Would You Hire Yourself? The Ultimate Creative Self-Audit.  ## Metadata - Author: [[The Deeply Graphic Designcast - DGDC]] - Full Title: Would You Hire Yourself? The Ultimate Creative Self-Audit. - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/34dcc98d-e28b-4375-a3a4-d247ef9edc2e ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Raising Rates By Testing** - Steven described gradually raising rates and testing client reactions as a confidence builder. - He recommends slowly increasing prices until someone says no to find your market rate. Transcript: Nick Longo Yeah, man. And now it's funny how comfortable you can get with some bigger numbers quite quickly when you are testing the waters each time, you know, and then even getting into different employment Situations and negotiating a salary plus what you do for freelance. So it's always it's good to have that those conversations. And I love that that episode really got a lot of people to finally get past a certain threshold that they couldn't get by on their own. And I think we can all speak for that. You need to hear a few good examples. Yeah, definitely. Steven Overturf I think like, even if you're working in house somewhere or any sort of business, really, and you get offered a job and it's a certain salary and certain benefits, it's really tough to Kind of like go back. And you're like, well, you know, this is now what's expected of me. I also know the responsibilities that come with this. And so you're growing in a lot of different areas, one of those being kind of financially. And so when you're doing independent design work or creative work, it's like, well, I'm going to like keep doing this and keep raising my rates until someone says no. And then it's like, OK, I have an idea of where I am currently until the next project. And then when you challenge yourself and you try to raise things again, and then you just are, should always kind of be testing the waters and see what's out there, you know? Nick Longo So totally it's, you lead me right into this topic. So beautifully, because I was, we were talking about what we could have a little fun with and I've been noticing that these like more career tune-up uh episodes ([Time 0:02:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/72e2e383-47d4-46cc-88eb-9d3d9b011069)) - **Polish Your First Impression** - First impressions matter because recruiters decide quickly whether to keep looking at you. - Show a clear, intentional online presence so viewers instantly understand what you do. Transcript: Nick Longo All right. First impressions reflect on a current state of your own branding, online presence, and overall vibe. What do you, how do you feel you're doing there on that kind of like first impression? Yeah. I find you and I'm looking you up. Steven Overturf Yeah. I think online presence is interesting. Um, I'm currently working on a new website for myself. I haven't had, I haven't had an actual, have not had an actual website and probably 10 years. And I think so that, yeah, yeah. Probably. I thought you had one. I mean, I've got like my Instagram, I'm on Behance page. There are things like that, uh, that I'm, I'm posting work on, but less so a proper website where I can be contacted and kind of see the best of best of the work ([Time 0:05:27](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4a35491e-47ec-4e85-9eec-30a8ef0c303d)) - **Make A Purposeful Website** - Build a website to present your best work and make contacting you easy. - Curate and show the work you want to do, not everything you've ever made. Transcript: Steven Overturf I haven't had, I haven't had an actual, have not had an actual website and probably 10 years. And I think so that, yeah, yeah. Probably. I thought you had one. I mean, I've got like my Instagram, I'm on Behance page. There are things like that, uh, that I'm, I'm posting work on, but less so a proper website where I can be contacted and kind of see the best of best of the work that I'm doing. Gotcha. Um, and so, yeah, it's probably been since like college where I was trying to, okay, I'm getting out there in the workforce. I need, I need something. Instagram was not as popular then for what we're doing as a career in design work. It was, you know, back then it was like strictly photography and people were just posting, yeah, posting things that they were doing. And, um, you know, and so I'm currently in the process of building a website. Um, my online presence is very slim. You know, I'm posting work where I can, things that I'm proud of. But yeah, the website thing's interesting. It takes a lot of work. It's not just like, oh, I'm going to throw some stuff together. It's really kind of getting into what do I really want to show? What's my best work? What are some of the work that I want to showcase that I could kind of get that work back? You know, we always talk about like, show the work that you want to do. And so that's kind of what I'm developing right now. And, you know, I'm 12 years into kind of my career. ([Time 0:05:51](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8366f20d-d66e-4f35-b955-329ae71a2cb8)) - **Work