Question

Topic: Career/Training

How To Get An In

Posted by Anonymous on 5/12/2009 at 9:25 PM ET 250 Points
Advertising and Marketing is what I'm driven to do. I'm currently in school part time for Advertising and do work full time running a successful business for the past six years. I'm positive I would be successful if I could get my foot in the door and would learn best in the work field. Any advice how to gets firms to consider me without a BA in marketing.
Thank you for you time,
MSims
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 5/13/2009 at 7:14 AM Accepted
    1. Offer to work on a single project for free, say for 3 weeks. If at the end of that period they want to hire you that's great, if they can't hire you but love your work, get a referral.

    2. Find out a project they are working on and come up with some advertising pitches/designs on your own, and just go in an present them to the team, then see #1.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 5/13/2009 at 7:56 AM Accepted
    Dear MSims,

    You don't say which part of advertising you're interested in: account management? Creative? Strategy? Brand management? Production? Media buying? Print? Online? DRTV?

    You need to be more specific, but above everything else, you need to become a student of advertising: you need to consume books, magazines, and articles on the craft.

    You also need to be realistic in your expectations of finding a job because there are thousands of people currently working in advertising who are about to lose their jobs, with thousands more who worked for big name firms last year and who are now all out of work or else looking for work. And sadly for you, those people have far more experience than you have.

    But all is NOT lost. Your keys are your commitment, passion, luck, talent, and your staying power.

    Three books to consider reading are:

    "Ogilvy on Advertising" by David Ogilvy
    "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This" by Luke Sullivan
    https://search.barnesandnoble.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This/Luke-Sullivan/e/...

    and "Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World's Best for Brands in the 21st Century" by Jim Aitchison https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Edge-Advertising-Create-Century/dp/013012897...

    I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/13/2009 at 8:55 AM Accepted
    Talk to you school's guidance counselors and placement office for "ins".
  • Posted by telemoxie on 5/13/2009 at 2:36 PM Accepted
    I'm curious, since you're in school and are also running a successful small business, how much time will you have to devote to this latest new project?

    Will you be attending school in the summer? Will you have more time available in the summer, while you are off from school?

    Also, I'm interested to know what type of business you are running, since your business experience may help you in the advertising world.
  • Posted on 5/13/2009 at 3:59 PM Author
    Thank you Mr. Bloomer for the reading recommendations. I'm looking to focus my career in brand management and/or work as a creative director for different ad campaigns.

    And to answer the last question, I'm not enrolled for summer session which is why I'm looking to make the transition now. I do work full time for a garage door company. I run the daily function of the company including the marketing and advertising. I'm looking to shift my responsibility here to only the marketing focus and get my foot in the door building other advertising experience. I'm open to part time or internship opportunities, however I compete with those closer to graduation and/or with work experience.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 5/13/2009 at 7:26 PM Member
    Dear Meshelley53,

    You're welcome, but there's no need to call me Mr.

    Your career aspirations are impressive, but brand management and creative direction are two different beasts. I know because I've done both jobs.

    Best way into the CD's office?

    Toil, dear heart. Hard, hard toil.

    One does not just "become" a creative director, one has to earn one's stripes, and even then, as a job, it's a huge pain in the ass because you're expected to be a nanny, a psychologist, a presenter, a judge, jury, and an executioner, and often, a referee. In truth, a CD does very little creative work: it's mostly management, hiring, and at times firing.

    I'd worked for nine long, hard years before I became a creative director, and I'll tell you, the big office isn't all it's cracked up to be. No. Not by a long chalk.

    If you make it to the CD's office (and I hope you do old sport, really I do), many of the people you'll have working under you will be incapable of taking artistic direction or critiques of their work without having some kind of hissy fit (seen it happen my dear), and they'll ALL believe (wrongly) that your job is easy and that they can do it just as well, if not better than you can.

    Likewise brand management. Everyone's an expert, until, of course the rubber hits the road, and then the people who have no clue make everything they touch look like doggie do and then, to add insult to injury, they get all the glory. Not good.

    In Jim Aitchison's book, Neil French (a lovely, lovely man) tells
    the story of XO beer. Poetry. Read my review of Jim's book on Amazon (from 2001? Can't remember) and you'll get a better picture of what's what.

    Then read the book. Take notes. And enjoy.

    And for a truly honest look at the beast of advertising, read George Parker's blog www.adscam.typepad.com. It'll make your hair curl!

    Hope this helps, and feel free to drop me a line if I can be of further help. My e-mail address is my username above, with @yahoo.com on the end.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE USA


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