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Friday, October 31, 2014

7 Mobile Apps to Help You Budget Your Freelance Business

There is literally an app for everything these days. Some of them are confusing for those of us over the age of 15 (what is the purpose of the Yo app, the most popular one-word app ever?), but some of them are undeniably amazing. Especially when it comes to helping you personally budget as either a freelancer or an entrepreneur trying to launch a small business. Here are some of the best ones.

Easy Books (for iPad)

Easy Books is just a good solid way to help you with accounting. It will help you keep your finances in check, come up with estimates for clients, and create invoices. Plus, it’s FREE!

InDinero

InDinero is an expense-tracking app that is particularly great for businesses. Upload all your bank account and credit card info and you are good to go. It will organize all your expenses into categories including travel, inventory costs, and insurance expenses.

SavedPlus

You deserve to get rewarded when you save money and this app will help you do that! For every purchase you make, a percentage will go into your savings – and you choose that percentage. This is a great way to get that emergency savings fund started. The company claims customers save an average of $205 a month and $2,500 a year. SavedPlus works with over 3,500 U.S. banks, eliminating your excuse not to save.

Earmark

This is a really useful one for reaching those financial goals. Every time you skip taking a taxi or buying that $5 coffee from Starbucks you can put that money into this earmarked account. Users can earmark up to five goals at a time, and you’re alerted when you’ve set aside enough money for each.

Venmo

Venmo is the new way to get money to people in a quick, clean, and efficient way. It uses the same technology to pay as LivingSocial, Uber and Airbnb. You can pay with your debit card or transfer funds from a linked bank account, right to a friend’s Venmo account.

Toshl Finance

Toshl Finance is an especially good one if your work requires a lot of traveling. It works with any currency and lets you separate your travel budget from your day-to-day expenses.

Mint

Mint is not just a personal finance app. It is super useful for small businesses and entrepreneurs. It shows you exactly how you are spending your money every week. Plus it features budget tools so you can find out where you’re leaking money. And because it is linked to your credit and account cards it will tell you when you nearing your limit.

The Morning Habits of 6 Successful People in Technology

 
 
A great morning routine can really make or break your day. In her book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, Laura Vanderkam writes, “Seizing your mornings is the equivalent of that sound financial advice to pay yourself first.  If you wait until the end of the month to save what you have left, there will be nothing left over.  Likewise, if you wait until the end of the day to do meaningful but not urgent things like exercise, pray, read, ponder how to advance your career or grow your organization, or truly give your family your best, it probably won’t happen.”
Even if you have never considered yourself a morning person, you are going to have to figure out how to work around that as some of the most successful people in the world attribute a lot of their productivity to a stellar morning routine. Check out these kings and queens of technology and their amazing morning routines.

Padmasree Warrior,  Cisco Chief Technical and Strategy Officer

 

Can you say early riser? Warrior wakes up at 4:30 a.m., reads email for an hour, checks out the news, exercises, and gets her son ready for school. She is in the office by 8:30 at the latest and starts her workday.

David Karp, Founder of Tumblr

 

The 28 year old founder and CEO of Tumblr, puts off checking his email until he gets to the office around 9:30 am, unlike many of his CEO colleagues. I guess he is of the philosophy that you should not start your day by checking email. As quoted in Inc. Magazine, “Reading e-mails at home never feels good or productive . If something urgently needs my attention, someone will call or text me.”

Steve Jobs, late Apple CEO

 

Jobs spent his mornings re-evaluating his work and his goals in life. In his speech to a graduating class at Stanford, Jobs said, “For the past 33 years I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo

 

Mayer is another early riser. We aren’t sure of the time but she has admitted she really doesn’t need much sleep to thrive (between four and six hours of sleep on any given night). Of course, this is also the woman who said there are 130 hours of potential work time in a week if you shower strategically.

Jason Goldberg, CEO of Fab

 

Goldberg is definitely of the school of thought that working out first thing in the morning makes you productive for the rest of the day. According to research, published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, on exercise days, people’s mood significantly improved after exercising. Goldberg told Inc., “I start my day at 6 every morning, and the first thing I do is check overnight emails. Our technology team is based in India, so they’re ahead of us. After I respond to any urgent emails, I do my morning run on the treadmill at a full steep incline for 30 minutes. I try not to think about work. Instead, I watch TV shows on my iPad. Currently, I’m watching “Curb Your Enthusiasm”–I’m up to Season Six. My other favorite shows are “Top Chef”, “Dexter”, and “Mad Men”.”

