CGA Job postings

[EddieLeon]

I think the argument can be made that a successful artist needs to be multi-talented. In fact, some of the greatest artists are also great salesman. This doesn't mean that they are sellouts. It's just that they know how to communicate and be recognized. Anything that we can do as a community to teach each other how to present themselves or their art is a step forward.

[Ky Lane]

Potentially a culture difference with me too. We value specialists, and dont expect someone who is capable of sitting at a computer 16hrs a day and produce renderings per brief to sell multi million dollar penthouses capable, or even have the time for writing/producing some amazing work of art for a CV.

 

Again, if these companies need the talent, stop playing the "we're doing you a favour by advertising", and recognise it for what it is... not for what its presented in

[Ky Lane]

I think the argument can be made that a successful artist needs to be multi-talented. In fact, some of the greatest artists are also great salesman. This doesn't mean that they are sellouts. It's just that they know how to communicate and be recognized. Anything that we can do as a community to teach each other how to present themselves or their art is a step forward.

 

With all due respect, thats a very "American" view.

 

I know here, we put aside ego's and know who the salesman is, and who the artist is, and who the designer is and who the secretary is. I may be speaking from some specialist experience, but having a company full of jack-of-all-trades sounds like a drama to me.

 

I guess if a client expects me to sit in front of a computer for 16-20hrs a day and produce project selling work, then Ill focus on that, and not how Ill present myself to my next client.

 

I may also be taking for granted the fact I can market myself "ok". Ive never put what I would consider "effort" into it, and Im yet to go hungry... so i guess its potentially a cultural and situational dilemma

 

But its been a very cool read, at least.

[RobNJ73]

Part of what I would look for when receiving resumes and samples is how the person packaged them. Not necessarily whether or not they had a cutting-edge website, but did they send me a few assorted stills as an attachement to their email? Or did they take the time to set up a basic web page (not an entire site, just a page) that presented their stills in a more organized and easy-to-access way? Did they send me a direct link to their work, or do I have to hunt for it? How a person chooses to package themselves does actually say a lot about their work habits and attention to detail.

 

Marketing yourself isn't necessarily about making things look slickly packaged, it's more about did this person take the time to make it easy for me to find and look at their work? Even if the presentation is basic, if it's organized and easy for the recruiter/employer to view, I think this counts as a successful marketing strategy.

[Ky Lane]

Well, thats common sense; not self-marketing.

 

I agree about the ease of access - but thats an attachment - if someone cant do that, I'd be worried too.

[moshenko]

Again, if these companies need the talent, stop playing the "we're doing you a favour by advertising", and recognise it for what it is... not for what its presented in

 

Do you really think that's how this comes across (honestly - I'm not trying to be argumentative)? I think that this discussion is providing some valuable insight for those that are searching for work. Here we have owners of vis companies telling eveyone what they want to see in order to hire someone. How much better can it get?

[Ky Lane]

Do you really think that's how this comes across (honestly - I'm not trying to be argumentative)? I think that this discussion is providing some valuable insight for those that are searching for work. Here we have owners of vis companies telling eveyone what they want to see in order to hire someone. How much better can it get?

 

Does to me, again potentially a cultural thing.

 

The discussion is broad, but it seems what people expect as an 'application' is very specific. It needs to be award winning, or you go to the bottom of the pile.

 

I guess theres alot of people Ive met over the years who havent exactly marketed themselves well, but by god they do some amazing work.

[EddieLeon]

Again, it's not just about the work. Many of our artists had mediocre portfolios when we hired them. They have all improved ten fold because they had the right attitude. It was a win win for both sides. Now we have dedicated employees and a family-type working environment.

[Billabong]

I think this is a great topic and has informed me a great bit.

 

I have been offered jobs in couple of vfx houses and at Apple, but I had no desire to live in Cali. So I turned those down. But If I don't find something soon, that may have to change. which brings me to my point(I think)

 

I have been told numerous times the my portfolio is very strong,but just the other day I found out my resume is pretty weak, which is probably(maybe) what is hindering me, but since I'm so bad at writing things like that. I guess I'm going to have to hire someone to help me with it.

 

Just out of curiosity Moshenko. Are you offering relocation assistance? Unless you hire someone that is already in Canada and the person you hire has ten grand laying around in thier account, they are going to need it. Just a thought

 

Like I said, this is a great topic and thanks for starting it.

 

-B

 

I think I just tried to get in free advertising, sorry about that, delete this post if you want to guys

Edited June 11, 2008 by Billabong

[ihabkal]

 

Hi Nicholas, sorry for the intrusion on the discussion,

Do you mean number of people practicing it or work availibility?

Thanks.

