DC's Picks: 2008

Below is an article written by one of our own Creative Circus copywriting students. He received a Cannes Lion, got some notoriety for his part in the subsequent bake-sale "cookies for Cannes" that earned the group over $9,000 toward their trip to accept their award, and he is now working in an internship at W&K, Portland. His advice on job hunting is well worth the read, whether you are a student, or a working professional.

I Don’t Have a Job. But Hey, I’m Working on It.:
A Guide To Landing That First Job From Someone Who’s Never Had One

By Andy Pearson

The whole point of portfolio school is to get a job. And look. I’m still here at the Circus.

Logic kicks in at this point and says, “Wait a second. This dude doesn’t have a job yet.”

Indeed I don’t. So am I qualified to give you advice on getting a job? Absolutely not. But what I can do is share the experiences and lessons I’ve learned throughout my own hunt for the coveted first paycheck.

Here’s the key to it all: The hunt starts early.

Getting a job is not something that magically happens at the end of two years of panels and teams class. It’s a process that should evolve over those two years. The more you set yourself up for success early, the more successful you’ll be later. It’s a simple equation.

To help, I’ve compiled a list of strategies, tips and tricks. They haven’t worked for me yet because, hey, I don’t have a job yet. But I sure as hell am working on it. And you should be, too.

1) Know what’s going on in the industry. Besides learning from the work, it’ll make you sound smart. When you’re talking with a recruiter/CD/headhunter you’ll be able to talk intelligently about the business you’re trying to break into. Know names, know campaigns, know who has which accounts. It will come up in conversation.

You’ll also learn who’s doing work you like and where you should look for jobs.

Some of my favorite sites are: www.creativity-online.com, www.adage.com, www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/, www.adsoftheworld.com, www.adrants.com, www.scaryideas.com/, www.ihaveanidea.org.

2) Make a name for yourself. You’re trying to get yourself hired, right? Then make sure people know you. Do anything you can to make yourself distinct and recognizable. That goes both for in school and out.

It’s starts with being at school in the first place. Those that are physically around school are obviously going to be known around school. When someone mentions your name the other person shouldn’t go, “Who?” They should go, “Yeah, I’ve talked to him/her a few times before. Really nice.” Make sure everyone knows you. These are friends and acquaintances that could one day help you get a job (especially upper-quarters).

Get involved. Start a funny blog, get to know the teachers, volunteer for stuff. Whatever it is, make sure people know you. In a positive way.

3) Use alumni. The Circus network is both wide and gracious. Alumni were once in your shoes, and they are usually very willing to help you slip into a better pair. Ask them for advice, send them work, try to meet with them if you’re in town. The last one is a particularly good way to get your book in front of a CD. On my last trip to New York every alum I visited either scheduled an appointment with a CD for me or at least forwarded my book to them.

(Note: Don’t take a risk on bad first impressions. If your book is going in front of a CD make sure it’s in relatively good shape. It doesn’t have to be finished, but you should be proud of what you’re going to show someone. It should be professional. Don’t waste your or their time. Make sure it’s at least to the point where you’re looking for constructive feedback.)

4) Get on Facebook and LinkedIn. Even if you possess higher moral standards than the rest of us, get on these social networks. The more ways someone can find you, the better. I had a headhunter call me after he searched for my name on LinkedIn. Facebook is also pretty good but mostly for alumni you’ve already met. If people feel like they know you more personally, they’ll be more willing to help you.

5) Get your website up early. This is honestly the best thing I’ve done for myself in my job hunt. Don’t wait till grad quarter to realize you should have a site. Spend the break after your fifth quarter making one. They’re incredibly easy to make these days with Illustrator and Dreamweaver or iLife. Ask around to see if someone can help you or learn yourself. You really don’t need anything more than a page that says “Download PDF.”

This does a few things. First, it means you’ll be ready if something unexpected happens. Say you win an award or someone randomly asks to see your work. Now you won’t have to scramble to jimmy-rig something together.

If you’re worried that your portfolio’s not ready for the world’s peering eyes yet, don’t worry. You don’t have to show it to anyone if you don’t want to. Just get it up. Trust me.

I say that because the more important thing it does is make you put your book together for the first time. It’s a barometer. You’ll suddenly see where you stand and what you need to work on. Seeing everything together may give you insight into the type of creative you are. Or it may light a fire under your ass. Preferably both.

Again, don’t worry if you don’t like everything you have; you shouldn’t yet. Changes are easy to do with a PDF. Just make the changes in InDesign, export and upload. I do it constantly.

6) Go to New York. Besides getting a website up, this is another huge one. Even if you don’t want to work in New York, go anyway. Try to sneak into/set up appointments at agencies you adore. I did that during my second quarter break. I woke up one morning, randomly decided to go to the airport and buy a ticket to New York. I spent the next few days in Manhattan, walking around, seeing all my favorite shops. At the time I didn’t have anything even remotely resembling a portfolio. I didn’t care. I just wanted to meet people and see what it looked like inside these places that were producing amazing work. Everyone that I met thought it was pretty cool, and guess what, they probably remembered me.

I just recently got back from another trip to New York. It was funny to return exactly a year later with a real portfolio in hand this time. After your sixth quarter—once you have that website up—go to Manhattan. Show your work to people, ask for constructive criticism, glean advice out of everything they tell you. A) It’s face time, and B) you’ll learn a ton. It’ll only strengthen your portfolio for when you have to show it for real. And it’s good practice. I really don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it.

