The International Career School

❗ERROR #1. Being a jack-of-all-trades: design the visuals, make profile caps, set up targeting, and write texts.
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❗ERROR #2. Staying the same. A year ago there was no need for writers, now copywriters are being retooled into them. A year ago a content plan was just a list of posts, now it's a full-fledged sales strategy. If you don't develop, your salary doesn't grow and others, faster and more receptive to information, conquer new heights.
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❗ERROR #3. Writing "freelancer" in your profile header doesn't equal becoming one. Thinking that a speaker from a course will put all the knowledge in your head is not very wise. Your work and your money are under your responsibility. Don't put it on someone else's shoulders.
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❗ERROR #4. Thinking that you can easily make money. No. It's not. You have to grow up to a good salary. Your services must be worth being paid for.
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❗ERROR #5. Thinking that in just a couple of months you can make a lot of money: no, first build up experience, portfolio, everything else. That said, if you don't grow in salary for a long time (from a year), it means that either you don't want to, or the focus isn't on that right now. Because I know for a fact that it is possible to make good cheques: if you develop your skills, constantly learn, respond to job openings.
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❗ERROR #6. Responding to a couple of jobs a day and thinking that's enough. To find a job, you need to spend about 20-30 responses a day - that's the minimum.

Here are our top 5 beauty apps:⠀ ⠀
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💜Instories - there is a lot of top music, great templates for posts 🤩 but it is better to buy it, it's worth it per 100%.
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🧡CapCut is a video editor with loads of free effects and transitions for videos!
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💛Preview, photo film on iPhone. You can create your visual grid here, layout for the Instagram feed. The second tip - create a separate folder on your iPhone with photos for layout and swap places right there.
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💚PicsArt - well, it's just a free assistant for everything! Apply your logo to the photo, cut out objects, add stickers (there are lots of them), blur the background - everything is there!
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💜Snapseed - easy to remove skin imperfections, pimples, etc. (the "spot correction" button). So no need to apply any hard retouching, so you can quickly remove unperfections here.

🔥Top 5 books for memory and intelligence - bookmark them so you don't lose them 🔥
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📚 “The Perfect Brain”, Deepak Chopra, Rudolf Tanzi⠀
A fascinating 'practical brain user's guide' based on cutting-edge research.
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📚 “Become Smarter. Brain development in practice”, Dan Hurley⠀
The author of this book shares the latest research and practical brain training techniques for people of all ages, including those who have been re****ed since childhood.
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📚 "Super Brain Trainer", Ch. Phillips⠀
Charles Phillips has been called, no more, no less, the "puzzle guru," and he has compiled nearly a hundred intellectual tasks for developing and training the intellect into one book.
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📚”Teach Your Brain to Work", M. Macdonald⠀
The author summarises and simplifies for the general public to understand the latest advances in neurobiology, psychology and nutritional science.
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📚 "The Japanese System for the Development of Intelligence and Memory", R. Kawashima⠀
A programme of distinguished Japanese neurologist, professor Ryuta Kawashima, is already being used by more than 2,000,000 people around the world.

The principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to create an effective and attractive composition.

✔️ Emphasis
Say you’re creating a poster for a concert. You should ask yourself: what is the first piece of information my audience needs to know? Is it the band? Or the concert venue? What about the day and the cost of attending? Make a mental outline. Let your brain organize the information and then lay out your design in a way that communicates that order.

✔️ Balance and alignment
Never forget that every element you place on a page has a weight. The weight can come from color, size, or texture. Just like you wouldn’t put all your furniture in one corner of a room, you can’t crowd all your heavy elements in one area of your composition. Without balance, your audience will feel as if their eye is sliding off the page.

✔️ Contrast
Contrast creates space and difference between elements in your design. Your background needs to be significantly different from the color of your elements so they work harmoniously together and are readable.

✔️ Repetition
If you limit yourself to two strong typefaces or three strong colors, you’ll soon find you’ll have to repeat some things. That’s ok!

✔️ Proportion
Proportion is the visual size and weight of elements in a composition and how they relate to each other. It often helps to approach your design in sections, instead of as a whole.

✔️ Movement
Movement is controlling the elements in a composition so that the eye is led to move from one to the next and the information is properly communicated to your audience. Movement creates the story or the narrative of your work.

✔️ White space
All of the other elements deal with what you add to your design. White space (or negative space) is the only one that specifically deals with what you don’t add. White space is exactly that—the empty page around the elements in your composition. For beginning designers it can be a perilous zone. Often simply giving a composition more room to breathe can upgrade it from mediocre to successful.

7 ways to improve your graphic design skills ☝

Improve your graphic design skills to ensure the best variety of work.

01. Study design theory
It can always be useful to go back to the theory – and they're almost always more to learn.

02. Get the most from feedback
Feedback is essential for a graphic designer, and yet dealing with criticism is also one of the most emotionally draining parts of the job. Feedback can really improve your graphic design skills, especially when it's negative, or shall we say constructive criticism.

03. Start a side project
If you're designing the same kind of pieces over and over again in your nine-to-five job, that can quickly lead to your graphic design skills becoming stale, not to mention the impact on your own enthusiasm and passion for the discipline. One way to keep up your drive to learn new things is by starting your own side project.

04. Experiment
It’s only by trying out lots of experimental design ideas and putting them into practice that you find out what works best and what you’re good at.

05. Talk to other designers
One of the best ways to develop as a designer is to interact with a lot of other designers.

06. Read a book
Next time you have a long train journey, put your phone on silent and settle down with a good book on graphic design.

07. Try changing your software
One of the milestone moments in the development of a lot of designers' graphic design skills comes when they upgrade their software. The program you use for your design can make a big difference to your workflow and to what possibilities you have.

