career crossroads: navigating your next professional move

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CAREER CROSSROADSNavigating Your Next Professional Move

© 2017 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans. All rights reserved.


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What We’ll Cover

• Current hiring trends

• 5 ways to improve your career

prospects

• Self-evaluation

• Things to consider before making a

move




1. The talent drought continuesTrends

Driving

Hiring

5 2. Retention is top of mind

3. Hybrid professionals are in demand

4. Work-life integration prevails

5. Counteroffers are looming



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Salaries Are Heading North

• Starting salaries are getting bigger:

+3.6% overall

+5.3% for interactive jobs

• Front-end web developer

(1-3 yrs’ exp.): 7.2%

• Mobile designer: 6.8%

• UX designer

(3-5 yrs’ exp.): 6.1%



material is the confidential property of The Creative Group. Copying or reproducing this material is strictly prohibited.© 2017 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans. All rights reserved.



Qualities Employers

Look For

Hard Skills

• Design tools

• Video motion

programs

• Content

management

systems

• Programming

languages

Soft Skills

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Problem solving

• Creative thinking

8




Top Drivers of Happiness

• Doing worthwhile work

• Feeling appreciated

• Interest in their work




Tips to Maintain

Your Spark51. Find your passion

2. Deepen your connections

3. Mix it up

4. Show gratitude

5. Sweeten the pot




Ways to Improve

Your Prospects

• Pursue new challenges/promotion

• Find a new job in your industry/niche

• Switch disciplines

• Strike out on your own

• Take on side projects

5




Pursue New Challenges/Promotion

We needed to evolve our marketing into a more

digital experience. I continued to push for what I felt would improve

our business while keeping our customer experience a top priority,

and have been promoted to continue this momentum

with a larger, more focused team. Change starts with one person.

Kris Kinneysenior interactive art director




• Do you have the aptitude?

• Do you have the capacity?

• Can you deliver quality work?

• Can you give and take direction?

• Are you high-maintenance?

Questions Your Manager

May Consider When

Awarding Promotions




Tips for a Productive Meeting

Make a strong case

Get feedback

on soft skills

Request technical

skills development

Ask for more

responsibility

4




Find a New Job in Your Industry/Niche

Most of the time people are looking for a role or job

where they fit in based on workplace culture, experience, design aesthetic.

I try to find opportunities that are generally interesting, but where I feel

like a fish out of water. This is where I grow the most and do the most

interesting work. Once I feel mastery in that world,

I know it’s time to move on to another opportunity.

Everett Katigbakdesigner at Stripe




Tips for

Landing the Job51. Check your “selfie”

2. Tailor your application materials

3. Demonstrate your value

4. Show off your technical expertise

5. Play up your soft skills




I’ve always believed that if you can design a website, you can

design a package or even a car. I went from designing fashion

magazines, to launching fragrance campaigns, to developing

healthcare branding. Some of the most exciting projects in my

career were within disciplines that I had little or no experience.

Developing mastery in a particular discipline is an honorable

goal, but keep learning and expanding. It’s a big world out there.

Switch Disciplines

Gaemer Gutierrezcreative director




Tips for Changing

Direction31. Consider growing sectors

2. Assess your skills

3. Network




Informational Interview

• What made you go into this field?

• Can you describe a typical

work day?

• How many hours, on average,

do you work in a week?

• If you had to do it all over again,

would you choose this route?

• What kind of pressure are

you under?




Strike Out on Your Own

We started Motto over a decade ago with just $250 in our bank

account. No one had ever heard of us. We had never worked for

another branding agency, and everyone told us we would fail. The early

days were brutal. We didn’t eat. We didn’t sleep. Sometimes, we were

so beat down, we wept like two wind-torn, rain-soaked flowers.

But the one thing we never did was give up. If you want to

strike out on your own, just remember: You only fail if you quit.

Sunny Bonnellco-founder




Routes for Self-Employment

Running a

business

Working with a

staffing agency

Freelancing/

Consulting

3




Take on Side Projects

Looking at my work, I don’t see side projects

and ‘real’ projects. They’re all real to me, and I give everything

I have to all of them. I decided long ago that I’d rather

have an interesting career than a ‘successful’ one.

Why be Michael Phelps when you can be Esther Williams?

Stefan G. Bucherdesigner, writer and illustrator




I’ll know

I’ve arrived when …

The perfect workday

would entail …

SUCCESS DEFINED




Prestige response

Everyday response

I’ll know

I’ve arrived when …

The perfect workday

would entail …

SUCCESS DEFINED




SET A GOAL

ASK WHY(five times)



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Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time-bound




#5 Why do you want others to find you and your work interesting?

Because it will make me feel good about myself.

“I want to move from my in-house job to a more

creative agency job.”

#1: Why do you want to work at an agency?It will allow me to be more creative.

#2: Why do you want to be more creative?Because I feel stifled right now and need to do more interesting work.

#3: Why do you want to do more interesting work? Because I think it will make me a more interesting person.

#4: Why do you want to be a more interesting person?Because I want others to find me and my work interesting.




Questions to Consider

• What does freedom look like to you?

• How much decision-making authority do

you want to have?

• Do you want to manage people?

• How important is structure?

• Would you rather work for a large or

small firm?

• How much personal time do you need?

• What sacrifices are you willing to make?




Common Career Roadblocks

• You don’t have all the skills you’ll need

• You’ll have to take a step back

• Your background is in a different area

• You’ll need to make new contacts

• It might not work out




• Chosen out of interest

• Align with core values

• May be prompted by industry

trends/changes

• Chosen out of fear

• Make you feel compromised

• Are often prompted by

discomfort or frustration




For more career advice, visit creativegroup.com.

career crossroads: navigating your next professional move

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