One Connection Away

Lemonade: Detroit

2011-11-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

Below is a link to a short film (17 min) you might find very interesting.

It was put together and directed by Erik Proulx, a one-time advertising copywriter from Boston who lost his job about the same time I did back in 2008. He started a blog, to share his thoughts and experiences about unemployment, and ended up directing a short movie called Lemonade. The movie was about other folks in the industry who were suddenly unemployed and used the opportunity to start something new.

The movie was very inspiring to many, and he has since put together this short film about Detroit, called... Lemonade: Detroit. About how the city is almost in the same boat. And how many people there are not standing by, watching the city waste away with the downturn in the auto industry, but rather are looking at it as a starting point to turn the city around.

http://vimeo.com/28279409

oh, and Erik... he's now directing TV spots, instead of writing them. :)

OCA Changes

2011-10-17T08:16:00.001-07:00

Hello. If you've found your way to this blog, this note is to let you know of recent changes to the One Connection Away networking group.

First off, Welcome.
OCA was started back in January 2009 as a way for marketing and advertising professionals in the Seattle area to network while out of work.
The group started out as 5 people looking to share stories and quickly grew to a membership of over 200+. Weekly meetings, often with topical guest speakers, gave a chance for those in the industry to learn new skills, network, and most importantly - to know that there were others in the same boat... highly-skilled, very experienced people also experiencing the nuances of "job search 2.0."

Since the start of the group, attendance has ebbed and flowed, but starting in 2011, it was apparent that many people had landed full-time or contract jobs. And given the fact that I, too, had found a position, I have since turned over my 'keys to the shop' to Duane Hobbs.

New Management
We used to meet weekly at the Seattle School of Visual Concepts (SVC), but since this summer, Duane has secured meeting space at one of Seattle's finest coffee houses, the Uptown Espresso. It's located at the corner of Westlake and Republican, in the South Lake Union area, just a few blocks east of the SVC.

The group still meets once a week, Fridays at 10:30. And people that attend trade networking info and stories, and if you're lucky, job leads.

So, if inspired, or you're just looking to share some time and maybe a coffee with another person, feel free to drop by. You never know, the next job might just be One Connection Away.
-kelly

Summer Schedule

2011-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

For SVC's "Summer Break" we'll be meeting at Uptown Espresso on Westlake at the corner of Westlake and Republican. Feel free to park at the SVC lot and walk over. (Leave a note on your dash saying "OCA")

The meeting room is located towards the back. (There's only one. Look for us.)

OH, and the meeting for July 1 is cancelled to allow for a extended weekend.

Enjoy your fourth!

You've probably seen this. But if not.

2011-03-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Notes from 2/11/2011 - A Branding Presentation

2011-03-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

We didn't have a large group this week. I'm not sure how we got on the topic of presentations, but we did.

I ended up pulling out and presenting a deck I haven't worked on in a while. It explains a model of branding especially useful for "Personal Branding". Since I haven't actually seen this deck since November, I rambled. But Mark felt it was valuable and suggested I post a slide here on the OCA website and give people a taste of what they missed.

Above is the slide I use to illustrate the point that people are only curious about what they are curious about. They aren't interested in you because you want them to be. Pushing yourself on them, and yelling your merits may get attention but it won’t get a following. Draw people in, involve them, appeal to their natural curiosity. Then they'll come to you. In marketing speak we'd call this developing and presenting a compelling value proposition. When herding cats or fishing we call it using the right bait.

As I have time I'll continue to work on this, and will re-present it if there's interest.

Notes from 2/4/2011 - Podcasting with Michael Surkan

2011-02-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Michael Surkan was our guest at last week's OCA meeting. Michael, a 20-year technology business vet, has recently turned his attention to the technique and power of podcasting - as a way of building a valuable, credible network.

Podcasting is not new to Michael. He's been getting together with friends to talk about and share ideas on economic topics, but after a round of layoffs ended his 9-year career at Microsoft, Michael started Entrepreneurs Northwest to create a new network of career-building relationships.

His easy-to-follow recipe for starting your own podcasting channel is a sure-fire methodology for increasing your connections while learning more about a particular subject. And by sharing that knowledge with others, you not only give back, but you begin to be seen as an authority on the given subject. If you're looking for work, and in today's economy many people are having to reinvent themselves to do so, this could be a valuable way to open new doors.

I took great notes at the meeting, but why don't we have Michael tell you everything you need to know to start podcasting.

A reminder to check the calendar

2011-01-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

Couple big events this week.
Check at the bottom of the page for info.
(Why not subscribe to the calendar while you're down there.)

Jan 21, 2011

2011-01-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

This Friday's OCA meeting.
Kathy Clayton will be on hand to present, "Surviving the malaise of unemployment." Regardless of how long you've been looking for work, a job search can run the gamut from relaxing and rejuvenating to frustrating and downright maddening. One thing that is fairly constant, however, is how unsettling it all can be.

Join us this Friday, 10:30, at the SVC and hear from Kathy - corporate, team and personal coach. www.kathyclayton.com - "Enhancing effectiveness in business and life through awareness, conscious thinking and intentional action for lasting, reproducible results"

Also... Mei Lu, from Jobfully, will also be at our meeting later in the morning, to answer any questions people may have about her 3-month complimentary offer. (see below)

JOB NEWS
Marci Zervizi just landed a contract job with AT&T, where she'll be doing marketing planning for them. And in the spirit of OCA, she got the position through a connection's referral.
Congrats, Marci!!

January 14 2011 - welcome back

2011-01-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

This week's meeting:
We're back! and are actually entering our third year. 10:30 am at the SVC. No speaker this week; just good ol' fashioned networking and catching up after the holidays.

Job news!
I'm very happy to announce that Sean Linton has just started a new job as a Sales / Account Manager for Life+Gear, a new consumer-focused company based out of California.
Congrats, Sean!

Upcoming Speakers:
January 21st - Kathy Clayton will talk about "Surviving the Malaise of Unemployment"
February 4th - Michael Surkan will visit us to talk about podcasting as a marketing (and self promotion) tool, as well as blogging. http://surkanstance.blogspot.com/search/label/tales

Notes from 12/3/2010 - volunteering and alumni connections

2010-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

At our 12/3 OCA meeting, we talked about volunteer opportunities that job seekers can take advantage of - to give back, to widen and sometimes deepen your experience, to network, and to pursue a particular passion - all while you have the time. Every city has a multitude of opportunities where you can provide time or expertise to help others. The city of Seattle's web site provides ideas for ways to contribute around town or in your community, and it also has a calendar of events which can be viewed to show only volunteer opportunities.(Under event types, click 'None', then click 'Volunteer'.)

At our meeting, we also talked about the importance of tapping into your alumni network(s). It's an easy connection to make with someone while networking if they went to the same college and rooted for the same team. As different as they may actually be from you, there's almost an instant connection where they can relate to you from the simple fact that you both chose to attend the same university.

In addition, schools brand themselves by the quality of the alumni they produce. Many companies tout the education of their management team, so why wouldn't a university want to help promote its "leaders of industry" who once walked their halls and campuses? Reach out to the career center of your school to see if they can offer any job search assistance or advice.

One Connection Away is taking a break

2010-12-13T22:37:00.000-08:00

The School of Visual Concepts will be closed each Friday until mid-January, giving everyone the opportunity to spend time with their friends and family and maybe have a one-on-one coffee or two.

We'll be back on our regular schedule January 14th. See you then!

November Events

2010-11-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

November doesn't just mean stuffing.

Prolango's last mixer of the year. (Tonight)

SMC Seattle (Social Media Club)

Linked:Seattle (A Linkedin Group)

the PSAMA (Puget Sound Chapter of American Marketing Association)

Eastside Networking Group

(Plus more events as I learn of them)

Check out the Calendar at the bottom of the page for area networking events. (you can subscribe to the calendar by clicking on the lower right corner)

Art and Copy hits PBS

2010-10-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

I saw this documentary last summer when it played here in Seattle. That night I walked out of the theatre wishing anyone who wasn't sure why I love advertising and the power of brand and messaging could see this film.

Last night the movie showed on PBS' Independent Lens, and I got to enjoy it all over again. For anyone who hadn't caught it before, it's a well-crafted view into the world of advertising, as told by many of the greats who have worked in the field.

Below is a 2 minute trailer. Or watch the full version on the PBS video feed.

Career development from the employer perspective

2010-10-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Click and take a look.

Lemonade Detroit

2010-09-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

He's at it again. Erik Proulx, creator of Lemonade, has turned his documentary cameras and thoughts to Detroit - looking to see how a city can pull itself up by the bootstraps and reinvent itself.

Lemonade: Detroit Trailer from Erik Proulx on Vimeo.

How about that, a book.

2010-09-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

We had a brief discussion Friday about a number of things, this book among them. Marty Neumeier (Formerly of Neutron in San Francisco. Currently "Director of Transformation" at Liquid, Portland) has always had interesting things to say. His first book "the Brand Gap" (presentation is below) was a bit of a revolution for non-designers. He's subsequently written two more books: "Zag", and "The Designful Company". Both of which are well worth your time. (Do I sound like a fanboy?)

The Brand Gap

View more presentations from coolstuff.

Take a peek at the calendar

2010-09-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

(At the bottom of the page)

I've added more events that might be of interest. If you hear of anything you want to share with the group – email Duane or Kelly.

(The Prolango Mixer is filling up fast and has a capped attendance level this time, so you'll want to sign up quick.)

"It's all about the content."

2010-09-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Since there was some interest expressed at today's meeting I'm posting this here.

[Serial comma warning.] Words, pictures, video, illustrations, data, podcasts, white papers, slideshows, etc. Defining, structuring, managing, and relating it all to the users needs and the organizations goals. Oh, and of course, the organizations capacity for management.

"Content strategy is an emerging field of practice encompassing every aspect of content, including its design, development, analysis, presentation, measurement, evaluation, production, management, and governance."

Everything you'll want to know about Content Strategy unless you are a Content Strategist.

I attended a Meetup of Content Strategy Seattle this last Wednesday and encourage you to check it out for yourself. Since I'm lazy, I'll just drop in the Livestream cast below. (see previous event Livestreams here)

Watch live streaming video from contentseattle at livestream.com

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Assuming many people may be headed out on their final summer vacations, we'll cancel our weekly 10:30 on the 3rd and reconvene the following week, Sept 10th.

More Calendar additions

2010-08-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Check out next weeks Linkedin networking events just installed on the calendar below.

(BTW– When you learn of a event others should know about, or you're just wanting company at an event, shoot a link over to me and I'll add it to the calendar. DFHobbs {shift '2'} gmail.com)

Calendar addition for tonight

2010-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

The August Prolango Career Mixer is happening tonight at Bellevue's Maggiano's.

Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Location: Maggiano’s Little Italy, Lincoln Center, 10455 NE 8th St, Bellevue, WA 98004

Cost: Free

To Register: http://prolango-career-mixer-aug-2010.eventbrite.com/

Speaker: Heather (Abramson) Krasna - Author, Director of Career Services, Evans School of Public Affairs at University of Washington

Work the room: Career mixers offer an informal way to mingle -- no resumé required

WHAT IS A PROLANGO CAREER MIXER??
http://www.prolango.com/training-events/career-mixer/

Friday's topic: Career Obstacles

2010-08-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

This Friday, 8/13, at 10:30, OCA will welcome Rita Ashley, Career Coach.

Our topic of discussion: Career obstacles - the over qualified label, scaling the ageism issue and improved interview skills will be covered. We will discuss social networking for job search and answer your most troubling questions. "Examples, not theory."

Formerly a Silicon Valley executive and then a Seattle high tech recruiter, Rita now coaches clients towards career planning and "an expeditious and efficient job search."

Ms. Ashley refined her coaching skills based on her experience working directly with investors, hiring authorities and those who refer candidates to them. Her advice is field tested over 10 years and in the toughest of job markets. In the last three years, 98% of her clients received the promotions they were after or landed the jobs they wanted within six months. She's taught executives how to hire, read a resume and vet candidates. Ms. Ashley has been a board member to start up companies and was an active Executive Board Member of the MITEF for nine years. Her education includes degrees and/or certificates in Technology, Counseling, Psychology and Education.

Her book, “Job Search Debugged,” includes advice from hiring authorities, examples, scripts and step by step guidelines to avoid the rocks and refine your search. Her other book, “Networking Debugged,” guides job seekers towards simplified networking that gets candidates to hiring authorities before the competition.
PDFs are downloadable from her website.

Website: Jobsearch4execs
Twitter: Jobsearch4execs

The Cycle Continues - Job News and New Members

2010-08-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Several OCA members, over the past couple months, have landed jobs:

- Marci Kearney landed a full-time job at Microsoft, after contracting there for a while through Kelly Resources. She's now Marketing/Visual Merchandising Manager for Microsoft's worldwide Retail Services group.

- Jacque Coe, after 6 and a half years as Communications Director with Washington's Lottery, is now Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the Bellevue School District.

- Deanne Krauter followed her passion for wanting to work with a well-established outdoor brand, is now working in Denver, Colorado as an Art Director for Cabela's.

- Asako Yoshimura, who had worked for Adobe Systems for 13 years, is now a Sr. Product Manager with T-Mobile.

- Lastly, I, Kelly Evans, just started a contract job with Venture Arts, an interactive design and communications company. I'm helping them with project and account management, managing several web design projects for a handful of clients, including Microsoft and WorldVision.

While OCA has seen some members become alumni, we also welcome several new members:

- Jinhyung Pak, has just gotten out of the Navy, after a career that included managing nuclear reactors. He's exploring his options and is highly interested in the complexities of Marketing.

- Kerry Alexander, an experienced marketing communications and PR professional, was most recently with Colliers International.

- Donna Duncanson was VP of Marketing at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, where she was employed for 20+ years. After taking some time off from the business world, she's back and is now a marketing consultant.

Notes from 7/30/2010 - Applying Brand Techniques to the Job Search

2010-08-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

The words "Brand" and "Branding" are tossed around quite a bit in the advertising and marketing arenas. But how many people truly understand their essence, and more importantly, how many know how to help their clients create strategies for managing them? And how can we apply what we do know to the job search?

At our 7/30 OCA meeting, our guest speaker, Jessie Lernmark - Sr Strategist with MODO Group, does know 'brand' - and gave a fantastic presentation on the topic. Jessie, whose background includes sales, marketing, advertising and an MBA, has been working within the branding realm for over 4 years, the last two of which have been with MODO. Her group, which is small but has folks working in Asia and Europe, consults such companies as Grupo Modelo (Corona, Pacifico), Microsoft, Sony Ericsson, and Starbucks - helping them with a wide variety of brand services.

MODO's client services include everything from researching Insights and Trends, creating Brand and Marketing strategies, to developing Tools (such as brand books and guidelines) and analyzing Metrics. They are brought in to help a company wade through the complexities of managing product brands, and in many cases, to help the company figure out their own brand.

"Fundamental to any business is understanding the customer and their evolving needs." Starting with qualitative and quantitative research, MODO looks to uncover the needs and motivations of its clients' customers - both the emotional (heart-based) side and the rational (head-based) side. They look to understand the motivation that a consumer has that leads them from awareness and trial through purchase to advocacy of a particular product or company.

