By Cheryl Tieken

Friends, clients, fellow colleagues… The Client Services team would like to take a moment to share with you a glimpse of what our typical day looks like around JT headquarters.

The following is a video which speaks candidly to what a Project Manager, or PM as we like to call ourselves, goes through on a daily basis.

Many of you have already experienced us PM’s say a few of the little gems found in this video. And I can say confidently that there was undoubtedly a good dose of eye-rolling and slight frustration when we did.

It’s true, Project Managers have to be the hard-asses, the nit-pickers, the nagging girlfriends of a creative agency. But please know, we do it with care and with a goal of making everyone happy in the end.

So please dear friends, watch on.

A few Friday’s ago the entire Jacob Tyler team met at the top floor of Symphony Towers, at San Diego’s University Club for our annual agency retreat.

As we grow and evolve, we want to ensure our commitment to client service remains front and center. A client of ours, New Brain for Business led a rousing workshop focusing on how we can make sure the crux of what we do falls in line with this goal. We want you, our clients, to feel an unparalleled level of customer service, in addition to experiencing our pristine suite of creative and communications services, 100% of the time.

Some of you may remember the personality testing that was common in the workplace in the the 1970’s. Then, it was intended more for weeding out who employers might consider “problem employees.” Interestingly enough, in terms of accuracy and what perspective it can offer business owners, corporate personality testing is on a different plane today. Each employee took a personal evaluation, allowing us to see our agency’s unique personality prototype, based on the collective results. What a shocker- we had an overwhelming number of creative, left-handed, right-brained oriented professionals!

We each brainstormed in small groups and focused on what we want Jacob Tyler to be in the years to come. Each group agreed that customer service and client relationships are without a doubt, the most important objective. Armed with all of this information, we have returned to our work bonded as a team, and more committed than ever to make sure we make you happy.

And then… we went to happy hour

By Nicole Fletcher

Hallelujah! Applying for jobs just got easier thanks to LinkedIn’s Apply for Jobs Button. The business minded social network, as Mashable put it, is the “the future of job applications”, and how could anyone disagree? By joining and being active on the network, you’re ready and set to apply for any job at the click of a button and how could anyone be unhappy about that?

Back in the day, and I’m sure today still, resume formatting was the bottom line. The vital process was as if that margin being .01′ off and size 12.34 font in Arial over Times would make or break your chances ….and I think it did – though I cannot for the life of me fathom why. Job applicants send hundreds of thousands of attachments paired with perfectly worded cover letters DAILY only to get tossed aside and ignored because really, who has time to go through all those dead trees? Interns? It seems like even they are too busy these days. Even if they’re not, what a tragedy that an intern has the power to make the decision as to whether or not my perfectly crafted document gets put in front of important eyes or tossed aside to the shredder? I digress…with any luck those silly days will be gone. After all, I’d rather hire an awesome person I meet at happy hour than I would someone with a perfectly manicured resume that can’t take the heat. It seems most industries are taking a social approach to the hiring process anyway and this only helps foster that natural evolution.

On the LinkedIn blog, Technical Product Manager Jonathan Seitel said, “Our goal with Apply With LinkedIn is to help every professional put their best foot forward, anywhere across the web when they take that leap to apply for a new position.” You’ll be able to do your applying in one spot and see who you know is connected to who you need to know.  I for one think it’s a great idea. If LinkedIn becomes the true norm in the business world, job seekers and recruiters alike really are going to have it so much easier. Applicants will be able to work with pre-formatted resumes, edit them on the go with a LinkedIn app, bump a pristine version to business contacts you meet on the fly…the possibilities are endless and most are already taking place. Establishing a status quo for resumes might inspire some to be creative, of course, but having that template in which your information is properly formatted, a recruiter knows where it’s coming from, who you know, where you’ve been etc truly makes everything that much easier.

The button is much like the Twitter tweet button or the Facebook Like button in that companies can embed it on their website. The button allows you submit your LinkedIn profile as your resume — no cover letter necessary. Once you submit your job app, you’re given the chance to message your contacts at the company and/or ask for a referral. It also integrates with several application tracking systems as well, so businesses can add the LinkedIn job application feed into their existing application system. Netflix, Tripit and Photobucket will be a few of the first companies to highlight the button on their websites.

LinkedIn also makes it easy for you to manage your job applications with a “Saved Jobs” tab, so you can always double check who has your application.

According to Mashable, “The Apply With LinkedIn button is based on the idea that the resume is an outdated relic. Why submit a resume when all of that information (and more) is available on a LinkedIn profile? Still, the button is almost too easy. One can see a desperate job seeker clicking on the button and submitting his or her job application to hundreds of potential employers, regardless of his or her qualifications.” And I’m not going to lie, that’s a great point. Hopefully this button won’t devaluate the application process or there will be a way to filter for brands with high application volumes. Only time will tell…Here’s to applications and the death of cover letters!

By Nicole Fletcher

Clients often ask me why they should blog.”I’m an accountant/lawyer/clothing store/Insert brand here,” they say, “What could I possibly blog about and why would I waste my time?” Well friends/clients/future bloggers I’m here to give you the low down, the 411, the how to and the why.

Blogs offer brands from startups to corporate giants the opportunity to flex their creative muscles, to ruffle their feathers, if you will. The voice behind the business gives your brand a personality and human-like qualities, which clients, customers and future business people love. Consumers want to support brands they can relate to, brands that they feel comfortable with, brands they might consider friends. After all, who better to do business with or help you when you’re in need than a real live living and breathing human?

Back to the point: Why you should blog and how you should do it.

Step 1. Have a plan. Know how your voice is going to sound in both the blogger and the social sphere. These voices must be consistent as they are both integral parts of your social media marketing strategy.

Step 2. What are you going to post? Know what ‘vibe’ you want to give off. Will you post videos, pictures, quotes, articles or all of the above? Make sure you’re having fun while you’re posting and that you would want to read your posts yourself! If you don’t find what you’re posting interesting and you ARE your brand, how can you expect anyone else to? Feel free to post brand/industry related information like event recaps, invites, updates, innovations, pics etc, but make sure not to be purely self promotional – customers don’t want to hear you talk about how awesome you are. Sorry.

Step 3. Make Time. Blogging is fun. Post fun things, write what you think, look for unanswered questions, inspire conversation.

Step 4. Don’t be afraid to link back to yourself. Pick keyword phrases in your content that are industry related (ie: what you think people would be searching for to find your company website – Places to Stay in San Diego for a San Diego Hotel for example) and link those back to your website. This will do wonders for your SEO (search engine optimization)- driving traffic to your website and increasing your brand visibility.

Step 5. Push your blog posts our to your social networks. If you don’t already have social networks in place, well that’s another conversation entirely (email me Nicole@jacobtyler.com) but if you do, link to them, tweet about them, ask people what they think and perhaps consider implementing an internal social media policy – thereby inspiring your employees to really invest in the brand and get the word out there. Remember: It’s easy to bring already established communities into your own community than it is to create them from scratch.

In a nut shell, blogging is fun! If you need help setting one up, I’d be happy to help- but if you feel confident, check out wordpress or tumblr- two awesome blogging platforms created for you blogging pleasure.

Here’s to blogging, blogs and being a blogger.