Alexa Von Tobel, CEO and Founder of LearnVest

 

Von Tobel is also in support of a morning workout followed by a plan to the minute day. She told The Observer, “I start with an early morning workout (whether a power walk with friends, barre class or spin class), which is critical to feeling energized for the whole day. My calendar is often scheduled down to 15-minute intervals, so I can (attempt to!) make time for everything — internal and external meetings, speaking events, interviews, etc. I try to put as much as possible on auto-pilot (ex: using shortcuts like eating basically the same thing for breakfast and lunch). Also, I like to tackle the hardest things first, so I think through my priorities the night before and make sure I have time for my most strategic work.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Manchester United reject approach for goalkeeper prospect

Seventeen-year-old shot stopper Dean Henderson has been targeted for a loan deal, but the Old Trafford club want the teenager to stay within the youth set-up

Manchester United have turned down a loan approach from Carlisle United for 17-year-old goalkeeper Dean Henderson, Goal understands.

Henderson was a product of Carlisle's youth system before the Old Trafford club beat a host of Premier League rivals to snap him up in 2011, when he was aged just 14.

The England youth international has progressed through the academy system at Carrington and is highly thought of at the Premier League club.

Carlisle had hoped they could persuade United to allow Henderson to return to Brunton Park on a loan deal which would see the teenager gain some first team experience.

However, United have rejected the approach in favour of the 17-year-old continuing to develop as part of the club's academy system.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Falcao wanted to join Juventus - Marotta

The Italian giants' managing director has indicated that the Colombian had prioritised joining his team until Manchester United sealed a deadline-day deal with Monaco
Radamel Falcao wanted to join Juventus before Manchester United sealed a loan move, according to the club's managing director Giuseppe Marotta.

The striker joined Louis van Gaal's side on transfer deadline day from Monaco for a season-long fee of around £10 million after United agreed to subsidise the majority of his reported £300,000-a-week wages.

A number of teams were interested in the Colombian international, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all also reportedly offered the player, though Moratta insists a move to Italy was his preference.

"We followed Falcao, but there has been no contact since he moved to Manchester United," the Juve chief told Domenica Sportiva.

"We were very close to signing him and the striker preferred a move to Italy to wear Bianconeri colours.

"Then, however, a deal was done to send the forward to Manchester United, who can now buy the player permanently, though that deal is a little blurred."

Falcao has scored once in five appearances for United so far this season, compared to the two goals he netted for Monaco in three games before leaving the Stade Louis II.

Mourinho's Chelsea will NEVER match the Arsenal Invincibles... if only in terms of style

CORRESPONDENT COLUMN: The Blues do not look like losing a match at this moment in time but Jose Mourinho's often cautious outlook means they cannot truly emulate the Gunners

It was Patrick Vieira, the captain of Arsenal’s famous Invincibles side, who suggested last week that Chelsea could replicate that team’s achievements in 2003-04 and finish this season unbeaten.

It seems fanciful to suggest the feat being matched so soon, but even if the Blues could manage to navigate the campaign without losing a single match, they still wouldn’t hold a candle to the Invincibles.

Not while Jose Mourinho is still in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese is the best coach in the business and Chelsea are already cruising towards the Premier League title this season.

But for all Chelsea’s attractive attacking football this season - in the poorest Premier League for years - he will never send his teams out with the same swashbuckling intent to entertain as Arsenal did 11 seasons ago.

Certainly not in the big matches and Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United was a case in point.

"We don't look to others, we look to ourselves,” reflected Mourinho after Robin van Persie’s late equaliser for the hosts. "Old Trafford is one of the most dangerous fixtures we have. The result is not the result we want, but the way we performed means we don't need to look to others."

But if Chelsea failed to get the result they wanted, it is in no small part down to the way Mourinho instructed his team to play in the closing stages. While the Portuguese’s cautiousness has helped his teams see out many games, they were punished on Sunday for refusing to put United to the sword.

Quite simply, Mourinho tried to shut up shop and defend a 1-0 lead when Chelsea were well on top and United were there for the taking following Didier Drogba’s 53rd minute opener.

At that stage in the match, Eden Hazard was slicing through the hosts at will and Chelsea simply looked too strong for their hosts, who played with admirable desire but didn’t have the defensive skill to cope with the Londoners’ swift attacking moves.

But with 23 minutes of normal time still to play, Mourinho decided to try to hold what he had by bringing on John Obi Mikel for Oscar.

From that moment on, the initiative shifted towards the hosts. Chelsea sat ever deeper, the gap between the midfield and Didier Drogba increased, Hazard disappeared from prominence.

Mourinho drills his players so meticulously that he would have expected them to hold on.

But the cracks were showing as they conceded chances to Robin van Persie and conceded silly free-kicks in their own half, one of which led to the Branislav Ivanovic’s red card and Van Persie’s equaliser.

Mourinho will be happy enough, but his natural instinct, that pragmatism that has won so many trophies down the years, might have cost Chelsea two points.