"Brand Strategy is more than a logo."
Brand = our identity (how we view ourselves) + our reputation (how others view us).
Brand Strategy = managing any variance between the two, looking to match our reputation in the eyes of the consumer with our own view of ourselves.

To position a brand then, you need to understand your target, your category, your consumers' needs, and most importantly, your point of difference. What is it that makes your product or service different in the marketplace that will satisfy your consumer's need.

It's no different when searching for a job. Jessie suggested that anyone looking for work needs to do the same thing. We all know that if you are pursuing a position with a particular company, you need to understand as much about that company as you possibly can. Use informational interviews and resources, such as LinkedIn, to research 'the target.' Secondly, study the category. If it's a marketing position you're going after, know about the latest trends and happenings. What brands are making an impact?

Third, understand what a company needs. Here, again, utilize research to see what issues a company may be looking to solve, what their competitors are doing, and any pain points the hiring manager may be experiencing. Develop a point of view with regard to how you'd tackle those needs.

Lastly, what is your point of difference? What are your key strengths and benefits that you can provide a hiring company? What makes you distinct and unique? As fellow OCA member, Duane Hobbs, has stated: "Each of us is the unique answer to one exacting question. What's your question?"

2010 Wayzgoose - Aug 28th

2010-07-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Went to this last year, and it was a ton (no pun intended) of fun. Family-friendly, and a great way to see local creatives showing off their printing skills, it's a good time all around.

Notes from 6/18-7/16 - Catching Up

2010-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

In the past 5 weeks, we've had four OCA meetings, only taking time out for the 4th of July holiday weekend. At most of these recent meetings, we've focused on helping each other, working on our own "personal brands." We've reviewed and critiqued resumes and portfolios and delved further into how to position ourselves with perspective hiring companies.

We've discussed the conundrum of "finding a job to get buy" vs. "finding a job that is right for me AND the hiring company. A recent conversation also brought about the notion of being "Overqualified" - and you could see the exasperation on the faces of those who had heard that word before, a word that can, unfortunately, sometimes keep you from making your case with a hiring manager. It's a label tossed around by recruiters that can mean one of several notions:

- "You're a flight risk." As soon as the economy starts to really turn around, you'll leave for a better job.
- "You'll be bored." Someone with your experience and expertise would not be happy operating at this position's level. See notion #1.
- "We can't afford you." We can't pay what you're worth or expecting to make. See notion #1.

Ask anyone who's been looking for a job for a while if they'd be OK taking a lower salary than they'd previously made. While you're at it, ask them if they'd be bored working for a new company, learning the culture, and absorbing information about new products and services. Regarding flight risk, someone yesterday said, "Are you kidding me? After looking for this long, a company would have to push me out the door before I'd consider leaving."

Welcome to new OCA member:
- Cary Seely, previous Sustainability Account Exec/Business Development at Grays Harbor Paper.

NO MEETING JULY 2nd

2010-07-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Due to the holiday weekend (and the SVC is officially closed), we won't meet this Friday, July 2nd.
We'll reconvene next Friday, the 9th. 10:30am @ the SVC. See you then!

Hiring Expectations Up - and What CMOs Are Looking For Specifically

2010-06-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, in doing some research for a large software company located in Redmond, WA, found a great article indicating CMOs are looking to ramp up hiring. Originally posted in March, the numbers from the article back up the recent surge in hirings we've witnessed through OCA.

The article, from MarketingProfs.com, pulls its information from a CMO Survey conducted by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the AMA. It touches on hiring plans, the expected upswing in Social Marketing, and what hiring managers in the industry are looking for in candidates.

Click HERE for the full article, or HERE for the survey results. Below is just a snippet.

Hiring Plans
Nearly one-half (46.7%) of companies say they expect to hire new marketers during the next six months, while 61.4% plan to hire in the next year and 77.5% plan to hire over the next two years.
On average, companies plan to increase hiring levels 8.2% in the next six months, 12.9% in the next year, and 24.1% over the next two years.

Work experience will be emphasized: Only 27.1% of hires are expected to come from universities.

Among skill sets, Internet marketing, innovation and growth, CRM, and brand management will be the most sought after by senior marketers.

OCA: The Reunion Show - The Recap

2010-06-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

Last week's OCA event, The Reunion Show, was a big hit.
We had a panel of speakers, all of whom have navigated the "Great Recession" and landed jobs in which they are extremely happy. New titles for this group of OCA alums range from Web Marketing Manager to Marketing Director, Advertising Strategist to Sr Marketing Coordinator, and even a Lean 6-Sigma Facilitator. Over the course of a 1-hour plus Q&A session, the panel of speakers did a great job providing current OCA members with a wealth of advice, lessons learned, and anecdotes from their own personal, successful job searches.

The event was also a great chance to catch up with friends, practice our networking skills, and I'm sure a lot of new connections were made.

"Lessons Learned" from the panel:
- When interviewing, establish parity - why you fit the qualifications and experience required for the job - but get past that, and provide the hiring company with a reason you stand out above the others. What is your difference?
- All interviews are informational. You're interviewing them as much as they're evaluating you.
- All informational meetings are interviews. Treat every 'casual' coffee session as you would a real interview. Someone doing you a favor by providing information in a more casual situation is still, at the end of the day, checking you out. Could I work with this person? What would they have to offer, if a position opened up? Make sure you don't provide a reason for them to not hire you later.
- There's a danger to being too wide or too narrow in your job search focus. If you're trying to be all things to all people, companies don't get the sense that you know what you want to do. At the same time, if you're too focused on exactly what it is you're pursuing, you may miss out on many other opportunities. At the end of the day, it's about finding a balance and knowing what you want.
- Network, network, network. And then network some more.
- When writing cover letters, drop names of people you know (due to all your networking. See above.)
- Fit your resume to the job description. Make it easy for anyone screening your resume to see how you fit the requirements for the job.
- Be prepared. It's not just the Boy Scout motto; it applies to interviewing, too. Do your homework and go in knowing yourself, the position, the company and with whom you're interviewing.
- "Don't be a 'fanboy,' be a peer." Enthusiasm is key, but don't go in so over-the-top that your excitement could be a turn-off. Remember, if you fit the requirements, after that it's a cultural fit.
- Take contract jobs, if you can get them. They keep your skills and your resume up to date, they provide another source for networking, and they pay better than unemployment.
- When you are hired (and you will be), try to get some time between the offer and your start date. While many of us have had several months off work, job searching is non-stop and not relaxing. Having just a bit of time that you can spend as you want, knowing that a paycheck is coming, is time that you can truly enjoy.
- When you do start work, keep track of all that you're doing and document your accomplishments. You never know when you might need to update your resume again.

During the panel discussion, it was quite clear that many of our alums had similar experiences during their job search. In most cases, they each:

Built up visibility within a small community of some sort (engineering, operations, advertising). This is key.

Volunteered for industry activities that helped them gain visibility.

Had timely and specific skills that an employer needed.

Were focused and crisp about what they wanted to do.

Targeted smaller firms, not necessarily going after companies that are on everyone else's wish list.

Encountered some good fortune. All were ready and in the right place to take advantage of an opportunity.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this event a huge success!

Road Trip Nation

2010-06-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

Did you know what you wanted to do with your life when you were 20?

How about now?

Road Trip Nation is a number of things. It is a social media project of State Farm, it provides creative content for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and American Public Television, and it's program for a number of other organizations. Solid strategic partnerships and a model for leveraging network effects for all involved.

It is also an interesting exploration of career paths. How successful people got to where they are: Doing what they love. And making a living at it.

Check out the interviews on you tube and visit the site for inspiration.

Notes from 6/11/2010 - Networking Tips from a Networking Guru

2010-06-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to two new OCA members:
- Louise Matthews has an extensive marketing background, most recently in the banking and insurance industries (JP Morgan Chase/WaMu, Safeco). She's pursuing marketing positions that would utilize her branding, direct marketing, and marcomm experience.
- Scott Stracener is a process improvement & Supply Chain Management expert, with purchasing and production experience. He was most recently with Group Health and is looking to continue his career in the health care arena.

Our June 11th OCA meeting welcomed guest speaker, Sandy Jones-Kaminksi, business development consultant and networking guru. Though she's a bit reluctant to claim the title, "Guru," Sandy is increasingly being recognized for her networking talents and is the author of I'm at a Networking Event -- Now What??"

Sandy has a background in market research and broadcast media, but it's been her extensive work in business development that has honed her networking skills. After attending countless events, where she watched people flounder at making connections, she put a white paper together that led to her writing the book. Sandy genuinely wants to help others make the most of any encounter, and with networking being so important with a job search, it made perfect sense to have her in to talk with our group.

Crafting your Intro. Sandy recommends developing (and practicing) something between what she calls the "bumper sticker" (a personal tagline) and an elevator speech (your pitch). Make it memorable, and make sure you say what you're looking for. "A closed mouth does not get fed. You have to ask.") People remember company names, and as we've witnessed over and over again with OCA, it's easy to then make the connection between a company you're targeting and someone they may know at that company. Sandy put this into practice with our own group by asking everyone in attendance to name one company on which they're focusing. The conversations that followed were chock full of the phrase, "Oh, I know someone at..."

When you're at the event. Be the one to initiate the conversation. Sandy suggests the following lines as a way to get a dialogue started:
"What brought you to this event?" "What are you working on these days?" If the person you're talking to is somewhat adept at networking as well and tells you what they're looking for specifically, you can then easily jump in with, "What kind of help do you need with that?" This then leads to her next point.

"Start looking at networking as community service." People have a natural tendency to want to help each other, so why not use that notion while networking? Sandy suggests going to an event with the intention to help. In her book, she references this as the "give to get" philosophy. It also falls in line with what she calls "The Pay it Forward Approach." "... by helping [others], you can quite possibly change people's attitudes about at least a little part of their world through your unobtrusive acts of kindness."

Finally, "Never stop networking." Meetings, volunteer work, classes, etc. They are all opportunities to meet others and to help make connections. Plus, practice your networking skills by talking to people you encounter each and every day. You never know where it might lead.

OCA: The Reunion Show - Wed 6/16, 6pm

2010-06-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

More than 50 people have come through the OCA doors and have gone on to land full-time or contract jobs. And some have even started their own companies.
Ever wonder what they did to get their current position? Or, if you're newer to OCA, do you wish you could have met them before they moved on?

On June 16th, we'll host "OCA: The Reunion Show"
(To view the evite, click HERE.)
Meet with alums and ask them the tough questions: "What worked?" "What didn't work?" "What would you do differently or over again, if given the chance?" "Are you hiring??" ...

This will be a social event*, and breaking from the norm, we'll meet in the evening. These people have jobs, remember??

Format:
6:00-6:15 - Gather, grab a drink, mingle, and get settled
6:15-6:30 - Greetings from Larry Asher (SVC)
6:30-7:30 - Q/A panel session
7:30-8:30 - networking, complete with beer/wine

*Anyone interested in beer/wine at the event, I'd ask for a $5 donation to cover costs.

Location: SVC Seattle - 500 Aurora Ave N., Seattle, WA
When: Wednesday, June 16, 6:00PM
Phone: 206.304.1455

A bit of good news

2010-06-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

Nice press release by our friends over at The Creative Group last week that bodes well for hiring going into the fall.

"Eighteen percent of marketing and advertising executives interviewed said they plan to increase staff levels in the third quarter of 2010, while 12 percent anticipate declines. The net 6 percent increase in projected hiring activity is up five percentage points from the previous quarter's projection."

Press release here 3rd Qrtr Hiring Projections

Not having a job may disqualify you..

2010-06-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

I don't like presenting a downer, but such is life.

Interesting bit floating around the net. There are some companies that are up-front about a concept that many suspect is out there – just no one would ever admit to. What interests me is the number of companies that have this requirement but don't advertise it.

"The unemployed will not be considered"

Do you think this is real?

Notes from 6/4/2010 - Crowdsourcing, Social Media, and More

2010-06-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

From Mark Farmer and Duane Hobbs, who stepped in last week and led the OCA meeting...
The combination of rainy weather and a lack of parking (SVC had both a seminar AND a tree blown down in the parking lot) kept the meeting smaller-than-average level of attendance, but the attendees were top of their field and compelling!

Of discussion was:

Crowdsourcing: What it means to Creatives
------------------------------------------------------
Discussed that crowdsourcing DOES radically affect creatives. It is hard when you've spent years developing and honing a craft that was once highly valued, but is now becoming commoditized. Never the less, arguing against evolution leaves you with the dinosaurs.

Evolvers may find themselves:
- Becoming the in-house creative that -- rather then produces from start to end -- now manages crowdsourced resources, educating the company on what quality is, what is needed and managing the crowdsourcers.
- There will ALWAYS be a place for specializing: that is, becoming one of the top 5% at doing ____X____
- Joining in the crowdsourcing

Social Media Metrics: Quantity vs. Quality
------------------------------------------------------
With Social Media becoming more and more evolved and valued, the question remains: How do you MEASURE its efficacy!? There are ways to measure ROI, but all of these ways NEED to differentiate between *quantity* (how many connections, subscribers or followers, how many page visits, how many re-broadcasts) and *quality* (was the re-broadcast in a positive light -- "you have to see this, it's so cool!" -- or negative "Watch this: BP STILL doesn't get it!").

Quality often requires a different, subjective standard of measure, but frankly, is more important in social media, than quantity.

In discussing social marketing's strategy of strengthening relationships, Duane added in a profound observation that "Asking people for something often strengthens the relationship," and companies AND people can use that, by judiciously asking others for something they are easily able to supply (opinions?) and willing to supply.

Resume Review and the Job Search
------------------------------------------------------
Members spent time critiquing others resumes. Duane observed he felt he would be FAR ahead if "If I spent as much time improving my resume and asking people out to coffee to learn about them as I do in applying [for jobs]", a point well made: Your resume is ONLY "marketing" for YOU. A/B test it and actively solicit consumer (erm... prospective employer) market research on it's efficacy in marketing YOU.

Duane offered to be a guinea pig on this one, committing to reporting to the group in 3 weeks HIS results in asking at least 3 prospective employers to critique his resume.

What Help Do You Need!?
------------------------------------------------------
We ended with a recommendation Gayle Rose had made some time ago: By going around the room, each person announcing what help or connection they needed assistance with this week; the entire room brainstorming connections and tangible help.

The OCA Survey

2010-06-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

“I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.”
- Thomas Alva Edison

If you haven't already, please take about 5 minutes to complete the OCA "what works and what doesn't" or "What I tried that worked for me" survey. (Tabulated results to be shared here)

If you've already been HIRED: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2QWJT9X

If you're still looking: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2TYTTQD

Hiring Frenzy

2010-06-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's a sign that the economy is on an upswing (and hopefully continuing along that trajectory), or it's the power of networking. Maybe it's both. But we've had several OCA members recently become new OCA alums.

