Are there any jobs out there?

Are there any jobs out there?
As the Placement Specialist at C2, clients and talent ask me this question daily. The answer is YES, of course! However, looking for a new position may take longer than it used to, and you may have to re-qualify yourself and look in different places. Employers have the advantage in this competitive market and Talent must stand out among their peers and shine above the rest! Increase demand for YOUR brand and make yourself more attractive by following these 6.5 steps:

1. Update Your Resume—Today!
Get your resume updated NOW! Ask several people to proof it. If you can’t do it yourself, find someone to assist you, or pay an expert copywriter or proofreader. Your resume reflects directly back to you. This includes getting your skills updated if you aren’t current for the market. Take some courses in the classroom or online to make it happen. Just as importantly, make sure your portfolio is current and doesn’t have dated, irrelevant material in it.

2. Keep in Touch!
Make sure that you are collecting contact information for friends and colleagues in case your company is “restructured.” Review your business cards and reconnect with anyone you haven’t communicated with in the past six months to say hello. You never know who can help you find your next opportunity.

3. Link In!!
Using LinkedIn is a great way to expand your network. Search for current and former colleagues or friends and link in. Use your completed resume (see #1 above) to start your profile on LinkedIn, and ask former associates for recommendations.

4. Why You?
Make sure you can succinctly tell someone who you are and what makes you stand out! Prepare a 30-second elevator speech and write it as if you were riding the elevator with a famous person you admire. Summarize what makes you unique, interesting and the best fit for a potential new position.

5. Network, Network, Network!
Attend events in your industry. Volunteer to help with these events or for nonprofit organizations in your neighborhood or religious organization. Donating your time helps the community and exposes you to new opportunities. Actively participate in organizations and associations that can benefit your career and your professional development. Use these events as opportunities to meet people who can give you advice (not a job!) and be a reference. Don’t bring your resume, asking, “Do you know anyone who’s hiring?” Being a good networker means being a resource – sharing your expertise and advice and asking people for the same.

6. “I’m Gumby, Dammit!”
The real Gumby was optimistic, flexible and friendly. He was resourceful and a great problem solver who never allowed obstacles to get in his way. Silly analogy maybe, but sometimes we allow salary, location, job title or some ego-threatening idea become an impediment to working for a great organization. Be open, be flexible and be friendly. You never know who will be impressed. Use resources like C2, the premier boutique staffing agency for contract and direct hire talent in the creative industry. Utilize our friends at Jobing.com and Big Shoes Network, and other niche job boards and resources out there for creatives.

6.5 Keep the faith!
If you follow these steps, what’s the worst that can happen? You’ll have a current resume, have expanded your skills and your professional development, updated your portfolio and met some wonderful new people and organizations along the way, enriching your life and helping you grow. Best-case scenario? You’ll be offered a new job!

Making the Case for FileMaker Pro

C2 is proud to offer an exclusive 5-day course of the Official FileMaker Training Series. Come join Cris Ippolite, one of only 24 authorized FileMaker instructors in the world, as he provides training on all 12 Official FileMaker Training Series modules over 5 days. The FileMaker Training Series is FileMaker’s official curriculum and is not offered elsewhere in Wisconsin. He is very excited to be coming back to his hometown of Milwaukee to teach the series to you!
Training will be held the week of September 15 and each course will be 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.
Seating is limited for this fantastic opportunity! Please contact Kate Barrie @ 414.431.0062 or kate@c2gps.com for more information and pricing detail. We hope to see you all there!

A Word From Cris Ippolite...

FileMaker Pro. Many of you have heard of it or may have worked with it, but did you know it has been in the marketplace for more than 20 years?

In that time, more than 13 million units of FileMaker software have been sold around the world. FileMaker enthusiasts include ALL of the top 50 universities in the U.S., the top 250 U.S. school districts, and 70 of the Fortune 100 companies.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, Inc., FileMaker isn’t just for Mac users anymore! Cross-platform capabilities that run natively on both Mac and Windows platform make FileMaker the premium database software on the market today. It has muscled its way into IT infrastructures in all industries.

