creativecircle, Author at Creative Circle

You’re sitting in the third round of interviews for a job that you thought was going to be perfect for you. When you first walked in, you were 87% sure you wanted it. But after meeting with the first interviewer, who texted her way through the entire interview, your interest dropped to about 68%. Then you were ferried off to the HR manager who, despite this being your third interview, had no idea of who you were and asked you to repeat your entire employment history. Still, the job as UX designer at a brand-new startup is intriguing to you, so you want to see where it goes.

The HR manager leaves, and as you sit alone in the office, waiting for someone, anyone to come in and tell you what’s going on, your interest starts to plummet. Then, after 20 minutes, when the HR manager rejoins you, he tells you that the company is almost ready to move forward with you, but first, the team wants you to complete a trial assignment…

Do I need to go on? It’s red flag city, and the hypothetical “you” would have to be a glutton for punishment to move forward with the job.

As job seekers, we tend to automatically accept that we are not the ones with the power; that the onus is on us to jump through the employer’s hoops and be happy with what we get. You deserve better! And if you’re going through the interview process doubting the company, here are five telltale signs that this isn’t the job for you.

1. You can’t find much information on the company.

With a well-funded startup, you can usually find information on at least the parent company — such as who signs your paychecks, the financial health of the company, and, more importantly, information that hints at the company’s history and values. If you can’t even find a LinkedIn page, it’s time to worry.

2. The job description keeps changing.

Some people love that “we’re building the airplane as we fly it!” work ethos you find at start-ups. But without having a formal job description, how will you know how to set boundaries? How will you know if you’re succeeding? An amorphous and frequently shifting job description could mean that the employer is already trying to figure out how much they can dump on you.

3. The company is savaged on sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn.

Take time and comb through the reviews because while it’s true that people are more likely to go public with nuclear reviews than to spread some love, a slew of bad reviews should make you suspicious. At the very least, it should bring up some questions for you to ask the hiring manager about.

4. You get a lowball salary offer, even though you’ve already talked numbers.

Treating you as if you’re an old sofa at a flea market and lowballing your salary requirements well after you’ve shared them is a huge sign of disrespect. Ultimately, it’s up to you if the experience and other compensation are worth it, but if you accept a lowball offer, the message you’re sending is, “I will lower my standards and allow you not to appreciate my work.”

5. They ask you to do an unpaid trial, or you have to work for free before you get the job.

It’s true that some jobs and staffing agencies may ask you to do small tests as part of the vetting process, but a significant project requiring any more than an hour should get your Spidey-senses tingling that the company is trying to take advantage of you, or crowd-source work so they don’t have to pay for it.

Remember, you have the power.

If you still have questions and your would-be employer seems reluctant to answer, that’s perhaps the biggest red flag of all. Time to get out of there!

Don’t blame yourself or see it as a reflection of your professional worth. This kind of thing happens to anyone who will let it. Cut your losses and count your blessings – what if you’d ignored all of these red flags and actually accepted the job? Take this as a sign to redouble your job efforts.

Lisa is a Creative Circle candidate and seasoned advertising copywriter who lives in Los Angeles. Her background includes both in-house and agency work on Fortune 500 and global accounts in the consumer and healthcare/pharmaceutical fields. She excels at words, fashion, and cats. If you want to work with Lisa, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles.

When many of us start thinking about working in advertising, we’re really dreaming about making Super Bowl commercials, seeing our name in Adweek, and all of the other opportunities that come with working at a name-brand agency. The good news is it’s an attainable dream! But whether you’re someone who’s just starting out or want to make a mid-career upgrade, getting in the storied doors of an agency like TBWA\Chiat\Day, Wieden + Kennedy, or Droga5 won’t be easy.

Creative Director Nick Liebeskind has spent the last eight years helping aspiring creative superstars tip the odds in their favor. In addition to having a career working on brands like Lexus, The Ritz-Carlton, and TrueCar, he’s also a student-turned-teacher at The Book Shop School for Ads, an intensive series of workshops designed to teach students how to do great work and build award-winning and job-winning portfolios. During his time as a Book Shop instructor, he’s helped nurture and advise talent that’s later ended up at shops like Saatchi & Saatchi, 72andSunny, Deutsch, and other big-name agencies. He spoke with me and shared his thoughts about what it takes to get noticed and get hired.