Congrats to the following people as they embark on new ventures:

Melissa Baldwin - marketing manager for the Food Service group of Starbucks
Carl Larson - site conversion manager for Global Market Insite (GMI)
Cindy McKinley - sr. project manager for the Seattle Art Museum's internal design / communications group
Michele Powell - sr. marketing coordinator for HDR/PHAROS
Meghan Ragsdale - account executive for Cole & Weber advertising
Mhairi Voelsgen - account director for Rally Marketing

Notes from 5/21/2010 - with Dan Ratliff, Sr Recruiter

2010-05-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

At last week's OCA meeting, we got two treats in one. Dan Ratliff, a senior recruiter from Allyis, visited the group and talked up the company he's recently joined AND was able to provide a wealth of recruiting knowledge after having been at staffing agency, VOLT, for 7 years.

Dan's new position at Allyis has him working on staffing assignments for the consulting company, which does roughly 90% of their business with Microsoft. Out of Allyis' 200 employees, three quarters of them are V-dash consultants working on project-based roles for the software giant, with the other 50 employees working in-house.

From their web site: "Allyis offers solutions that help organizations excel in the next generation business environment where knowledge is king, agility wins, a new generation powers the workforce, and social technologies are part of normal business operations." The company has been recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the fastest growing private companies over the past six years and has been honored as one of the "100 Best Companies To Work For" by Washington CEO Magazine, earning 1st place in 2008. Needless to say, these were some of the reasons Dan took the new position.

So, with all the consulting talk, what's this have to do with OCA?? Glad you asked. Dan's goal with Allyis is to leverage his extensive experience in the creative staffing arena to build out the firm's capabilities in that particular area. And, they have several marketing roles currently open.

Part two of our meeting had Dan answering a ton of questions from those in attendance about recruiting and HR tactics.
- The best way to work with a staffing agency or recruiter? "Transparency and open/honest communication." They want surprises as much as you do during the process.
- Dan's thoughts on where hiring is currently? Things are starting to pick up. However... hiring managers, unfortunately, still think they can drag out the recruiting process, waiting for the (unrealistically) perfect candidate, only to lose out to another company.
- Advice on how to break into some of the hotter job areas (social media, UX design, etc.)? "Networking." Take classes, get some experience, but more importantly, start talking to people in those areas.
- Resume tips? Spend much less time on a cover letter, and more time customizing your resume to the job you're seeking.
- His take on following up with recruiters: "Walk the fine line of being persistent, without being a stalker." Someone once waited at Dan's car to speak with him. It wasn't viewed as a positive thing.

Dan's contact info: dan@allyis.com

Crowdsourcing - Where Art Meets Community

2010-05-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Creative forms of crowdsourcing have shown up in a multitude of venues recently. In just the past couple weeks, examples include everything from developing "the ULTIMATE compost-related product" through Quirky's current Compostalooza Competition -- to an experiment by WIRED Magazine to have its dot-com readers crowdsource a song using Indaba Music, "whose collaborative digital-audio-workstation platform, Mantis, allows musicians and amateurs all over the world to collaborate on the same piece of music for free."

The goal: Get a community together, centered around one purpose, and you can witness amazing results.

Such is the case with the crowdsourced video for Johnny Cash's final recording, "Ain't No Grave." In a recent 'Boards Magazine article, Kevin Ritchie talks with director Chris Milk about The Johnny Cash Project, where fans have contributed over 4,500 pieces of artwork to create a "living portrait of the Man in Black". Archival footage of the singer was collected by Milk and legendary producer, Rick Rubin, and then edited into a video, where contributors can illustrate over single frames. The result: a beautiful living piece, that can take new shape every time it's viewed.

Seattle-based and global crowdsourcing company, Zooppa, can admire such handiwork and knows all too well the creative power of a large crowd. Its own community of over 60,000-strong has produced TV, print, and online ads for such brands as Pillsbury, GoDaddy, Microsoft, and Nike, and the company is currently managing competitions for Universal Studios and the country of South Africa.

So, what exactly is "crowdsourcing?" By definition, it's ... well, it's new enough that Dictionary.com doesn't have an explanation. But it has been around for several years, as the term was coined by author, Jeff Howe, in his 2006 WIRED magazine article, The Rise of Crowdsourcing. According to Wikipedia, "Crowdsourcing is a neologistic compound of "crowd" and "outsourcing" for the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to a large group of people or community (a crowd), through an open call."

In the marketing world, it's asking a community of passionate consumers and/or aspiring artists to develop creative concepts to help advertise a company's brand or its product. For a group like Zooppa, they broker the creative development process between this community and the brand by providing "a platform for user-generated advertising" where "talented people from all over the world can meet, exchange ideas and share their creative work." Earlier this year, I wrote about two companies, Doritos and CareerBuilder, which each employed crowdsourcing to develop content for their Super Bowl ads.

Does this mean the beginning of the end of design and creativity as we know it? Not likely, but there is skepticism among professionals, who have studied and worked at a craft in which they are highly specialized, and turning over the reigns in part to the masses. What's the takeaway then for the marketing and advertising industry? Know what crowdsourcing is. And realize it could be an interesting, and inexpensive, way to generate new ideas when working with clients.

Notes from 5/14/2010 - with The Creative Group

2010-05-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to new OCA member, Laura Broyhill. Laura is a sales / marketing / product design professional and has more than 15 years of experience building unique brands and sales channels in the consumer market.
She also owns her own wholesale company which manufactures high-end, green garden accessories. Be sure to check out her site, Rainrock.com.

Last week's featured guest speaker was Terah Brossart, an Account Manager from The Creative Group. Terah and one of her colleagues, Maria Scheleen, visited us last year, and we were very glad to have Terah back for a return engagement.

Terah introduced her TCG, which is part of Robert Half, the world's largest staffing company. Because they're connected to such a large entity, they can offer things like health care and free online training. On the flip side, however, TCG also provides personalized service, as their Seattle branch (one of 30 locations) has 4 people looking to staff creatives.

TCG has over 600 active companies that they work with to staff with contract help. This ranges from 2-person operations to companies such as REI to the likes of Microsoft (though Terah was quick to point out that only 11% of their business stems from the latter.)

As for current trends, Terah has seen more work materialize recently. "In the past 3 months, we're actually seeing multiple offers." Of course, a lot of these are in areas that are in demand, like motion graphics, UI, and information architecture. Another trend is that companies looking to hire are moving away from marketing generalists and are rather searching for people who have specialized skills, such as CRM, SEO, and Social Media.

Social Media has been one specific area of growth, in terms of employment. TCG has placed "marketing coordinator-level" employees, who can help, while companies look to sort out how to exactly play in this new space. Also hot in this area are research and analytics.

Terah also made a point to the group that, if we see a full-time position at a company they work with, she is more than happy to help, by looking to get in touch with a hiring manager to make a recommendation. It's all about relationships, and she sees this as an easy way to "pay it forward."

Contact Information:
Terah Brossart: terah.brossart@creativegroup.com
601 Union Street, Suite 4300
Seattle, WA 98101
206/749-9046

Former OCA members, Wes Youngquist and Lane Bueche, were also on hand to introduce their new creative marketing agency, Motherlode. They've teamed up with Jim Zimmerman, also an OCA alum, and the three are doing well enough that they're looking to hire some freelance help in the digital space. Specifically, they're searching for an online producer and flash and web developers. The agency has, what they call, an "inside out approach" to marketing, as two of the three have been successful in executive positions on the client-side.
If you think you might fit the bill, feel free to get in touch with any of the three.

HR - From the Inside Out

2010-05-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

This is a copy of a presentation Richard Law, the CEO of Allyis - a technology consulting, development and staffing firm, is presenting tomorrow (5/19) at the Portland Human Resource Management Association's Strategic HR Conference.

The tie-in with OCA?
1) We're always wondering how HR and recruiting works (and should work) within hiring companies. This company has a definitive point of view on how employees should be engaged in the workplace.
2) Dan Ratliff is our guest speaker at this Friday's OCA meeting. Recently with VOLT Staffing, Dan has just taken a recruiting position with Allyis.

Strategic HR: Fostering Employee Engagement via Enterprise 2.0 Technologies & Thinking

View more presentations from Allyis.

Using Google Adwords as a job search tool

2010-05-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's a fact of life, the number one thing people are curious about is themselves (and what other people think of them). Here's how one creative put that bit of human insight to work... in his search for work.

Notes from 5/7/2010 - "Managing Social Media"

2010-05-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last week's meeting started off with a bang, literally, as we somehow got sidetracked into a lively discussion about gun control and the 2nd Amendment. (We might all be marketers, but some of us are clearly on opposite sides of the table when it comes to the subject.)

We quickly, however, got back to business and talked about more pertinent topics, such as how to effectively manage multiple forms of Social Media. One recommended application that several of us are employing is HootSuite, which lets you manage multiple Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts in "one easy to use interface." The free software application lets you schedule tweets, track statistics, and personalize how you view what's going on in the social realm.

NEWS!
Friday's guest speaker will be Terah Brossart from The Creative Group, a national creative staffing agency. Terah will tackle all our questions about the Seattle market and will bring along some Salary Guides TCG has produced. Upon request, Terah will also discuss the rise of Social Media and how folks are landing jobs in this area.

Congrats to Meghan Ragsdale, who was elected Chair of Ad 2 Seattle, the AdClub's sub-group for those 32 years of age and under. They just had their 1st event last night, as they are looking to 'relaunch' the group back into prominence within the creative community.

JOB NEWS!
Jen Pearce has recently started in a contract role as Media Author II with Xbox. She said the connection was made when she met reps from Creative Circle at our April 2nd meeting. Congrats, Jen!

And I've heard of two other offers, but I'm waiting (as are they) for final confirmation, before broadcasting to the world.

Account Management - Just Like Coaching T-Ball

2010-05-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

So, I'm coaching my sons' t-ball team the other day, and I'm getting the sense that that something feels eerily familiar. Then it dawns on me... that coaching 4, 5, and 6-year-olds in a sport they haven't played before is very similar to Account Management at an advertising agency.

I've worked at three agencies in the Seattle area, and when explaining to others what Account Management is, I tend to end with, "It's a bit like herding cats." Which, if you've ever seen a t-ball game, you get the analogy. Add a mouse [the ball] to chase, and it's managing victory out of chaos.

First, in the new age of raising children, there are no losers - just games in which everyone gets to have fun by participating. In managing a client account, an agency is also looking for a win/win situation: a campaign that not only drives business for the client, but one in which the creative team can be proud to add to their portfolio.

Coaching t-ball is about keeping players focused and making sure everyone knows what's going on. "Hey Johnny, you paying attention?" "Great hit, Paul! Do you know which base you go to next? Right, 2nd." "Liam, if the ball comes toward you, field it (with your glove), and throw it to William at 1st."

As an account manager, it's not much different. Constant communication. You're the primary liaison between the client and all moving parts of the agency. (See below.) You're working with Media to help put together a media plan and get it approved by the client. You're briefing art directors and copy writers, so they can develop creative concepts that will communicate the company's product or service - to generate awareness, initiate trial, or to reiterate the client's brand. You're keeping track of schedules and working with Project Management and Production to ensure campaigns are being executed on time and under budget. All the while, putting on your 'client hat,' knowing what makes them (and their customers) tick (and not tick), and pushing to get the best creative that you can out of your team. And very often, it's a lot of: "Hey, Rob... you and Steve are going to be ready for the internal check-in meeting at 3 today, right?"

Sometimes, because of the sheer number of folks involved at each point, you're also orchestrating more people than are truly needed. At an agency, you can't have everyone who is working on a campaign there to present to the client (not that they'd all want to) - so some folks are left back at the office. With t-ball, however, I look around, and we've got 13 players on the field. The whole team. One playing each position in the infield, and seven in the outfield. Nothing's gonna get by us. Oh, wait, see my point about learning "the basics" a couple paragraphs down.

As a coach or a supervisor, it's about managing expectations. In t-ball, that means talking to the other coaches and determining that a kid is still going to be able to run the bases, despite the fact that he was out at 2nd by a mile. Or that a kid can take an extra base (and just one) if she hits the ball into the outfield. This isn't that hard in t-ball, but it's one of the most challenging notions of the role of Account Manager. Again, it comes down to communication - keeping the client apprised of all moving parts. What's the status? Where are we with things, and if anything is behind, what are we doing to mitigate risk?

Everybody has an opinion. Thankfully, at this age, parents of t-ball players don't get involved in coaching from the sidelines. [I don't expect that to continue as we get to a level where we count runs and some teams actually lose.] If they did, we'd gladly hand them a team shirt, and they could have at it. At an agency, however, Account Managers are constantly working with two often-differing opinions: those of the client and those of the creatives. It's a true skill to be able to balance these while achieving both goals for a campaign as mentioned above.

From a pure management sense, a large challenge in each area is that of teaching basic skills. In t-ball, that means instructing the kids on the basics of throwing and hitting (the ball). For some kids, this comes naturally. For others, it's a bit of a challenge at first. At an ad agency, it's also the duty of a seasoned Account Manager to instill a sense of client service with newly recruited Ad Execs. Anticipation, accountability, managing budgets and people, etc. - all those things which make the account team an integral part of the agency.

More often than not, however, you find yourself in a situation where you can't train the newbies as well as you'd like, and you're forced to put them in 'live' situations. Initial instruction and some general guidance, and this is where the real coaching begins. In both cases, if you're lucky, you collect a team of players who pick things up quickly, can adapt, and even lead by example.

Our #1 rule in t-ball: "Have fun." Working at an agency can be a lot of fun, too. At meetings, we don't usually put our hands in and, on 3, scream, "HAVE FUN!!!" at the top of our lungs - but the ping pong table, the occasional free lunch, and general lightheartedness at an agency make it an implied rule nonetheless.

Rule #2? "Don't swing the bat, unless an adult says It's OK." I'm glad that's something we've never had to instill at an agency.

Notes from 4/30/2010 - Interview Etiquette

2010-05-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to two new OCA members:
- Michael Heavener has more than 10 years of experience managing external and internal communications programs or projects, and has recently done so with Microsoft in several contract positions.
- Jennifer Wilson, Meeting and Event Specialist, was most recently with the The Red Lion Hotel at 5th Avenue. Prior to that position, Jennifer worked with Seattle's World Trade Center for 4 years.

At last week's OCA meeting, we talked about, what I'd refer to as "Interviewing Etiquette." Not from the job seeker's side, but rather from that of the hiring company. Specifically, those at Friday's meeting aired their thoughts and opinions on the difficulty, at times, of trying to find out exactly where you stand in the interview process - especially with a final decision. Call it the "Seattle passive/aggressive approach," but many interviewers simply won't tell a candidate, "No" - even if there truly isn't a fit or they've "decided to move on with other candidates." And rather than being up front, companies sometimes simply don't get back to the job seeker at all. Are they waiting it out, hoping the candidate decides to move on as well?

As a friend of mine once said, Sometimes a 'No' is just as good as a 'Yes.' If you know exactly where you stand, you can close the loop and focus your efforts elsewhere. You can also sometimes gather valuable feedback that could help you down the road in your job search. One of the most difficult things to decipher is why you may have been passed up for a position, but if you can get someone to divulge that crucial piece of information, you're that much better off for knowing.