It was a similar story against Manchester City, their closest title rivals, in September. With a 1-0 lead and playing against 10 men, Mourinho decided to sit back and protect the score rather than bury the hosts. Chelsea were punished as Frank Lampard scored a late equaliser against his old club.

One criticism of the Invincibles - the first team to go unbeaten over a 38-game season - is that they drew too many matches as they shared the points in 12 fixtures.

But they always did so with the intent to win and to do it in style. The same cannot be said of Chelsea under Mourinho.

Di Maria: Manchester United move not financially motivated

The Argentina international was slammed by Carlo Ancelotti after leaving Real Madrid but the winger insists he did not move to Old Trafford purely for the money

Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria has dismissed suggestions that his move to Old Trafford was motivated by money.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti slammed the Argentina international after he made his British record £59.1 million move to United, claiming that he "demanded a lot of money and preferred to leave in order to earn more elsewhere."

But Di Maria, who has made a breathtaking start to life in the Premier League with three goals in six games under manager Louis van Gaal, insists he "truly wanted to move to United" due to his love of the club's iconic number seven shirt.

"I have these amazing feelings about having moved to Man United," Di Maria told The Mirror.

"I'm so proud of myself, you know. It's hard to explain it and put it in words. I wanted to wear this shirt.

"And it is so nice for me to wear the number seven shirt. It was worn by some of the greatest players in the club's history and I do know that it is a huge thing for all Man United fans.

"I think people here are happy with me. So I must honour this shirt. I must confess that I had all these expectations - but Man United have exceeded my expectations. It has all been perfect for me so far."

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

How to Stop Being Lazy

Being lazy can be a very unhealthy way to live life. Perhaps worst of all, it's very easy to fall into a pattern of being consistently lazy and unmotivated. How you manage your time and what you do with it now will affect you later on in life, so read some of the tips below on how to stop being lazy and start being more productive.
EditPart 1 of 4: Body, Mind and Spirit

If you're feeling lazy, it may have to do with how you're taking (or not taking) care of yourself. Look at these tips to naturally give yourself more energy.
Stop Being Lazy Step 1 Version 3.jpg
  1. Sleep. You should ideally be getting eight hours of sleep and trying to get on a regular sleep cycle. Irregular sleep patterns or sleepless nights can lead to low energy and lazy tendencies.
  2. Stop Being Lazy Step 2 Version 3.jpg
    Wash your face. As soon as you wake up in the morning, just wash your face and freshen up. It's a very easy way to wake yourself up a bit more and start the day off right. 
  3. Stop Being Lazy Step 3 Version 3.jpg
    Exercise regularly. Even something as simple as a brisk walk gives you natural energy and also releases endorphins that improve your overall mood, making you feel more inclined to go out and accomplish something that day.
  4. Stop Being Lazy Step 4 Version 3.jpg
    Watch your diet. If you're not getting enough vegetables or healthy foods into your body, it can also affect your overall energy. Try to cut out excess junk food and eat regular meals per day.
  5. Stop Being Lazy Step 5 Version 3.jpg
    Get help. If none of the above methods help, your feelings of laziness could possibly be linked to depression, or more rarely a more serious mental health issue such as attention deficit disorder. It may be worth seeking professional help.
EditPart 2 of 4: Get In The Right Frame Of Mind
Feelings of laziness or lethargy are often directly related to how we're feeling about ourselves or life. Here are a few ways to improve your mood.
  1. Stop Being Lazy Step 6 Version 3.jpg
    Clean your home and office area. Having an environment free of clutter can often remove some of the clutter from your mind, and make you feel more motivated and productive.
  2. Stop Being Lazy Step 7 Version 3.jpg
    Start your day with positive self talk. For example, "Today, I will go for a run." 
  3. Stop Being Lazy Step 8 Version 3.jpg
    Listen to energetic music. Workout songs or exercise jams that get you "pumped up" and feeling active will help set up a positive tone to your day.
  4. Stop Being Lazy Step 9 Version 2.jpg
    Change your environment. Different environments have different impacts on our productivity. For example, if you're trying to work on something in your bedroom, does it make you want to work or just snuggle and sleep? You may want to consider a different space if you're trying to accomplish a certain task.
  5. Stop Being Lazy Step 10 Version 2.jpg
    Surround yourself with productive people. Who you surround yourself with inspires your behavior. Hang out with people who are successful and motivated, and their energy will likely rub off on you.
  6. Stop Being Lazy Step 11 Version 2.jpg
    Tell others about your goals. Have you always wanted a new job or to run a marathon? Tell people about it! Whenever people see you, they will now ask you about how things are going with those goals. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable for your actions.
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    Stop over-complicating things. Are you waiting for a perfect time to accomplish something? There usually isn't one. Unfortunately, perfectionism can be one of the biggest reasons for procrastination.