So how important is your portfolio?

Your book is your leverage; it’s everything. More and more, agencies at every level care more about your book than your resume.

How much does previous experience matter?

There used to be this Catch-22: to get into a big agency, you needed to have big agency experience, but then, how do you even get in the door? I think that trend has dissipated, and more people are being considered just on the strength of their book.

What else factors in?

It’s been my experience that besides your book, it’s also your connections, it’s luck, timing, and to some extent, it’s also having work in your book that might be similar to a piece of business an agency already has. For example, I had some students that had gaming work in their portfolios and were big gamers themselves, and I knew that AKQA was looking for people with gaming experience, so it worked out for them. It can be very serendipitous, with an agency having a specific need, and then the right book coming across the CD’s desk at the right time.

Also, it depends on the agency. For example, I’ve heard that an agency like 72andSunny tends to like people whose artistic interests and talents go beyond just advertising. They covet people with a more interesting background than just ad school. Even if those talents, like painting and photography, aren’t strictly related to advertising or what their career goals are, they add to a person’s value as a creative and that makes them appealing to that kind of agency.

Increasingly, companies value culture and want to promote the culture they’ve created. They’ll create content around it, and it becomes a recruiting mechanism, a way to find the right people that fit what they’re doing. For a long time, agencies have been the brand stewards, now they are becoming brands themselves.

What about mid-level creatives who are at agencies that aren’t giving them the quality of work they’d need, and so instead, they have a lot of spec work in their portfolios?

I’ve had quite a few students over the years come to The Book Shop because, while they’re already working in the business, they aren’t being given the kind of assignments that allow them to flex their muscles creatively. In this case, I don’t mind if they have some spec work in their book. But one thing I do ask them to look at is the work they ARE doing professionally and to build on it. Flesh it out, see if there are actual creative opportunities they’re missing.

It’s easy sometimes to get work and think it isn’t interesting or lacks potential to be book-worthy. Sometimes it’s true, but sometimes it isn’t. So again, I ask my students (or former students if that’s the case), to use what they ARE producing as a beginning and to get with their partner and dig deeper. True, this new, fleshed-out work might not ever be produced. But at least it’s your ideas and the work you would have done had the brief been more robust, and it’s for an existing client whose account you’re actually working on. It’s still spec, but more like “spec adjacent.”

Full disclosure: I went to The Book Shop, and while I don’t want to sound like I’m making an ad for them, the experience was invaluable in helping me learn advertising and define my career goals, and I can attest to the fact that Book Shop alums do end up at amazing agencies. As Nick said, your portfolio is everything and connections matter a lot, too, and participating in an IRL portfolio workshop or school is how you can get both.

However, it’s not the only way. The key is doing the best work you possibly can at every stage of your career, continuing to grow your network, and keep putting yourself out there. If you have the right work in the right place at the right time, you could get the opportunity you’ve been dreaming of.

When many freelancers make the transition from side-hustle to legitimate, full-time business, there’s a lot of trial and error — especially regarding how to do money. Some of those errors are big enough (and costly enough) that you want to avoid making them at all.

These are four of the worst mistakes that can tank your financial stability — and your ability to sustain your new business. We’ve also included ways to fix them or avoid the pitfalls to begin with.

Mistake #1: You’re not charging enough for the project.

There are a lot of complicated formulas out there to help freelancers determine their hourly rates. An easier and more practical way to determine your rate is by studying what comparable talent commands in your market. However, it’s not the hourly rate that usually throws a wrench into your finances: it’s when you don’t understand the scope of the project, and quote a price for 15 hours when it’s really going to take you 25, or you don’t take into account miscellaneous expenses that might crop up along the way.

The solution: Ask all the questions before you quote a price. Spend time doing your research and understanding the scope of the project before you quote a number. As a new freelancer — even as an experienced professional who really wants to acquire a client — you probably want to seem flexible and agreeable. You may even be afraid of asking too many questions, lest you look inexperienced or annoy a potential client. On the contrary, these questions make you look engaged and knowledgeable. This is an essential process for doing your best work and being paid fairly for it.

