things. There are no cheat codes for us!

I thought it would be helpful to describe briefly some of the next levels that I am talking about with clients right now. You may see something that helps you clarify your own thinking as you plot strategy for your next steps.

What's your next level?

Here's what some pollock|spark clients - all creative professionals - are working toward achieving. Each of them driven by their own particular passion.

A graphics design firm that has more work than it can handle is charting a plan to manage growth and stay true to its love of design.

A passionate lifelong music lover who is an expert on complex contractual deals is positioning herself for a stronger focus on the music licensing business.

A print journalist is moving into TV to build a stronger platform for her work.

An industrial design firm is focusing and revamping its marketing efforts to get more of the kind of work they love.

A print magazine editor is building her presence as an expert.

A film director has focused the work on the stuff that comes from the heart - and is now signing representation agreements.

An architect with an artistic background is positioning for opportunities to positively affect the urban environment.

A film editing company is restructuring to apply their talents to the changing advertising market.

An accomplished music producer is designing a new business model to realize his vision.

A PR firm's manager is energizind his staff by passing on to them the skills he has built up over his career - the things that excite him.

All those terrific TV industry folks who respond to my Cynopsis career advice columns are identifying their own passions, focusing their resumes and seeking out just the right job opportunities.

How to Fill Gaps Between Jobs Productively

2010-02-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
How to Fill Gaps Between Jobs Productively
by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

I have been asked how professionals who were once in the thick of things should fill in the time between jobs so that employers will still take them seriously.

Just because you don't have an office to go to every day doesn't mean that you aren't in the business. In fact you have more time than you used to have to make yourself the expert on the latest developments. Find out what skills are being sought ask what are the capabilities that employers are having trouble finding and go get that skill for yourself.

Hirers don't have time to train new staff any more they want someone to hit the ground running so you need to be that person.

Have an answer to the question: "What are you working on now?" (Think of it first as an answer you give to yourself.) Find something that you care about and are interested in and do it. It could be the new technology that you are learning. You could be writing an article on the latest developments in your field and the good news is that today you don't have to worry about not getting it published, you just put it out on your blog and tweet it onwards. Go to meetups in your field and find out what is new and what is going on and who is doing what.

There are things you can write on your resume or in your cover letter: you are blogging on the bleeding edge of your field, you are taking the new skills course, you are contributing your abilities to a nonprofit put it down show that you are doing something that is relevant that you have a job in the field because you do even though you may not be getting paid just yet.

But this is still narrow thinking. You can go further. Try to understand what will make you attractive to a hirer. It may be that an international business will appreciate that you spent three months working in retail in Paris. A qualification like that could really set you apart from your competitors. A company that encourages initiative and bold thinking might be attracted by that fact that you spent the summer sky-diving in the Andes with the condors. Or went to Outward Bound.

Think broadly about what can make you attractive and tailor your activity to that. Present what you have been doing as a coherent effort to make yourself a more valuable person skills, leadership, adventure, initiative. It will give you something productive to talk about and that will make you a stronger candidate.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark ( www.pollockspark.com ). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

Career Planning Workshop

2010-01-29T16:15:00.006-05:00

I took part in a terrific panel titled: Career Planning Strategies & Tools for Progressive Professionals organized by Metierlink's Sonia Jairath this past Wednesday.

My co-panelists were Lisa Rangel, Managing Director of Chameleon Resumes and Tom Jago, MD of recruiting firm The Ward Group.

In attendance were 40 professionals from video, digital marketing, graphic design, journalism, marketing and other creative fields.

The discussion covered career evolution strategies, resume writing, personal branding, what recruiters really do and even how to be nice to HR people.

Attendees said they learned much more than they have at other career focused events. One email I received said "Great Presentation. Your creative perspective was most interesting, thanks for your advice."

Hey gotta share this stuff, right?

So here's how we looked against the green screen - I wonder what backdrop we should put in there!

Go out and sell!

2010-01-21T13:14:00.000-05:00

Love this from the NYT interview with Cristóbal Conde, president and C.E.O. of SunGard

Q. What’s your best career advice for young people?

A. My advice to young people is always, along the way, have a sales job. You could be selling sweaters. You could be selling ice cream on the street. It doesn’t matter. Selling something to somebody who doesn’t want to buy it is a lifelong skill. I can tell when somebody comes in for an interview and they’ve never had any responsibility for sales.

Here is the rest of the interview

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/business/17corner.html?8dpc

Staff morale and motivation

2010-01-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

I have been speaking to leaders of creative businesses about what it will take to strengthen the morale and motivation of their creative staff.

I have seen some businesses that quantitatively poll their people, asking them to rank such things as their work-life balance on a scale, and also to rank their satisfaction with their salaries. Hmm. I wonder what sort of answers they are getting. Actually the answers they get are not that helpful and it is tough to know what to do with the information - which appears on a scale of 1-10. It is good that the attempt is made to discover the issues, but the combination of the questions asked and the numerical scales and the general resistance of creative types to filling out forms, makes it less useful than one might wish.

I suggest instead that they consider doing some qualitative research that would allow us to learn in more detail about the aspirations of the staff members and their drivers for success. It should be conducted in the spirit of a “positive enquiry” that will emphasize discovery of the strengths and the opportunities. Tailored of course to the organization, questions might include: “What do you look forward to every day when you come into the office?” ”What project that you did at the firm was most professionally satisfying and why?” “What opportunities do you see for yourself at the company?”

I recommend that these kinds of questions are posed by an outside investigator rather than someone from management or HR. The independent researcher usually gets franker responses than does someone from inside. When the findings have been carefully analyzed and the right insights obtained, this is likely to be a more productive survey than the quant – and in the right hands lead to constructive action steps.

And it can be a refreshing change from the familiar list of general gripes with no constructive way forward indicated.

Q+A: Types of resumes

2010-01-19T09:50:00.001-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Q: I have heard about different types of resumes, but know nothing about them. What are the different types and what are the pros and cons of each?

Those who like to categorize things seem to divide resumes into three types: chronological, functional and targeted.

The chronological resume presents your work history in yes you guessed it chronological order. Hopefully this shows a steady progress of gaining knowledge responsibility and experience, but emphasis on the timeline can often obscure your skills.

The functional resume focuses on your skills, the things that you do well and allows you to sidestep the chronology, if it' s not a strong suit.

The targeted resume is crafted to best position you for a particular position. In this case you present (dare I say “spin”) your experience to the best advantage for that gig.

Probably the first thing the hirer will look for is: what are your skills. If that looks good, then they will want to see that your experience is relevant to them. There is very little desire to train in this market a new hire that can hit the ground running is the ideal. Hence functional could be indicated.

They will want to see that your career has been moving in a positive direction - they don' t want to bring you in if you are on a downward path. Hence chronological could be the choice.

Your resume needs to present the most persuasive and complete picture to the target you are sending it to. It has no value unless it speaks to the receiver' s needs. So in order for it to be effective you need to show some understanding of your reader and what she is looking for. Hence targeted.

In almost all cases you will want to create a hybrid of the various types. But know that you have the freedom to use components of each in the appropriate balance to make your strongest case. What counts is the effect it has, not the category it falls into.

Q+A: Relocating from Paris to LA?

2010-01-19T09:48:00.004-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Q: I'm currently based in Paris, and I’m looking to relocate in Los Angeles and find a job in the media industry. I'm currently a producer/writer in an animation company. I have an agent that represents me in Los Angeles, I travel every 3 months for a week to meet with people and focus on my networking, I keep in touch via email...

I've been doing that for almost 2 years now, and still I haven't found any job. Any advice on what I could/should do to land the job I want?

A: Grill your agent. Talk to him every few days. Learn from what he sees as the opportunities for you. Find out why nothing has happened. Ask him if you are being presented appropriately and does he have the materials he needs. Do your own research on the companies that are interesting to you. Ask the agent to get you meetings. Then if that gets you nowhere, maybe you need to ask yourself whether this is the right agent for your needs.

But here is what I really think. If you are passionate about moving to the media industry in LA: then move to LA. As long as you are not there people will take you less seriously.