EditPart 3 of 4: Prioritize Your Time

If you have a lot to do, it can be so overwhelming that you end up doing nothing. Here are some ways to maximize the time that you have.
  1. Stop Being Lazy Step 13 Version 2.jpg
    Make a list. If you have several things to do in a given day, prioritize them into "have-to's," "need-to's" and "get-to's". Do the have-to's first. Having things written out on paper often makes it easier to see what is most important.
  2. Stop Being Lazy Step 14 Version 2.jpg
    Do not do the worst items first. While you haven't expanded any energy yet, do the most unpleasant tasks of the day later. If you focus on the easier tasks first, you will have more time to work on the worst things later. Things that you don't like to do will obviously take more time than the usual. This creates an extra barrier in your mind as you have other works that you like to do or can easily get done with and yet, not doing them, as you are stuck with something that you don't like.
  3. Stop Being Lazy Step 15 Version 2.jpg
    Pick your projects carefully. Again, you don't want to overwhelm yourself into lethargy. Pick one or two things to focus on and fully devote yourself to those tasks. You don't want to spread yourself too thin.
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    Break your work into small steps. Another way to avoid having work seem too overwhelming is to break a task down into individual parts, then focus on each part.
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    Create a detailed timeline. If you have a project and all you've given yourself is the due date, it's very easy to put things off until the last second. Make a timeline that lists all the steps you will need to take leading up to that due date and give yourself a reasonable time frame to accomplish them.

EditPart 4 of 4: Value Your Time

Your time is precious. Here are some ways to avoid laziness and make the most out of your day.
  1. Stop Being Lazy Step 18 Version 2.jpg
    Learn to do something with your free time. Take up a new interest or hobby. Life is more fulfilling when you're productive.
  2. Stop Being Lazy Step 19 Version 2.jpg
    Do all your projects right away. If you get a homework assignment, don't put it off until the weekend. Start working on it now while everything is fresh in your mind.
  3. Stop Being Lazy Step 20.jpg
    Eliminate your procrastination stops. Know what you spend time procrastinating with and take action to remove it. If you waste time surfing the web, work in a place that doesn't have internet access. If texting friends is your vice, move your phone into a different room or have a friend hold on to it for the afternoon.
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    Enforce punctuality. If you say you're going to start working on something at noon, start at noon. Don't make it acceptable to start 30 or 40 minutes later than what you committed to.
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      Set a schedule of working and breaks. It's natural that you will need to take a break from working, but make sure that time is limited. For example, you could commit to working for the first 50 minutes of every hour and then take a break for 10 minutes.
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    Just do it! There isn't any cure for being lazy. The only way to overcome this is by setting your mind to the task and completing it. Have self-discipline.

Why mixing client work with education leads to innovative design

TwoPoints.Net co-founders explain how they took client work to the next level by going back to school.


 
 Education needn't end when a design career begins. Not content with running a successful studio with an international clientele, TwoPoints.Net co-founders Martin Lorenz and Lupi Asensio also direct degree programmes and somehow find the time to study, too.
TwoPoints.Net is a small Barcelona-based design studio that likes to think big. Both Lorenz and Asensio teach post-graduate degree programmes in typography, and are also studying for their own PhDs.
As the pair reveal, combining work with study can lead to fresh opportunities and motivations to learn...

Martin Lorenz on innovation

The years we spent in education have always been our most enjoyable. We've studied design in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, where the different teaching methods kept things interesting. No doubt sometimes I was a difficult student and perhaps a little too critical, but I always enjoyed the debates I had with teachers.
After graduation, the biggest worry was that my learning would stagnate, so I started several self-commissioned projects to create new learning environments. And even if a project was commissioned, we always tried to build in a phase that would allow us to experiment, learn and study."

I began a PhD at the University of Barcelona in 2005, and since 2007 I've been writing a dissertation about flexible visual identities. The project gives me a reason to dig deep into the history of graphic design, which I might not have done otherwise. The knowledge I've gained is routinely applied to the classes I teach at Design Werkstatt, as well as at our design studio.
The more you know about the history of design, the harder it can be to create something 'singularly original'. On the other hand, you might get inspired to follow the trajectory of someone’s work and come up with a novel synthesis. To me, that's innovation. Without knowing about the past, you can’t create something truly new.

Lupi Asensio on design as architecture

When we started our PhDs we realised how difficult it was for us to write compared to other students involved in theoretical studies. Our main communication tool is the visual and not the written language. Yet it makes a lot of sense that designers are investigating this avenue.
I always thought it strange that design history is often written by art historians. Of course, they can talk about facts and context, but design is about making projects and in this sense it's closer to architecture than to art. Some people (at least in Spain) do research to get a job in an academic institution, but we already have a job: we are designers and we love what we do and we want to continue to do it.

