nancy's corner

We all have work challenges right?  But we all have the perks too (hopefully but if not, call us).  So, what if the best part of your job was giving other people a job?  Quite possibly, you have just altered the course of someone’s life (I just watched the LOST finale, so bear with me).  Now, that person has self-worth again, has a reason to get out of bed in the morning, can support the family, contribute to society, the list goes on.

In this job market, the true challenge becomes that there are so many worthy, qualified people.  As a human resource professional it can be quite daunting to sift through so many resumes, conduct interviews and ultimately disqualify many.

In an effort to understand the role of Human Resource professionals Hire Profile is reaching out to learn how we can become a better resource.  After all, the best part of our job is finding someone a job.

This week, we spoke to the Director of Human Resources for a large online resource site.  Her biggest challenge these days is not only finding the candidate with the right skill set, but also someone that is going to be a leader, not just a “doer”.  She admits it does take a certain number of “doers” to get the job done, but what if everyone could lead in a different area?  She looks at talent that is going to take the initiative in their job.  It’s a fine line between following directions and getting the job done, versus not just seeing it as a job.

Every organization needs both.  Which one are you?

We are highlighting our production and design talent to help you spring into action on all your print design projects.  Below are four talented design and production freelancers who are available for on- or off-site work.  All have experience handling everything from sales sheets to large mulit-page documents.  Rates are negotiable depending on the project, timing and technical requirements.  Book a freelancer before May 7 and receive 4 hours of their time free!*

Please call us at 404-806-2285 and we’ll introduce you to Debby, Jeffery, Scott, Ronnie or one of the thousands of other talented, pre-screened freelancers in our network.  *3 day minimum engagement required.

Ronnie – Graphic Designer/Illustrator

Ronnie has 7 years of diverse, hands-on design experience as a graphic designer, illustrator and production artist. Ronnie’s design qualifications include: publication and web ads, brochures, newsletters, direct mail, collateral, logos, packaging, posters, digital billboards, street banners and translites.

While working with Fernbank Museum, she had the opportunity to redesign the look of Fernbank’s Martinis & IMAX-TWICE for 2008 & 2010.

Scott – Print/Interactive Designer

Scott is a talented designer with 10 years of professional experience designing for both print and interactive. Other skills include Flash interactivity, 3-D animation/motion graphics and illustration (hand drawn and digital).

Scott has a strong desire to never stop learning and believes that work should be enjoyable and fun.

Debby – Production Artist/Graphic Designer

Debby is a versatile senior level production artist and graphic designer. Her production expertise includes producing catalogs, brochures, newsletters, logos, print advertising, graphics and presentation materials for marketing campaigns.

She enjoys planning, developing and implementing creative campaigns with a team of professionals or independently. Debby is dependable, focused, highly organized, and carries a positive attitude.

Jeffrey – Production Artist/Graphic Designer

As a graphic designer, production artist and photographer, Jeffrey has produced hundreds of unique advertisements for clients in the entertainment, sports, telecom, technology, retail, B2B, and B2C sectors.

He most recently worked for the Coca Cola Company as a graphics manager with the Global Design Team. Jeffrey has worked for a number of agencies in Atlanta including the Blue Sky Agency, Fletcher Martin Ewing, JWT Communications, Entertainment and Technology, and Partners & Napier.

Have a creative project you need our help with?  Tell us about it on our Project Submission Form.

Last week Brandy Nagel and I met with a group of recently laid off UPS marketing folks to help them jump start their job search. Many of these talented people have not looked for a job in 15-20 years.  They wanted reassurance they did not need to go buy resume paper (correct), do they need personal business cards (yes), how can LinkedIn really help my job search (business intelligence) and how to use my personal network (tell everybody you are on the job market!).

This thank you note reminds me why I get up every morning:
Nancy,
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day on Friday to share your thoughts, tips, and insights on the current job search environment in the Atlanta area and elsewhere. I found the information you shared to be very useful and walked with several valuable, actionable items to enhance my job search.

Again, thank you for your time and insights!”

We have these and others on our testimonials page.  They make a cold, snowy day seem warm and sunny.

Let’s face it, 2009 was a rocky road for many companies and individuals.  We saw layoffs, budget cuts, projects shelved or killed, even people leave the creative industry.  But through the ashes we also witnessed great triumph.

I have been an Atlanta recruiter since 1995. I went through the Dot Bomb, September 11 and other periods of unrest in the job market.  What is most interesting is the ingenuity, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit these times bring out in the survivors among us.  A layoff can be the birth of a freelancer or a small creative firm. Many displaced freelancers have bonded together and formed their own nimble agencies – able to expand and contract to meet client needs. Some have rediscovered themselves through the shedding of their corporate job and focusing their attention on family, balance and pursuing the type of work that really inspires.

Hire Profile helped many displaced employees find freelance work and new jobs in 2009.  We filled hundreds of projects from our pool of freelance art directors, production artists, designers, marketers, copywriters and illustrators.  We helped clients get the job done when full-time staff was no longer an option.

We spent some of our time reflecting on how we could serve our clients and talent better. As a result, we have upgraded our candidate tracking software, brought on a financial business consultant, engaged a new bookkeeper and overhauled our back office operations and payroll systems.  We created a new brochure and introduced our new tag line, “Visionary Creative Staffing”.  Our “Temp Is The New Perm” program created many new job opportunities. And, we continued our commitment to social media as a recruiting and placement tool through our Facebook fan page and Twitter accounts. These investments will build a strong foundation for a prosperous future.  The good news for everyone–we are already seeing an up-tick in permanent employment searches and have every indication that freelance will remain strong throughout the year!

We are excited about 2010 and looking forward to bringing you even more opportunities and resources to help grow your business and your creative life.

If you feel overwhelmed at the holidays with the family obligations, work deadlines, shopping, decorating and travel? If so, we offer this little bit of advice.  Register with Hire Profile and let us handle the project qualification, estimate generating, client invoicing and collections. You can easily enter all your time on-line and get paid quickly with direct deposit. That will leave more time for all the other chaos that are the holidays!  ENJOY!

Announcing the New Hire Profile Candidate Tracking System

Hire Profile is constantly striving to streamline our systems, become more efficient, and improve our ability to find our talent work.  This is to let you know that we have made some significant enhancements to our applicant tracking and job posting software.  You can now:

Create Your Own Account:

You can now update your resume and update your profile including contact information, objective, skills, education, work experience, salary requirements and availability.  If you are in our database prior to August 2009, we have given you an account already:

URL: http://www.hire-profile.com/find_work/talent_application.shtml

Username: your Email address*
Password: password09

Otherwise, please apply on-line with us either with the link above or to any job you feel you are a fit for here: http://www.hire-profile.com/find_work/open_jobs.shtml

*The system matches you by your e-mail address ONLY. You can change it once you are logged in. Please do not create multiple accounts using different e-mail addresses.

Things are getting busier so please be sure we have the most up-to-date resume, samples and contact information!!