If you need the income, consider taking any job that will enable you to live and breathe the LA industry just to get your boots on the ground. It is a big deal for an employer to be responsible for someone relocating, it is a headache to deal with the immigration issues and they run the risk that you may not stay. It adds a level of commitment that they do not want to take unless you are a truly unique and valuable talent that they cannot find in their own market.

So I would find a way to move there and be a part of their world. People will respect that you have made the commitment to LA and it will remove the barrier of them having to feel responsible for you crossing half the world to take their job.

What the interviewer is really thinking

2010-01-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
What Your Interviewer is Really Thinking!
by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

So you' ve made it to the interview. Your networking worked. Your cover letter worked. Your resume worked. As you sit there facing the last hurdle, it is really important to have a sense of what might be going through your interviewer' s mind.

The first thing to understand is that she is not sitting there thinking, “ I really have to find a job for this person because he hasn' t worked in three months and he' s racking up credit card bills.” She is not thinking that. She is not there to solve your problems.

Be ready to listen to her, to understand why she is asking the questions that she' s asking and to answer them in a way that will help her, rather than in a way that will help you. Try and figure out what it was in your cover letter and resume that helped you make the cut. How was it you framed yourself that got you to this point?

Here are some things she might be thinking - some good and some bad. See if you can come up with some more, and be ready to help her out.

I hope this is the person - I am really sick of doing these interviews. He doesn' t seem to be the same person as he did in his resume.

How will Sheila like her? She' s always complaining that my creative team has too much attitude and doesn' t listen to her.

Will he be able to get up to speed quickly? I can' t afford the time for training and we have a huge backlog of work to get done.

Will he make me famous? Will I look like a chump if I hire this guy?

The last three people I hired lasted less than a year - I really need someone who can survive here.

Should I let her meet Jim to see if he likes her, or will he just scare her off? Let' s see how she handles criticism she' ll need a thick skin to survive here! Will he be a team player?

Does that even matter for this position?

Consider asking some questions of your own and don' t forget to listen to the answers. Smart people ask good questions and then they listen carefully to discover insights that can help them move the conversation forward in a productive fashion. In this way you can hear for yourself what the interviewer is thinking and use it to frame yourself as the solution to her problem.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark ( www.pollockspark.com ). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

Q+A: How to make a great first impression during an interview

2010-01-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: What is the best way to make a great first impression during an interview?

A: You don't need me to tell you about firm handshakes and appropriate clothes. So here is the substance of what will make your interview go well.

Be very well prepared. Know what the job is and what the company does. Know who it competes with and what are the latest developments in the field.

Learn in advance as much as you can about your interviewer: what is their expertise and background so much of this is available online.

Know what you have in your experience and passions that will suit you for the position and let this frame all your answers.

Let the interviewer set the agenda for the conversation, but do not be afraid to frame your answers to your advantage and create openings to tell brief anecdotes of your relevant successes.

Be confident in your abilities - but not pushy. Feel within you that you are the person they need to fill this position. Be really interested and enthusiastic about the work that they do and the opportunity you will be afforded. Thank the interviewer for meeting with you and say that you would be excited to work there.

Q+A: How can I tell if my resume is good?

2010-01-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: How can I tell if my resume is good?

A: We all sweat our resumes so much: we revise and cut and paste and we lose our grip on how it looks and what it really says. Time and again language gets left behind on an old version and key ideas get lost.

Read it to yourself again - out loud. Ask yourself: "Does it clearly show that I have the goods for this particular position? Does it say simply and concisely what I offer and what I have done that will support that case? Is it easy to read?"
Then show it to other people. Really. Don't be afraid. It needs to be tested before it is put into action. Show it to people who don't know you well.

Give them a 5 second look and then take it away from them and ask them to tell you what you offer.

Then give them another 5 second look and ask them to tell you what your most recent experience has been and how it qualifies you for the position you are going for.
Listen to what they say. Are they seeing what you need the hirer to see? If not, try another version and test it again.

A hirer will look at your resume for just a matter of seconds before passing on. It has to work quickly and it has to be totally framed to present you as ideal for the job at hand. That is it.

Give the 5 second test a try - and keep refining it and trying again until people feed back to you just what you want the hirer to get from it.

How to Ensure that Your Company’s Creative Talent is Helping to Build Your Business

2009-12-14T10:37:00.003-05:00

Pollock Spark provides 5 tips for getting the best out of creative staff
Pollock Spark, an executive consulting firm that specializes in working with creative professionals, has put together a list of helpful tips for companies to maximize the business-building potential of their creative staff in the New Year.

“Creative professionals are found working in many fields including: PR, advertising, film, television, design, architecture, fashion, music, journalism and digital communications,” says Michael Pollock, Founder of Pollock Spark. “They’re also producing ideas and designs in almost every level of organizations from retail to manufacturing."

“You know the work that your creative brains do is critical to your business’s success. But experience has shown that they often don’t respond well to many of the traditional training and professional advancement programs meant to increase their business-building capabilities.”

To help companies find ways to maximize their creatives’ potential, Pollock Spark has compiled these five tips for companies to consider in 2010.

1. Ensure that managers give creative staff constant positive feedback. For creatives, deep down, this is usually more important than the financial rewards. Sometimes just noticing their work and considering it makes a difference. Rejecting an idea out of hand is the single most destructive act to a creative mind.

2. Enter their work in industry competitions and encourage them to win – they are all competitive spirits and awards are tangible recognition of their value – this in turn will foster better work which in turn will attract more business. Working for a firm that can help creatives win awards is a key driver for retention and recruitment of the best talent.

3. Communicating progress and selling ideas does not come naturally to many creatives and often conflicts can arise between business and creative teams. Design specially crafted workshops to help them communicate more effectively to colleagues and clients.

4. Be sure that they have the right physical environment to work in – visual stimulation can be very important – but don’t just put them in a big lively “bull pen.” Provide them the opportunity to hide in a “bubble” where they can have privacy, while still feeling like part of the larger group.

5. Some creative department managers are promoted to their position because they are good at what they do, but they lack managerial experience. Give these individuals solid support – such as carefully selected mentors or coaches – to help ensure that they transition smoothly into their new role.

Keeping your idea people happy will not only get you stronger business results, it will greatly help with retention, and attract the best candidates when you’re hiring. Highly motivated creative staff will produce better work that will make it easier to grow existing business and win new clients.

About Pollock Spark
Pollock Spark is an Executive Coaching and Consulting firm that specializes in working with Creative and Media professionals. Led by Michael Pollock, they provide coaching services and experiential workshops for companies who want to strengthen the performance of their creative personnel and to foster the recruitment and retention of their most talented creative staff. Pollock Spark also works with individuals in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

How Susan got a new job in media in just two weeks – a true story

2009-12-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

In just two weeks after she was laid off from a NY magazine this fall, Susan Waits found herself a new job - and now her updated LinkedIn profile says “Love my job!!!

What can we learn from her story?

The first job
2 suitcases, a degree in journalism, no apartment and no job. That was Susan Waits arriving in New York from Arkansas three years ago. “The biggest mistake people make is to try and find a job in New York before they come – the first step is to just move here. I was waitressing to pay the rent,” she told me.

She landed a job as an unpaid intern at fashion magazine Gotham – part of Niche Media. "I had responded to a job posting on www.ed2010.com which is particularly good for finding internships. I worked usually 9am – 9pm and many weekends. I think that I wanted to do a good job for myself, and I stayed late because I wasn’t done yet: as long as you are happy, then the extra work is not an issue."

"When a Fashion Assistant opportunity opened up after 2 months, I got it. But I not only did the job, making their fashion closet my own, I offered more: I wanted to write, so I wrote the price credits – the boring bits that no-one else wanted to do – I made the job unique to myself."

The layoff
After a year and a half as a Fashion Assistant, Susan had impressed the Niche Media management enough that they created a position for her on the editorial side where she worked for both Gotham and Hamptons Magazines.

A year after she had been promoted to Assistant Editor, the dismal media economy of 2009 hit her: her position was cut. “I was escorted out of the building – no talking to anyone, no touching anything – with colleagues sitting and watching my departure – it was mortifying.

The search
“The day after, I was shocked and p-ssed. But then I looked at it positively. I hit the ground running. I bombed everyone I knew. I had good working relationships and people jumped into action. I told them 'I’ve been laid off and I need your help.'"

