Try to avoid mulling over your mistakes or failures. It is important to be kind and compassionate to yourself. Although you may feel bad about how things have turned out in some area of your life, it is necessary to learn from them and move on with future projects and goals. If you find yourself ruminating on all of the mistakes you made in a failed romantic relationship, you may want to stop chewing over or repeating these mistakes in your mind. Repeating negative thoughts about yourself or a relationship can be a way to get stuck. If you find you are not getting any new insights into why the relationship failed or about yourself, you may be better off shifting your attention to your current life circumstances and future plans. Think about your life in the future such as two, five or ten years. Imagine your future life and the things you hope to have achieved in your work and relationships. From the perspective of your future self, consider whether the event or experience you are currently struggling with will still matter. Perhaps you are being too hard on yourself. For example, perhaps you missed an important meeting and lost a client to another company. Perhaps you will be able to find new clients in the coming year or two and this event will only look like a minor setback in a few years. It may help to talk to a friend about the things you are struggling with or being hard on yourself for. If you find it difficult to gain perspective on things, they may be able to help. You can lighten the burden by sharing your difficulties. Your friendship may even bring some laughter into your life, which also helps to lighten the load.  You could invite a friend for a coffee or drink. Tell them about your struggles and see if they can offer a different perspective. Perhaps they will be able to see the situation in a different light. You could go see some standup comedy or a film with a friend. Before or after the event, you could open up to your friend about your current situation. See if they can offer some perspective.
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One-sentence summary -- Avoid dwelling on your mistakes. Put failure in perspective. Talk to a friend.


If the designer is local, set up a time for them to come by your office, or meet them in a coffee shop. If they’re remote, email them and work out a time for a phone or video call.  Come prepared with a list of questions to ask. Take notes throughout the interview on their answers and your general impressions of them. When the time comes for you to speak, stay calm and relaxed. Remember, they’re the ones who have to impress you! Look at the notes you took while reviewing their portfolio. Talk about the things you liked in their portfolio and ask them about the process of completing those projects. If you saw some work you didn’t like, address that as well. Ask them to explain why they wanted to be a graphic designer and get a bit of their background.  You could say, for example, “Tell me about the logo you designed for this gym. What interested you in that project? How much say did you have in the overall design?” Talk about the different mediums they’ve worked in as well. Say, “I see you’ve done mostly digital work. How confident are you in working in print, which is what my project will be done in?” You want to know that your project will be completed quickly and done well. Ask them how long it usually takes to finish a project of your scope usually. Ask how many rough concepts they typically design through before a client sees one they like. The fewer “rough drafts” it takes them to complete a project, the better. If they usually go through only 2-3 concepts per project, that means they understand what the client wants and is able to deliver. This interview is also a chance to explain your project in depth and make sure that you’re on the same page, and that they can deliver exactly what you want. Briefly describe your business, target audience, what that audience should take away after seeing the piece, and general thoughts about the look and feel that you envision for the piece. Encourage them to be creative with their ideas and honest in their point of view -- you want a designer that will challenge your views in a respectful way. See if they understand the big picture of your business and are excited about, or at least interested in, the message you’re trying to convey and their role in this larger project.  Their views don’t need to be totally in line with yours--in fact, it’s a good thing if they’re not! However, you do want them to understand and connect with your larger vision. Note down anything promising about their ideas as well as any red flags, such as a lack of interest or unoriginal ideas. It’s okay if they don’t, but intelligent and thoughtful questions are a plus. Answer honestly. Be prepared to answer questions like:  “If you’ve hired graphic designers in the past, what made the best ones stand out from the less impressive ones?” “What is the best or worst thing about working at this business?” “What will the pay rate be?” You can say something like, “I’ll be sticking to the pay range listed on the job posting. We’ll talk about the specific rate if you get the offer.” Tell them they can expect to hear back from you within a week. Try not to make them wait any longer than that, unless you’re interviewing another candidate after that time. Specify whether you’ll be calling or emailing them and give them a business card if you’d like. It’s up to you whether to mention you’re interviewing other people or not. You can be subtle and say something like, “I’ll let you know about the offer after I’ve interviewed the other candidates,” or be more upfront and say, “I have several candidates for this position. Why should I hire you over them?”
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One-sentence summary -- Set up a time to speak on the phone or in-person. Ask them more about their experience and previous projects. Ask about their work style and efficiency. Describe the message you want to get across. Ask them for their opinions and ideas on your project. Ask if they have any questions. Tell them when you’ll contact them with a decision.


Crackling can be prepared using any number of cuts, including the loin, shoulder, belly, or butt. The important thing is that the meat be untrimmed, with a thick layer of fat (or “rind”) covering the top. When it comes to getting just the right balance between meaty and crisp, most cooks swear by the belly. If you're working with a frozen cut of pork, it will first be necessary to thaw it out. Always let frozen meat sit in the refrigerator as opposed to the countertop so that the temperature remains even throughout.  If you don't feel like clocking your meat as it thaws, simply transfer it to the refrigerator the night before you want to make crackling. Defrosting your pork in the refrigerator will also help dry it out, allowing for a more consistently crunchy crust. There will be a lot of fat dripping off the meat as it cooks, so the larger and deeper the pan, the better. Make sure the roast is resting as flat as possible to prevent it from shifting as it cooks. Make your cuts widthwise, or perpendicular to the longest side of the roast. Each cut should be roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, or about the width of two fingers. Be careful not to cut into the meat itself, as this can cause the succulent juices to escape.  In many supermarkets, you'll be able to find fatty cuts of pork that have been pre-scored and packaged as “crackling.”  Scoring the fat helps ensure that it renders properly. Pull the strands from opposite ends until they're snug, then tie off each section with a secure knot. Binding the meat will help it hold its shape in the intense heat of the oven. Tying up your roast is an optional step, but it can be useful if it's been stuffed or wasn't butchered in one uniform piece.
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One-sentence summary --
Pick out a fatty cut of pork. Defrost the meat in the refrigerator for 12 to 36 hours. Place the pork in a roasting pan with the rind facing up. Make a series of shallow parallel cuts in the fat. Tie the roast with butcher's twine at 2–6 in (5.1–15.2 cm) intervals.