This means we don't have much time to dedicate to research, but it allows for a different point of view because you're writing what you're doing every day.
Teaching is also one of my passions. Since 2005 I've been teaching, and since 2007 I've been a director of different programmes of postgraduate degrees. That's why my research is about to look at the past since Bauhaus but with a focus on Ulm, in order to learn what would be an ideal study programme nowadays.
To design a whole study programme is a dream we might never be able to fully realise, but we never thought we'd have the opportunity to work on such cool projects, and get enough attention to be able to write in magazines like Computer Arts.
Does studying while working provide a unique perspective? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Succeed in Your Graphic Design Job Interview!

 
Human hand working on a design 
We can see work of graphic designers everywhere. On the screen of your mobile phone, on the wall of nearby buildings, on the body of your car, or clothes you just wear… People are visual beings and decide rather emotionally than rationally. Therefor, to have an excellent graphic designer in a team is a must for practically every single company.

It is a good job, but not everyone can get it in an interview. An applicant needs to demonstrate different abilities and “sell” his skills and knowledge to the recruiters. Creativity, good understanding of the needs and desires of various people, ability to interpret the business needs and develop a campaign from scratch are just few to mention. On the top of that, every designer should have practical knowledge of Photoshop (or similar software), CAD, and other tools needed for the job. So, how do they test all of this in a job interview?

Practical interview

Like in every other job interview, employer will ask you several personal, behavioral and technical questions. However in this case, a practical part belongs to an interview too.
They may let you to do some work directly in an interview, e.g. to improve a simple design, or give your ideas on certain concepts and layouts. In some cases, recruiters let the applicants to prepare some work before an interview. The same task is given to all the interviewed applicants. Later they can compare the work of all the applicants and decide.

Knowing it, you should for sure prepare your working portfolio prior to the interview. It does not matter if you have worked for clients for ten years, or if you are just a starter and design things only for yourself. In both cases, you should pick your best works and prepare a presentation, either in a form of .PPT, or simply on the paper. Doing so, you may avoid doing practical tasks in an interview. But even if not, such a portfolio shows that you really care for getting the job, that the interview is important for you. Every employer will see it as something positive. So, do not hesitate to do it!

Then, your ability to answer all tough questions and sell your skills in an interview will decide. To learn how to do it, as well as to see multiple brilliant answers to the toughest interview questions, see our Graphic Design Interview Package.  Thank you.

Panel interview for graphic design job 

What questions do they ask in graphic design interview?

You can expect a mix of behavioral, technical and personal questions. Each part has its meaning. They try to assess your motivation and communication skills with personal questions. Your answers to behavioral questions should uncover your behavior in various work related situations. And technical questions test your ability to do the job, or at least your ability to talk about doing the job :) . Practical exercises, often the final stage of an interview, will test your ability to really do the job… Let’s have a look at some questions they typically ask:

Practice before your interview

Woman graphic designer is working
CAD and Photoshop have pretty intuitive user interface. If you have good computer intelligence, you should be able to find what you need in an interview. But I suggest you to work with it for couple of hours prior to the start of your interview. It is much better than studying some theory, because there are way too many possible theoretical questions about it. However, do not forget that an ability to learn and a creative thinking is more important than your actual knowledge of CAD or Photoshop.

If the very best expert on Photoshop does not understand the main goal of his design work, or can not transfer the business needs into final results, his knowledge is worthless. Oppositely, a creative person who knows what to design and why, thinking about the needs of both business and customers, simply a guy who can design things that actually sell themselves, can always learn to work with a software, and after all it’s not the main thing. I believe it is clear to you which one do recruiters prefer to hire… Please, do not forget on it, when preparing for your job interview and check some online interview trainings for graphic designers.

What to say at the end?

Well, even if you are the best designer in your city, still, they may not hire you. Why? Simply because employment relationship isn’t about your design skills only. You must convince the employer about an added value you can bring, you must show him you fit well into company environment. And, you must answer all their questions… It’s not easy. But with our Graphic Design Interview Package, you will be ready for all the interview challenges. Thank you for checking it out here!

Graphic Design Interview Questions That Will Help You Prepare

Graphic Designers are in high demand. There’s always a need for someone who understands the ins and outs of what makes great design. A graphic designer who has an eye for aesthetics, a firm grasp on cutting-edge software and style trends, and who can destroy a deadline is worth their weight in gold. With that said, graphic design is a popular career for creative people who want to make their mark on the world, so it isn’t hard to see why graphic design is such a competitive field.
Whether you are thinking of studying graphic design to land your dream job in the future, or you’ve just graduated and can’t wait to get started, having interview skills that will make you the most appealing candidate are absolutely mandatory. Preparing for your day in the hotseat requires lead-in preparation time that starts with writing a fabulous resume and is supplemented by practicing your answers to common graphic design interview questions. But we know that won’t put you off–you’ve got the skills and the ambition, you won’t have any problem nailing the interview, too!