Some of the best conversations I've had have been with hiring managers or recruiters who have specifically called to let me know I didn't get the job. Rather than a form letter, it's personal, and while rejection isn't fun, you leave the process feeling good about the company and it's representatives. It also opens the door to be able to connect with them for future openings.

All that being said, we completely realize recruiters and HR departments are slammed right now. During a recession, when employment is down, those areas are one of the first to go. And as hiring starts to pick back up as it has, recruiters (or, in many cases currently, contract recruiters) are often doing double-duty and wading through hundreds of applications for every job opening they're responsible to fill.

Still, in a world where relationships are proving to be the best thing a company can develop, wouldn't you want to have everyone who has interacted with your company feel good about their overall experience?

Notes from 4/23/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News!

2010-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last week Bill Munroe, veteran high-tech marketing strategist (and active OCA member), gave a presentation to the group that was informative, insightful, entertaining, and inspiring. He talked about himself, his experience with the job search, and what he has learned along the way.

We all know Bill - he's the one who, with a sense of humility and a touch of humor, asks the pointed questions, looking for straightforward answers to get to the bottom of things. Sure, we know him, but we didn't really know him, so he started out with his credentials: more than 20 years experience in senior leadership positions, specializing in the development of innovative technology-based product solutions. Chances are you've interacted, at some point, with a product he's marketed.

I've read your resume. So, what is it that you do?
During an interview, where someone actually looked up from his resume and asked this of him, Bill realized that he needed a way to sum up his experience and easily explain what unique qualities he had to offer. He needed his own Value Proposition Statement. So he worked on one.

Then he was told he needed a portfolio and a web site. Check. And check. When he stepped back to assess his progress, he realized he was focused solely on B2B. The problem? The market in the Puget Sound area had clearly shifted to B2C.

All of this lead to a reexamination of how he was approaching the job search and a realization that he must show companies how he could Add Value. He needed to be able to answer the following questions for any organization in which he was interested:
- Can you make us money?
- Can you save us money?
- Can you solve our problems?

Getting to the Questions
To even get to that point where he'd have a chance to answer questions, Bill would first need to be invited to interview. And that means 1st, making sure his resume could legibly navigate the various automated scanners employed by today's HR. [Bill's advice: Pay special attention to how your resume is formatted, making sure it's not garbled by the time it makes it to a hiring manager's desk.] And 2nd, simply "getting noticed" - rising above the hundreds of resumes that are submitted for each job opening.

Bill says, "Hireability = Experience + Affordability + Enthusiasm + Pedigree"
Experience is obvious. You need to have the qualifications to do the job, and companies these days can be quite picky. Affordability. If a company deems you as 'too expensive,' you're a flight risk for when the economy picks up. Again, they can look for candidates that meet their criteria and aren't quite so seasoned. Enthusiasm. Because companies are skeptical and a bit wary of bringing full-time employees on board, hiring managers need to know (or feel) that you're excited about the company and it's mission / values and what it's selling. Lastly, pedigree doesn't just mean where you went to school, but where you've gathered your experience.

Bill's take on Coaches.
Along the way, Bill has worked with several of the top career coaches in the Seattle area. All of them he'd recommend, but all of them also come with different perspectives and, therefore, different opinions on how to approach the search.

I'm In Control
Lastly, Bill suggests that job seekers need to ditch the thought of, "It's not me, it's the economy." This passive view makes us victims and needs to be replaced with the attitude that, "I'm in control." Get back to that list of questions, define those answers which show how you can add value. Get noticed, and get hired.

Job News!
Last year, my uncle introduced me to Carl Dahl. Carl had lost his job with a boat manufacturing company that closed its doors. He decided on the career path he wanted to take, and while networking and interviewing, signed up for an extensive Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification course. I'm very pleased to announce that Carl just accepted an offer to start May 10th as a full-time Lean Six Sigma Facilitator with Aviation Technical Services in Everett.
Congrats, Carl!!

"Advertising is Dead"

2010-04-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

So began the talk tonight by Seattle's own Larry Asher (Workerbees, School of Visual Concepts, and a supporter of OCA) about "20 things you need to know to get a job in advertising".

My abbreviated take:

The traditional model of advertising is fast on its way out, so it's important to immerse oneself in understanding and participating in the change that is occurring. What's coming? Digital, mobile, social. And who knows what else. What do you need to succeed? Ideas, strategies, and the soft and hard skills necessary to present and implement them. And to get a job? Figure out your value (everyone has value). Get to know people. And be prepared to be useful.

Here's the deck:

20 Things You Need To Know To Get A Job In Advertising

View more presentations from School of Visual Concepts.

Notes from 4/16/2010 OCA Meeting

2010-04-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

In-depth and very engaging discussion at last week's OCA meeting.
Below are three different subjects that we covered:

All-in-One Job Descriptions
- We've all seen them... job descriptions that encompass everything plus the kitchen sink. Below is a shortened list of duties from an actual job posting on Craigslist:

Write, design, and produce materials, including proposals, presentations, corporate collateral materials, and more.

Write press releases, seek opportunities for press coverage, track press activity/presence.

Advertising concept/writing/design for newspapers, sponsorships, and other publications.

Website design and maintenance for corporate site, intranet, extranet, and property sites.

Develop and maintain corporate mailing list/company database for use by sales force.

Research new technology, resources, and marketing tools.

And this is for a Marketing ASSISTANT position, looking for 5 years of related experience.

Someone in the group had an interesting point and analogy. Would an engineering firm post a job position that required a candidate to have mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil engineering experience? We understand the need for marketing generalists. And, of course, smaller companies can't afford to hire specialists, but rather need employees who can wear several hats.

Regardless, there's an overwhelming sense that recruiters and hiring managers are expecting the recession's talent pool to produce all-in-one candidates - at bargain prices. In addition, all too often job seekers are interviewing for positions that are mislabeled. PR/Communications roles, for instance, that are titled "Marketing Director," etc. and the kitchen sink mentality could indicate a lack of real knowledge of how the many functional areas of marketing actually work within a business.

Social Media
Another interesting position requirement we're starting to see everywhere is a need for "Social Media experience." Not only are companies looking for this, they're searching for job candidates who can lead them in this area. Postings for Director of Social Media and Social Media Strategist are popping up across the job boards.

Is it a fad or a viable marketing tool companies can utilize? Our group definitely skews toward the latter view. SM is a way to build relationships with customers, opening a two-way conversation. This added avenue of communication can then lead to product improvements, address customer satisfaction complaints, and help launch new products or services.

While Social Media may not result in a direct correlation to bottom-line sales, monitoring tools, such as Brandwatch and Radian6, are helping marketing organizations realize their return on investment.

Networking
While most of us are exceptional at dissecting positional statements and recommending communications strategies, it's an interesting conundrum when we need to look inward and market ourselves.

One obvious way to do so is by networking. Two weeks ago, we touched on the need to build tactical relationships with companies and hiring managers. What's often lost, however, is the crucial aspect of casting a wider net.
- Let everyone in your professional and personal network know that you're looking for work. You never know who may hear of an opening.
- Stay top-of-mind by doing so more than once. If time has passed, people may assume you've already landed something and not think to pass you the lead.
- Be specific, and ask for help. Let people know what you're looking for and ask if they know of anyone with whom you should connect.

Inspiration to Get Out and Play

2010-04-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

The following promotional video was put together by TBWA Vancouver and is one of the best :30 ads I've seen in a while. It hit home for me, because it's a topic I feel passionate about. Thought-provoking and well-executed, the video provides statistics that argue that we need to get outside and play more (and eat less) - and asks the question, "What happened to community?"

Do you remember when kids used to disappear after school? No, Nancy Grace, not because they'd been kidnapped. Because they used to play outside. They'd jump on their bikes and head to the local parks to play with friends. Getting together with classmates back then didn't mean coordinating parent's schedules to arrange structured, supervised playdates. "I'm heading to Billy's house." "OK..." our parents would reply. "Just be back in time for dinner."

According to Nielson, last year kids aged 2-11 spent an average of more than 30 hours per week in front of a TV, the most in close to a decade. Add time spent on computers and now cell phones, and the fact that only 8% of elementary schools provide daily physical education, and it's no wonder kids' waistlines are expanding as fast as the pace of technology.

In his new show, Food Revolution, chef Jamie Oliver, says "The children in America of today, of 2010, are going to live a shorter life than their parents." Scary thought. Jamie's not just looking to promote his latest endeavor, this is something he's been doing for seven years, promoting a sustainable movement that "will inspire people to change the way they eat." Earlier this year, Jamie was a recipient of the prestigious TED Prize, given annually to a "world-changer" in Technology, Entertainment or Design. (Previous recipients include President Bill Clinton and Bono.)

Luckily, folks like Jamie and organizations like the NFL's PLAY 60 Movement are not just recognizing what's happening - they're doing something about it.

And yes, as I sit here, in front of my computer, typing away and sharing my thoughts and YouTube clips, I realize the irony. Time to take the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood.

Notes from 4/9/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News

2010-04-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

ONE NEW MEMBER joined us Friday:
- Dianne Stiefel has more than 20 years of sales experience, most recently in the mortgage banking industry.

THIS PAST WEEK, we broke into smaller groups to further network on a more intimate basis. We also discussed issues that we're encountering during our job searches with the idea of looking to address them through OCA and possible guest speakers.

Items we talked about:
Social Media - The advent of this area has been exponential, and there are many jobs in the market looking for experience at various levels. Razorfish, for example, currently has an opening for a Director of Social Media. Curator PR is interviewing candidates for a Social Media Strategist. A quick survey of Craigslist shows 64 positions posted in the past 30 days looking for some form of Social Media experience.

Action Item:
- Identify and contact a Social Media expert (or group) to come in and provide a primer and to discuss where this area is going with relation to marketing. Last July, Spring Creek Group did a guest appearance with OCA. I'll see if we can get them back in. Another resource might be Ben Straley, CEO of Meteor Solutions.

Building Tactical Relationships - It's one thing to work a room at a networking event, gathering cards and asking how you can help other people. But it's another with taking those 5 to 10-minute relationships to the next level, and really getting to know people. How can we build tactical relationships that we can leverage during the job search?

Action Item:
- Reach out to Sandy Jones-Kaminski, networking guru, to see if she can visit us and impart her wisdom.

Age Discrimination / Being Overqualified - Call it what you will, it's something many of us have encountered. We've got years of experience, but maybe more experience than the job description calls for. Or, we're pursuing a new area of interest, something we do not have as much actual experience with. And despite being very willing to take a lower- or entry-level job, we're still deemed as 'too expensive' or labeled a 'flight risk.'

Changing Directions - For several OCA members, the job search has taken us down a new career path. Graphic Designers are pursuing the web. Marketing professionals are exploring Social Media. How can we best position ourselves to employers (and to those with whom we are networking) to demonstrate the new direction we're taking?

Action Item:
- Contact trusted recruiters and HR reps at the companies we're targeting, to see if we can get a panel discussion lined up to tackle the two points above.

Job Search Tips - What has worked for others, for those who have been successful at landing full-time or contract positions? What did they learn from the career coaches, the job consultants? Did they spend time concentrating on networking or honing multiple copies of their resume to fit the job description?

Action Item:
- Contact OCA alums to see about setting up a "Reunion Show" to discuss what they've done to land their current positions.

JOB NEWS:
Donna Sellers is now Director, Brand Marketing at Parallels.
Congrats, Donna!

Social Media Inspiration

2010-04-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

AgencyTwoFifteen has just launched a campaign for Microsoft's KIN, a new Windows phone "designed to handle busy social lives - online and off."

The campaign, initially consisting of videos posted on Facebook.com/KIN, is already being talked about and shared on AgencySpy, YouTube, Creativity, etc. The fact that the launch of the ads coincides with the launch of a rebranded agency doesn't hurt. (AgencyTwoFifteen has just parted ways from McCann, where they were known as T.A.G., and now operates under the bigger umbrella of holding company Interpublic.)

Given the product, it's a smart (and interesting) way to create buzz and to generate a following of targeted consumers who will want to keep track of Rosa, the campaign's hero and anointed "socialogist." Rosa will use the phone to validate her friends, making visits in a documented journey around the country.

Notes from 4/2/2010 OCA Meeting; Job News!

2010-04-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

Four new people joined us at the 4/2 OCA meeting:
- Karen Holum, most recently the creative director for One World 2011, has over 20 years of creative services and design experience.
- Jill Schultz, a graphic design and marketing specialist, actually just took a role as Proposal Coordinator in the Energy, Environment, and Transportation group of ICF International, a global consulting firm.
- Zrinka Sliskovic was most recently a print/web designer with United Reprographics and has done freelance work for the Linden Tree Retreat Center.
- Doug Sutherland, a graphic designer, was most recently with the Hacker Group.

Kirsten Thompson and Sara Westerlund, recruiters from Creative Circle, were our guest speakers this past Friday. They introduced the staffing agency and provided tips on how to best work with them.

With 7 offices around the country, Creative Circle focuses on (obviously) the creative side of things. They primarily work with agencies and marketing groups, staffing candidates into 1 of 3 types of placements: 1) freelance, 2) freelance to full-time, or 3) full-time. Typical roles include: account management, art/design/creative, marketing, and media buying / planning.

Recent trends. They've had a significant uptick in placements, which they refer to as "starts." The number of starts per month has nearly doubled since last summer. And they are also seeing more full-time placements, as clients are beginning to feel a bit more secure in their hiring.

What is the best way to work with them? Make it easy. When applying for a particular job opportunity, highlight in your cover letter the skills that are applicable, so the recruiter can more easily match your experience with the job requirements. This will also let them respond quicker to their client. "Speed counts." They are paid for quickly gathering and positioning the best candidates for a position, and for a recent posting, they had over 400 responses within 2 hours. And speaking of cover letters, don't attach a separate Word doc. Bullet list out your key qualifications in the body of your e-mail.

Keep in touch. Creative Circle makes a point to meet with every candidate, to get the best sense for what candidates are looking for and what they have to offer. Considering you're part of a large talent pool, make sure you touch base with them on a regular basis, so that you're top of mind. They recommend at least once a month. Another rule of thumb could also be to reach out every time you update your resume, letting them know of the change and that you're still available.

Be mindful that recruiters are an extension of the hiring company. How you work with a recruiter is also a good indication of how you may work at a client site. Seems obvious, but key components to consider: "preparation, reliability, and flexibility."

Another interesting point that Sara and Kirsten made was to "Have a visual component that you can use to help sell yourself," regardless of position. Have a portfolio that you can point to and show off your work. If you're just starting out or changing directions, as many people are in the digital spectrum, put together comp work to demonstrate what you can do.

Contact info:
Kirsten Thompson - kthompson@creativecircle.com
Sara Westerlund - swesterlund@creativecircle.com

Job News!
Jenna Swalin has accepted a contract position as a Communications Assistant with the Initiative for Global Development.

Notes from 3/26/2010 OCA Meeting

2010-03-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Three new members joined us as we had another big meeting.
- Melissa Baldwin, who was at WaMu in their Experiential Marketing group for 12 years, most recently finished a project with Starbucks and is also a volunteer marketing manager with Taproot.
- Caylee Betts, who recently completed her BA in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Phoenix, is currently an Art Director intern at Square Tomato.
- Michele Powell, who was most recently with AMEC Earth & Environmental, has 15 years of marketing experience, primarily in the industrial and technology sectors.