"It’s a hard business – in a tough city. Everyone is type A. You have to put yourself out there. I contacted all the channels I could come up with – even a girl I met just once at a Cosmopolitan party.”

Even if her friends and colleagues didn’t have direct leads to a job, they connected her to HR staffers so she was able to set up informational interviews at all the big media companies. "Every day I had coffee or lunch with people. And you have to think a bit broader – if you are a good food writer, you might think can I parlay that into entertainment?”

She answered ads on mediabistro.com and ed2010.com and she got job alerts from Time Warner and Conde Nast and Hearst.

"The thing that helped me find work was positivity,” says Susan. “I had practiced my pitch with my friends and at the informational HR interviews. I was putting in pretty much a full time work schedule on the search.”

The resume
Susan told me that she used a few versions of her resume to highlight different bullet points of her skill sets. It’s a one-page resume that she attaches as a PDF so it will appear as a preview.

“For the cover letter I believe in erring on the casual side. I write it like I speak to a person,” she said. “I want to be on first name basis. Its all about brevity, people are looking at them very quickly: 2 paragraphs max. The first paragraph asks to speak to them; the second says, "Here’s why I‘m awesome."

When she was running the intern program at Niche Media, she sometimes got 300 resumes sent in for one posting. She saw so many mistakes - one was the attached cover letter, "I never opened an attached cover letter – it has to be within the email.

"I recommend harassing people – you have nothing to lose – don’t call them, but email several times about a week apart – it refreshes the contact. And if you have connections use them – have them write in to support you saying: 'I understand that you are looking at Susan for the post – here is why you should hire her.' The more someone hears your name the more likely your resume is to be opened.”

A step backward to move forwards
"You have to be willing to be humble when you are looking for a new job: the job I took was at an assistant level. I had no qualms taking a step down – I figured it is better to be working and getting the experience – it can only help you – you are learning more, rather than sitting at home for 8 months.”

Susan hadn’t been at the top of the chain at Gotham, but she was at an editor level, editing Oscar De La Renta and Vera Wang, making decisions and producing photo shoots. But she was open to taking a step backward in order to move forwards.

The new job
Answering a posting on mediabistro.com, Susan found herself in a series of six interviews at The Knot, an online magazine all about weddings. The Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Carla Roney needed an Executive Assistant and Susan had just the right combination of editorial experience and admin skills. She got the job – after being out of work for just two weeks. “I am excited that I have a job and I work for a company that people like and respect.”

The promotion
But that is not where it ends. Within a couple of weeks of starting at The Knot, she had already earned added responsibilities, becoming the Editor of NYC Metro coverage and serving as a Staff Writer for both The Knot and its sister publication The Nest.

But what about us?
So what can we learn from this? Stay positive. Work at it when you do have a job. Work at it when you are looking for a job. Be open to making lateral moves to develop the skills and experience that you are interested in. Don’t just do the job you are offered, do more and make yourself valuable. When you are out of work, be open to expanding your horizons and to taking a step back to get back on the track.

Susan’s story is an inspiration. I am sure you will find something in it that you can use as you grow your own career.

Your resume, your age

2009-11-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Q: At what age should I change my resume to NOT reflect my age?

A: Your age should never be a key part of your resume - your story should do the work of pitching the position whether you are 24 or 59. But you will never really be able to hide your age from an efficient hirer.

So at any age you should lead with your experience and attitude and passion and value expressed in your resume intro or bio. This should make the case and give the impression that you are everything the hirer wants before they even think about your numerical age.

Then when they do discover your actual age - as they eventually will - you want them say to themselves, "Goodness he's only 24 and he has done all that," or "Wow she sure didn't sound like a 55 year old, but she certainly has what we need and seems to be really on top of what is happening today. We have to talk to her."

Q+A: Enough with networking events already!

2009-11-24T09:23:00.001-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Q: Other than industry gatherings and get togethers especially meant for networking, are there other places I should be going to network?

A: Certainly there are other places than pure networking events, though interestingly almost everywhere that two or three business people are gathered together, networking is also on the agenda.

Here are a couple of suggestions to stimulate your thinking. This week I attended Web2.0 Expo, a trade conference in New York. The principal goal for attendees was to learn what is going on in the industry, attending presentations from industry leaders and picking the brains of the people in the booths about the newest techniques and opportunities. It was a wonderful environment for talking substantively about the business - and incidentally making connections in a group that is deeply interested in the future of the industry. So seek out this kind of thing even if it's not advertised as a networking event.

For the longer haul, there can be benefit in volunteering at a nonprofit or joining a nonprofit board. Here there is an opportunity to meet people while the attention is focused on the work of the organization. You can get to know someone really well and find common cause these connections can prove invaluable additions to your network. One of the prime reasons why any C-level executive joins a nonprofit board is for the networking. They may look at several nonprofits and see which ones attract the kind of board members they want to get to know.

The community of your place of worship can be excellent for meeting and bonding with people. I have made good contacts in the PTA of my kids schools. And you should check in with your alum organization and see what they have on offer.

Resumes, Cover notes and Keywords

2009-11-24T09:21:00.000-05:00

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
By Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Resumes and cover notes are the first line of attack for job hunting. Here's how Sonia Jairath, Founder and President of Metierlink, a niche recruiting firm, sees it.

"Your cover note gives you the opportunity to highlight why you're the most relevant person for the job. And it provides the way to structure and focus any further conversation." From Jairath's point of view "A good cover note usually indicates that the resume following it will be a good one. It gives me a sense of their writing and communication skills and shows whether they are passionate about what they do."

"Many people may look at your resume," says Jairath. "Some of them may not have the experience to understand what they are looking at so your introductory paragraph is really important: it should say who you are and what is your pitch. This is most important in connecting the dots for your reader."

"Definitely get advice on your resume," she advises. "Have another pair of eyes look at it, whether it's a friend, or a coach or a resume writer.'

"If you are going after a C-level position, your presentation has to shift to another level. The selected candidate will be representing the company to the outside so it needs to not only make a clear statement of accomplishments along with a biography, but your writing and communication skills become even more critical."

Keywords are important in a resume so Jairath suggests that you be specific. Just saying you are a marketer is too general. Searches are made on terms like Search Specialist, Business Development, Web Analytics, and Social Media. If you are after a strategic position then emphasize your strategic insights over your tactical experience. Some roles do require both production management and strategy, so then you do need to show both, to show that you can roll up your sleeves as well as do the thinking.

Candidates need to be covering all their bases: emailing, being part of social networks and working with a recruiter or hiring person. Join networks where you see there are recruiters and hirers and you will be able to get their announcements when they are looking go to events and make good connections.

Her final words of advice: Be Proactive.

Job searches are hard

2009-11-18T11:07:00.001-05:00

I received this response to the Q+A piece about the value of mass mailing a resume. I post it here, along with my response, and welcome your thoughts.

I read your response to a woman today on Cynopsis who asked about mass mailing since she's not had much luck trying all things suggested in a job search. Your response was not to and then suggested maybe she wasn't doing x y or z. I got so angry when I read that. Naturally, you assume it must be something she isn't doing. Well, take it from someone else who has exhausted her network, done all that is suggested and is constantly reevaluating what else she can do? Well, after 8 months of hard work and no returns, I'm all out of ideas too. She should send the damn mass mailing and maybe, just maybe something will stick. Keep in mind people are holding onto their jobs with both hands, and companies aren't creating jobs. And for every job are tons qualified applicants. It's not been this bad since the 1930's I believe. For those with jobs, you really don't know how hard it is out here. WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING. So don't assume we aren't.

Here is my response:

Thanks so much for your heartfelt email - I am so sorry my response made you angry.

There is no question that this is a tough environment, but I have seen wonderful things happen when people tweak or focus the way they present themselves. I had a note from a client last week that said that as a result of our work together "I was able to see that I have way more interesting skills/experience than what is outlined on my resume." My intent is to help people who ask for advice, and others who are interested, to think of some alternative ways to tackle this difficult situation. After all if what they have done so far is not working, perhaps either the problem or the solution can be reframed to lead to a different result.

This alone may not be enough, but this fresh thinking may open up a whole new set of opportunities and perhaps even suggest a different list for that mass mailing.

I wish you all the very best in your search

Seven Pointers to an effective elevator speech and cover letter

2009-11-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

As you go about your job search is critically important that you understand and internalize the value that you provide to an employee or client.