Before the Interview:

Before you even go in for your graphic design interview, it’s worth it to put the prep time in when it comes to crafting a resume and cover letter that will garner interest from potential employers. So what does the perfect resume look like?
Well, it should go without saying that the very first impression that an employer gets of your skills as a graphic designer begins with the work that you put in to your resume. It should be no longer than one page, and be clean, neat, and aesthetically pleasing. Spend some time crafting the typography elements of your resume; instead of thinking of it as a purely utilitarian way to convey information about your skills and experience, consider it the first piece of your graphic design portfolio.

It is also very worth the time to practice speaking. There are a number of basic interview questions that you are doubtless already very familiar with, like:
  • Tell me about yourself.
    • The interviewer isn’t looking for your zodiac sign or life story. Answer this question with four or five aspects about your experience or personality that can be framed in a way that still describes how you are a unique candidate.
  • What do you consider to be your greatest weakness?
    • Hint: it’s not kryptonite. This isn’t an invitation to denigrate yourself or be humble. Instead, describe a strength of yours disguised as a “weakness”.
  • Where do you see yourself in five years?
    • The key to this question isn’t to sign your life away to your desired place of employment. Most employers just want to know how the position you are interviewing for fits into your career goals.
These all seem like very simple questions, but can actually be stumpers. Assume that questions like these will be asked of you and practice your answers to them before you even move on to the graphic design interview questions below.

Casting Your Net:

Graphic Design can be a competitive field to break into, but it isn’t impossible by any stretch of the imagination. There are a number of things to take into consideration before you even begin to look for a graphic design job, so you need to do a little research. Consider each of the following aspects before you start sending resumes out:
  • Location: Metropolitan centers have many, many opportunities for the aspiring graphic designer, but some have more than others. You need to also consider the cost of living and the rate of unemployment as you look. For instance, New York City will always have a need for talented designers. But even with a lot of opportunity, there’s always a wealth of candidates, and the cost of living is sky-high.
  • Level: It’s tempting to go straight for flashy, sexy jobs in advertising houses with big-name clients and near-unlimited resources, but consider your experience level before biting. Starting at an indie firm or doing something more vanilla when you are first starting out doesn’t have to be a compromise. You can learn a lot from jobs with solid-entry level positions to cut your teeth on.
  • Reputation: There are a lot of resources and websites out there for job hunters wanting to understand a little bit more about the companies they want to work for. Interviews and checks aren’t just for candidates anymore! Spend some time looking at salary information, employee morale, and internal hiring practices at the company you’d like to pursue. Are there opportunities to advance? Are the employees happy? What are the perks like?
Taking these kinds of things into consideration when you cast your net will result in more call backs for you so that all you need to worry about is acing the interview when it’s time. Speaking of which…

Sample Graphic Design Interview Questions:

Finally, the good stuff. Let’s dive right in and take a look at some common (and not so common) graphic design interview questions. We’ll include a few answers as well, but remember that it isn’t a script! Let the sample answers give you a foothold, and then be sure to practice an answer of your own that lets your individuality shine through.

Q: In your opinion, what are the qualities of a good graphic designer? 
A: Here’s your first chance to sell yourself a little, but don’t overdo it. Think about the qualities that make a graphic designer great, and then expound on them a little. For example, you could say something like:
“There’s no substitute for design intuition, of course, but understanding design technology as it changes is absolutely vital. For that reason, I make it a priority to stay up to date with software like Adobe CS and keep my eye out for changing market trends.”

Q: What kind of design projects are you interested in? 
A: A question like this is why it’s so important to do your research. You don’t want to apply for a job doing layout design for educational materials and moon over how much you love motion graphics for social marketing campaigns. A sample answer might sound a little like:
“I’m always trying to develop better practices for streamlined User Interface layout graphics. I’m really excited at the work this company has done for XYZ website, and I hope I’ll get a chance to contribute to a similar project.”

Q: Tell me about a time that you had to work under pressure? 
A: Your interviewer isn’t asking this question because she wants to know about that time in college that you had a paper due but your cat got a stomach virus and your car broke down. What she’s really asking is “Tell me a time that you succeeded under pressure”. You’ll want to answer it without framing it as a “woe is me” story. For instance:
“In my last position, we were working on a very strict budget and close deadline. Because we were skilled communicators, everyone was able to pull together and exceed client expectations when the presentation was rescheduled to a week ahead of time.”