Fantastic speakers last week as OCA welcomed Kristina Muller-Eberhard and Thomas Lamprecht of Plume21. The two of them have recently started a new creative agency and visited us to talk about launching a business in today's economy and to share their thoughts regarding work, clients, and the future.

Their background. The two of them each have more than 20 years of ad agency experience, having worked with some of the top brands in the world (Oracle, T-Mobile, Sun, Adobe, Wells Fargo, Nestle) while at some of the top creative shops (Grey, Publicis, DraftFCB/Hacker). Thomas started Grey San Francisco and built the office into the agency's fastest growing division, starting with 1 employee (himself) and eventually managing more than 200 people before moving to Seattle.

Why start a business in today's economy? This is a question they've heard, many times, before. Easy answer: "It's better to start at the bottom, than it is at the top. There's nowhere to go but up." Competitive rates in a down economy mean everyone is looking for a deal. Because they are small, and therefore more nimble and more efficient, Plume21 can approach companies that are "fed up with large agencies."

Who are they targeting? What industries? Kristina and Thomas are looking at growth areas, as well as ones in which they have experience, such as technology, services (intellectual properties), hospitality, health care, communications, and foundations. As one would imagine, they would love to add a couple Fortune 100 companies to their client roster, but are currently focused on small businesses which have potential for growth. "We believe small businesses are the future of this economy."

How are they prospecting potential clients? "We're plugging into our network as we socialize the idea of the business." As with searching for jobs, Plume21 knows the importance of networking. Before they were even able to hang an OPEN sign in the window, they were starting to receive referrals. They are also tapping into the venture capital market, as there is a mutual need that can be satisfied. They need clients, and start-ups need help developing their brands.

Their philosophy. "We approach things from the point of sales. As much as advertising would like to think it's about Art & Poetry, it's not. It's about sales."

Today's audience. According to Thomas, in 1998, people were exposed to 1,800 messages a day. Today, that number has climbed to 6,000, and it's extremely easy to filter out what we don't want to hear. "We scan, we go to what we need. Relevance Rules."

Their approach. Thomas used the analogy of designing and building a house when describing their approach to architecting a brand. "Too often a brand is developed in a vacuum. The brand has to be constructed to function in all spaces." He and Kristina think about all aspects of a client's marketing when developing a brand platform. "We build houses that are pre-wired, with all the plumbing installed. You'll get outlets where you (will) need outlets."

Project specific. Talking about a current project with a company based in Portland, you can hear the excitement in their voices as they describe selling a logo as part of developing the company's overarching brand. "We would normally show 3 or 4 designs, but we gave them more options - because it forced the client to focus on the idea behind the work."

Finally... What's the meaning behind the name? Another question they've answered before. Project Lamprecht und Muller-Eberhard, 2 people, 1 company. (The "und" - which means "and" in German - is a nod to the pair's European background).

VW's Fun Theory Winner

2010-03-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Last November I wrote a post about VW's TheFunTheory.com web site and its "staircase" video (which, by the way, garnered over 11 million views on YouTube). The site's purpose was to generate ideas that show how something simple can change people's behavior.

Close to 700 entries were submitted in less than two months. They just announced the winner:

I like it, but I still think the Staircase is better.

Notes from 3/19/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News

2010-03-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

With another record crowd (21 people at last week's meeting), we welcomed two new OCA members:
- Jen Pearce is currently a design intern at Wexley School for Girls.
- Bronwyn Webster was most recently a graphics designer with Highline Community College.

Two agents from creative staffing agency, Aquent, were our guest speakers. Kelsey Foster, who specializes in Online Marketing, places candidates throughout Washington and Oregon. Joining her, and visting from Minnesota, was Gretchen Stanford, who handles staffing needs more on the traditional side of marketing.

Last year, Eric Smith visited from Aquent and provided resume tips. Since then, Aquent has changed its staffing model, where its agents focus on particular practice areas. In addition to online and traditional marketing, Aquent also places staff in client engagements needing resources in UX (user experience), interactive design, and graphic design.

Kelsey and Gretchen talked about recent trends. Both see that things are picking up in the market. Companies, which have made it through lean times, are realizing they need additional help and are handling staffing needs through contract opportunities. Some companies are also hesitant to staff full-time positions with full-time hires, and are rather using "contract to perm" work to feel each other out.

Aquent works quite a bit with Microsoft and has a team dedicated to meeting the software giant's needs. The agency places primarily a-dash contracts (where you're on-site dedicated to a particular project team), but can also handle some v-dash work, where you're a 1099 employee. In addition to Microsoft, Aquent also works with several other well-established Seattle-based companies, such as Expedia, Amazon, REI, Nordstrom, and Getty,

What's the best way to work with Kelsey and Gretchen and their fellow agents? Continue to check their job board. (They're working on an outbound communication that will alert candidates of open jobs.) Also, touch base with your respective agent. They're looking for opportunities for us, but remember to stay top of mind.

Contact info:
Kelsey Foster - kfoster@aquent.com (Kelsey's LinkedIn link)
Kelsey is posting jobs on Twitter @OnlineMktgNW
Gretchen Stanford - mailto:Stanfordgstanford@aquent.com (Gretchen's LinkedIn link)

Job News!
Congrats to Deepak George, who will start next Monday with Zimmerman Advertising out of Florida. Deepak, who also recently won a student ADDY, is a recent copywriting graduate of the SVC.

The Last Advertising Agency on Earth

2010-03-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Some people have already gotten the message. Some are hanging on to the very last dangling threads of hope. Which way do you lean?

40 is the new 60??

2010-03-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw two articles about how hard it is for "older" workers to land jobs. The first was from CNN and provided "job tips for older unemployed workers." A quick scan of the article, and it referenced the AARP and its free Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The article also provided some startling facts: "Unemployment for mature workers is up 331% over the past decade," according, again, to the AARP.

But this isn't anything I really need to worry about, right?? Well, article number two was from The Ladders and was titled, "Facing Age Discrimination As Young As 40."
Hey, wait a minute.

As it turns out, the article was written in August of 2008, shortly prior to the onset of the Great Recession - and just before many talented mid- to upper-level managers lost their jobs. It cites that "many companies have reservations about hiring older workers based on preconceived notions — namely, that they have reduced energy and higher salary expectations and are unwilling to learn new technology."
Higher salaries, sure... but reduced energy? Not willing to learn new technologies?
Define 'older.'

So, not only are many of us facing a crowded job market in general, but the article states that "the increasing pace of technological change, globalization and economic instability means age discrimination has crept into the lives of working professionals as young as 40."
Oh.

True, globalization has changed how things are being done, as off-shore resources have dramatically reduced the number of home-grown jobs. This is more prevalent, though, in the technology sector. I've seen web dev being off-shored, but you're not going to see many strategic marketing roles going to India, China, or Brazil.

But this isn't just about me. The topic of age discrimination has come up at numerous OCA meetings. "Should I 'hide' my age on my resume?" "Should I just focus on the past 10 years?"

There's no doubt our group skews older. The talent pool we have is extremely, for lack of a better word, talented. Ivy League educations, MBAs, former VP and Director-level titles, and in many cases, 15-20+ years of solid marketing experience. Sure, there are new ways of doing things and trends that affect marketing approaches and techniques - but do you think that hasn't been the case since these people first entered the workforce?

40 is supposed to be the new 30, not the new 60. If 40 means it's time to put me out to pasture, I'll go kicking and screaming. There was a time when I half-expected to be retired by 55. Now, with the way Social Security is, I'm expecting to work until I'm 70. So, I don't plan on running out of steam (or "energy" or the need to continually learn) any time soon. In fact, I'm just getting going.

Now, by even addressing this, am I setting myself up for possible discrimination? You tell me. You're reading it. It's a blog. Social Media. Wait a few, and I'll tweet about it, too.

Notes from 3/12/2010 OCA Meeting; Job News!

2010-03-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

Last Friday's OCA meeting welcomed another 4 new members:
- Bill Johnson, former project manager with C2 Media and ProLab, has extensive print production experience and is seeking another PM role.
- Kate Larson, is also a project manager, but comes from the world of construction, where she was most recently with Northshore Sheet Metal.
- Meghan V.H. Ragsdale, who has media sales (Clear Channel) and promotions (Red Bull) experience, has just moved to Seattle from Virginia, where she had completed her masters degree in Creative Brand Management at the VCU Brandcenter.
- Jenna Swalin, communications and administrative associate, is a fairly recent graduate of Virginia's College of William & Mary.

Paul Anderson, career psychology consultant and owner of ProLango, was our guest speaker for the 3/12 meeting. Paul, a former recruiter at Microsoft and Expedia, presented his Career Search Optimization seminar and provided many insights regarding today's job search.

From the recruiting end of things, it's a numbers game. On average, posted positions are receiving 900+ resumes per job. And on Craigslist, a job posting can generate up to 400 resumes per HOUR.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), such as Taleo, not just manage the masses on the hiring side, but they keep tabs on how many positions you've applied for and can easily serve as a source for quick background checks. Recruiters can compare your previously submitted resumes, and an ATS can also profile you through public information shared on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and even Zillow.

Trends in the recruiting industry have changed the rules of the game. Companies have made it harder to get directly to the source. Early last year, Microsoft instituted a vendor management system, a go-between cutting off direct contact from the the staffing agencies and the company's recruiters. With an average rate of 20% charged by the agencies (and the aforementioned number of applicants per position), many companies are now forgoing the agencies altogether and relying on word-of-mouth. A great example of this is the influx of opportunities that have come to OCA from friends of friends, and thus the importance of networking the 'hidden job market.'

Speaking of which, Paul then covered "What not to do at a job fair or networking
event." Don't sell yourself. Make a connection. People don't want to be sold and won't want to help you unless they like and trust you. Don't practice the 30-second elevator pitch; practice being a resource. When networking, Paul recommended a 5-step process that should also be used when interviewing:
1) build rapport
2) ask questions
3) find a need
4) link their need to your offer
5) close and handle objections

A topic of conversation that has come up at several OCA meetings, and Paul has been featured in a Wall Street Journal article about, is the subject of "Blacklisting" - when a company just doesn't want to consider you, for whatever reason. How does someone get blacklisted?

Mass (e)mailing your resume, and applying for every position listed. "Did he even read the description before he applied?"

Lying on your resume. Paul said people sometimes have a tendency to explicitly tell the truth on a LinkedIn profile (because they're connected with friends and colleagues who know their work history), but feel it's OK to fib on a resume, because it might only be going to a select few. Only problem is, the ATS we mentioned earlier (remember?) and how easy it is to compare your resume with your LinkedIn profile.
It's one thing to tweak a description to better match the verbiage used by a employer, but you can't make major changes.

Social Media mistakes. No need to get in to any details or examples here, but you can easily imagine that posting certain things to the World Wide Web can knock you out of consideration (forever) with a company recruiter.

Recruiter stories. It happens. A bad screening, an errant remark, etc. can keep you from getting a job at Company #1. But unfortunately, recruiters talk, and Recruiter #1 may happen to know recruiter from Company #2 and can too easily pass along any mishap.

Paul finished out with 3 Key Elements of Successful Job Seekers:
1) Mindset. Your attitude and belief system have to be positive.
2) Strategy. Do your research and develop a plan. Determine who you need to know and how you're going to meet them.
3) Relationships. Create and cultivate a network where you are seen as a resource.

Job News!
- Andrea Lewellen landed a 6-month contract with Moss Adams, as an in-house creative group Account Supervisor. Congrats, Andrea!!
- Dale Cody is Manager, Interactive at Central 1 Credit Union. He landed the job a while ago, but I was able to finally catch up with him recently. The new job also meant a new location: Vancouver, BC.

Notes from 3/5/2010 OCA Meeting

2010-03-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last week's meeting had six new faces.
- Marina Babic was most recently a pre-press tech at C2 Media and has nearly 4 years of printing experience.
- Lane Buechet, owner at S&L Lending, has 15+ years of sales management experience in the banking industry.
- Mark Farmer, former marketing director for the Condominium Law Group, PLLC, has one of the most interesting backgrounds within OCA... social work (he's a lawyer), police officer, and social-network Internet entrepreneur.
- Teresa Lizotte, most recently a senior graphic consultant with Stella Color, has over 17 years of experience in the printing industry.
- Tim Rose, creative/art director, was most recently with the Sterling-Rice Group out of Boulder, Colorado. Tim has close to 20 years of art direction experience, 6 of which were spent living and working in Europe.
- Marcella Van Oel, content manager at start-up Jobfully.com (a site that hosts career management tools and resources), is a web production consultant and strategist.

Rick Peterson, president of Hydrogen Advertising, was our guest speaker at OCA's 3/5 meeting and provided a wealth of information about a wide variety of topics.

- Rick's company, which he has guided since 2001, has seen the worst that the Great Recession has thrown their way - and has survived to have one of its best months ever. They are busy on a number of fronts, developing projects for clients in multiple media venues, including web, broadcast, and print.

- Lean times over the past 18 months have led to a lean, effective, efficient, and partially outsourced staff for Hydrogen. Rick and the group spoke of today's need for virtual staff members and a freelance model which is not entirely new to the advertising world. As expected, some things can be more easily outsourced, such as creative talent. On the flipside, account management, which is often key to the client relationship, should be a steady force within the agency.

- The economy's effects have also made clients much more fiscally frugal, squeezing budgets and expecting more with less. Clients are asking for lower rates and often wanting work done in less time. Given the three-legged stool of money, time, and resources, you can see how the latter is often what is impacted most. And because good business can result in repeat business, it also means that Rick's team needs to blow away his clients with every piece of creative work.

- We discussed an interesting parallel between the cost of responding to RFPs and the job search. In both cases, both can be extremely time-consuming (and costly), so it's extremely beneficial to be networked and to get in the door before a search (for an agency or an employee) goes the official route.

- Regarding today's job search market, Rick feels everyone should have a portfolio. "Can you show your stuff? Can you sell? How can you describe what you've done in the past?" Utilize case studies to concisely explain your work, regardless of role. And when asked about the current job seeker's dilemma of being 'overqualified,' Rick understands hiring managers' fears, but said he would much rather have the experience.

- In talking about Hydrogen's own needs, Rick discussed what he would look for in a job candidate: someone who is enterprising, a problem solver, and multifaceted. Hardworking. "Are you a person who is interesting and interested - in Hydrogen and their problems?" Do you have an insatiable curiosity? And, last but not least, "No Assholes" need apply.

And did I mention they're hiring? Click here for details.

What kind of interviewee are you?

2010-03-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Have some fun, click on the image.

Inspiration of the Musical Sort

2010-03-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

OK - update on the below... the video has now been viewed more than 6.5 million times (since launching early last week) and has garnered the attention of The Wall Street Journal and Business Week bloggers, not to mention the music community. For interesting details on the behind-the-scenes info (and to see what State Farm did invest), click here. Now the burning question, from a social media aspect... "Was it worth it?"
----------------
2 days and 1.2 million views later, OK Go's new video for "This Too Shall Pass". Amazing.
And see part 1 of the Making Of.