You must understand deep inside yourself what makes you so special at the job you are pursuing. You must have a good sense from your connections and research what a potential employer is looking for. You should know, or be able to intuit, what kind of problems they are likely to have and what problems they are looking to have someone you hopefully take care of for them.

You should have moved way past such generic, price-of-entry claims as "on time, on budget" or "I manage teams" or other boilerplate descriptions of what a job entails. These are merely support points, they do not differentiate you in any way. (Except perhaps from the people who write " I am a sloppy worker, my team hates me and my projects are always late.)

You should look into your own career triumphs, large and small and pick three or four that you can describe briefly and vividly. These must be stories that no-one else could tell, that encapsulate the value and passion that you and you alone provide.

Once you have all this deep inside you, you will be able to pull out all the appropriate bits when the occasion arises. You will use those bits in your "elevator speeches" to people you meet. You will use them in your cover letter and in the wonderful opening of your resume document. And of course you will use them in your LinkedIn and other social media profiles.

Here is a list of seven key points to keep in mind as you develop this pitch:

1.      You are pitching that you want to solve the hirer' s problem
2.      Be very, very clear on what specific value you offer them that is different from anyone else
3.      Be very, very passionate about doing it
4.      Tell a brief anecdote about a career triumph that proves you have the qualities demanded
5.      You are not asking for them to give you a job you are offering them a uniquely perfect solution to their problem
6.      You need to understand their needs and challenges imagine yourself in their place.
7.      You need to present yourself as the solution they are looking for even if they weren't looking

THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Q+A: Should I do a resume mass mailing?

2009-11-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: Other than a poor return, are there any drawbacks to sending out mass resumes to all appropriate companies? I have tried all the things people have suggested, worked a couple hours a day on networking, on Facebook and LinkedIn, and still nothing. So I thought I would try a mass mailing but wanted to check with you first.

A: If it will make you feel better, then go ahead. But bear in mind how you feel when you get a communication that is clearly written "to whom it may concern." Your suggestion that there will be a poor return to this is probably more optimistic than mine.

Here is how I might suggest you spend your effort instead. If you have been networking, and to no effect, then perhaps you are not presenting your true and unique value to the appropriate people who will jump at the chance to have you on their team. Perhaps the way you are framing your skills is not quite right. Perhaps it is not clear and succinct enough. Perhaps your target companies or executive selections are not fine-tuned enough.

I would much rather suggest you spend time working on these aspects than doing a mass mailing.

Q+A: How do I treat an interviewer's secretary

2009-11-17T09:52:00.001-05:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: I treat all people with respect, but is there anything to be gained by treating the interviewer's secretary especially well? Will he/she have any influence?

A: If you always treat people with respect, then simply continue to do so when you meet the secretary.

Some secretaries may indeed have some influence with the interviewer, but normal politeness should be fine. Don't be condescending, don't bring him flowers, just treat him like an intelligent human being who is doing a good and valuable job.

It's true that a secretary who likes you can help you over any rough scheduling issues and show you where the coffee pot is but they see many interviewees so they'll know when they are being "worked."

The interviewer is going to be evaluating your experience and work skills and knows best what will fit into the team, so as long as the secretary is not going to say of you, "that person was a real jerk," then you should be okay.

Carve out the time. Just do it.

2009-11-15T13:41:00.000-05:00

We all have major issues of our careers - business planning or portfolio development or what have you - that has to get done but we put it off because the day-to-day stuff just won't let us do it.

I am working with a wonderful and dynamic client who needs to spend time writing. Trying to set part of every day aside for it did not work. There were too many other stimuli and phone calls and emails and so on to be dealt with. The time never materialized.

So we have decided that she will carve out - set aside - an entire day every week. And not a weekend day either. A weekday when no calls will be taken and no emails returned. For her the writing is part of moving her career forward. This is not a hobby to be done at night or weekends - it is important. And clients and colleagues will have to understand - and they will. Just this week I had a communication from a senior TV executive who said that she would not be available on one day as she would be traveling. That was easy for me to understand and work around - no problem. Happens all the time. Similarly she might be on a shoot or at a client - also out of reach.

So we have instituted a one day a week for writing - she will be unavailable and the world will not have a problem with that.

I recommend this technique. It could be a day a week or every two weeks - whatever you need. But make it real. Carve it out. Put it on the calendar and stick to it.

Change is energizing and productive. Well duh!

2009-11-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

As you may know we have moved. I have been through all my stuff and my methodologies. Why do I have this? Why do I do it that way? What could be done better?

This has been a wonderful opportunity for cleaning out the stables. It gave me the chance to examine and improve and streamline. I am not recommending moving as a fun occupation - but I am recommending finding some excuse now and then for stripping down and seeing what is working and what is not and fixing things up.

Take your technology. You know at the very least that since you last made a technology investment, everything has changed. You may not need to make that change right now - but you should spend a little time figuring out what it means because otherwise when the next upgrade comes you could find yourself way behind - it gets harder to catch up the further behind you get.

And your marketing! Well you know where that could lead.

The other effect of all this is that it takes you out of your comfort zone - your formed habits. This has the effect of making you think and rethink - it is very energizing - nothing can slow your brain down like unthinkingly following the same routes and methods day after day.

Jester = Common Sense and Honesty = Consultant

2009-11-15T13:37:00.001-05:00

In days of olde the king had a court jester. This was the only person who was permitted to ask the difficult questions. Jesters were free to challenge the monarch and provide a balance for the sycophants who surrounded them.

The court jester could speak frankly on controversial issues and monarchs knew why; they understood the value of having such a person at their side.

Where are the court jesters of today? It is tough to find this character in any modern corporation. Who is asking the CEO if they really know what they are doing?

According to the Royal Shakespeare Company the jester served not just for entertainment, but to criticize their master or mistress and their guests. Queen Elizabeth I apparently rebuked one of her fools for not being hard enough on her.

In literature, the jester symbolizes common sense and honesty. In King Lear, the King uses his jester for insight and advice. He lets him take advantage of his license to mock and speak freely, to dish out frank observations and point out folly.

Lear's fool is one of only three people in the play who consistently tell him what's what; the other two, Cordelia and the Earl of Kent - employees as it were - are punished severely.

As a management consultant who comes in from outside - I can play that role. I can ask why something is being done a particular way. Or why this person still has their job. And so on. My clients seem to find that valuable. I have no axe to grind other than to see smart decisions being made. I am not a shareholder or an employee with other vested interests. So that could be a key part of the value I bring. To be the court jester.

Bogusky on the Advantages of Being Lost

2009-11-15T13:34:00.001-05:00

I commend to you this smart article by Alex Bogusky. It ran in MediaPost's Media Magazine - if you prefer to read it there, here is the link.

The only thing you know for certain is that you don't
Let me start out by saying that I know nothing about media. That's probably not a surprise to people who know me because I am thought of as a "creative" guy. But you might be surprised to learn that I know nothing about creativity. Furthermore, I know nothing about advertising.

Of course, there are little details I know. Like I do know a little about typography but remain ignorant about design. I know a bunch of chords and songs on the guitar but I remain ignorant about music. I know the process to create a 30-second commercial but I'm still ignorant about marketing. The big stuff remains a mystery to me. In fact, one of my very favorite clients recently said to me, "You don't even know what you don't know," in reference to her business. I liked that thought so much I printed it up on a T-shirt so it read, "I don't even know what I don't know," and I wore it to our next meeting. I gave my son one, too, and he wears it proudly to school. We Boguskys are proud of our ignorance. I love that T-shirt and that thought, but I could probably flip it around to make it a bit more accurate and say, "The only thing I know with complete certainty is that I don't know."

Not knowing has been a powerful ally and I have come to rely heavily on the power of ignorance. As a young ad dude, I wasn't comfortable with the lack of knowing that made up who I was. So like most young ad dudes I set out to become an expert at my chosen field. I had, like others before me, begun to confuse knowledge and intelligence. This great quest for advertising knowledge led me to climb up various mountains to meet and hear from as many industry gurus as I could. It was time well spent and I learned a great deal. But eventually I was lucky enough to come to the conclusion that nobody really "knew" anything. The best and the brightest were all just finding their way. And the most successful people seemed to be the most prodigious at making it up as they went along. So not knowing has become a formidable ally. An ally that is threatened as you gain years and years of experience. It's an ally that needs to be protected from dangerous threats like "expertise."

