We were very lucky that Stephen was able to join us as he has been terribly busy at work and was concerned that he wasn't going to be available. Fortunately for us he gave a great little presentation focusing on a day in his life at Taxi.
His days start between 8-9am with a quick meeting, which can sometimes go on to be many hours longer than expected, but generally are quite productive and an important part of the creative process at Taxi. There were plenty of meetings onsite and offsite and the 'real work' started around 3:45 that day.
Although the job can appear 'glamorous' to some because of the unique manner in which the team operates, it is clear that there are still tight deadlines, demanding clients and long hours to be had. Working on 'award winning' campaigns doesn't come without a trade off of something.
I think I can honestly say, that as much as I would love the idea of working in such a 'creative' environment, realistically it doesn't suit my personality or the family lifestyle that I have grown to love.
Taxi does however have some interesting rules that they follow. They value the community of the office and work to keep it from 'getting too big'. So when the office exceeded 150 employees they opened a second office across the street to be able to maintain the culture they value for their employees.
Helpful Tips from Stephen:
- Never take shotgun - always be in the drivers seat of your own career
- Get a mentor and one day, be a mentor
- Tweet (even if you think it's stupid)
- attend seminars - keep learning and stay on top
- Be social - Drink Beer (or beverage of choice)
- Don't take yourself too seriously
- Be passionate and have fun
Helpful and Inspiring Sites:
- Inspiration (look for it everywhere and keep samples when you can)
- mashable
- Creativity-online
- endgadget
- youtube
- bannerblog
- Noupe
One of the projects he shared was the Canadian Tire House of Innovation. Let me just say - WOW!!! The concept for this project is amazing. It's projects like that that draw me further into this industry. I want to work on campaigns that are just down right "neat".
The session concluded with many questions and some great answers. I found it interesting how Stephen has transitioned jobs generally around the 2yr mark for the past 6 or so years. He believes he'll be at Taxi for a while though. I remember a time where if you switched jobs that frequently it would affect how a potential employer would view you. It seems though that times are changing... but then again, maybe it's just the circles that he's traveling in? I suspect there must be a good employer or two who appreciates some loyalty.
The session concluded with many questions and some great answers. I found it interesting how Stephen has transitioned jobs generally around the 2yr mark for the past 6 or so years. He believes he'll be at Taxi for a while though. I remember a time where if you switched jobs that frequently it would affect how a potential employer would view you. It seems though that times are changing... but then again, maybe it's just the circles that he's traveling in? I suspect there must be a good employer or two who appreciates some loyalty.