[ihabkal]

Again, it's not just about the work. Many of our artists had mediocre portfolios when we hired them. They have all improved ten fold because they had the right attitude. It was a win win for both sides. Now we have dedicated employees and a family-type working environment.

 

I have seen that with my own eyes when I visited. I proposed adding a family TV

[RobNJ73]

Well, thats common sense; not self-marketing.

 

You'd be surprised at just how uncommon the sense is to do these simple things.

 

We'd ask that submissions only take the form of links and that attachments would not be viewed. We'd get attachments (which we never looked at, by the way... just deleted). We'd ask for no calls. Our phones would ring. Ky, what you and I think of as common sense is very often overlooked.

 

If a person can't follow some simple guidelines about how to submit their work, I don't care how "shit-hot" it is... they just demonstrated that they can't follow a simple procedure. I'd rather hire someone whose work is a notch below but who can follow direction. This is someone I'm going to have to work with... I need to know that I can work with them, and they with me.

Edited June 11, 2008 by RobNJ73
Damned brackets

[moshenko]

Just out of curiosity Moshenko. Are you offering relocation assistance? Unless you hire someone that is already in Canada and the person you hire has ten grand laying around in thier account, they are going to need it. Just a thought

 

I don't want to turn this into a personal employee-find thread so I will only state that relocation assistance is always part of discussions when making a formal offer.

 

I was going to write another topic a while ago called "Why we don't hire more non-Canadian employees" but since you've kind of brought it up let me expand on my original post:

 

"1. Canadian employment regulations state that we cannot hire individuals from outside Canada without first going through a thorough search for Canadian workers. When we cannot find a suitable candidate within Canada we then must prove to the government that we have conducted a reasonable search. Then, we must go through a work visa process that can take months to complete and that does not necessarily guarantee a successful outcome;"

 

We're lucky in Canada that we can hire non-resident employees. However, it's not easy to do and isn't really a "first choice" scenario. It takes time, a lot of effort and some expense on our part, and the outcome is not always guaranteed. Here are some other things to consider from an employer perspective:

 

- A personal interview tells more about a person than a month's worth of emails, phone calls and letters can. Not having the ability to do this makes decisions tougher;

- Believe it or not, most employers actually feel some sort of responsibility for the employees that they hire! One of the (many) things that occassionally keeps me awake at night is the fact that I am responsible for a bunch of people's financial well-being. When dealing with hiring a person from abroad that sense of responsibility is multiplied. What if the person doesn't work out?;

- Usually businesses advertise for help when they need it (some smart ones do it ahead of time!). With the process of hiring a non-resident employee being so long, and with the nature of our business being so short-term, it is possible that something could happen to change one's hiring situation just when the non-resident employee arrives;

- Non-residents have to deal with moving their families (if they have one) and that is something that can cause all sorts of problems. Often the employee will be granted work permission but not the rest of the family, or the family could be unexpectedly denied admission after the employee has arrived;

- Canada is relatively accepting of non-residents after all of the criteria are met, but other countries make the process infinitely painful. We have to research this ahead of time when contemplating hiring someone from out of Canada;

- Finally, once the employee is here legally we must continually prove that we cannot find a suitable Canadian replacement. That means more time, effort, expense, paperwork, etc.

 

Believe me, I would love to be able to freely hire employees from whereever I like based strictly on their merits. I have found that the talent pool here in Toronto is very difficult to uncover and there are hundreds of exceptionally talented artists to be found elsewhere. It's just not that easy, although that hasn't stopped me from doing it twice in the past with great results. Certainly, if the Canadian government changed their policy I would seek to take more advantage but that isn't a decision that is up to me.

 

I hope this hasn't crossed over the line into active recruitment. I'm just trying to explain a question that is often asked to me and will hopefully provide some useful information to others.

[Billabong]

Good God! Man that is a lot of work to do just get someone out of country in your office. I guess I can understand why it's done. If I was the one having to do it, then I would be the same way. Thanks for the detailed response

[moshenko]

 

Hi Nicholas, sorry for the intrusion on the discussion,

Do you mean number of people practicing it or work availibility?

Thanks.

 

I mean the metaphorical/metaphysical size of our industry. Here in Toronto, I am constantly amazed at how many people I know - or know of - through various acquaintences and contacts. My number one rule of business operation is: never say anything negative about someone you do business with, even if they have done everything in the world to deserve it. What you say (and actions that you take) will always come back to bite you. Likewise, you never know when something you do well will come back to reward you later on.

[Jeff Mottle]

Interesting thread. I think I might write an article on CGA about how to prepare a resume, portfolio and some do's and don'ts.