Q: Which software do you prefer to work with and why? 
A: Again, this is where research comes in handy. If you’re applying to a design job as a 3D modeler with a company that uses 3DStudio Max you want to be able to say that you use that same program, not that you only use Maya because you think 3DS is inferior. You can frame it like this:
“I think it’s important to know multiple modeling systems, because each has it’s benefits and drawbacks. I understand that your studio uses 3DStudio Max; I’m very familiar with 3DS, so I should be able to hit the ground running here.

Q: What is your design process? 
A: This is an intuitive question, but because it can involve multiple steps, it’s best to practice it before hand so that you aren’t stumbling over your words as you attempt to get them out. This is also a question that gauges how efficient you are, as well as your attention to detail. You want to fall somewhere in the middle–talking about how it takes at least 15 drafts before you reach your final design will make it seem like you won’t meet deadlines. On the other hand, claiming that you always design perfectly at square one will make it seem like you don’t value craftsmanship or worse, that you’re arrogant. You might say something like,
“Before I get started on a project, I like to develop a number of milestones to refer to so that I can stay on track. After that, I begin with a preliminary concept sketches and choose the ones that best meet client expectations. I will typically do three of four mock-ups to tweak the final design before I present it to the client. Of course, I always take any constructive criticism directed towards my work to improve as I go.”

Q: Can I see your portfolio? 
A: There’s only one right way to answer this, and that is in the affirmative. You should include a link to your online portfolio of work with your contact information on your resume. Before you get to the interview, make sure that you also have a burned copy of your demo reel that you can leave with the interviewer. To review, this is what the answer to this question should sound like:
“Yes, gladly.”

There are many more potential graphic design interview questions, far too many to name here. They can include everything from logic puzzles that test your creative and critical thinking abilities to software-specific skills that will vary depending on what type of position you are applying for. If you do your research and polish your answers before you go in, you’ll ace the interview for sure.

After the Interview:

After your interview, the first thing that you should do is heave a great big sigh of relief, because you did it! The very next thing that you should do is follow up immediately with a thank you email, and drop a thank you card into the mailbox the very next day.

Handwritten thank you cards stand out because they are becoming a rare and elusive breed. Your best bet is to again use your awesome graphic design skills to create something that is unique and showcases your talent.

With these sample graphic design interview questions, you are well on your way to landing your dream job by breaking into the field of graphic design. From here, you can consider other options as well, like supplementing your income as a freelance designer, or looking towards freelancing full time, if it suits you. It never hurts to brush up on additional resume and cover letter writing fundamentals, either. And of course, we wish the best of luck to you on your job hunt!

How to Interview: Graphic Designers

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By: Dona Dezube
Every time a new type of communication emerges, the graphic designer job description expands.
Interview Questions to Ask: Experience
Whether your organization communicates via print, web, hand-held devices, online, billboards, or all of the above, knowing how to interview graphic designers starts with knowing what you need the designer to design.
A good designer can design about anything. When you’re looking to recruit a great designer, though, it’s best to look for a candidate who’s done similar products for similar organizations, says Cynthia Escalante, an account manager with staffing firm Aquent, LLC, Boston.
While your resume review will tell you where a candidate has worked, these questions will delve deeper into their fit with your company culture:
  • Have you done annual reports (or whatever products the designer will do for your organization)?
  • What size company were your prior clients?
  • Have you worked for non-profits, trade associations or other companies in this industry?
  • What is your experience with designing for websites?
  • What type of signage have you designed?
Interview Questions to Ask: The Portfolio
Interview questions about the candidate’s experience naturally lead to a discussion of their portfolio.
When possible, look at the work in the medium for which it was designed, going online to look at websites, or viewing a printed copy of an annual report.
Asking, Show me your best piece is a good first question, says Donna Farrugia, executive director of The Creative Group, a Menlo Park, California, executive search firm.
A designer skilled at presentation will have their best piece placed first in their portfolio, and their second-best piece will be the last piece with five to eight pieces in between, she says.
Use the portfolio as a launching pad to dig into the job candidate’s previous experience by asking:
  • What was the objective of this piece?
  • What was your role in developing this piece?
  • What was the business result of that piece?
  • How much time did it take to execute this project?
  • Did you come up with this concept? Or was it a collaborative process? 
  • Why did you choose this image (or binding, or color palette?)
  • What was your thought process, and how does your creative process work?
  • What was the design challenge? 
  • How did you resolve that challenge?
  • What results did this piece achieve?
  • What was the client’s feedback, and can you supply contact information for this client so they can give you a reference?
  • What people, processes, and/or budgets did you manage when you did this project?
As the job seeker answers your interview questions, listen to hear if they’re a strategic thinker and what their level of responsibility has been in the past, says Escalante.
Today’s graphic designer has to engage, attract, convert, and sell an audience, so listen for answers that demonstrate the applicant has core business skills, as well.
Do they mention costs, perhaps talking about the cost versus benefits of interactive versus printed annual reports?
Interview Questions to Ask: Hard-Skills Questions
Graphic designers need hard skills, especially when working in mobile and online platforms.
While the resume will tell you what software a graphic designer uses, these questions will tease out how well they know those programs:
  • Do you consider yourself first a designer or a programmer?
  • How have you used Software Program X in your daily work? 
  • How often have you used Software Program X?
  • What version of Software Program X are you most familiar with?
  • If I asked you to design something, what software would you use?
  • If I were willing to train you on any software, what would you choose to learn?
Interview Questions to Ask: Soft Skills
Unless your new hire will only work remotely, they’ll need soft skills too.
Find out how well the job applicant works with others by asking: What did the team at your prior position look like? What was your official role on that team? What was your unofficial role on that team?
Close the interview with an open-ended question that gives you a glimpse of what inspires the candidate: What’s been your most interesting project?
As you listen to their reply, consider whether your organization’s job aligns well with what inspires the candidate. If it does, you’re ready to make an offer to your next great hire.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Top 10 Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