As part of this edition of Media, a blog was created and I had the chance to post some questions. Oddly enough, the one that created the most interest was around this idea of "an expert" and more specifically where did all these social media experts come from so quickly? What makes somebody a social media expert, anyway? And finally, why on earth would anyone want to be an expert? Expertise seems to require experience and the ability to use that expertise seems to require that the future closely resemble the past. As I stated earlier, I'm no expert and I don't know anything, but I highly doubt the media future is going to closely resemble media's past. Not even its most recent past.

Not long ago, I read a book called, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. Great book and I suspect it's as much a business book as a wilderness-survival book; the parallels are astounding. So after a lifetime of interviews with people who lived when those around them died, the author, Laurence Gonzalez, found some fundamental differences in survivors. The first being that survivors more quickly recognized and accepted that they were lost. It seems that people who continued to think they "knew" where they were and stuck with the "plan" died more often than the folks who recognized the rules had changed and that their old beliefs were useless.

Well, let me be the first to tell you that you are lost in the new frontiers of media. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will get to surviving and even thriving. The sooner you let go of old rules, the sooner you will be able to put all your faculties of perception to work in taking in your new environment. I won't go into the laundry list of new landmarks in your new environment because that's like trying to understand the forest by counting the trees. There is a video that has been floating out on the Internet for a while and it's a test. The test is to watch and count how many times some basketball players pass a ball to each other. As you focus on counting, the video finally ends and you feel like you nailed it. I did. And then a question comes up. "Did you see a gorilla walk through the room?" I was like, "no freaking way." But as I watched it again a gorilla pretty much dances across the screen. This is an example of a pre-set plan blocking out the environment.

Another quality of survivors is that they don't look for safety in the emotional security of where they found safety in the past. The example they cite in the book is related to aircraft carrier pilots. With these folks pretty much every landing is an exercise in survival. So if a pilot is coming in at the wrong angle or speed there are a number of warning signs designed to get the pilot to abort the landing. First, his own instruments sound the warning and the lights on the deck of the carrier turn from green to red. And soon the flight controller begins yelling over the radio to abort. Yet with all this information, it isn't uncommon for a pilot to still attempt to land even though logically they know they can't survive the impact. The reason is that the deck represents safety and there is a strong emotional response as the deck gets closer that actually blocks out all the screams in the headset and the lights and the alarms. In the stress of the situation they literally don't hear it all as they reach for the deck that has always meant safety.

What I'm suggesting here is that with all that is happening in media today, this is no time to be in a rush to get down on the deck. I've probably "survived" several changes in the media landscape and I plan to float to safety on another raft of ignorance. So this issue on the future of media isn't about becoming an expert. It's about eschewing the emotional safety of knowledge and expertise, and instead sitting back in ignorance and wonder. It's about taking the time to carefully observe the gorilla as it dances through the room.

Evolution - mine and yours

2009-10-20T17:58:00.001-04:00

Excerpted from October Sparkings

Our careers and businesses must constantly evolve to keep ahead. In Pollock Spark's latest evolution, we have moved to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. Wikipedia describes the area as "both a haven for established immigrant families and an area of artists and hipsters." So here we are. Our updated contact information is found here. The photo is taken from the terrace outside my new office.

We continue as always working with Creative Professionals, both as individuals and at their companies, to help them build businesses and careers. October has seen another Careers in Transition Workshop at MediaBistro in New York, with a similar workshop online later in the month, for people who can't make it in person to our New York session.

I am seeing more people in creative businesses evaluating their business models and wondering what they should do next. The atmosphere seems to have changed over the course of the year, with an acceptance of the "new normal" for now. Professionals are starting to put everything on the table - from selling up, to building alliances and strategic partnerships to restructuring their workforce and focusing their offering.

Many "traditional" creative jobs are getting hard to come by, but I have heard, for example, that there is a shortage of artists in the TV sector who are trained in the latest technologies and the competition is fierce to hire those who are up to date. So consider upgrading the skills you offer in a smart way and you could be golden. This goes for businesses as well as individuals.

Sign up to get Sparkings every month

Social Media for Job Searchers = Just like a Cocktail Party

2009-10-13T13:40:00.000-04:00

FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~

By Michael Pollock

In the old days employers and headhunters looking for candidates made phone calls or sent emails. Now they are actively using LinkedIn and other social media sites to find candidates. This is a main source for professional resumes. Friends mention to their social media friends in tweets and updates they are looking for someone. Employers like referrals as "social proof" for a candidate.

So says Social Media Content Strategist Catherine Ventura who told me "in the back of every job seeker's mind should be the idea that nothing you do online is purely social." "If you are looking for work in the TV industry, look at the updates and tweets of people who work in the field. See what topics they are interested in. Just like you do at a cocktail party, don't barge in, spend time listening and then use language that's appropriate to the conversations you are joining."

"Google yourself and see which social media sites come up," says Ventura. "Look at your last 20 tweets and your last 20 Facebook and LinkedIn updates and whatever else comes up (your Amazon reviews for example).

See what you're saying and how you're saying it; what does your social media voice convey to people who don't know you? Do you want to sound like a seasoned pro? A thought leader? A pragmatist? An innovator? An enthusiast? A team player? If you don't sound the way you want, approach it like a screenwriter and start projecting the personality and level of professionalism you DO want to project."

Ventura tells me that she sees the different sites as different sections of a resume. LinkedIn is the most important with professional history and recommendations. She suggests joining groups on LinkedIn, not so much for the postings as for the collage of badges that gives a picture of your interests at a glance.

"Facebook," she says, "is used to best effect as indicating your outside interests, special skills, hobbies and who you are as a person." You know that people do like to peek, especially if they are looking to hire you. So be sure that you have not said anything disrespectful about your employer!

Because social media is public, you should be conscious that people are meeting you this way, and the voice you use - even down to the adjectives - is the first impression you make. Just like a cocktail party.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark ( www.pollockspark.com ). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

Productive networking

2009-10-06T09:47:00.000-04:00

FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~

Getting "the inside information"
By Michael Pollock

I always have productive encounters and learn something new at local media industry meet-ups.

For example there is Digital Wednesdays in New York's trendy Gansevoort Hotel. It happens every Wednesday evening and is free of charge. Sign up for information at www.digitalmediaevents.com.

I've met content providers, ad agency principals, publishers, dot com entrepreneurs, filmmakers, photographers, designers, marketing and HR people - all working in the online world. I have met people who came looking for opportunities and people who came specifically to recruit. Everyone is there to meet and share ideas, opportunities and experiences. It's a no-pressure environment: just buy a drink and introduce yourself.

Max Ramirez, who founded Digital Wednesdays, told me that it is becoming popular with radio and TV people looking for connections in the online world. "I see a smoother natural fit for people going from TV programming or ad sales into online programming or video ad sales. Video is one of the hottest topics right now."

According to Ramirez his guests include upper management from Google, Yahoo and MSN. This is a place "where you hit it off with the senior HR manager of Conde Nast and you have built a relationship that you would normally have no chance of doing. Only so much information is available publically - here you can get the inside information about what is really going on."

There are industry meetups all over the US. I did a Google search for "marketing meetups Phoenix" (try it for your town) and found that, among many others, the American Marketing Association has regular monthly events - open to non-members for a nominal fee. So use your search tools - you will find like-minded souls and, more to the point, hiring-minded souls. You can meet them in the flesh and practice your elevator speech on them. Ramirez tells me that CEOs from across the country visit Digital Wednesdays when they are in New York. Now he is broadening it to include the fashion business and he tells me that he is in talks to start up Digital Wednesdays in Paris - I'll see you there!

Of the current economy Ramirez says, "2009 is testing the best. The digital media ecosystem of 2010 will reward the tenacious." So get out there and get meeting - let's see some tenacity!

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark ( www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

Keywords and other resume tips

2009-09-29T15:39:00.001-04:00

FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

Key words and other resume tips
By Michael Pollock

When you polish up your resume make sure that it includes the keywords that search engine users are looking for.