 

In regards to the type of applications you are receiving Nicholas, this happens alot, and as others have pointed out not just on CGA. I had thought about offering a vetting service like Eddie mentioned, but most are not likely going to find that economical. I charge my time out at $150/hour, but you'd also be guaranteed you get exactly what you want. Also, although the resumes you are getting now might not be directly applicable, they might be in the future. I can tell you this however, and you probably are well aware of this already, finding really good talent in this industry is exceptionally difficult, so assuming the resumes were vetted, would you prefer to receive 1 resume a month or sift through several hundred and only find 1. (These are just hypothetical numbers by the way).

 

I do know for a fact that quite a few people have hired full time staff from the CGA job board, but it does take time, as the real talent is hard to find and not always looking for work. I have some plans to help address this issue (increasing the level of experience and training in the industry), but that will not be announced or ready until mid to late next year.

 

I'm also looking at version 2 of the job board, so if there are any suggestions on making it more effective for what you need, please let me know.

[Sawyer]

Can you do a pop up that as you apply says "This position is an IN HOUSE position by continuing this application you agree that if offered a job you will be able to work IN HOUSE". Or something like that.

[Scott Erstad]

This is an excellent article for any job seeker...Thanks to http://www.Archinect.com for the interviews...

 

http://archinect.com/features/article.php?id=62511_0_23_0_M

 

Regards,

[Jeff Mottle]

This is an excellent article for any job seeker...Thanks to www.Archinect.com for the interviews...

 

http://archinect.com/features/article.php?id=62511_0_23_0_M

 

Regards,

 

nice, would anyone be interested in a more arch viz centric version of this on CGA?

[Scott Erstad]

I think that would be an excellent idea. As I am preparing to re-enter the market, I would love to hear what the decision makers have to say on this topic. Especially regarding style... it seems a whole lot of work is looking pretty similar, it doesn't really seem desirable from a business marketing standpoint to me.

 

Regards,

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

I would like to reiterate the importance of presenting your work in a nice way. I can't tell you how many people I have talked to that bring in a folder with crumpled prints on a poor quality laser printer, and such.

 

You don't need everything to be themed, and sing together, this isn't a product graphics field. However, the physical quality of each piece is important. Beyond the subliminal advantage that you get when holding something that has quality, it also shows that you respect the work you are doing, and that you are well organized.

 

Typically, I barely skim the resumes before looking at the portfolio. You can usually tell fairly fast whether the person has potential, whether they are organized, if they have an eye for detail, and how professional they are all by the time the spent organizing the work that they are submitting to you for review.

[moshenko]

Interesting thread. I think I might write an article on CGA about how to prepare a resume, portfolio and some do's and don'ts.

 

In regards to the type of applications you are receiving Nicholas, this happens alot, and as others have pointed out not just on CGA. I had thought about offering a vetting service like Eddie mentioned, but most are not likely going to find that economical. I charge my time out at $150/hour, but you'd also be guaranteed you get exactly what you want. Also, although the resumes you are getting now might not be directly applicable, they might be in the future. I can tell you this however, and you probably are well aware of this already, finding really good talent in this industry is exceptionally difficult, so assuming the resumes were vetted, would you prefer to receive 1 resume a month or sift through several hundred and only find 1. (These are just hypothetical numbers by the way).

 

I was completely prepared for this type of response to our ad (the same thing has happened previously) and I realize that it will always happen here and other places. The great thing about this site, though, is that we can start this type of discussion right away and the applicants have an opportunity to hear this stuff straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. You are correct that some applications are quite useful for future reference but I think suggestions have been offered here to help make those applications more useful rather than just tossed away, so that's a good thing. I hadn't considered the idea of a vetting service - it's definitely something to think about.

 

I really like the idea of an industry-specific article similar to the one posted by scotty. In addition, how about a session at next year's DMVC?

[EddieLeon]

nice, would anyone be interested in a more arch viz centric version of this on CGA?

 

I think that would be helpful and I'm sure some of the 3d companies would gladly volunteer their thoughts for the survey.

 

By the way, I just posted a job ad today on CGA. I'll be taking notes on the results/process

[odouble]

nice, would anyone be interested in a more arch viz centric version of this on CGA?

 

I'm will definitely be interested...

[Frosty]

never say anything negative about someone you do business with, even if they have done everything in the world to deserve it. What you say (and actions that you take) will always come back to bite you. Likewise, you never know when something you do well will come back to reward you later on.

 

Wise words!

 

Nicholas, if a person is educated as an architect can they cross from the US on a TN to work at you place? The TN VISA is very strict in its qualifications, but when they are met it is extremely fast and easy to acquire. Mexican residents may also be an option in this regard. I'm not sure if any of this is possible, my experience is from Canada to the US.