Mistake #2: You’re not bothering with contracts.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals from your clients and even friends of friends. Because you want to keep the relationship congenial, you may think, “Why bother with a contract?” But then you’re on the hook when you quoted a price assuming two rounds of revisions and your client insists that you give them five rounds and personally do a press check. Not only do you lose money on the project, but these obligations also keep you from taking on new clients and projects.

The solution: Insist on a contract. Even if it seems like a formality, a contract can save your butt — and an awful lot of money. HOW Magazine has some brilliant advice on creating contracts (including calling it a ‘letter of agreement’ rather than a contract, which sounds nicer and can help a relationship stay on friendly terms). The article is aimed at designers, but the ideas are broad enough to apply to almost any kind of freelancer. Don’t trust your financial future to a smile and a handshake — get it in writing.

Mistake #3: You don’t have a sufficient savings cushion.

When you’re first starting out on your own, money is going to be your biggest worry. Even if you already have a roster of clients and substantial projects in the pipeline and regular, recurring work — you just never know. On top of that, many companies can take as long as three months to pay an invoice (check out this woeful tale about how the world’s most prestigious publishing company pays its freelancers). Experiencing a significant lag in business can force you to take on projects that you’re not super excited about, or go back to a full-time job.

The solution: Don’t take the plunge until you’ve got at least a six-month cushion. Before you strike out on your own, you should have enough money saved up to cover all of your business and living expenses for at least six months — that includes food, rent on both your place of residence and a studio or small office (if you have one), residential and business utilities, and business incidentals. (And that’s AT LEAST six months.)

Even if you’re in your 20s and life is good and retirement seems like it’s a million years away, you must have a financial cushion to deal with the unexpected (e.g., getting into a car accident and needing to pay a deductible and other expenses) as well as put some away for later.

Mistake #4: You’re conducting business using personal accounts.

Perhaps it’s force of habit or just that there’s so much other work to keep track of, but many freelancers use their personal checking accounts and credit cards to do business. “What’s the difference?,” you might think. Well, even if you don’t see yourself as a small business owner, Uncle Sam does. Avoid wasting time and money, and really see how much you’re really bringing in and spending on the business every month.!

The solution: Shop around for small business banking services. A dedicated checking account for your business can help you keep track of your expenses and earnings, which makes doing your taxes at the end of the year much easier.

If you’re just starting out, it’s probably easier to open a new account where you do your personal banking. However, some banks offer packages tailored for new small businesses and startups, including services that work seamlessly with business accounting software like Quickbooks. Many banks also offer other timesaving services and promotions to try and earn your business.

(P.S. Having separate, business-only accounts isn’t a substitute for fastidiously tracking your finances with your own system or a good app like FreshBooks, Wave, or Mint, but it’s a good start.)

Now, get back to work!

The point of all of these ideas isn’t to create more work for you. They help you automate and protect your business. After all, the less time you waste worrying about and chasing your money, the more time you have to do what you’re really good at.

In today’s fluid job market, as traditional corporations restructure and fast-growth companies seek senior-level talent, it’s not uncommon for executives to find themselves back in the candidate’s chair, facing the same level of scrutiny they once used to gauge potential hires. Along with this, the subsequent movement towards more flexible workplaces and flattening management hierarchies means that methods used to discern who makes the cut are evolving as well.

This is especially the case with creative industries and start-ups. Driven by democratizing influences of technology and a more empowered workforce, such companies are placing a higher bar on hiring C-Suite talent who not only have the experience and technical knowledge to instill confidence with the public or shareholders, but who also have the flexibility and open mindset to more easily navigate a company’s unique culture and inspire trust.

To this end, executive job descriptions now often list a number of soft skills held as requirements for leading any organization: qualities like empathetic, entrepreneurial, collaborative, dynamic, and inclusive that can’t entirely be measured or proven in interviews, but are still considered crucial to executive success. The ability to showcase these soft skills organically to potential employers is vital, and the best way to prepare is by understanding upfront what recruiters and hiring managers are eager to see.

It’s impossible to anticipate every question or challenge that will be thrown your way, but there are a few strategies executive candidates can employ to ensure their inherent abilities to connect, communicate, create and motivate shine through.