Our today’s list of top 10 most dangerous gangs in the world compromises of the criminals who have become a threat to nations. They are much involved in various illegal activities; committing murders, drug dealings, human trafficking, extortion, bribing and blackmailing. Not only this but also these persons run prostitution, and are involved in gambling operations at national and international level. The police and government of every state tries to stop these gangs become a part of their societies, but they are making much money from this field that they don’t spend time in taking risks and are continuously ruining our societies in one way or the other. Let us check out which are those gangs.

10. 14k Triad

The 14k Triad is a Triad group of Hong Kong. This gang is much active at international level, and came into being in 1949 after the Chinese civil war. It has around 25,000 members, and is the rival of “Sun Yee On” gang. Much of this gang’s operations are drug trafficking, illegal gambling, counterfeiting, kidnapping, prostitution, and murder. They are also involved in street crimes.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

9. Sinaloa Cartel

The Sinaloa Cartel is another very active gang. Its members are well organized and involved in severe crimes. It is based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The gang is organized by notorious Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. He is one of the richest persons in the world, and this gang is most powerful in drug dealing. They also import cocaine and large amounts of heroin in USA.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

8. Yamaguchi-Gumi

The Yamaguchi Gumi has been operating since 1915. This gang is based in Japan, with its members worldwide. They even have their offices in different big cities in the world. The number of its members is around 40,000. They are involved in drug dealing, extortion, gambling, rape, assassination, real estate and construction kickback schemes.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

7. Los Zetas

This gang is based in Mexico, and has its members the world over. It was founded in 1990. The gang members commit various violent crimes in Latin America. The government of America calls it “most technologically advanced, and dangerous cartel operating of Mexico”. This gang also deals in extortion, kidnapping, oil, and drug dealing.

Los Zetas

6. Bloods and Crips

Bloods and Crips are two separate gangs. But they deal in with each other in different dangerous issues. They have their more than 20,000 members worldwide, and were originated in California. They deal in violent murders, threats, robberies and drug trafficking.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

5. United Bamboo

The United Bamboo is also known as Zhu Lien Bang. This gang is based in Taiwan. It has gained worldwide fame for getting involved in politics since 1980. The gang deal in human trafficking, drug dealing, kidnapping, rape, and other issues.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

4. Aryan Brotherhood

The Aryan Brotherhood is a white supremacist prison gang of USA. It is responsible for over 30% rapes and murders across the country. Its members are spread all over the world, and the gang was founded in 1964 in San Quentin prison near San Francisco. They make millions of dollars every month due to their bad works like drug dealing, human trafficking, kidnapping, and murder for money.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

3. Barrio Azteca

The Barrio Azteca is a Mexican-American gang. It was founded in prisons of El Paso, Texas in 1986. The gang is rival of ‘Sinaloa Cartel’. Initially, they were involved in street crimes, but now they deal in various violent issues. The approximate number of its members is 3,000, and most of which are found in New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

2. Mungiki

The Mungiki is a mysterious gang of Kenya. They deal in several unusual things. The total number of its members is more than 100,000. It deals in Nairobi’s largest slum, and acts against the Government of Kenya in several issues since 1990. The gang is also involved in murder, kidnapping, violent extortion, political affiliation, and controlling public transportation.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World

1. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)

The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) is a transnational criminal gang. It is operating since 1980, and is Los Angeles based. The gang has extremely dangerous members, all of whom are equipped with advanced weapons. The number of its members is around 70,000. The gang is involved in human trafficking, prostitution, extortion, and murder.

Most Dangerous Gangs in the World