Currently on version 9.0, FileMaker underwent a massive database engine redesign in version 7. It allows for multiple “tables” to be combined into a single FileMaker file. This feature has cut down both development time and cost, and has brought forward some of the most powerful features in the product’s history.

Most notably, FileMaker now allows for up to 250 concurrent users via Server, full support for php Web integration and a partnership with the MySQL alliance that spawned a connection kit (called “ESS”), allowing for LIVE connections to data sources running MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle!

Imagine connecting to your organization’s SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL databases from one place, and using the information without additional programming. With FileMaker, you can! FileMaker Pro 9 creates secure easy one-way or two-way connections to External SQL Data Sources. The SQL data acts just like FileMaker data. Create custom reports, add calculations and other fields, build relationships with existing FileMaker data, using the easy-to-use tools of FileMaker Pro.

There are new layout objects that allow you to do everything from automatically resizing your layouts to embedding FULL web viewing functionality into your existing FileMaker database layouts.

With the PHP features of the FileMaker Server, you can publish information to external websites, gather information from Web users, and create new solutions combining a Web-based front-end with a rich, FileMaker Pro back-end. Support for popular open source Web standards PHP and XSLT means you and your Web developer will be reading and writing live FileMaker Pro data in no time.

All these reasons support FileMaker Pro as the #1 best-selling standalone database for both Macintosh and Windows.

When business professionals outgrow spreadsheets, they depend on FileMaker products. Customizing, creating, and sharing easy-to-use software solutions is quick and easy. FileMaker is powerful enough to integrate with corporate data environments, share on the web, and evolve with your needs.

Want to learn more about using FileMaker or take your FileMaker skills to the next level?

On the Verge of the New Year.

It's almost 2008! Where did the year go?

Here at C2 we've seen some major changes, including moving our Milwaukee office to a new space a block and a half away from our old one. We've expanded our staff with Kevin Stohlmeyer moving from contract instructor to full-time C2 employee and we've seen a record number of people using us as a resource for the graphic design community. We definitely can't complain about anything this year.

Next year we'll see even bigger changes - including an expansion of class listings, corporate training, a better testing process for our talent, better customer service for our clients and becoming an even better resource to Milwaukee and Madison.

If there's anything you're looking for, give us a call or drop us an email and we'll be on top of it!

Use up that training budget!

We're just weeks away from the end of 2007! Still have some of your training budget left over? Help get your team up to speed - whether it's upgrading to CS3, intense instruction on certain applications, or a general overview of certain programs. We'll design a specific training course just for you.

By booking your classes by the end of next week we'll help you use up your budget before the end of the year and save money by honoring 2007 rates for all classes booked in the first quarter of 2008.

We'll even come to you! Our instruction for up to 4 hours of on-site training for up to 6 people is only $850.00* and for up to 9 hours of instruction is only $1400.00*. What if you don't have a training room? You can also rent machines from us and we'll set them up for your staff's use during the training! (*plus travel if you're more than 30 minutes away).

And don't forget, all of our instruction comes with a reference textbook & follow up support from our Certified Instructors.

We currently have the following days open for your on-site, custom training - just contact Tiffany (that would be me) to arrange your class!

Photoshop/Illustrator Instruction:
December 17 December 19 December 27 December 28
January 2 January 3 January 4 January 9
January 10 January 16 January 17 January 23
January 23 January 24 January 30 January 31

Quark/InDesign Instruction:
December 17 December 20 December 28 January 2
January 3 January 4 January 8 January 11
January 14 January 15

Flash/Dreamweaver Instruction (including Actionscripting 3.0!):
December 28 January 9 January 11 January 18
January 23 January 24 January 28 January 29
January 30 January 31

Video Instruction:
December 19 December 20 January 2 January 3
January 4 January 14 January 15 January 16
January 18

And don't forget about $5.00 Fridays! January 18, in conjunction with Studio Two, we'll go over tips & tricks in deciding whether or not to use stock photography vs. original and we'll show you time-saving trips for color correction & retouching. Get more information.

Did you miss the How to WOW with Direct Mail $5.00 Friday in October? We're having round two on February 22. We ran out of space last time, so get your seat early.