I received an email from a friend and former client of my from my days as a commercial photographer. He's probably in his mid-40s now, and when I worked with him he was a young art director at the hottest creative shop in town, if not the midwest (or even arguably the US). He was pretty good at what he did.
I thought his email had value for more creatives than just him, so I'm going to publish my responses to him. The reality is that if "veteran" art directors, writers or even account people don't expand their awareness about how to communicate with a targeted audience beyond the traditional "mass" means of doing so, or through print collateral, POS and the like, they're dead . . . and unemployable. Sad but true. Great ideas and mastery of the Adobe Suite are no longer all it takes to get hired and be a valuable asset to your agency and clients.
I've been hearing about funding out there for unemployed people which provides education for 'retooling' people's careers. From your vantage point, what would you suggest an overly experienced art director/creative director/occasional copywriter to do to make him more instantly hirable by generous and adoring employers?
I'm guessing web design is high on everyone's list of things they want - right along with "knows every program ever created, washes windows and bathrooms and speaks twelve languages." I've worked with a web designer and know how to design for the web but never got into the programming aspect of it.
If you're ever lounging around, give a yell and perhaps we can grab a drink sometime."
I'm going to ignore the part about "pushing unemployed creative types into job openings", because that is so far away from what retained recruiters do, that it's another whole blog post.
The questions posed in my friend's email could be written about in depth and detail. I'm going to take a "blogger's approach" and keep it simple, realizing there's just a lot more that can be said about this.
I don't think web design is high on a list . . . it's a given. So is online communication. The days of drawing a hard, bold line between design and programming is fading quickly too. While creatives might not be able to completely program a website, there's no question that the more you know about it, and I'm talking beyond simple "design", the better off your're going to be. There has to be a basic understanding of html, user interface and information architecture. You have to know the basics about SEO and designing a dynamic website . . . not just a pretty one. And yes, if you have a familiarity (at least) with other apps like Flash, Dreamweaver, After Effects, JavaScript and the like . . . there are dozens . . . you're also more valuable.
I've always been a believer in the best training being doing. It's worked for me with photography, and it's now working for me as I try to stay abreast of what's going on in the "new world of communication". As I write that, I realize it's not new anymore . . . it is how it's done now. Owning a Mac makes creation so simple . . . every application you need to create (GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, etc.) is there. It's all about how you use them. Fundamentally, it's about a basic desire to learn how to use them! I'll be my friend isn't screwing around learning how to use what he already has.
Valuable creatives have to live the lifestyle of new media communications. They need to be personally utilizing social media both personally and professionally. The obvious are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.. There are many, many more. They should be writing a blog and/or producing personal art and then sharing it online.
High performing creatives who are valuable to their clients and employers are "communicating" with others in their areas of interest or expertise online. They're part of communities, or creating their own. They're asking or responding to questions. They're adding photographs, or even better videos, to their own sites and thinking about how to incorporate "media" into channels that reach a target audience. What they do for themselves as a matter of course, has many of the elements of what they're doing for their clients.
It's all about connecting with targeted consumers or businesses where they happen to be, and when they happen to be there. It's about building brands . . . in this case, your own. There's a knowledge and comfort with "new media" that helps accomplish that task. You have to be doing it, not just studying it. It's not that hard. Frankly, it's fun!
There has to be a passion and enthusiasm for communications and how to do it better, and faster. It should be a lifestyle, not a job. Beyond the literal tools, you have to have the ambition to become indispensable to your employer and your clients . . . If you can do these things, and love doing them, you'll have no trouble getting hired and thriving in your profession.
So I'm skeptical about retraining. I'm sure that it can work in some cases. I'm just saying that if you're not interested in doing it, or haven't tried any of this "social media", there's a good chance it's already too late.
What I'm not skeptical about is passion and ambition. The world is changing quickly around us, and has been for years. The solution is to try different things . . . be proactive with your career and not reactive. Experiment! If you want something badly enough, you'll figure out how to accomplish it.