Wishing a very Happy New Year and Merry Christmas! 🎄

May this holiday season be full of surprises and happiness for you and your loved ones.

⛄ Faith makes all things possible;
⛄ Hope makes all things work;
⛄ Love makes all things beautiful.

May you have all the three for this Christmas!

8 Things To Do on Your Last Day of Work 💼

1. Collect all employee contacts
Approach employees who you want to stay in contact with after your departure. A few examples of employees you may want to stay in touch with include your manager, members of the executive team, the human resources manager and fellow coworkers who you maintained a good relationship with.

2. Wipe personal information from your computer and phone
It’s important to keep your personal and business information separate, especially during your transition to another organization.

3. Go to HR to hand over all company possessions
Whether you are working alongside your replacement or they are coming into the business after you have left, be sure to do a final handover over all company-related material. This could include electronics like tablet computers or general office supplies.

4. Complete an exit interview if required
HR may want you to do an exit interview before you embark on your new position. There may be some instances where you may have to request an exit interview with your employer. Either way, the purpose of the interview is to state your opinion about your time and experience with the company.

5. Ask for a letter of recommendation from your manager
Ask your manager for a letter of recommendation in case you apply to other positions in the future. Having a strong reference who can attest to your workplace skills can be a valuable asset in the hiring process.

6. Tidy up your workspace
Make sure that you’ve boxed up your personal items and that your desk is clear and ready for your replacement. Pack up any sentimental and personal items to take with you.

7. Send an email to your colleagues
Your final farewell email should be written before you exit the company. Reflect on your professional experience with the organization, and present your personal contact information in case they’re in need of assistance.

8. Say goodbye in person
When you near the end of your shift, you should make your way around the office, give a farewell to your coworkers and express gratitude for the time you shared.

The checklist of New Year resolutions seems well within reach when you’re looking ahead to January. In fact, almost everything is possible.

A six-pack by June? Easy. Read 100 books? Make it 102. Finally conquer that crushing mountain of debt? Totally doable.

However, if 2020-2022 have taught us anything, it’s that life is unpredictable and we can’t always accomplish every New Year resolution we set out to achieve.

But there’s a way to prevent that from happening in 2023 – start by setting small, achievable goals. Try these 7 New Year resolution ideas to stay on track and fulfill your personal enhancement goals ☝

How Does Too Much Sugar Affect Your Body? 🍎

Here’s a closer look at how sugar can mess with your health, from head to toe.

– Your Brain
Eating sugar gives your brain a huge surge of a feel-good chemical called dopamine. That explains why you’re more likely to crave a candy bar at 3 p.m. than an apple or a carrot.

Because whole foods like fruits and veggies don’t cause the brain to release as much dopamine, your brain starts to need more and more sugar to get that same feeling of pleasure. This causes those “gotta-have-it” feelings for your after-dinner ice cream that are so hard to tame.

– Your Mood
The occasional candy or cookie can give you a quick burst of energy (or “sugar high”) by raising your blood sugar levels fast. When your levels drop as your cells absorb the sugar, you may feel jittery and anxious (a.k.a. the dreaded “sugar crash”).

But if you’re reaching into the candy jar too often, sugar starts to have an effect on your mood beyond that 3 p.m. slump: Studies have linked a high sugar intake to a greater risk of depression in adults.

– Your Teeth
You probably rolled your eyes at age 12, but your parents were right: candy can rot your teeth. Bacteria that cause cavities love to eat sugar lingering in your mouth after you eat something sweet.

– Your Joints
If you have joint pain, here’s more reason to lay off the candy: Eating lots of sweets has been shown to worsen joint pain because of the inflammation they cause in the body. Plus, studies show that eating or drinking sugar can raise your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

– Your Skin
Another side effect of inflammation is that it may make your skin age faster.

– Your Body Weight
This probably isn’t news to you, but the more sugar you eat, the more you’ll weigh. Research shows that people who drink sugar-sweetened beverages tend to weigh more – and be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes – than those who don’t.

5 Ways to Make Your Photos Look Professional 📸

Tip #1: Capture Interesting Lighting
Lighting is the most important thing to making a photo look professional.
What makes lighting look interesting? First of all, it's different from what we normally see. Second, it highlights the subject and presents it in a good way.

There are many ways to make a portrait photo have more interesting lighting. You could simply place the person in the shade in order to put even lighting on their face, or you could turn their back to the sun so that hard shadows don't rake across the face.

Tip #2: Digital Styling
Digital styling is applied in Photoshop and Lightroom and allows the photographer to creatively change the colors, contrast, and exposure.
While we are not much of a fan of the filters on Instagram, we have all seen a photo that looks much more trendy and creative when a filter is applied to it.

Tip #3: Interesting Subject
Capturing an interesting subject is usually the simplest part of photography. Even non-photographers know that some things are more interesting in a photo than others. Capture an interesting subject, but once you've found it, remove yourself a bit from the excitement, look at the shoot from a 30,000 foot view and pay attention to everything else you need to do.

Tip #4: Unique Perspective
If you look at professional photos, they are very often taken from non-obvious spots. For example, a photo of a CEO will be photographed from down low, looking up at the person to make him or her look more powerful. Or, in the case of photographing a city, we often want to get to a very high perspective to shoot down and see the whole city.

Tip #5: Creative Composition
Composition is probably the most difficult thing on this list to teach in a short amount of time, but it makes a tremendous difference. The rule of thirds is the most basic rule of composition that basically tells the photographer to imagine a tic-tac-toe board on the frame of the picture, and to put the most interesting part of the photo on the intersection of those lines.