1. Your Story is Not Just Your Own

“Storytelling” is a trendy skill, and interviews are excellent opportunities to see how well you recount your own. But executives are first and foremost expected to be storytellers for the company or brand, and that involves familiarity with histories that aren’t your own. Don’t deflect from your personal tale, but save some room for others — and that involves listening as much as telling! When given the opportunity, ask questions of the interviewing team, then try to highlight trajectories in your own life that others in the room might more easily relate to. Shared histories make for more universal stories, which are far more likely to sell.

2. Be Prepared to Play

Not everyone likes surprises, but curveballs are part of the package, and how one responds to the unexpected is perhaps one of the greatest leadership tests of all. Executive-level interviews may often present scenarios or role-playing exercises to gauge how clearly candidates think on their feet, along with other important problem-solving skills. Practice ahead of time if possible. But remember that the best way to prepare is to leave space in your process for spontaneity, and don’t flinch if the interview takes an unstructured turn. On the contrary, try to have some fun! How well you can go with the flow says a lot about how you manage stress — and no one wants a leader who’s going to buckle under pressure.

3. Be Confident in What You Don’t Know

Confidence is necessary for leadership, but swagger is not the same thing. Of course executive job candidates are expected to bring deep proficiencies to the table. But the business world is changing rapidly, and it’s impossible to stay on top of everything. Today it’s often less about what you know, and more about how you learn. If a more technical question stumps you, don’t be afraid to say so, but then quickly follow-up with how you’d go about finding the answer. That process alone can signal more about your creativity and cognitive capacities than an encyclopedic knowledge of everything ever could.

Remember you’re all there for the same reason: passion for the industry or product, and the opportunity at hand to help drive company growth. If ever at a loss, just stick to discussing new developments in the sector and what excites you most about the future — that’s one era everyone shares!

Kate is a Creative Circle candidate, a senior copywriter, and a seasoned corporate communications consultant based in New York. If you want to work with Kate, contact Creative Circle New York.

Here’s an important lesson in work and in life: Respect isn’t something that you earn once and have forever. You have to protect it, and doing good work isn’t always enough. Your professional credibility is enhanced, or chipped away, by the other little things you do. You may be eroding your credibility if:

1. You aren’t careful about your social media presence.

You probably already know that more employers than ever are peeping potential candidates’ social media feeds. Besides showing restraint about what you post to Facebook, be careful about what you’re saying on LinkedIn. Anyone who you’re connected with can view your comments so stay neutral or consider creating professional profiles that are separate from your personal ones.

2. You have a cringe-worthy email address.

If you’re using a personal address to send professional emails, then your email address should reflect it. It should be some variation of your name, a professional URL, or the name of your business. Keep your Buffguy1989 or luv4pomeranians for your personal endeavors. Get a free Gmail account and ditch anything on Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL. And finally, don’t apply for a new job using your current job’s email address.

3. You ask for LinkedIn favors without offering something of value.

You have a connection that you kind of know, but not really, and you may have never met them in person. Then you see that they’ve just connected with an Associate Creative Director at one of the top agencies in your area. Don’t start pestering them to hook you up. Why would they risk their own credibility by recommending someone they don’t even know?

The same goes for asking people you know only vaguely to endorse or recommend you. At the very least, write a thoughtful, personalized email to that person. Better yet, if you know someone who can and will vouch for you, ask them to make a more formal introduction.

4. You send out communications that are poorly written/riddled with typos.

OK, so we’re not all writers, and English may not even be our first language, but there’s a baseline for business communications, especially in a communications-related field. Your communications reflect your professionalism and attention to detail — and if you’re in a client-facing role, they also reflect your company. Make sure you’re casting yourself in a good light. At the very least, run spellcheck and then read these writing tips that will help you sound smarter.

5. You deliberately lower the bar on the value of your work.

You are supposed to be the expert and your opinions are based in facts or opinions you trust; leave no room for anyone to doubt what you’re saying. Keep your language strong and confident. Banish phrases like, “Well, if it were up to me,” “In my humble opinion,” “I think”, “I’m pretty sure,” or “It’s my feeling that…” Say what it is that needs to be said, without inviting your audience to doubt your authority.

6. You talk negatively about yourself.

Here’s a secret: People look to you to get their first impressions. If you’re berating yourself, they will think it’s OK for them to do, as well. This ranges from really offhanded or seemingly innocent comments, such as, “Oops! I’m such a klutz!” to when someone gives you professional criticism about your work, saying something along the lines of, “Yeah, that was really stupid of me. I don’t know what I was thinking.” If you made a gaffe, resist the temptation to belittle yourself.

