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Forgiving a pretty face
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Is “The Pitch” an accurate reflection of our industry?
I joined the Grip team back in May, just before graduating from the Humber College Creative Advertising degree program. Since then, I’ve completed my degree and also learned a great deal about my craft here at the agency. With a little more experience at my first real gig, I can look back on my four years of ad school. I now realize that there are some things I wish I knew from day 1.
Make an effort to learn something… anything.
My advertising classes began with a open discussion of the newest and coolest news. People didn’t just talk about viral videos and advertising stunts, it could be anything that was interesting to anyone. Understanding the world of advertising is important, and understanding what fuels it even moreso. Professors can’t make you read advertising blogs in your spare time (although, you should), so find something awesome and know about it. If reading isn’t your thing, watch vlogs or interviews. It’s easy to be inspired if you listen to smart people talk about what inspires them.
Pretend it’s due a week before it’s actually due.
When it comes to due dates, dupe yourself. Write down the wrong day. No, you won’t always have it done by your imaginary due date, and yes, creative ideas can come out of high-pressure, last-minute cram-sessions. But every extra day helps. Buying yourself extra time through trickery can give your creative campaigns more breathing space. The real work begins when the project is finished – when there is something concrete to sit back, think about, and perfect. Critiquing and tweaking the project is where the magic happens – where ideas can grow, evolve, and improve. Once you have something ready to hand-in to your professor (before the night before it’s due) you have everything you need to launch into improvements. There is nothing worse than presenting work with errors and missed opportunities glaring you in the face.
Schmooze your profs.
If you want the answers, you have to go to the source. Setting up a meeting with your professor to talk about your work isn’t cheating, it’s getting insider advice. So talk to the people who teach you – they know things. The more people you can share your work with and get feedback from before your imaginary due date, the better your stuff will be. If you take the time to meet with your professor, you could get the glue you didn’t know you were missing.
Start creating your personal brand.
I’ve been told by many people in the industry: don’t attach a PDF to your email – share a direct link to your website. Today, there are no barriers to creating a digital portfolio that is easy to share. So start your portfolio website now; get your work and your personality online. It’s not all gimmicks, people actually get hired in this industry via Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs. If you can’t design and code your own, buy a website template online. If that’s too difficult, start a blog to showcase your work.
Find your competitors, and make them your partners.
Don’t just compete with yourself. Recognize good work and strive to beat that person. Grades suck, but if you can motivate your work with healthy competition, the work you produce will surpass any standard of quality you could set for yourself. Work with the people you want to work with, and not just your friends. You could find a great partnership, propel each others skills forward, win student awards, land a job together, or work at neighbouring agencies.
Reading over this back-to-school advice for ad students, I noticed that a lot of it directly applies to the agency process as well. Funny how that works.
Jacob Karsemeyer
September 7, 2011 @ 11:00 am
Would-be advertisers, heed this advice!
good read – great advice!
Anthony Kalamut
September 7, 2011 @ 11:15 am
What a brilliant piece… absolute truths that I can truly endorse.
The piece of advice which has stuck with me since high school that would make a nice small footnote to this piece is pretty simple and comes down to 10 words, 2 letters each…
“IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME”
Take ownership of your future… after all it is yours.
This will be part of my opening lecture tomorrow to Career/Portfolio Development class.
We said Julia, and a must read for all ad students.
Thank you.
Anthony Kalamut Professor/Program Coordinator/Chief Enthusiasm Officer
SENECA COLLEGE
CREATIVE ADVERTISING
Grant Gamble
September 7, 2011 @ 11:24 am
Thanks for the advice as I myself am about to start the Creative Advertising program at Humber.
Great blog! You now have one more ecstatic follower.
Randy Stein
September 7, 2011 @ 1:28 pm
Great piece, Julia. And I think that last paragraph says it all.
Brendan Watson
September 7, 2011 @ 3:50 pm
Great piece Julia. You’re making us proud!
Brendan Watson
Y&R/Humber College
Kay Benedek
September 7, 2011 @ 4:41 pm
Great advice. As a current fourth year at Humber, I am definitely putting all those things into action. Especially the one about duping yourself on due dates. Handy. Thanks Julia!
advergirling
September 7, 2011 @ 5:56 pm
I’ve always been a believer of the week before rule, if not weeks before. I hate last minute things as so much happens the week the assignment is due. I’ve saved myself a lot of grief in school with that rule.
Atash K
September 7, 2011 @ 10:18 pm
Loving the heads up. Partnering with competitors is great. We’re all progressing together. Thank you so much!
Andrew
October 10, 2011 @ 10:37 am
Made this a required reading for all my classes this term. Great insight and pragmatic approach on how to succeed in and after school.