Not sure what State Farm kicked in (or why, exactly) to be a part of it, but 1.2 million+ views can't be a bad ROI.

Notes from 2/26/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News

2010-03-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome two new OCA members:
- John Dunn, who was most recently at James Farrell & Co., is an experienced logistics, procurement, and supply chain professional with extensive international experience.
- Avi Katzman, copywriter and content manager, was most recently in a marketing position at the law offices of Garvey Schubert Barer. Avi also has experience with media and event production.

Notes from last week:
During our last meeting of February, we took time out to review resumes. Several people braved the criticism and subjected their hard work to feedback - all of which was constructive.

If there was one consistency, it was that there was no consistency between formats and layouts. Everyone had a different style and approach, depending on what they felt worked well for them.

However, there was a general consensus about several items:
- No need for an objective statement. The objective of the resume is to get an interview for the job for which you're applying.
- A summary statement, on the other hand, can quickly convey your experience, skill set, and the value you can add to the hiring company.
- A list of qualifications / accomplishments toward the top provides a quick checklist for a hiring manager or HR rep to make sure you meet their requirements. This can also be modified to better match the job at hand.

Regardless of format or the font you use, get multiple people to look over your resume. Get feedback (don't worry, the feedback you get will also be varied), find mistakes or inconsistencies, and never be satisfied.

Click here to find other resume tip OCA blog posts.

Job News!
- Chris Lowe is on day 3 as a Recruiter, Enterprise Staffing at Starbucks Coffee Company. Congrats on the new job!

2010-03-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Wide variety of webinars available via the AMA!
Check them out!

Upcoming Event Reminder

2010-02-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Monday, 3/1, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Prolango Networking Event
Where: Maggiano's Little Italy, Bellevue
Cost: Free
Their most recent event, held in early February, was attended by over 400 people, job seekers and employers.
Registration

Tuesday, 3/2, 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Pay it Forward networking social
Where: Seattle - Twist in Belltown
Cost: $10
Are you perplexed at what you should get out of networking, but know people say these are "must do" events? Then come to a "Pay it Forward" Networking Workshop Facilitated by Sandy Jones-Kaminski, the author of "I'm at a Networking Event. Now What???"
Registration

Also, check out some of the events on Biznik.com, including several free workshops and discussions regarding WordPress and blogging.

So, why should I meet with you?

2010-02-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Yea you may make a good impression. It's even possible your credentials are good and your resume stands out. But they don't have a job available right now.

So, how do you "keep in touch" without being annoying? When I was first starting out as a freelancer I just asked people, "How frequently would you like me to keep in touch?" and tried to keep to that schedule of phone calls and little notes with work samples. That worked pretty well for freelance work. But I haven't done that *cough* in a few years. And I haven't done that on this job hunt.

Thanks to the internet, I found this handy guide from a Toledo printer. It's essentially how to be of value to the people whose time you are taking up. See if you can't apply some of these ideas to what you're doing.

"76 Ways to Recontact Customers and Prospects"
(pdf)

Continuing our Digital Discussion - "Digital Nation"

2010-02-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, John Gaines from Microsoft visited OCA for a discussion on "Going Digital." During our meeting, he brought up author Marc Prensky's "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" dissertations to highlight the fact that we need to be well-aware of the differences between the two in today's high-tech society. (For a summary, read my notes from the 12/18 meeting.

Below is the trailer for PBS Frontline's recent documentary, "Digital Nation," which takes the discussion to newer depths - not just examining how digital media is affecting work (from our context in December), but how digital media is influencing so much more.
"Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from the way we learn and work to the ways in which we socialize and even conduct war. But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we've gained?"

For much more information, and to watch the full 90-minute program, visit Frontline's Digital Nation "life on the virtual frontier" page.

Notes from 2/19/2010 OCA Meeting

2010-02-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, we had our first glitch in scheduling, so our guest speaker wasn't able to make it to the 2/19 meeting. (We're looking to reschedule Paul Anderson from ProLango on March 12th.)

Nevertheless, we had a great meeting and a 2-hour discussion on networking, resumes, and today's job search techniques. To sum up: Regardless of how powerful the resume is or how cleverly written the cover letter, 4 out of 5 times it comes down to networking. Or as one member put it: Networking, Networking, Networking, [Networking].

From a call I sat in on a few weeks ago about the "Hidden Job Market," where Kelly Harrington of the Career Max Group provided her insight, 75-80% of open job positions are NOT advertised. According to the US Dept of Labor, 48% of jobs are found through friends, business contacts and relatives; 24% by direct company contact; and 13% by a combination of both. If you do the math, it shows hours spent scouring the job boards could be more wisely spent working on making the right connections.

What is "the hidden job market" exactly? They are jobs that are not posted publicly. How are they filled then? Quite often through referrals, where a position is filled before ever needing to be posted. To listen to Ms. Harrington's teleseminar, click here: Hidden Secrets of the Hidden Job Market.

Why post a position on Craigslist? and have to wade through hundreds of resumes, when it's much more efficient to ask a few well-regarded colleagues if they know of qualified candidates they'd recommend. Case in point, a friend of mine just sent me a job description for a Communications Coordinator - to see if someone within OCA was interested. The hiring company, a client of his, "is opting for the lower-profile approach of personal referrals before moving to a larger audience with their search."
By the way, if you're interested in the Coordinator position, check out the OCA group on LinkedIn.

Upcoming guest speakers.
3/5 - Rick Peterson, president of Hydrogen Advertising
3/12 - Paul Anderson, president of ProLango (career consulting)
3/19 - Kelsey Foster, recruiter at Aquent (staffing agency)
3/26 - Kristina Muller-Eberhard, founder of Plume21 (advertising)
4/2 - Kirsten Thompson and Sara Westerlund, reps from Creative Circle

Notes from 2/12/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News

2010-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

Job News!
Congrats to Laurie Krisman, who recently accepted an offer to work with MD² International.

Last week's meeting focused on personal introductions. Constructive feedback was offered after several people went through revamped elevator pitches. And Kelly Evans was the 1st to walk the group through a longer presentation on himself.

Social Media Volunteers
Paul Verner and Dana Pruiett have kindly volunteered to help manage the posting of event and seminar information. Paul will update our LinkedIn group page, and Dana will update the Blog. If you have information regarding a specific upcoming item, please send both of them an e-mail and cc: me. Thanks!
- vernerpk@msn.com
- d.pruiett@hotmail.com

Sally Hogshead's Radical Careering (Free!)

2010-02-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

Yep, a limited-time FREE digital version of Sally Hogshead's book "RADICAL CAREERING: 100 Truths to Jumpstart Your Job, Your Career, and Your Life." (I highly recommend this especially for those needing a rethink.)

Who's Sally? (I'm no bio writer so here's a link)

-Duane

Upcoming Events and Seminars

2010-02-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

Monday, 2/15, 1:00-2:30pm
ProLango's Career Search Optimization: Today’s Job Market Demystified
Where: Seattle
Cost: FREE
For more information and to register, visit their link on EventBrite.

Other free ProLango seminars.

Tuesday, 2/16, 6pm
Seattle Job Social
Where: Seattle (Twist in Belltown)
Cost: $5
For info, visit the SJS site.

Thursday, 2/18, 10am-11am
AMA Webinar: Marketing Mix Models: Maximizing marketing effectiveness in a changing environment.
Where: Online
Cost: FREE
To register, visit the AMA's Marketing Power Media Gallery

Friday, 2/19, 1pm-2:30pm
ProLango's Advanced Interviewing: Secrets Behind Decision Making
Where: Seattle
Cost: FREE
For more information and to register, visit their link on EventBrite.

Monday, 3/1, 6pm-9pm
ProLango's next networking event
Where: Maggiano’s Little Italy, Lincoln Center, 10455 NE 8th St, Bellevue
Cost: FREE
Their most recent event, held in early February, was attended by over 400 people, job seekers and employers.
For more info and to register, visit the ProLango site.

Tuesday, 3/2, 5:30
Pay It Forward social
Where: Seattle (Twist in Belltown)
Cost: $10
Are you perplexed at what you should get out of networking, but know people say these are "must do" events? Then come to a "Pay it Forward" Networking Workshop Facilitated by Sandy Jones-Kaminski, the author of "I'm at a Networking Event. Now What???"
RSVP at Meetup.com

Wed, 3/10, 7:30am-5:30pm
Market Mix - sponsored by the PSAMA and the SDMA.
Where: Seattle (Bell Harbor Conference Center)
Cost: Visit the web site (below)
Breakfast, lunch, and afternoon cocktails - all the while drinking in marketing advice from four Seattle-area guest speakers.
For more info and to register, visit Market Mix 2010.

Notes from 2/5/2010 OCA Meeting

2010-02-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome to new member:
- Robert Lowry is a freelance copywriter looking to make additional connections in the Seattle market. He has over 10 years of communications experience and a fairly nice web site to show his wares. Welcome Robert!

At last week's meeting, as usual, we talked about several nuances of the job search:
- During introductions, Bill noticed that several people mentioned that they were a "jack of all trades." His question to us: In today's market, where companies can be very specific in the skill sets they're looking for, is this something that can hinder your job search? Is it better to be a specialist? Our initial thoughts seemed to revolve around the size of the company with which you're interviewing. Obviously, at a smaller company, you're going to be called on to be more of a generalist - to add value in a wider variety of job functions. I also feel that you can leverage a wide background at a larger company. Having the knowledge and/or specific experience of several areas provides a better perspective of how to work with others in those areas.

- Donna made the suggestion that we dedicate part of each meeting to getting to know members in more depth. Since many of us are now recommending others for jobs, we should (obviously) be well aware of their experience and what they've accomplished, beyond the LinkedIn profile, resume, and 30-second elevator pitch.
Everyone agreed, so moving forward, we'll look to have short (15-min) presentations by 3 volunteers at each meeting.

- Beth attended a career seminar, where they discussed the age-old interview line: "So, tell me about yourself." The advice Beth received was to definitively tailor your answer to the company and the position:

1) provide a brief background: I'm a ___. I was most recently at ___, where I ___.
2) tell them why you're there: I'm excited about this position, because of a), b), and c).
3) ask them to explore further: What else would you like to know?

- The subject of the "Black List" came up, as ProLango's Paul Anderson was cited in a recent Wall Street Journal article. The article, titled "How a Black Mark Can Derail a Job Search, discusses how company recruiters keep "do not hire" lists, and not only that, but they share between companies. Land on a list, and you may unknowingly have an uphill battle. The article gives a few suggestions on how to find out if you're on a list and how to make good by your name. However, any additional advice would be welcome as several folks in our meeting felt like they must be on some one's list.

They're Ba-ack! More Super Bowl Fun

2010-02-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Combining my two favorite loves: Football and Advertising
A friend of mine, and former colleague at Publicis, ACD/art director Scott Rasmussen will have one of the highly anticipated $2.5 million :30 spots premiering during the big game this weekend. The ad will be for HomeAway.com, a vacation rental company based out of Austin, Texas, and will feature one of America's favorite families, the Griswold's, which first appeared in 1983's Vacation.

Given the economy and slightly lower costs to advertise this year, it could be a great time for smaller companies to use the medium as a launching point for mass awareness. And with some traditional advertisers pulling out of the game, such as Pepsi (which opted, instead, to put the money toward their Refresh Project social media campaign, there's even more room to be had for companies such as Teleflora and kgb.

From an NBC news story in HomeAway's hometown, the company is spending 20% of its marketing budget on its Super Bowl endeavor, expecting more than 5 million hits in 5 minutes on their web site - which on Sunday will feature a 15-minute Griswold movie. If one thing has been prevalent with this year's game, it's that advertisers have been making the most of what used to be a 1-time showing. From user-generated content contests to teaser ads, companies are using the hype to generate additional awareness. Taco Bell and Charles Barkley have been touting the NBA Five Buck Box - with details to come, and Boost Mobile is also looking to give a nod to the early 80's, teasing(?) us with a reprise of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl Shuffle.

So, regardless if you're a football fan or not, sit back and look to be entertained this Sunday.
Here's a list of all the advertisers who have bought time during the 2010 Super Bowl.

Notes from 1/29/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News

2010-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to two new OCA members:
- Al Stankowiak, former Director of Marketing for Talisma, a CRM solutions provider for higher education.
- Denise Paley, graphic consultant and marketing sales rep, most recently with Revolution.

For several weeks now, the topic of blogging has come up - specifically regarding the utilization of a blog and tools such as Twitter as a means to digitally establish yourself (and your 'brand') online. The idea: start being viewed as an expert on 'something' - anything, by providing your opinion on certain topics.

The common lament? "What am I going to blog about?" Ideally, start writing about the area in which you're looking to be hired. If your career planning is hitting on all cylinders, this should be an area for which you have a passion - and an opinion. With online tools such as WordPress and Blogger, you can be up and running in a matter of minutes. Worst case, it will give you something to do and help you focus your thoughts on the business landscape.

Back in December, I referenced Michelle Goodman's article "TwitterPatter" that she wrote for NWjobs.com. In it, she tells the story of Karianne Stinson, who went from teaching elementary school to a job in public relations - using Twitter to build her online profile. (Michelle has her own blog, Nine To Thrive, which is another great resource for work advice.)

Job News!
- Carolyn Hazard has over a week under her belt in her new role as Senior Graphic Design Presentation Specialist at Silver Fox Productions on Capitol Hill. Carolyn is enjoying the new job and has kindly offered to stay connected with OCA. She says Silver Fox is growing and could be looking to hire soon. Stay Tuned!
Congrats, Carolyn!

Networking Events, Week of 02/01 - 02/12

2010-01-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!

There aren't any networking events this week that I know of, but a couple of webcasts. However, there are two really good networking events next week that I thought you might want to get on your calendar since space might be limited.

This week's webcasts are as follows (click on the link for more info, or to register)...

2/2, Social Media Analytics

2/3, Marketing at the Speed of Change

2/4, Molding Your Customer Experience with Content Personalization and Campaign Management

Next week's networking events are as follows...

Prolango Career Mixer

Monday, February 8th from 6:00 - 9:00 P.M.

Maggiano's Little Italy

10455 NE 8th ST

Bellevue, WA 98004

I've been to a couple of Prolango's events, and they were well worth my time. This event is free.

Click here more information, or to register.

PSAMA and Ad Club Seattle Presents

Chalk Talk: Super Bowl Ad Replay

Wednesday, February 10th at 5:30 P.M.

FSN Lounge Qwest Field

PSAMA Members $30.00

Non-members $40.00

For more information, or to register, click here.

Have a great week!

Suzanne LeMere

User-Generated Content Inspiration

2010-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

Can the Super Bowl show us where advertising is headed?
Last year I posted a link to CareerBuilder's 2009 Super Bowl ad, from Wieden + Kennedy. Then in May, the online recruiting company said goodbye to the agency and opened up the creative development to the general masses. Similar to Doritos, who last year won USA Today's annual Super Bowl ad poll, CareerBuilder devised a contest to drive user-generated content. Nearly 1,000 entries later, the company has posted the 3 finalists to determine which spot will air during "the big game." They're also sharing behind the scenes footage and interviews with the spots' creators. Below is one of the :30 ads, which were produced by the company's in-house advertising group in California.