Allison Hemmings of The Hired Guns says that when she is recruiting, she searches resumes on three main areas: the names of companies you have worked for, common job titles and clients you have worked with. This specific detail is what sorts people out. The names of TV shows you've worked on, or brands you've been involved with can easily get left as you sort through the thickets of corporate titles and teams, but these can be very important search criteria - make sure the good ones are included.

When a recruiter searches on their select set of terms and say 5 people meet those requirements, then they are probably not going to look further. I was struck by this methodology, which seems very absolute and may not include those "quality" words that can be so effective when someone is then reading the resume. But it can be the specific company names, brands and titles that get the resume read, only then giving you the opportunity to flesh your story out with the innovations and business growth and awards which set you apart and make you unique.

And you shouldn't drop off the things you did 10 or more years ago if they are relevant to your case. But do take care to frame them in a contemporary context, says Hemmings. Technology and jargon has evolved, but there could still be a core that is utterly relevant to the needs of today's employers.

The question of resume boards has arisen in this space. Hemmings says there are "some awesome resume boards." She mentioned The Ladders and ResumeDeli. But she notes, "Just because you have had it professionally written doesn't mean you can't change it and keep it up to date."

Ultimately your resume should do what Hemmings calls "nuggetizing" parts of your background." It should frame each specific job in your history and tell the reader why she should care what the value is to them. She says, "I recommend three bullet points about why you are the best person in the world who can do this job."

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark

Q+A: Negotiating Salary

2009-09-24T18:32:00.000-04:00

FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

"What should I do when offered a salary? If its within my range do I immediately accept or should I negotiate and if so, how?"

I would first say thank you, and tell them that you are excited and honored that they are considering hiring you. I am assuming that you are a good match for the position and they are really interested in you, so then it is not unreasonable to ask politely if they can go to a somewhat higher number. Name the number: say 10% or 15% higher than their offer. If they say okay, then okay. If they say "No this is all we have," you can ask them if there are perks available instead: gym membership, or education allowance or whatever interests you, and see if they can do something which might come out of a different budget. You don' t even have to give them a reason. They are not interested in your personal situation or your housing costs or your need to buy your spouse a new car. The only thing they are considering is their need to fill the spot with the best person that they can afford with their budget.

Do it respectfully. I do not encourage you to play hardball in this market, unless you are absolutely convinced that you have a better rock solid offer elsewhere, or else you are the only person in the world who could fill that spot, and they absolutely have to have you.

And here is a response from a Cynopsis reader:
"I'm in the midst of re-negotiating my salary/position with my company, as I've come up on a yearly review, so I found your entry today from Cynopsis about salary negotiations extremely helpful! I'm having a big meeting tomorrow"

How to grow professionally while you're job hunting

2009-09-15T16:20:00.001-04:00

Job seeking doesn’t mean a halt to your professional growth; it may be the best time to develop skills of leadership, software, language or networking.

Michael Pollock is quoted in article by Jenn Danko for @YourLibrary, the Campaign for American Libraries

Read it here
http://www.atyourlibrary.org/how-grow-yourself-professionally-while-job-hunting

Q+A: How to make the move from radio to TV

2009-09-15T09:48:00.002-04:00

FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

"I am a top radio Producer, comedy script writer, editor and researcher for a top national radio show. However I feel like I've reached the glass ceiling, not only in my company, but also in the industry. I'm fairly young, early 30's and I would love to move to a career in television. Here's the catch, I also have experience in news reporting and I'm pretty camera friendly. I love both sides of the camera. I'm basically stuck at which avenue would be the best for me to pursue in the television industry, behind the scenes or go straight for the reporting work. I have a pretty lucrative job and I don't want to lose pay, but I'm afraid that i'll have to start on the gopher level to move into television. Any advice?"

So I see that among your many skills you are a researcher: I recommend that you research, research, research. Seek out people who work in television - people on both sides of the camera - and ask them what their job is like. Ask your friends to brainstorm who they can introduce you to who is doing a job you might be interested in. Then get these contacts talking over a cup of coffee or a cocktail. Ask them how they got their jobs and what is their growth path. Tell them about your skills and ask them how these skills apply in their business and if they can see opportunities for you to parlay your skills into a lateral move, avoiding the gopher hole. And surely one of the things that they will suggest if you want to be on camera is to make yourself a presentation reel. Do some reporting that will wow people.

But all this is not just about research. You will also be building a valuable network of professionals to contact when you have homed in on the route you eventually decide to take. They will know you and hopefully like you and even feel vested in helping you to succeed. At the research stage it is fine to be curious about the best way for you to go, but by that time you had better have decided on what you passionately want to do.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark ( www.pollockspark.com ).

Your pitch, your resume, your story

2009-09-10T12:07:00.005-04:00

More on the power of stories.

What is a resume but the story of who you are and how you got to be that person, told in a way that will move the hirer to want you on her team? What is a business pitch if it isn't the story of how your business can help the client - as they evolve their own story?

McKee talks of the value of originality. He says that it is the confluence of content and form: not only what you have to say but how you say it. "If the content is cliché, then the telling will be cliché. If the telling is conventional and predictable it demands stereotypical roles to act out well-worn
behaviors." He then reminds us sternly not to mistake eccentricity for originality. Difference for the sake of difference is as empty as slavishly following commercial imperatives, he says.

We are creative professionals: surely what we offer must be originality: isn't this what you want to be hired for? Isn't this what will separate you from the pack?

Think hard and deep about story as you craft your own pitch. In the meantime you can get your own copy of his book - click on the image. He lays out provocative ideas for writing screenplays that can provide you with a powerful framework and challenge for your own thinking as you write your pitch or resume.

It's not just about you!

2009-09-10T12:02:00.004-04:00

Any communication - or at least any persuasive communication - has to be about the needs of the person you are trying to persuade. Not about your needs. Here is something that a recent client told me about our work together:

"The first really cool thing that I was enabled to understand is how to think of it (whatever "it" may be - an interview, a phone call, a party) from "their" point of view. Always asking and trying to figure out what "their" process is? Where are they coming from? What do they want and how can I fit into answering that for them?

That's always a cool, interesting exercise and I loved to hear MP go through that drill time and again .. it was awesome and Insightful"

Writing pitches and resumes

2009-09-10T11:48:00.007-04:00

Robert McKee's thoughts about writing screenplays have much say to us as we write our pitches and our resumes. A great story, he says, is something worth telling that the world wants to hear. This must be true of any successful pitch - though your "world' may be just a handful of carefully identified clients and employers.

You must have the creative power to put things together in a way that no one has ever dreamed. You must be driven by your passion courage and creative gifts, - but even this is not enough - your story must be well told.

I have adapted his words here - you should read the book.

Q+A: Should I take a job at a company that is going bankrupt?

2009-09-01T11:02:00.002-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q. I am a recent college graduate gearing up for an interview at a company that recently announced that it was going bankrupt. If I receive the position, should I be hesitant to take it over something else because of possible layoffs to come? Should I address the company's bankruptcy during my interview in regards to knowing if the "job will be around for a while"?

A. I don't believe that pretending everything is ok looks so smart. It makes perfect sense to ask what the future holds: "I've heard the company is having some difficulty. Can you tell me how this position might be affected by what is coming?"

I would certainly think carefully before choosing this company over a more healthy one. Cost cuts, even without layoffs, can affect your ability to do your job properly if you cannot get the resources you need. If it is a spectacular opportunity and you will gain invaluable experience and boost your resume then you should consider whether the job is in the core business of the company: the piece that's likely to make it through reorganization and perhaps even gain in importance in a new structure.

Q+A: Do I admit to interviewing with other companies?

2009-09-01T11:00:00.002-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: What is the best way to respond when asked "Are you interviewing with other companies?" Part of me feels like politely saying that is between me and that particular company and the other part doesn't want to shoot myself in the foot by NOT answering the question.

A. It is perfectly reasonable to respond that you are meeting with other companies in your search for the opportunity that make best use your unique skills and experience. You should not name the other companies though; after all, your interviewer would not want his competitors to hear about his search.

You can certainly tell him that you see the opening at his company as the one where you can do your best work and make the biggest difference. An intelligent interviewer should respect the fact that you are leaving no stone unturned - as long as he feels that he is your favorite.