Over Platform** - The URL or platform matters less than whether your work is visible and clear. - Clients will judge you by the work they find first, not where it's hosted. Transcript: Nick Longo That's what's kept me from redoing it. I've always wanted to redo it. Currently with a great little sponsorship with Wix right now. So I tried that part of the goal was to use that as a kind of a jumping point to start building the new one and have it ready to just make a nice little shift. But you know, that feeling, man, if you don't need it and no one's, no one's asking for it, you ain't going to do it. So like, I'm happy with where I'm at. And you're right. There are all those other things between Instagram Behance. I think I'm hearing more and more people getting found on for the job in there. And if you if you've got the work, I don't care what URL is on there. If it's Behance, if it's a free site that you made or if it's your own personal URL, I don't think that should make a difference. And anybody who's using that as a as a part of their choice i say sure don't want to work for that person yeah no no for sure i you know i i've i've hired people in the past to where um sometimes Steven Overturf It's tough like if they just put their linkedin profile or something like that or their twitter you know twitter x whatever i think it's harder to find the work there. If they're putting like their Instagram account that has the full breadth of work, it's like, okay, like your work is there. It's not like just because it's not a, you know, quote unquote, formal portfolio site. And it's this thing that is hosting your work. Like, great, awesome. I'm going to look at it. ([Time 0:08:02](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c096491c-ef12-42d0-8205-abbe67451bdc)) - **Search Yourself Regularly** - Google yourself to see what potential clients find and fix gaps you don't like. - Regular activity (videos, posts, talks) helps push the right results higher. Transcript: Nick Longo Oh, man. So I went ahead and Googled us both, which is great. Okay. I am happy to see that and see results about. Not only is it me, Nick Longoago but that is my first cousin nicholas v longo right underneath me which is oh really so hilarious that's crazy and from this and he's not in our field in any Way yeah uh so we battle on the uh like search results sometimes and he's also a teacher so a lot of times we're like wow how are you ranking right now that's funny that you're both educators And family and... Same exact name. Yeah, that's why. Yeah. But I went ahead and Googled it. I just did first and last name. Okay. Just to see. I'm happy to see that my website came up first, which is good to know. Behind the scenes here, I do absolutely nothing when it comes to SEO or any kind of strategic thing to be like, how am I showing up there? I think maybe just my name and I think your name as well being a little bit not the most common. Does that help a little bit us? I don't know. Right. Second, Instagram. Third is my LinkedIn. Hey, if there's one thing I'm trying. Steven Overturf Those are three great. Nick Longo I'm happy. ([Time 0:10:19](https://share.snipd.com/snip/038cc88e-919c-45a5-8738-9f3d138186a2)) - **Update Your Bio Everywhere** - Keep your bios and about pages updated across Behance, LinkedIn, and other profiles. - Use those bio areas to centralize links, teams, and contact details for quick evaluation. Transcript: Nick Longo And so since you haven't had the, uh, the website going, I was hoping to see the bio here on your behance. Do you not have one? Okay. Uh, on my behance, I may not, um, I'm looking here, but i do i do have an updated bio that just may not be public gotcha okay so we can look at that but i don't know if there is a much of a bio is There a bio let me see hold on i think uh where's mine i'm gonna get to be hands because i know i tried to do something here here we go so you do get oh right here about me so you do get a quite a Good little area to put in that. You can also put a link to your website. You can put the teams you are a part of as well. And you could put social media and your work experience in there. So it's almost, I like this because it's a bit of your own website. It's a bit of LinkedIn. And it's a bit of kind of like your resume and some stuff you want to brag about all in one little spot, you know, which is really, really cool. Steven Overturf I would say the lesson is don't follow what I'm doing. Follow what Nick is doing. But yeah, I think like the Behance page for me when I first started it was, hey, I'm going to use this as my portfolio, but not to necessarily generate work. And so I was doing – and I'm no copywriter, so I think there were some things that I probably just omitted from the account or something like that. Yeah, gotcha. But I do have an updated bio a ([Time 0:14:34](https://share.snipd.com/snip/52b20ec2-0b4d-475c-ac6d-1376c8bde10d)) - **Specialize In Being Versatile** - Being a versatile designer can be a deliberate specialty and a market advantage. - Generalists can pivot between services and seize more varied opportunities. Transcript: Steven Overturf I would hope i mean i would hope that they look at me and and say oh he's multidisciplinary um where i think sometimes you'll see designers oh they're just doing like logo branding work And then some are just just doing illustration or some are just doing websites and i mean that's an area that i don't really touch is like web based or app programming, like that sort of Thing. And so I like to do logos. I like to do illustrations for apparel or, you know, any sort of product. And so it, my range is like clean aesthetic to kind of gritty aesthetic. So I think, you know, I want to be able to kind of swing on that pendulum, um, where it's like, Hey, if you need something that is a graphic design piece, I think I'm going to be able to accomplish It. And, you know, and so, um, the whole generalist versus, uh, specialist, like I want to be that the best generalist i can be to where hey he's good at a lot of different things you should Just like talk you just talk to him and see what he can do is that a new term like i want to be a specific generalist yeah no i mean i want to yeah like right i want to i want to specialize in right Nick Longo Here not here i want to be like right here yeah that's that's a good idea dude no one's ever, again, it doesn't have to be one way or the other. I don't think any generalist that is so widespread compared to one specialist that only does one thing, that is so not giving yourself the best launching pad. You know what I mean? Yeah. So be somewhere. You could be somewhere in the middle. It doesn't have to be either one. Steven Overturf If I could specialize in being a generalist, 100%, you know, like, whereas we, you know, we have friends and people in our, in our life who are really, really freaking good at one thing And they make a living off of it. ([Time 0:17:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/57973eaf-ca05-4bd7-9873-61ec6490cda7)) - **Validate With Non-Designers** - Test your portfolio's clarity by showing it to non-designers and asking what they see. - Aim for an instant read so recruiters know your focus within seconds. Transcript: Nick Longo I think that's even being a little bit gracious. I think it's even a little less than that sometimes. Um, that first impression is everything. And it's, if, if all those things we just talked about, you're not producing in the first impression, fine tune it, get to it. Um, do show another friend, right? Show a non-designer. I think we're going to talk about that down the road. Show someone that isn't a designer and ask them, what do you see here? What do you think I'm trying to push the most, right? ([Time 0:25:04](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0eac7a5d-bebf-493a-bf11-2e03797dac93)) - **Make Your Portfolio Sell For You** - Treat your portfolio as a silent salesperson that convinces clients when you're not there. - Tailor the portfolio to the roles and clients you want to attract. Transcript: Nick Longo Um, so as you're building this new portfolio and everything, what are the things you are anticipating it will do for you? Like, even if you just define it, what does the portfolio do for you? Steven Overturf Um, for, you know, for me, uh, you know, I'm going to play some, um, working independently, still seeking out kind of like some full-time work, um, elsewhere. And I think having that portfolio in front of, or the website in front of kind of higher executive positions. Because the positions I'm going for, that's where it's touching. Not that I'm going to be executive, but those are the people that I'm talking to. Nick Longo That'd be checking you out. Steven Overturf Yeah, yeah. Those are the people that I'm talking to. For me, it's like kind of a confidence booster, I would say, to where maybe they're looking at maybe an Instagram or something and they're not looking at it as something that's polished. Not to say that everybody is looking for a polished website, but I think the positions that I'm looking at, that's what they want to see. And then also a better way to push out case studies, you know, really be able to build it out, add text, have some flexibility in what I'm able to have. You know, I think Instagram and like social sites may be a little bit limited in that, but there's probably ways to do it. But I think a website or like something like Behance, you can really flesh out or flesh out that kind of case study. And so, you know, I want to be expected now. Yeah. I want to be able to have a space where I can really do that versus just post, you know, four or five, six images and then have a caption. Yeah. ([Time 0:31:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/42ffb8d7-a508-4cd4-8c5d-e512809da765)) - **Rewriting Copy To Match Niche** - Nick pivoted his website tone to match his bright, food-and-beverage work and used AI to rewrite copy. - Narrowing to a niche helped him speak the client's language and attract targeted projects. Transcript: Nick Longo Like, is it you, right? Is it you? And my previous one, I was so proud of and I loved everything about it. Right. And then I showed it to we were doing an office