This year Doritos had over 4,000 entries (battling for a possible $5 Million in prizes) in its CrashTheSuperBowl contest. They've whittled the competition down to 6 finalists, 3 of which will air during the game. Below is the best of the bunch.

Both companies utilized social media (Facebook and YouTube) as a way to promote the contests and drive traffic to their micro-sites. And rather than debut the highly anticipated ads during the game, as most advertisers do, each company has reaped the benefits of additional reach, media impressions, and buzz by sharing content along the way. Awarding prizes and follow-up press coverage will only ensure that the campaigns live a long, full life.

Notes from 1/22/10 OCA Meeting, Job News

2010-01-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

Several topics of discussion at last week's meeting, mostly to do with follow-up from our 1/15 OCA meeting.

After everyone introduced themselves, we discussed the power and importance of the 30-sec elevator pitch. Given the information we've received on how hiring decisions can sometimes be made within the 1st couple minutes (or few seconds) of an interview, your answer to "So, tell me about yourself" can make or break an opportunity. This should be something that you have prepared (and have practiced) to pitch your 'unique selling proposition.' Clear, concise, and relevant. And if you can have one unique and memorable line - your tagline - that someone can take away, even better.

Career coaches - worth the price? From what I've seen, folks who have made the investment to work with a professional have tended to reap the rewards. If you know you have an area you want to work on specifically or just need help getting started, a career coach can provide a wealth of knowledge and advice. Just be aware that a job search can be subjective - so depending on who you work with, you may get differing opinions on some topics. Not a bad thing, especially if you get a 2nd opinion. And from the advice we've received during past OCA guest speaker appearances, we've also seen consistencies with the general approach of Job Search 2.0.

On the right-hand side of this blog are two other blogs from Seattle area career coach's, Matt Youngquist (who visited us 2 weeks ago) and Cris Janzen (who was a guest speaker last summer). Both are very experienced and have helped numerous people with job searches and career transitions. Take a look at their blogs, which will provide a good sense of their style and the passion they have for helping people.
For this Friday's meeting (1/29), Paul Verner has offered to bring in and share some of Matt Youngquist's materials, so people can get a better idea of Matt's services.

Job News!
Maicie Jones just announced that she'll be heading across the country to work for the Advisory Board Company (a healthcare group) in Washington D.C. She'll be a consultant within their syndicated research division.
Karen Nissen has also just landed a job and starts next Monday in medical sales, as an Account Executive with AMR (American Medical Response.)
Both ladies, in their notes to announce the news, said that networking was key in landing the positions.
Congrats, Maicie and Karen!

Networking Events, Week of 01/24/10

2010-01-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!

There are a couple of exciting networking events coming up this week.

Seattle Job Social is putting on their first event of the season on Tuesday, January 26th at Twist in Belltown. They claim that there will be a number of recruiters there for people to mingle with, so check the website below for further details. There's a $5.00 admission fee (cash only) at the door.

www.SeattleJobSocial.com

South Sound PRSA is having their Quarterly Social this week. It's on Wednesday, January 27th from 4:45 - 6:45 P.M. in Tacoma at Chevy's Fresh Mex (3702 S Fife ST). Come socialize with a number of working professionals in the Public Relations industry. Check out the website below for further details. I don't believe there is any cost involved for attending this event.

PRSA Puget Sound

This week's free Webinars are as follows:

(for more information, or to register, click the title-link)

Tuesday, January 26th at 11:00 A.M. CST

The CEO Guide to Internet Marketing

Wednesday, January 27th at 12:00 P.M. CST
How Sponsorship Adds True Purpose to Marketing Efforts

Wednesday, January 27th at 12:00 P.M. PST
Hidden Job Market Teleseminar

Thursday, January 28th at 12:00 P.M. CST
In Brands We Trust

Notes from 1/15/10 OCA Meeting

2010-01-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome to several new OCA members:
- Bill Munroe, high tech marketing strategist, who was most recently with Microscan as Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Development.
- Robert Lani, most recently a real estate professional, is looking to get back into marketing.
- Carol Tompkins, graphic designer, who was with the Seattle Art Museum before enrolling in a Web Design certification program.

Huge thank you to Matt Youngquist, our guest speaker at last week's OCA meeting. Matt, a career coach who has helped thousands of people in the Puget Sound area, met with the group and answered all sorts of job search questions.

Q) How should we handle being labeled as "over-qualified"?
A) 1st, examine the reasons for the label: you can be considered a flight risk, more expensive than other candidates, and as a possible threat to the hiring manager - if they are insecure at all and worried that you could do or take their job.
How to overcome ... Anticipate the objection, and address up front during the interview. Get the discussion going, and be able to answer this question, "Why would your additional experience be considered valuable?"

Q) Should we "dumb down" our resumes?
A) Matt doesn't recommend it. It's extremely easy to vet candidates through sources like LinkedIn. You may want to modify some things, but you don't want to necessarily hide experience.

Q) Thoughts on cover letters?
A) Recommend a 'cover note.' Text only e-mail, with which you attach your resume, in the following format:
- I'm applying for the role of ___ that I saw posted on ___.
- Briefly discuss the single most relevant point, what you bring. Say something they haven't heard before or say it in a way they haven't heard before.
- Thank you very much. I look forward to hearing from you...

Q) How to handle a negative work history (ex. company went out of business)?
A) Frame around business circumstances, external factors. Never blame anyone.

Q) What trends are you seeing?
A) The market has picked up, and there's been a more positive vibe. More people are getting offers.

Q) Should we expect to lower our salary expectations? How to handle the salary question during interviews?
A) There's been a market adjustment, so be prepared to be flexible. Matt suggests the "RFP formula." R - give them a Range. Under $50k, provide a $10k range. $50-$100k, give a $20k range. $100k plus, $30k range. F - be Flexible. P - Probe back, ask their range.

Q) Phone interview advice?
A) Talk 1/2 as much - on the phone it will seem like double. Modulate your voice - you don't have the non-verbal cues to rely on. Have your notes with you - it's an open book quiz.

Q) Advice on the "greatest weakness" question?
A) Avoid the cliches. Now that job descriptions tend to contain everything and the kitchen sink, isolate something from the list that you don't have the amount of experience they're looking for. Make it something that's not a deal killer.

Q) Thank You notes.
A) Best is a handwritten note, e-mail at a minimum. Do NOT not follow up. Keep it short and sweet. If you feel you're an underdog or need to address something that could have gone better during an interview, it's OK to address a perceived weakness.

Q) Networking advice?
A) Don't make the mistake of only networking within your industry. Make a list of everyone you know. Send a note - you'll be surprised with who responds. Most people aren't truly networking. Don't just let people know you're looking for work. Ask for help: "Who do you know at Company X?"
Market yourself: 1)Message - develop a sticky, clever elevator pitch. 2)Reach - how many people are you talking to? 3)Frequency - continue to contact people on your list.

Q) What is the #1 thing that Matt says employers and recruiters tell him:
A) They are surprised at how candidates are not prepared. Spend hours preparing for interviews.

Webcasts Week of 01/18/2010

2010-01-17T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!
I don't know of any networking events this week, but there are three webcasts coming up.
They are as follows:

01/19/2010 @ 10:00 A.M. PST
Turning the "Jobs-to-be-Done" Innovation Theory into Practice
Speaker: Tony Ulwick, CEO, Strategyn

01/20/2010 @ 10:00 A.M. PST
Feed the Content Beast -- a practical, afforadable approach to create the content that supports your lead management and sales enablement initiatives.
Featuring: Ardath Albee, CEO of Marketing Interactions and author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale

01/21/2010 @ 10:00 A.M. PST
How Merrill Lynch Optimizes Inbound Interactions with Real-Time Decisioning
Speakers: Aaron Tellier, Director of CRM Strategy and Implementation, Merrill Lynch
Mark Smith, EVP, Protrait Software

Just click the link for more information, or to register. Best of all, they're free!

It looks like there will be at least one networking event next week, if not more so stay tuned. Also, if you know of something coming up and I missed it, please send me an email so I can follow up with another post.

Have a great week!
Suzanne LeMere
lemeresl@plu.edu

LEMONADE - The Movie. Coming Soon.

2010-01-14T11:59:00.001-08:00

Anyone who has been involved with OCA for a while has heard me talk about Erik Proulx and his site: pleasefeedtheanimals.com A constant source of information and inspiration, Erik's blog has been a sounding board for the industry's unemployed since November, 2008, when he lost his job as a Sr. Copywriter at Arnold in Boston.

Erik discovered (and promotes) that, "It's not a pink slip. It's a blank page." The chance that we have to pursue a dream, make positive changes in our lives, and the ability to reinvent ourselves can far outweigh the negative of having lost a job.

Along the way, Erik has heard some amazing stories, and in 2009 he wrote and produced a documentary, titled "Lemonade," detailing some of these tales of inspiration. It's been an ongoing process, and Erik has enlisted many talented creatives who have helped make the film a reality.

Having finished it recently, Erik has been 'on tour' sharing the film. And as a special 'thank you' to those who have supported the Lemonade, Erik has posted it online for a special 2-day sneak peek.
To see the trailer, visit: lemonademovie.com
For info on seeing the full-length version today (Thurs), visit the PFTA site.

Notes from 1/08/2010 OCA Meeting, Job News!

2010-01-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to several new members:
- Karen Nissen, most recently with Comcast Spotlight, where she managed advertising sales for more than 15 years.
- Jackie Peterson, owner of Ad Strategies & Cross Words. 15+ years of marketing and advertising experience.
- Donna Sellers, currently consulting in the Seattle area, was most recently with Microsoft where she managed brand strategy for Windows and and MSN.
- Michele Meston also comes to the group with a myriad of marketing and advertising experience.

At last week's meeting, we talked about a wide variety of topics pertaining to the job hunt.
Most interesting of the subjects was that of perspective employers getting back (or not getting back) to candidates about his or her status in the process. Consensus of the group is to "give the hiring manager / HR the benefit of the doubt" ... we know they're busy, we know they're swamped with filtering resumes, conducting interviews, while also juggling work. But - when it comes down to a decision concerning final candidates, common sense says that we should hear one way or the other.
Ideally, a personal call is made, where a candidate that's being passed on is given a chance to ask for feedback.
In the end, what hiring companies need to keep in mind is that every interaction is a chance to make a positive impression.
In today's world... can a company afford to make a negative one?

It was great to get the thoughts of everyone in the group. It will be interesting to get Matt Youngquist's take on this and other subjects during this week's OCA meeting, 1/15.

Job News!
- Greg Roberts has accepted a 5-month contract job with the Census Bureau as a Media Specialist.
- Christine Goetz is the new Director of Marketing for Destination Development International.

Networking Events, Week of 01/11/10

2010-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

There are a couple of good networking events coming up this week.

Wednesday, 1/13, PSAMA is putting on their monthly executive luncheon at The Washington Athletic club from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. This month, Brooks Sports presents: How David Competes Against Goliath and Wins, featuring guest speaker, Dave Larson. Cost is $38 for students and members, $50 for non-members if you pre-register for the event by 11 AM the day before (or an additional $5 will be charged at the door).
For more details, or to register click on the link below.
http://www.psama.org/events/event_detail.aspx?id=78

Thursday, 1/14, PRSA South Sound Group is putting on their monthly program: "Open Door Policy: Events as PR Tools." Panel Experts include: Phedra Redifer from Metro Parks Tacoma, and Andrea Mensink with Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitor Bureau. The program starts at 8 AM and doors open at 7:30 AM for networking in the first floor board room at Metro Parks Tacoma headquarters. Cost is $5 for PRSA members or $8 for non-members. Refreshments are included and no reservations are necessary. Check out the link below for more details.
http://prsapugetsound.org/events.html#prtool

There are also a couple of webcasts this week, too.
Tuesday, 1/12, at noon - "10 Trends that will Make or Break you Email ROI in 2010"

Thursday, 1/14, at noon - "Meeting of the Minds Webcast Series: 50+ Metrics Every Marketer Should Master (an Update)"
Click on the link below for further details and how to register.
http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Reference/Webcast.aspx

There are many more upcoming events this month, so stay tuned for future updates!

Guest Speaker announcement - 1/15/10 meeting

2010-01-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

Frustrated by the complexity of the modern job search process?
Confused by the sea of conflicting resume, career, and job search advice out there? Matt Youngquist, President of Career Horizons, will be facilitating a “Career Q&A” session and fielding any and all questions you might have on career-related topics.

A recognized local expert on job hunting and career management techniques, Matt has assisted over 6,000 Seattle professionals in navigating through challenging career hurdles and “jumping the curve” in terms of learning the most effective modern methods for finding employment. So bring along whatever burning questions you have in mind to the Jan 15th meeting, on any subject ranging from networking to job offer negotiation, and Matt will do his best to answer them!

Networking Event, Wednesday, January 6th!

2010-01-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!

With the holidays behind us, networking events are starting to pick back up again. The first one of the year is brought to you by the Puget Sound American Marketing Association (PSAMA)and the SDMA "Scratch 2009. Cue up 2010."

Details are as follows:

Where: Garage Billiards in Seattle

When: Wednesday, January 6th, 2010, 5:30-8pm

To Register, Email: networking@psama.org (or pay at the door--cash only)

Cost: Members: Free; Non-Members: $15; Students: $10

For more details, visit the website by clicking here.

I will make a post on Friday about upcoming events for next week, so stay tuned!

2010 - Year of the Job

2010-01-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

OCA is declaring this the Year of the Job.
Welcome to 2010. And to start out on a positive note, we've got Job News to announce:

- Daniel Holland confirmed his new position as Marketing and Communications Director for UW's Center for Educational Leadership in the College of Education.

- Scott Bower starts a contract with Microsoft (thru Kelly Resources) this week.

- Wendy Noritake is the new Marketing Communications Director for the YMCA of Greater Seattle.

Congrats to all!

Notes from 12/18 OCA Meeting

2009-12-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome to new member Carl Larson. Carl, a recent graduate from UW, last worked as a Marketing Assistant with NW Territorial Mint when, unfortunately, the company relocated to Nevada.

John Gaines, from Microsoft, was our guest speaker and covered the topic of "Going Digital."
- We first discussed "Digital Natives / Digital Immigrants," the difference between the two, and why we should be aware of each as we seek jobs in the digital realm. The term Digital Natives refers to students, K through college, who represent the first generations to be surrounded by and using the tools of the digital age: computers, video games, cell phones, digital music players, etc.

According Marc Prensky, who coined the phrase, they "think and process information fundamentally different from their predecessors." On the flip side (and that phrase, which all too well is a great example of the difference) is the group he calls Digital Immigrants. "Today's older folk were 'socialized' differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language." We're adapting to their environment and learning to teach, work, and communicate in new ways.