7. You instantly agree with someone who criticizes your work.

It doesn’t matter what your job is or how far up the ladder you are, people are always going to have suggestions about your work. Be willing to stand up for the value of your contributions. Admittedly, if you’re just starting out, you should learn as much as you can, but don’t roll over each time someone makes a comment. Push back with respect, and defend your position with facts and experience, not just feelings. Showing confidence in your own work will make others confident about your abilities.

8. You can’t take it when someone criticizes your work.

It doesn’t matter what your job is or how far up the ladder you are, people are always going to have suggestions about your work. Sound familiar? Need me to say it again? Being combative about routine feedback will quickly earn you a bad reputation. Knowing how to gracefully accept well-meaning criticism is how you learn and grow as a professional.

9. You lack follow-through.

Delivering on your promises is a huge part of earning trust — both in work and in life. If you need to, be a flake on your own time. But at work, not making good on things you’ve committed to can put everyone else in a bind, especially if whatever you said you’d be responsible for is part of a bigger project.

Bottom line: Start protecting your credibility now.

Once it’s been dinged too hard, it’s almost impossible to restore your professional credibility. You’re probably not in the position where losing it will cost you billions of dollars, but the story of tech startup CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ fall from grace is a fascinating look at what happens when you push your credibility to the breaking limit. By making a few simple steps, you can avoid jeopardizing your credibility in the first place.

“The best leaders are the best followers.” – Simon Sinek

When it comes to delineating differences between managers and leaders in the business world, the following top-down logic has historically prevailed:

• Managers perform. Leaders inspire.
• Managers set goals. Leaders create vision.
• Managers maintain. Leaders innovate.
• Managers build systems. Leaders build relationships.
• Managers look to the bottom line. Leaders look to the future.

These examples align with a host of similar aphorisms that, quite frankly, wind up painting managers as dour gatekeepers of the corporate status quo, while leaders get to move about talking and mingling and seemingly having all the fun.

But as the economy continually shifts, so too must businesses — the principles that organize them as well as the people who run them. Revered management guru Peter Drucker was one of the first to identify the emergence of today’s knowledge-dominant economy and presaged that this shift would place people front and center as a business’ greatest asset. As a result, success is now dependent less on systematizing and measuring tangible outputs, and more on identifying and nurturing the unique strengths and talents of an individual workforce. For any organization to thrive, all its people must be guided by the constant motivation to learn, improve and innovate.

And that holds true at every level. Even for — especially for — those at the top.

As more of today’s managers are expected to play “Coach,” responsible for harnessing talent and encouraging the development of human capital, they are also now more likely to step into the realm of inspiration and team building traditionally reserved for leaders. In turn, this fluidity presents today’s executives with the opportunity to cultivate the single most important quality that will give any business an edge: innovation. For their businesses, but also for themselves.

Personal innovation, of course, is not a linear process. It’s not simply a matter of engineering new technology or refining design. Leaders are individuals, with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Successful executives have likely already learned to play to their strengths. But maintaining — or even surpassing — such success is now just as likely to boil down to learning how to plumb their weaknesses.

A recent article from the Harvard Business Review identified four distinct coaching styles commonly used by managers to develop talent. The most successful approach was that of “Connector” managers: those who “give targeted feedback in their areas of expertise; otherwise, they connect employees with others on the team or elsewhere in the organization who are better suited to the task. They spend more time assessing the skills, needs, and interests of their employees, and recognize that many skills are best taught by people other than themselves.”

Executives don’t necessarily have direct managers responsible for evaluating their professional evolution, but that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from taking a similar approach to how they grow on their own. If the ability to maintain relationships has traditionally been considered the domain of leadership, then leaders are already at an advantage with a built-in network of contacts they can call upon for support.

It may sound counter-intuitive. After all, being at the top means that others come to you for advice, right? But business isn’t static, and progress doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are a few key areas executives can target to develop or sharpen skills required for today’s leaders. But applying their inherent strength as “Connectors” is also a sound way for executives to identify what they could personally most stand to improve, and then leverage their network to access the right resources and ideas to go about that process.