hours and our buddy, our common buddy, Andrew, said, you come off so serious in your branding. And I'll never forget that. I was like, and then everything I wrote in my copy was too serious as well. And what I realized was I was trying to compensate for the fact that a lot of my work is very bright and very kind of either kid friendly or food friendly and all this stuff. Right. And I was trying to kind of compensate for that and trying to show professionalism in the copy and in my branding. And I turned it all over and said, no, I got to change this to something a little bit more fun and a little bit more exciting. And one of the best things I got to do was I had a buddy who said to me, why aren't you just specializing in food and beverage? Cause that's 80, 90% of what you're doing. I said, oh, I can't do that right i can't be the specialist right like that's that's the the fear and he goes just go all in and notice what i did was i rewrote all of my copy to and i'll be 100 Transparent i took everything i had brought it into chad gpt and i said rewrite this with an emphasis of more positive emphasis on food and beverage so even just saying crafting iconic Brands that savor success it dropped in savor as a thing and it dropped in things like ingredients and things like that that sound food and it's exactly what i want to put out there but It was a such a um confident way to do it where i didn't feel like i was going to 10 on it you know what i mean it was just my way just even like speaking that language to to a potential client Steven Overturf Especially in the food and beverage space it's like okay he gets it yeah he may be just a graphic designer who can do packaging but when you really understand it and you're speaking that Language that they're speaking every single day, they're like, oh, that's an easy sell for you. And so I think that's even just the colors alone, bright, colorful, right. You're being very playful there. And so I think, you know, previously it was just like Navy and gold, right? Like that's kind of where you were at. Yeah. And so it's interesting that you, I mean, you took kind of like a big shift there. And so I think it's great. I think it's great. Nick Longo Thanks, man. Yeah. I love the, the more true to me feel of this. And I felt like an imposter before, you know, and it felt a little bit weird. And then I'm glad you brought up something too, where anything you build on your normal website, you could take and build a secondary one right here on Behance. That's the coolest part. And you can literally just drop them into each one of these things. ([Time 0:35:45](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bb4511eb-4a28-47e6-b765-59e55e5a9ad1)) - **Write Case Studies That Convert** - Build case studies with context, before/after, and measurable outcomes. - Use short narratives and stats to show how your work moved the needle for clients. Transcript: Nick Longo Uh here's a fun little fact portfolios that include case studies and context are three times more likely to lead to an interview so linkedin learning is already quoting that that case Studies are by far the new standard don't drop the ball on that guys even if it's just it's just just a you know five to six slides that can scroll a little bit and tell a story you can't just Drop a jpeg any longer and say this is a design i made you need that context you need something to kind of tell the story a beginning middle end what did you do hopefully like what i love this Line how did it move the needle what did it do for the client right like you can talk about the barbershop one or the tattoo one and say like, uh, look at the difference. Like this business propelled themselves into better stuff online once the branding was finished or whatever it might be. Right. Yeah. Steven Overturf The before and after, you know, obviously you don't want to step on toes for your client. Like, you know, maybe they had some questionable design work at times or whatever, but, uh, it's like, Hey, here's what it was before. Here's, here is what I received. And then this is where I took it. And then their business throw some statistics in there. They say for, you know, food and beverage or restaurants, it's, yeah, we, we rebranded this,, and then they opened up, you know, four or five more locations because of it. And so, like, even talking about some of those things, and having some stats, and some copywriting that, you know, plays into the story, I think, really, really does help. I agree. Nick Longo Yeah. The call to action here, guys. ([Time 0:40:10](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f36a0783-7e77-4026-bbe2-59eb20223ac2)) - **Self-Promote Your Way** - Promote yourself in ways you find comfortable and sustainable, not by copying trends. - Choose formats you can keep doing so consistency builds recognition. Transcript: Nick Longo Yeah. What about this mindset of self promotion? That's our next little topic. Um, I've always struggled with this. I think we're probably in the same boat as far as like, yeah, we're not the ones with Tik TOK videos saying like, hey guys, have you opened