This morning, Sam Bennett and I had a chat about creativity, organization, and getting geared up for your next project or job search. We had such a great time, I’m posting the whole 30-minute conversation here, unedited.

In our chat:

• The magic of the “Genius Envelope”
• How to rock your goals in as little as 15 minutes a day
• Why the people you vibe with are the key to your next big opportunity

Listen to our conversation here:

Right-click (PC) or option-click (Mac) here to download the mp3

Links from the interview:

• You can visit Sam Bennett’s website, The Organized Artist Company, at: theorganizedartistcompany.com
• While you’re there, be sure to check out her Creativity Jump Start Home Study program
• Also mentioned: Creative Freelancer Conference

Photo credit: Smile by lilit, on Flickr

Yesterday, I came across what I’d consider to be one of the finest job postings ever. It describes who they’re looking for in normal, human-readable terms, and it clearly sets the expectations for the job.

Oh, and it also sounds like a great group of folks to work for.

Whether or not you’re interested in a Junior Programmer role, take 5 minutes and read this job post… then keep an eye out for more job postings like it when you’re searching for your next gig.

Kudos, Expensify!

• You’ve been searching for months, but you’ve had very few interviews (if any), and the jobs all seem to suck
• When you wake up in the morning, the last thing you want to do is look for a job
• Even when you do get called in for an interview, you know you’re not going to get it

You’re looking for the wrong job.

A week ago, Jared Kessler posted a terrific link to a video that I consider required watching for anyone frustrated with her job search. In fact, I want you to watch it right now and read his post, before you continue reading here.

Jared’s takeaway from the video (and part 2)—and I agree wholeheartedly with this—is that “you aren’t unsuccessful just because you work a job to finance your vision.” You’ve got to pave your own road, and it doesn’t matter what others think about your chosen profession or what you do to get by.

Even more, Jared and Byron Katie are saying that your very definition of success CANNOT be determined by what others think. It doesn’t matter whether your friends think you’ve got it made because you drive a nice car. Deep down, you’ll still know that you haven’t met YOUR definition of success.

Here’s an inspiring video I watched today. This guy set out to teach his relatives math, and in the process, he developed the Khan Academy, which now teaches people all over the world. The letters from students, around 16 minutes into the video, give me goosebumps!

Sal Khan at Gel 2010 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Did he set out to find a teaching job? No. He was a hedge fund guy.
Did he ultimately create meaning for himself? Absolutely.

So, my question for you is: What would mean everything to you, and how can you take one small step toward that today?

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down with Dyana Valentine to talk about how freelancers – especially those with multiple job titles – can pitch themselves. We chatted about selling your multiple skills to employers and clients, bringing passion to your pitch, and mobilizing your network to talk about you (in a good way!).

Listen to our conversation here:

Right-click (PC) or option-click (Mac) here to download the mp3

Links from the interview:

• Dyana’s website: DyanaValentine.com (Remember to mention Rock Unemployment for a discount on a Pitch Perfect session, through June 2010!)
• Dyana’s video and more info on how to create your own pitch
• An interview with Dyana on BlogTalkRadio, where she gives more examples for creating your pitch.
• Also mentioned during our conversation, Colleen Wainwright’s Communicatrix.com

When I was hiring designers for an interactive agency, my first step after reading a good résumé was to head online and check out the designer’s portfolio. About half the time, I couldn’t find one. You can guess where that résumé would end up.

I’m also going to raise my hand right now and say that I didn’t have my own portfolio online until very recently. Ooooops!

That doesn’t have to be the case for you. If you’re struggling to get your work online – whether it’s photography, design, art, music, or video – don’t put it off any longer. Check out this tutorial I put together that explains how to use Tumblr, a free service, to build a clean, professional creative portfolio in minutes.

So, seriously… Why don’t you have an online portfolio?

Wait! Before you head out to another job fair, read Seth Godin’s take on them, in yesterday’s post, Career Fairs…

Pick an easy-to-read font for your résumé. It may be printed, faxed, scanned, or copied before getting to the person doing the hiring.

Now that the holidays are over, hiring should pick up again. Send a quick “Happy New Year” note to your network and mention that you’re available for work.

Check out RentFoodBroke‘s site for “resources for the unemployed and under-employed.” If you’re in the LA area, be sure to click on their Calendar (on the left-hand side of the page) for free and cheap happenings.

Has it been a while since you’ve updated your online portfolio? Add some recent projects, remove the ones that are getting old, then let your network know about the refresh!