And in today’s more team-based, lateral management hierarchies, admitting to a weakness, or two, doesn’t mean you’re losing an edge. To the contrary, by working to overcome deficiencies in skills, perspective, and knowledge, you’re much more likely to gain an even stronger foundation from which to lead.

Kate is a Creative Circle candidate, a senior copywriter, and a seasoned corporate communications consultant based in New York. If you want to work with Kate, contact Creative Circle New York.

Creatives don’t play by the book; neither should your hiring process.

Imagine a job applicant. Which stock photo are you thinking of? Is it the one with a super-eager guy in a suit, hands folded, nervously seated across a long desk? Or is it the woman waving her resume in the air like she’s on a parade float?

You’re likely not imagining a creative. The best creative hires cannot be anticipated. Because of that, keep these next few things in mind when hiring your next creative.

1. The right hire might not be found through your traditional recruiting methods.

It’s not that we’re not looking at job listings on LinkedIn — it’s that some creatives literally might not have an account. Some of the most talented professionals I know promote their work experience through less conventional means like a social feed or a private Vimeo channel.

2. The right hire might not have that required 4-year degree.

Many creative hires become experts in their crafts by way of less traditional education. Whether it’s a graphic designer who’s got an Associate’s Degree, or a UX designer who took night classes at General Assembly, top creative talent might not always have their Bachelor’s.

Before setting your company’s standards, clarify with managers what technical skills are needed for the role at hand. These tend to take precedence in creative work, and you don’t want to needlessly exclude the appropriate talent.

3. The right hire might have atypical work experience.

If you asked a freelancer to list out every client and every project they have ever worked on, you’re in for a laundry list. Since so many creatives freelance for short periods of time, their resumes are long. Don’t always expect to see 3+ years at every previous employer. If you’re concerned with a creative’s capacity to commit, consider asking them what type of work would sustain their interest.

4. The right hire might not be a talker.

OK, real talk: Creatives can be shy, or introverted — even those of us who spend a lot of time with words. Because our contributions are usually hard deliverables like copy or artwork, our speaking skills might be a little rusty.

This doesn’t mean you should lower your standards for the types of soft skills you need. Just remember that creatives might express themselves through other mediums.

5. The right hire might talk a little too much.

On the other hand, you’re bringing in storytellers, and you might get candidates who love language a little too much. These are the people who tell you about their subway encounters, their dental appointments, who they met in the Galapagos, and why.

During an interview, be prepared for some more meandering from a creative than you might expect from other hires.

6. The right hire is still like any other you’ve hired before.

If you’re worried about hiring for creative roles, don’t be. In most ways, hiring for a creative is like hiring for anything else. As a hiring manager, you know how to spot talent. Trust your gut when it comes to creatives — just let us say a few more weird things here and there.

Ryan is a Creative Circle candidate and freelance Content Director who enjoys reading menus. He got his start at BuzzFeed NY, and since has led content initiatives for startups, TV shows, and crowdfunding platforms. He’s now based in LA—but not in a suspicious way. If you want to work with Ryan, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles.

In the same way people say that “finding a job is a full-time job in itself,” looking for the right hire and interviewing candidates can also be like a full-time job. Here are some quick-and-dirty productivity tips to make the early part of your hiring process as efficient as possible.

1. When in doubt, schedule it out

When it comes to interviewing, blocking out time on your calendar to not only complete your work, but to also review applications and meet with candidates, will encourage you to organize your time and not feel as affected by the interview process.

Even though it seems like a simple act, so many of us don’t take our own time seriously enough to block it off on our calendars.

2. Get to know your candidates before you even meet them

To maximize your time meeting with candidates, read through their resumes, look at their LinkedIn profiles, and review any provided links (social media, portfolio, etc.) before you meet with them. Bring focus to the interview by making notes on their resumes with the types of things you want to know about their experience and what their soft skills are.

Not only will your questions lead to more insightful answers, but the process of having done your research will allow you to fairly evaluate the candidate’s preparedness and fit for the upcoming role.

3. Set an interview timeline

Interviewing your stack of candidates in batches is ideal. Depending on additional internal resources and your own workload, giving yourself a set time in which to meet with your candidates will not only allow you to manage the expectations of your candidates upfront, but it will also hold you accountable as you move things forward within a manageable amount of time.