up Pathfinder? I don't want to be that. But I do appreciate those people. I'd say more power to you if you're killing it there. I love seeing that's become a whole other like business and let them make the money in their ad revenue. I don't know. But what do you think about how designers should be doing this to kind of like self promote? What would be your top like tip when it comes to that? Steven Overturf I think the, the, my rule is like at the end of the day, do what makes you comfortable. You know, like if, if you feel like it's out of your realm to do the TikTok tutorials or Instagram tutorials, like, don't feel like you have to. Like, I think that's where I land a lot of times where it's, I'm not the front facing camera in front of the camera type of person. Typically, I feel like I can do it, but it's not where I naturally gravitate to. But I think it's like, hey, if you feel the call to do something like that, then go for it. I don't think at any point now, based off of where design social media is going, that anyone's going to balk at that. It's just a matter of what's the most comfortable for you. Now, if you want to go all in, then that's where I think there's a lot of questions of like, okay, what are you going to showcase? Are you going to be too all over the place? Are you going to, again, back to the specialized, I'm going to specialize in Illustrator tutorial. I'm going to specialize in Photoshop tutorial or something like that. And so, but I do think it is important to showcase yourself, an online presence to a degree. Yeah. It's just what do you feel like is the best route for you at the end of the day? And that may take some self-discovery and a lot of conversations with people and mentors and that sort of thing. ([Time 0:43:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4931aae8-7058-4614-8f88-2d039827c2ba)) - **Practice Speaking About Your Work** - Practice talking about your work frequently to build confidence and clarity. - Use school critiques, meetups, or short presentations to get comfortable being verbal and public. Transcript: Nick Longo According to Adobe's 2024 creative survey, 72% of creatives struggle to talk about their own work confidently. I always think of it as it's very similar to when the MTV revolution started. You had all these bands that never had to be on camera. Now they had to suddenly be actors and be in videos and everything and you could watch the most cringiest ones and the ones that never got it uh but made their you know did it for years and Then you could look at then it birthed the the artist that had to be great in front of the camera first before talent and so it's pretty interesting to see how that works and i think creatives Are just naturally uh they're already putting themselves out there with their work right and now you're saying now you have to i have to you know you have to put a spotlight on me too like I understand the reluctancy and no one's saying you have to be put yourself in that kind of spotlight thing whatever but just to talk about your work what what values or what things do You think you've done that have allowed you to talk about your work better each and every time uh probably a few different things i think one practice so just like doing it right i think Steven Overturf That you grow and by just doing it um i think going to art school design school where you have to that, you're forced to talk about your work helps. ([Time 0:48:50](https://share.snipd.com/snip/24228ef0-cba8-4071-a052-5449310c4587)) - **Publish A Brag Post** - Schedule and publish a 'brag post' this week to share a real win with context and collaborators. - Tag peers and clients to celebrate the work and build social proof. Transcript: Nick Longo Yeah. It's the best way to do it, man. Practice makes purpose. You know, the call to action here guys is to create a brag post. I love this idea. Share it with a win or some personal insight that you might have and schedule it this week. Like that's one of my favorite things. Even do it on, um, Adobe Express or on like LinkedIn and schedule it as a post. Steven Overturf I schedule all the time. Isn't that great? I schedule all the time. So like it feels it feels safer, right? It feels safer. Yeah. I mean, I've even scheduled things where, you know, I'm going to I'm going to sleep in the next morning. I love that. At, you know, at eight o'clock, that's going out no matter what. Right. Like, I don't have to worry about it. LinkedIn does it now. Yes instagram does it all the time instagram does it through your mobile app um you know i wish you would have it for the desktop would be web browser version that would be awesome but yeah Nick Longo Just use express for that like you can literally tap in your all your social accounts you have a whole calendar of when you can do it the idea here is that hitting send is a very tough thing To do or post. So when you do the schedule send, it takes a little bit of that off and you feel like, ah, okay, I can breathe. It's going to go out tomorrow, whatever it is. ([Time 0:53:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/7c5774f4-8a08-4286-9d3e-3733b0463a34)) - **Three-Step