[Author's Note: I'm currently living this difference, with a 3-year-old who, this summer, asked why I couldn't play The Killers' "Human" video on my phone. (My kids don't listen to Elmo or The Wiggles. Give 'em Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and yes, The Killers) "Because mommy has the iPhone, Tommy." And why I also have a 5-year-old home on holiday break who's not being subjected to game shows and soap operas, but rather can watch any number of PBS 'educational' cartoons recorded on the DVR. Because of examples like these, I'd also add "... a life of, and need for, instant gratification" to Prensky's dissertations.]

John shared links to two articles by Prensky, which while written in 2001 (with no reference to the advent of Google, Facebook or Twitter), provide a basis for understanding the digital chasm between these generations.
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - Part 2

- John and the group also discussed the importance of having an online presence: a blog, a web site / digital portfolio... something that literally demonstrates to hiring managers that you have the chops to put one together. John suggested BigBlackBag.com as a great resource for putting together a personal web site.

- We also talked about our ability to build digital street cred with the relative ease of which we can now shoot, edit, and post videos. John did it. Landed a job with Microsoft. Are they directly related? No way to tell, but it helped. I brought up another example, where former OCA member, Arik Abel, did the same thing with an experiment he called "The Unemployed Gourmet." Now Arik is employed full-time at the user-generated advertising company, Zooppa.

- Lastly, John talked about the need to understand the real difference between Traditional and Social marketing. Traditional marketing creates a one-to-many relationship with the consumer, whereas social marketing involves the consumer in a many-to-many relationship. Companies (and job seekers) looking to leverage social media and marketing need to realize that it should be viewed as a communications strategy and not just a tactic.

The Art and Science of Origami

2009-12-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

This week I came home from an Ad Club holiday social, sat down to eat dinner at 9:15, and turned on the television. Expecting to see the latest SportsCenter, I found that someone had left the TV on the PBS channel. Before I could flip over to ESPN, I found myself riveted to a documentary about paper folding. Origami.

The 55-min film, titled "Between the Folds" tells the story of mathematicians, physicists, and artists and how they "reinterpret the world through paper."

Below is a trailer for the film. To watch it in its entirety on PBS.org, click on "Between the Folds."

Inspiration of the Holiday Type

2009-12-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

I've seen this spot several times and find it funny every time. Great casting, simple writing. And the campaign drives home the client's message of where to save during the holidays.

While somewhat short-lived, I also really liked Target's campaign for their 2-day sale with Maria Bamford.

Notes from 12/11 OCA Meeting, Job News!

2009-12-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

One new member joined us last week at our Friday OCA meeting. Please welcome:
- Terry Moos, marketing copywriter, who was with Attachmate for more than 13 years. Terry has recently contracted as a marketing manager at Vertafore.

Job News!
- Alison Worthington has landed at Microsoft as Marketing Director for Bing. Alison has a ton of big brand management experience (Starbucks, Coke), and had been consulting recently before getting in the door with the "large software company located on the East Side."
- Daniel Holland inked a 60-day contract with the Spring Creek Group, working on Bing.

If you can't tell, the Bing group at MSFT is generating work in the Seattle area, both within the company and through its vendors. More evidence that 'going digital' and getting up to speed on "Search" is a viable career direction.

Healthy discussion at our last meeting about contracting, and how it can impact your status with the unemployment office. We had two different takes, depending on circumstances and who you may have talked to at Worksource.
- If you have a finite contract (say 3 months) and a definitive end date, you can pick up where you left off with unemployment when your contract ends.
- If, however, it's a situation where you may be on a 'trial basis' through a short-term contract, and the trial doesn't work out (for whatever reason), the unemployment office will then open an investigation to determine your status.

The latter is obviously a more precarious spot to be in, though it may be required by the hiring company. They're taking their time to further check you out, not necessarily wanting to commit to full-time employment, nor benefits, until they feel it's a great fit. This has been more prevalent lately, given the economy. On the flip side, you may be balancing a need to replenish finances and getting back into a work environment with "What happens if this isn't the right fit in the end?" or even "I know this isn't a fit or where I want to land full-time, but a bird in the hand...". Then what?

OCA will be on a 2-week hiatus during the holidays and will resume meetings January 8th.

Notes from 12/4 OCA Meeting, Job News!

2009-12-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

3 new members joined us last week at our Friday OCA meeting. Please welcome:
- Beth Pascarella, most recently with Majestic America Line, has just finished several web related courses and has both marketing and agency-side experience.
- Will Powers, former VP of Marketing at Restaurants Unlimited, brings a wealth of strategic marketing and branding experience.
- Dana Pruiett was a marketing communications manager with with Fluke Corporation for more than 8 years. Prior to that, she held media and account management roles at local ad agencies.

Taking classes are a great way to use downtime to upgrade your skill set or to simply reinvent yourself.
We had a healthy discussion on local courses and workshops that can help add to your current skill set, specifically in the digital realm.
- Beth recommended Seattle Central Community College as a spot that offers classes that are affordable and up-to-date. They also have a Worker Retraining Program.
- The SVC, which lends a hand to OCA by donating meeting space, has just announced its winter sessions.

Job News!
- Jerome Thiebaud just landed a job as VP of Marketing for K2 (software). He's also asked to stay connected with OCA and has been a great asset to the group over the past several months. Congrats, Jerome!

Upcoming guest speakers and events.
12/18 - John Gaines, former colleague at Publicis who has made the 'digital transition' from traditional copywriter and is now contracting at Microsoft, will be talking about "Going Digital."

1/15/10 - Kristin Flor, VP of Business Services at the ad agency Radarworks, has also offered to come talk to us. Topic details to come.

Networking Events, Week of 12/7

2009-12-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! There didn't seem to be many events just before and after Thankgiving, but this week we have two Networking events.

PSAMA Executive Luncheon
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Pre-lunch networking 11:30-12:00
Lunch and Presentation 12:00-1:30
Washington Athletic Club, Seattle
Measuring the Bang in Your Buck: How to Analyze and Optimize Marketing ROI, Featuring James Lenskold
PSAMA Members and Students: $38
Non-Members: $50

Online registration closes at 11am the day prior to the event. An additional $5.00 will be charged after that time for phone registrations (call 206-623-8632) or registrations at the door.

Follow this link to register for the event online: http://www.psama.org/events/event_detail.aspx?id=84#date

For you early birds, or those that live in the south end:

Thursday, December 10th PRSA Presents "all a-twitter: how social media change news gathering"

Twitter feeds on newspaper Web sites. Facebook pleas for sources and story ideas. Online comments printed next to letters to the editor. The media lines have blurred.

Sharpen your focus with a panel of media/social media gurus to hear how they use social media to connect and engage with audiences. Reporters and PR professionals will cover current insights, best practices and what’s next in this hot field.

The South Sound Group meets at 8 a.m.—doors open early for networking—in the first floor board room at Metro Parks Tacoma headquarters, 4702 S. 19th St. Cost is $5 for PRSA members, $8 for nonmembers. Please sign in at the door. Refreshments are included, no reservations necessary. Directions: From I-5 north or south, take SR-16 toward Gig Harbor. Take the 19th Street East exit toward Cheney Stadium, turn right on 19th, then right into the Metro Parks Tacoma parking lot. Note: please leave the customer-designated parking open for Metro Parks. If you require special accommodations for a disability, please contact Sheree Trefry at 253.305.1059 or shereet@tacomaparks.com at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

If you'd like more information about the benefits of PRSA membership and how to apply, please check out our Web site at http://prsapugetsound.org/south-sound.html. If you have additional questions, please contact our South Sound co-chairs:

- Jennifer Aalgaard, MultiCare Health System, 253.697.2029, jennifer.aalgaard@multicare.org

- Karrie Spitzer, APR, City of Tacoma, 253.591.5790, karrie.spitzer@cityoftacoma.org

Twitter Advice and More from Michelle Goodman

2009-12-01T12:20:00.001-08:00

Ran across this 11/29 article in the NW Jobs section of the Seattle Times.

"Twitter Patter: Tips on building your profile and tweeting your way into a job," by Michelle Goodman, provides practical tips and great advice for another way to network with potential employers:
- Start following your favorite employers and recruiters on Twitter.
- Build rapport and community by tweeting (and re-tweeting) relevant items, such as "ideas, questions, inspiring quotations, and links to articles and resources..."
- Don't mix business with your everyday life. Nobody at the company you'd like to work for needs to know what you made for dinner last night.

Michelle also has a book out that was brought to my attention:
My So-Called Freelance Life: How To Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire.
... and she has a blog on nwsource.com, called Nine to Thrive, which offers "fresh tips and trends for attaining that crazy little thing called work/life balance."

The Power of Pure Art

2009-11-23T21:56:00.000-08:00

There are days (and nights) that I sometimes wonder, not why I got into the creative arena, but why I want to remain within it. As exhilarating as it can be at times, it can just as easily be exasperating.

But then I see or read something that tells a story so well, it simply moves me emotionally. It makes me laugh. It makes me cry. Sometimes, as in this case, it does both. And I'm reminded of my love and respect for the power of pure art.

Click here or on the photo above to share in one man's story.

Notes from 11/20 OCA Meeting

2009-11-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

No new members to report, but... we did get together and talked about resumes, social media, and the Taproot Foundation.

Resumes
Paul Verner recently attended ProLango's resume writing 2.0 workshop, and he shared some his newly learned insights with the group:
- Write your resume for the recruiter, not the hiring manager. The purpose of the resume is to get you the interview.
- Contrary to popular belief (and all of us in the room last week), ProLango suggests 3 pages if you have more than 5 years of experience, 2 pages if you have 3-5 years of experience.
- Focus on keywords that tie to the job description. Repeat them within the resume, as current automated readers pick up on these (and the number of times they occur) and will flag your resume as one that is a good match.
- Not rocket science, but identify "tasks and results." Use percentages and dollar figures to highlight sales, cost savings, etc. - what you contributed.

Social Media
Gayle Rose asked if any of us had examples of Social Media case studies. We were able to quickly pull up several examples online (and sites with lists of hundreds of examples).
My favorite of the past year: Crispin Porter's "Whopper Sacrifice," which won a 2009 Cannes Titanium Lion, and asked, "What do you love more, your Facebook friends or the Whopper?"
233,000 friends were dumped in just over a week. I wish I'd known when this launched... I could have cleaned up my Facebook account and gotten a burger (or 3).

Taproot Foundation
Duane Hobbs recently started working on a project for the Seattle chapter of Lighthouse for the Blind. It's always nice to hear how some of us are putting our skills to good use.

Reminder... No meeting this week, 11/27, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll reconvene next Friday, 12/4.
Have a safe and fun Turkey Day!

Moving Image Print Media

2009-11-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

What would it look like if print production and video broadcast production got together and made a baby? Looks like we're not far off from seeing the results.

Notes from 11/13 OCA Meeting

2009-11-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

While Kelly was in Maryland visiting with family and friends and enjoying a little Northeast rain, four of us gathered at SVC this last Friday for the weekly OCA meeting. But being few in number didn't keep the discussion from being lively.

Welcome to one new OCA Member
It was a first visit for Terry Doyle, a writer and ACD from the east coast. Terry's background (if I remember right) is Grey in Atlanta; plus FCB, DraftFCB, and Publicis elsewhere.
It was the second visit for Jim Zimmerman (Business Development and Marketing Management), and the 3rd for Wes Youngquist (AD, CD).

We talked about the "Seattle Premium" – that portion of compensation that seems to come in the form of the opportunity to live here – yes it's real. We talked about contract work as a means of surviving the recession. We talked about start ups, forming your own Co., and venture capital. Most important, we just talked.

Job News!
Kelly reported to me that there's some good news for one of our members: Vanessa Gallant will be starting at T-Mobile on Nov 30th as a Sr. Communications Manager.

WordPress WorkShop
There's plans for another edition of the very popular WordPress WorkShop. (We're waiting to hear back from Richard Geasey on dates. Shooting for early next week, if Thanksgiving plans don't interfere too much.)

See everyone next week,
Duane

Free Webcast - Branding Yourself, This Thursday!

2009-11-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

As if you didn't have enough events to choose from on Thursday, here's another. However, this one is at 4PM PST and is only an hour long, so you might be able to squeeze in both if you can manage it. I actually took the class last Friday at the REI Flagship Store. It was 5 hours long and quite informative. We got to meet with coaches and do mock interviews. I'm sure this one is a more condensed version, but probably well worth it. And, best of all, it's free!

Here's the link for more info:

http://now.eloqua.com/es.asp?s=997&e=353692&elq=855f8d00536b494699e425aa56ffa504

Another Networking Event Opportunity This Week!

2009-11-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

If you don't want to go to the AMA event this Thursday, here's another exciting opportunity for you to keep in mind:

Seattle Job Social

Thursday, November 19th

6:00 P.M. at Twist in Belltown

They have confirmed over 20 companies will be attending this event such as Amazon, Starbucks, Northwestern Mutual, Vertafore, Cardiac Science Corporation, BlueNile, Allen Partners, Recruiting By Design, Rylem, Parker Technical and many more...

Please RSVP to this event: invite@SeattleJobSocial.com

For more info: http://seattlejobsocial.com/

2009-11-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

Thankful For Your Network - PSAMA PIF Social
Thursday, November 19th - 6pm
The Local Vine, Seattle

Networking * Special Guest Sandy Jones-Kaminski * Book Signing

Ready to experience a better way to make and cultivate quality connections? Come join us for the PSAMA's first Pay It Forward (PIF) networking social! At this fun and enriching event, each guest comes to the PIF social with the intention of helping others first. The help could be personal (need a tip on where to find good Thai food in Issaquah, looking for a yoga studio in Belltown) or professional (want to find a mentor outside of your company, need new employees, looking for a new position). At this thankful time of year, you'll leave this event feeling good about having helped others as well as about the help you have received!

Join us at The Local Vine (Seattle), Thursday, November 19th at 6pm to pay it forward!

Register Today! Email networking@psama.org (subject line: PIF Social)
PSAMA Members: Free
Non-Members: $10 (you can pay at event)

Special Guest: Sandy Jones-Kaminski
Sandy Jones-Kaminski is a self-described networking enthusiast and accomplished business development professional. In 2002, Sandy launched her own partnership marketing and business development strategy consultingpractice called Bella Domain, LLC. She is also a past VP of Networking for our very own PSAMA and author of the soon-to-be-published, I'm at a Networking Event - Now What??? Read her book and you'll learn why you might want to consider becoming a "pay it forward" focused person, as well as how to be more memorable while you're out there working hard to maintain good standing within your social networks (on-line or otherwise).

Notes from 11/6 OCA Meeting

2009-11-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to two new OCA members:
- Gayle Rose, most recently an Account Supervisor with McCann, has a wealth of agency experience and has worked with some top brands.
- Jim Zimmerman comes to OCA with experience on both sides of the table, having owned his own agency and having also worked on the client-side in the banking business.

Microsoft strategies
As with several previous meetings, the discussion turned to Microsoft and how to get in on a contract basis. We talked A- and V- and the differences between the two, as well as how staffing agencies can get you in the door.
My homework: put together a list of the agencies and headhunters working with Microsoft and other big companies in the area.

WordPress WorkShop - 2nd Session
With the success of our 1st session, we're looking to run another. Rich Geasey has kindly volunteered to teach again. I'll send out a note to the group to see who's in.