Q+A: Do I put objectives on my resume?

2009-08-25T09:51:00.003-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

"I see some resume's with objectives, what is your take on including them or not in a resume? thank you so much for your help."

A brief opening statement on your resume is most important but please do not frame it in terms of your objectives. The hirer is not interested in your objectives nearly as much as he is interested in his own. Your resume must persuade him that you are the perfect solution to his problem, not so much that he is the solution to yours.

Express in two or three sentences how you are exactly the right person to fill his position, and let him know of the unique value you will bring to his company. If your opening salvo hits the nail on the head, he will be enticed to read on to the supporting evidence.

But remember, he is not approaching your resume with an interest in meeting your objectives he is completely focused on his own.

Q+A: Do I put advancement or interests in my resume?

2009-08-25T09:50:00.003-04:00

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

"Is it really important to put professional advancement or interests on your resume? If so, should it be detailed or brief so you can talk to it in the interview?"

The purpose of your resume is to get you the interview, so if your professional advancement activities are of good quality and relevant to the position, then you should absolutely include them. The knowledge that you are keen enough to improve your skills is a plus to a discriminating hirer and can set you apart. It demonstrates that you are engaged with your own development and the development of her industry.

As for your interests insofar as they add breadth and color to the picture you are painting of yourself these can be helpful in separating you from the pack of similarly qualified candidates. But your interests must be consistent with the image of yourself that you want to convey. If you are positioned as an effective team leader for example you will not want to mention your macrame or your stamp collection! On the other hand if you are the captain of a racing yacht that could add a very strong credential.

Detailed or brief, you ask. "Brevity is the soul of wit," they say. Don't bog it down in too much detail; it's not your autobiography. It's the trailer that you are carefully designing to get you the interview.

Why Employers Are Hiring And What You Should Do About It

2009-08-25T09:47:00.001-04:00

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~ FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

There are three significant factors driving companies to hire in this market.

1. They are choosing now to innovate, expanding their capabilities and resources.

2. They are in turnaround and are looking for people to effect change.

3. They are taking the opportunity to upgrade their talent pool, snapping up better people who have become available.

These ideas were expressed to me by Allison Hemmings, founder of The Hired Guns, an agency that represents marketing, creative, media and technology people.

Asked which job seekers are finding success in this tough environment, Hemmings Google kids to the C-suite," and says, "if you have a strong digital portfolio, then people are definitely hiring."

So what does this mean for you? First you should look at the company you are applying to and figure out: do they want to turn things around, or do they want to innovate, or do they want better people than they currently have?

Then look at your own experience, capabilities and track record and see how you can best position yourself to meet their needs. This is a time when simple replacement hiring is rarely happening - there is almost always some forward-looking, larger agenda attached to each new salary budgeted. (A senior manager, complaining to me about some of her staff who are under-performing, said, "I would fire them like a shot, but I won't be allowed to replace them. So I keep them anyway.")

You must view yourself as the best in the world at your specific thing and tell your story in such a way as to convince an employer that you - and you alone - will fulfill their requirements, brilliantly able to do the job they need done and meeting their larger agenda as well.

Hemmings reminded me that about 80% of jobs are found through networking. That does leave some room for headhunters, and Hemmings recommends interviewing several recruiting firms to find a good match and someone who will be your partner in the search. She suggests using one of the big firms and supplementing it with one or two boutique headhunters who specialize in just the niche and company type you are interested in.

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark ( www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success. © 2009 Pollock Spark

Career Evolution Workshop - reactions

2009-08-10T11:53:00.007-04:00

Comments from participants after the Career in Transition Workshop given by Michael Pollock at MediaBistro. His next Workshop at MediaBistro is scheduled for October 19th.

"I've been looking for a career coach who has an expertise in media, and Michael is definitely it. He has terrific knowledge and offers so much information during this 4 hour session, I feel like I got as much out of it as several hours of private coaching... at considerably less expense."

"Michael was just great. He had good information, kept the evening moving forward, and was terrific and getting us all to a place where we could communicate comfortably with one another. I really enjoyed the content, and felt that I learned a lot. More than I expected."

"Michael Pollock, was a perfect match for tackling the subject of "Careers in Transition" for creative professionals . His techniques for engaging the group were stimulating and effective. The supportiveness of the participants made this workshop a pleasure."

"(Pollock) had good insights and information"

"... the information was great--and the way it was presented made you view things differently--things you thought you already knew...like how to present yourself.... wish it had been longer--everyone wanted to talk!"

Q and A - interview hell

2009-08-04T10:53:00.004-04:00

This came to me via Cynopsis

Q. I was recently granted an interview with a well known company within the television industry. I really want this job. My question is this...  My interview was at 10a. I arrived at 9:45a, and waited for three hours before I talked to the HR specialist. How long is okay? I felt I wasn't my best because I was frustrated, anxious and very hungry. What is the protocol here?  

A. Two questions for you: Did you get the job? How would you feel about working at a company where it is considered okay to keep someone waiting for three hours?

Anyhow, here’s what I would do in that situation. Give them an hour – that is generous, and shows your willingness to play. Then say politely to the receptionist that you could certainly wait another half hour if that would help them out, but after that you have to go to another meeting, or perhaps it would be more convenient for them to reschedule to some other mutually acceptable time.

This shows respect for them and, more importantly, for yourself. You do need to be at your best when you get in there. And besides, if they’re running 3 hours behind, surely they would be grateful for the opportunity to reschedule. It’s their lunchtime too.

How to find the media biz action

2009-07-29T08:43:00.007-04:00

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIED ADVANTAGE

How often have you read a report of a media conference or party and you think to yourself, “Rats! I should have been there, if only I’d known about it.” You look at the photos of the attendees – they’re people you would like to get to know, who work at firms that could so benefit from your skills and experience. But you didn’t know it was happening - so you were left to read the reports, look at the pictures and update your LinkedIn page hoping that someone would find you.

You don’t have to get left out again. There are several sites that can clue you in to what is happening where you are. Start out at Mashable for Social Media events across the country. For film biz get-togethers check out The San Diego Media Communications Association.

“Online sites are great at easily keeping in touch and updating a ton of contacts,” says Gary Sharma, the man behind business events calendar GarysGuide. “However meeting and networking in person is absolutely critical, as that is where some of the best relationships get formed, deals get done, partnerships get forged, hires get made, alliances get built.”

Sharma’s list lists “conferences, un-conferences, forums, workshops, seminars, meetups, tweetups, mixers, parties and more.” A quick look reveals a panel in New York entitled Media In Crisis - Is There a Way Out?, a free Internet Marketing meet-up in Minneapolis and an interactive games conference in Cologne, Germany.

When I asked him why people typically attend these events, Sharma responded, “The program content is typically always very useful. But it is the brainstorming-style discussions around the content and networking with your peers in the industry that can be particularly invaluable.”

Sharma told me that GarysGuide is used by “an astonishingly wide gamut of people in business: C level execs, Managers, VCs, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Marketing/PR folks, technologists, analysts, bloggers etc. Everyone uses it in different ways. Some are looking for conferences, while others for social events/parties/mixers, while yet others are more interested in workshops and seminars.”

So now there’s no need for you to be left out. Wherever you are in the world you too can have the inside track on what is happening and where and when - and next time it’ll be you in those photos!

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

© 2009 Pollock Spark

Coaching creative pros - I talk to mediabistro

2009-07-20T11:31:00.006-04:00

I spoke recently to mediabistro about career transitions and coaching - here is a taste of that interview. More to follow over the next weeks. I was speaking with the excellent Gretchen Van Esselstyn.

Please be happy in your work

2009-07-14T21:16:00.003-04:00

Talking to an accomplished creative leader recently it was clear that he is not happy in his work. He admitted as much. I feared a downward spiral would begin.

I encouraged him, as I encourage you, to find whatever in your work that is fun and rewarding - make an effort to find it and develop it. Find the flow. If you can't find it, then it is time to move on.

I once stayed too long in a miserable job - for the income. I was depressed. I got physically sick. It hurt me and it hurt my family. And clearly I cannot have been doing a good job. Moving on was absolutely the best outcome. Absolutely. It was a revelation.

If you can't find it in you to enjoy it - get out. At once. And do something you like.

Okay. End of rant. We can talk about it if you like.