Hireability Audit** - Google yourself, fix your online presence, improve one case study, and post a scheduled win this week. - Use those three steps as a practical audit to become more hireable quickly. Transcript: Nick Longo Oh yeah. Steven Overturf Would you hire yourself? Nick Longo Yeah. Steven Overturf What, would I hire myself? Um, I, I think it all depends, right? I think that's, that's the answer. Um, which is a cop out. I know it's a cop out, but it's like one of the things that what am I looking for? You know, like what's the project? I think if I was someone who was needing just pure branding work to kind of like, hey, I need a go-to design. Designer who can do some illustration work who can also do a logo who's not like scared to kind of like get his hands dirty on on any sort of design project um then yeah i would definitely Hire myself i think my style has definitely changed over the years to where what i'm doing now is a little bit more fun and illustrative and um you know but i i still like to do the really Clean, really what was the what was the word that Andrew said about your work early on? Nick Longo Serious. Steven Overturf Mature. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I still can do that. But, you know, for me, like it's not as fun or whatever. And so I like to make things that last and that people look at and say, hey, that's cool. That's dope, cool stuff. And so if I was looking for someone who wanted to just do dope, cool stuff, yeah, I would hire me. Nick Longo Okay. So it depends on that. But yeah. All right. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. Love that. That's great. Steven Overturf Would you hire you, Nick? Nick Longo I'm going to confidently say yes. Yeah. I would only say it because, and I'm not saying it for the design sense. I'm saying it for all the other stuff behind it. Like just knowing what, just the experience and the stuff that you know you have under your belt. Think at certain time comes where you're like i i i am that person that i think people appreciate will go the extra mile uh makes for a good working situation a good culture all those things Because i still keep even though i'm completely self-employed now with the with the exception of school um and teaching which you kind of are, I just still am in the mentality of I've Got to be looked at like as being hired. And that's those are all my values, because I think that's what I did for years. And I think that's where all raised to be, right? Yeah, you get a job and be valued be I love the term of just being, being undeniable. Like that idea of like strive for that. Cause that's almost impossible to attain, attain, but like you can, that could be your direction. That could be your North star. So I love to say that now, what I would say is because it has been a while since I've had to put myself out there to be hired. Um, I could definitely polish up all of the touch points. And I think that's the beauty of this. All it takes is a weekend, right? If you know something's happening Monday, I could go and quickly tune up and do all the things I need to because technology has made it so easy. Steven Overturf I like to think of myself as a strong resource too, to where, you know, if I feel like I can't do something, like maybe it's the actual physical aspect of designing something, say a website Or a mobile app or something like that, something that I'm not as well versed in. I think I know somebody who could probably do it, you know, and so finding that other creative person who's right for the job, I think is also very valuable to, to a client of like, Hey, Can you do this? And it's like, Hey, I may not be able to, but I'm going to help you find somebody who can. And they're going to still come, come back to me the next time of like, Hey, I know that you found say that photographer or whatever, if you're not a photographer, can you help me find a Videographer? Yeah. I know a guy, you know, so it's like, and there may be some sort of financial gain in that, you know, but, um, just being able to help and be able to be of service and a resource to your client Or whoever's hiring you out to do something or someone who is, you know, you're, you're a full-time person somewhere where, Hey, we need, we need someone who can come in and do this thing. It's like, I know somebody like, yeah, I'm connected or it's like, Hey, I'm, I think I can do it. I think I'm going to, I'm going to figure out how to do this for you. And so there's also that aspect to it. It's where that's, that's where I like spot. Yeah. That's where I like to be. And, um, you know, you just got to know yourself though. You gotta, you gotta really understand like what kind of creative person you are and what you're able to do to walk into that. Nick Longo Yeah. Again, it comes with the experience. It comes with the trial and error. It comes with failing a few times. I think those are obviously the best moments in so many different ways of your career and what you do. ([Time 0:57:17](https://share.snipd.com/snip/913bd509-c24b-4c63-81b9-ae053a5ffdae))