Keeping interview days down to 2-3 days a week rather than trying to get it all done too quickly will keep you engaged with your potential hires. If you take too much time to let any candidate know the status of your interviewing process, you risk losing quality talent altogether.

Finding the perfect candidate can take time when you’re looking for a quality fit. Let us know in the comments section any other timesaving tricks for interviewing candidates you’ve learned along the way!

Annie is a Creative Circle candidate and freelance creative strategist/copywriter working and living in Los Angeles. She knows digital media as well as she knows her own horoscope (she’s a Virgo), having worked at the likes of BuzzFeed and Mashable. She has created branded content strategies for the top Fortune 500 brands, which means she knows the true meaning of “going native.” If you want to work with Annie, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles.

Bored with Behance? Seen everything on Comm Arts 1,000 times? The next time you’re looking for inspiration for your design, advertising, or marketing project, check out a few sources from off the beaten path to get your creative juices flowing.

The World of Fashion

Cutting-edge fashion synthesizes culture and history, often while pushing the boundaries of engineering. Here are a few contemporary designers who are also considered creative geniuses.

Late British designer Alexander McQueen pushed the envelope for form and function in fashion: the iconic knuckle-ring clutch and Lady Gaga’s famous armadillo boots are masterpieces of industrial design.
Avant-garde Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo is loved for her sense of whimsy and elaborate construction. Believe it or not, this look that Rihanna sported at the 2017 Met Ball is one of the designer’s more accessible pieces.
You could describe Rick Owens’ signature style as “maximal minimalism,” but his clothes demonstrate how far you can go just by playing with proportions.
Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen takes an architectural approach to fashion design, often creating her own textiles. She’s even collaborated with famed architect Rem Koolhaas on 3D printed shoes.
The Mulleavy sisters (otherwise known as Rodarte) tend to polarize critics, but they’ve won fans with their painstaking handiwork and intellectual approach to fashion.

Retail Stores

Even though it feels like everything is online all the time, 94% of all retail sales are made at a physical store. And the retailers who want to keep it that way are pulling out all the stops to attract and engage their customers.

You’re probably already studying Nike’s ads; why not dig a little deeper and be awestruck by what they’re doing that’s breathing new life into retail?
Rebecca Minkoff’s New York flagship store takes personalization to new levels and aims to be the future of retail.
Grocery stores aren’t very sexy, but the national chain Kroger is integrating cutting-edge technology that delivers personalized pricing and offers to cement the value of brick-and-mortar shopping.
High-end appliance retailer Pirch has created an in-store experience that makes shopping for ovens and refrigerators whimsical and fun.
Take a trip to your local Apple store and just poke around. The design is equal parts art, science, and magic, offering up a uniquely immersive experience. The New York store has been named one of the world’s most beautiful shops.

Board Games

Board game design is like an elaborate exercise in creative problem-solving. While the humble board game can’t come close to matching the innovative bells and whistles of their digital counterparts, playing a game (and studying the packaging) can help get you out of a creative slump.

Saturday Night Live is a board game. Who knew? With its vibrant colors and iconic images, you might even buy it for the packaging alone.
Over the years, you’ve probably seen Cranium a million times at Starbucks, but it’s worth checking out, especially because it was designed to foster creativity.
Take a look at these 15 reconceived chessboards, and imagine how you could breathe new life into the traditional way of doing things.
Creativity is often tied to ego, so why not make something where you have no expectations? Sagrada is a competition to build the best stained glass masterpiece.
It’s more of a parlor game, but a few rounds of Exquisite Corpse, the collaborative game where people take turns blindly assembling a story or an illustration, can get you excited about collaboration.

If all else fails…

Go to an immersive theater event—imagine being one of only two audience members in an elaborate, six-hour production.
Find a museum with interactive or hands-on exhibits. Think the International Spy Museum in D.C. or the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.
Sit at a train station and people-watch.
Listen to your favorite music in the dark.
Go back to the source of what made you want to pursue a creative career in the first place.

Above all, when you’re stuck or uninspired, keep your mind open. Be receptive to, and ready for, new ideas and inspiration that may come at you from anywhere. To avoid mental inspiration ruts altogether, regularly expose yourself to new things — even things you don’t think you’ll like. It’s all about nudging your brain into unexpected territory and continuing to expand your own internal creative inspo database.