Productive tweeting

2009-07-14T21:12:00.003-04:00

Despite Mr Demi Moore, Twitter has become a hugely valuable networking and researching tool. Media and creative people are all over it.

Think of it as one big cocktail party, but at this one you can sort out who you are interested in talking to - or just eavesdropping on - before you go in.

The important thing is to be pro-active and have an idea of what or who you are looking for - don't just watch the tweets go by. And of course be open to stumbling on people and stuff you never thought of.
I recommend using Twellow ("the twitter yellow pages") to search for people in the industry niche you're interested in. Search on job descriptions: TV executive, or designer, or ad director. Search on "creative director jobs" and see what you get. Search on marketing director or search the name of a firm you think is interesting. Get narrower and search on "design, Cincinnati". You can search tweets and on people's profiles. Decide whether to follow them. Then interact with them. Cross reference them on LinkedIn. The most important thing is to be there and see where you fit in.

Once you've got your follows in shape - get with Mr Tweet and have him pick more people you should know. And get in there.

There is a good guide for how to tweet so that people can find you. You can find it here. But you are in the creative biz - you will find your own way to use the tools and tweak the results.

And remember if you start your twittering day with a goal you have a better chance of it being productive.

What are you working on?

2009-07-14T21:10:00.003-04:00

It's hard for many creative people to talk about their own work. But if you know what you are good at - and you truly are excited by it - you can usually make a compelling case to someone else that it is worthy of their attention.

But to talk about what you are good at in the abstract can be really tough. I suggest that you always have an answer to the question: "What are you working on right now?" You should always have a project on the go - if only because you are pushing your limits, or trying something new or just plain driven. It can be a commissioned project or it can be something you are doing for yourself - just have something going on at all times that moves you.

If your project is a work that you truly care about then you will enthrall me with your description of what it is - how it works - what it's going to look like - how you are going about it - whatever aspect of it is on your mind.

This will serve the dual purpose of keeping your creative juices flowing and giving me, and others, a way to understand you and your thinking and your point of view. I always get the best answers from people when I ask them "What are you working on right now?." A specific answer can speak so much more eloquently than a general philosophical answer. (Though you absolutely do need to understand the foundation of what drives you and what your work represents - get in touch and we can talk about that if you like)

If you don't have an answer right now to "What are you working on?" - well that must be because you are just starting something new - so in fact you do have an answer don't you! It's never too late to start.

I'm writing for Cynopsis

2009-07-14T21:06:00.002-04:00

I talked recently with Gary Sharma and Max Ramirez - two stalwarts of the networking business - and learned from them how industry meetups and conferences can have a real impact on your career or business.

These stories are set to debut in the next few weeks, not here, but in Cynthia Turner's invaluable daily newsletter for the TV industry, Cynopsis.com.

Look in Cynopsis: Classified Advantage and you will find more actionable advice and my answers to readers' questions. Cynopsis has more than 100,000 subscribers in over 25 countries; which, it may surprise you to learn, is larger even than Sparkings!

Ad Ages

2009-07-13T12:16:00.001-04:00

....today the average age of a general (advertising) agency creative person is 28. And nationally, less than 5% of agency personnel are over the age of 50.

No-one says it's easy

2009-07-13T11:58:00.003-04:00

I spoke to a senior ad exec yesterday who told me about various clients of hers who have lost their jobs. She does what she can to help them find something else of course. She referred one to a long-time, trusted colleague.

His response was that if it was for herself, he would do anything that he could possibly do to help, but this market is so tight, he had to draw the line at helping the friends of friends. There just isn't enough to go around.

So how should we react to this? As Max Ramirez of Digital Wednesdays, the networking group, told me, "2010 will reward the tenacious."

Inspiration and perspiration and the brothel

2009-07-08T15:02:00.005-04:00

"Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." So said Thomas Alva Edison.

And Picasso is a case in point. His amazing picture Les Demoiselles d'Avignon changed art for ever. He trumped Matisse, who was the king of the art world at the time, and according to W'pedia it is "a seminal work in the early development of both Cubism and modern art."

I had thought that he "just came up" with it - the old creative insight, who-can-explain-it, genius thing. But I have been put straight by a fascinating BBC documentary.

Now I know this was no quick revelation, Picasso had filled a notebook with over 700 sketches for this work. That's right: SEVEN HUNDRED sketches. Additional characters came and went (a sailor and a medical student both bit the dust), colors changed, lines and design were tried out. This was a very carefully considered piece.

Oh and Picasso didn't call it Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. He called it The Brothel. So what's in a name? Is the name part of the work? But that is another topic.

Okay guys - get perspiring, whip out those notebooks and let's see what your inspiration is made of!

Desperation? Enthusiasm? It's how you present yourself.

2009-06-17T11:46:00.002-04:00

A couple of related client stories from yesterday. One had been awarded a job, but the new Creative Director at the client was now fretting about a scheduling thing and the job was hanging in the balance. So my client wrote him an email expressing – with a sense of humor – his point of view about how everything was going to be fine and what a great project it was. The CD was mollified and said, “Fine – it’s yours – I really like your enthusiasm.”

A second client, with a job in the offing, was mulling over whether to do some exploratory work to show the client that he really was the right guy for the gig. “But we don’t want to appear desperate – so we haven’t done anything.” “So why not do the work and appear enthusiastic” I suggested.

There is a fine line between being enthusiastic and seeming desperate – and it’s up to you to pick the right side. Clients often find they have several talented people who could execute their projects equally well – even if not interchangeably. So once they have narrowed it down, your enthusiasm, however you choose to demonstrate that, can be what swings the deal. So be keen, let them see you’re keen, but don’t let them see you sweat!

Books to stimulate your career planning

2009-06-02T14:49:00.004-04:00

I was just interviewed for an article on Creative Career Transitions - the piece will appear in American Librarian. I was asked for some books that might help stimulate the thinking juices of people deciding what they are going to do next. So here is some grist for the creative development process that is your own career.

Crisis, Misdemeanors and Special-NESS

2009-05-29T10:16:00.003-04:00

Things that made me go hmm this week.

I heard from a self-proclaimed e-business guru that “if you haven’t p-ssed somebody off today you aren’t doing your job”! I heard from a just-graduated art student that if an artist wants to get attention it is all about “committing misdemeanors.” “Misdemeanors” she kept on saying. And I heard last night at the SHOOT New Directors Showcase that “crisis and creativity go hand in hand.”

So in the quest for what's new and next - and for the attention we crave - it sounds as if we should be making more noise, stirring more pots, causing more trouble and intelligently exploiting the air of crisis that is all around us in the media industry.

But we had better do it with a point. Be true to our own unique personality and skills – be bad “on brand” in fact, if we think that bad is what we need to be. There is no doubt that each of us has to distinguish ourselves from the pack. No-one wants “just another one of those”. Everyone is looking for something (or someone) special.

So we each have to be just as special as we can be and show it to the world - what David Byrne has called our "special-NESS." And we should probably rattle some cages along the way.

Is a blogger a journalist?

2009-05-28T13:32:00.002-04:00

Should properly trained journalists be afraid of bloggers invading their turf? I was talking today to a journalist who’s at the top of her game. She writes cover stories about A-Plus list celebs for one of the best-known popular mags. She’s wonderful writer and reporter with all the training and the dream pedigree.

She told me that mainstream magazines are starting to hire bloggers with no training and no skills. But the in-depth stories that I like to read, take vast amounts of reporting and research. There are sources and teams of reporters who get the whole 360 degree picture of the story. The information comes in thick and fast and it all has to be pulled together into a readable and entertaining and informative whole.

This is a far cry from what bloggers do. As with this piece now, which I am writing essentially on the fly – it’s just a thing that is on my mind right now and may stimulate some thinking on your part. But the features in Vanity Fair or People or Us are researched and crafted and end up deep, wonderful, fascinating and entertaining. I love them.

I also the party blogs of people like Kelly Samardak, written with flair and wit – but those are very much of the moment and disposable. I am sure there is a place for both.

This issue applies to a lot of creative endeavors – the tools and channels are available – does that make everyone good at it? Did the introduction of the Brownie camera and the Polaroid make us all into Photographers? Did YouTube make us all into Moviemakers? Or is there a place for all?