(Note: Just like showing your book, this must be done with tact. I’m not recommending that you sneak into Y&R and try to steal Tony Granger’s pen. Be appropriate and respectful. Plus, all the larger agencies have pretty tight security. You’d never get Tony’s pen.)

7) Always write a follow-up note. And make it funny/amusing/smart. A great meeting or interview establishes a personal dialog with someone. A thank you note establishes an open line of communications. Ask if you can send them your work in the future. And if your note is memorable it’ll leave a lasting impression.

8) Win an award. Obviously this is easier said than done. But you can’t win if you don’t play. Enter all the award shows you can. Send your work into all the magazines you can think of. One of my friends has a ridiculously loaded résumé because, guess what, she enters her work in everything. It makes her look like a badass.

Awards look impressive and a lot of times they can lead to meeting people or getting your work in front of someone. So, do it.

9) Do other things. Remember how your parents made you do all those stupid extracurriculars in high school like Spanish Club or Mathletes just so you could put it on your college apps? Same thing here. Smaller shops like Droga5 really want to know what else you do besides advertising. It shows that you’re a full creative and can bring something else to the table. It also gives your portfolio a personal touch. And if it’s something really cool, it’s a good conversation piece too.

10) Be engaging. Don’t forget that you can’t just make ads. People want to work with someone they like. It’s the classic, “Would I want to have a beer with this guy?” test. Have interesting things to say. Be funny and witty. When you’re meeting people, ask them questions. It shows that you’re interested. Also, most people really love talking about themselves and their job. If they leave the conversation happy, it’s better for you.

11) Jump at opportunities. If you’re lucky, every once in a while something amazing will just fall into your lap. Take it and squeeze it for all it’s worth.

The bake sale that Katy, Karen, Liza and I did for Cannes (www.katygraham.com/bakesale.html) became bigger than just a fundraiser scheme. It got picked up on several advertising blogs and ran in the Cannes festival daily paper. Basically, it got our names out there. People loved hearing the story because we took advantage of an opportunity and made something creative and successful out of it.

If you’re going to a city with agencies (for a wedding, vacation, whatever), go a few days early and check out some places. Offer to ship a laptop back to a forum speaker who accidentally left it at school. If you hear that a CD you’ve talked with just won an award, send them a congratulatory note. Look at everything as an opportunity. If something you think of seems like a good idea, it probably is. Do it.

12) Make everything you do creative. Ron Moore, Circus Design Department Head, always says, “You’re creative, right?” OK, so prove it. Just like my last point, look at everything as a creative opportunity. Make your business card unexpected. Make your website awesome. Carry your portfolio in something other than a boring leather case. Have a fun leave-behind. Any time someone sees something you’ve done they should be impressed at your creativity, ingenuity and uniqueness.

Also, make sure these pieces are consistent across the board. You’ll hear a lot of people talk about “branding yourself.” I don’t think you need to have a logo or come up with some cute concept behind your “identity.” Just make something you’re proud of. It’ll be more natural and a better reflection of who you are.

13) Make sure you talk with a recruiter eventually. This is a bit of advice I got from a headhunter. He said a lot of students tell him they’ve gotten their book into an agency. Really they’ve just shown it to a creative that works there. That’s great, but your book needs to make its way to the creative recruiter eventually if you want to get hired. If your inside man likes you, ask them to pass it along. At minimum you can ask for a name and email address. The point is, you’ve got to seal the deal.

14) Be courageous. The meek may inherit the earth, but they’re never going to get a gig in advertising. Step out of your comfort zone and do something you normally wouldn’t do. Some things may not come as naturally to you as they do to others. You’re just going to have to force yourself to do it. Self-promotion may be uncomfortable for you, but get used to it. Get good at it. Don’t be afraid. It can be fun. Find your own way to do it. It’ll be different for everyone. When it comes straight from your personality it’ll be the easiest and most effective.

If you notice, a lot of forum speakers have crazy stories about stunts they pulled to land their first jobs. I don’t think you have to do that. However, I do think the trend is indicative of the type of people they are: creative entrepreneurs. And they all are very successful today. I think there’s a direct correlation. After all, isn’t that what advertising is about in the first place?

Go big, be patient and have fun. You’ll get scared. A lot. But that’s okay. If something scares you it’s probably a sign that you should do it. Harness your fear and anxiety into excitement and anticipation. You’ll be surprised how you grow as a person and an advertiser. It’s all about confidence and knowing that you’re going to kick ass. And you will. Just remember that.

Like I said in the beginning, you can take what I say with a grain of salt. I am by no means an expert at getting a job. Obviously. I’m still unemployed.

These are simply little lessons I’ve learned along the way. They may or may not work for you. Everyone will have different goals, strengths and experiences. You can choose to use or ignore anything I’ve said here. Just make sure that whatever you do, it’s authentic and it’s true to who you are.

Best of luck as you start on your own epic journey. Remember, it doesn’t start when you finalize your portfolio. It starts two years before that.

Ready, set, go!

Epilogue:
More of a testament to how crazy this business can be than to any of the advice I’ve offered here, a pretty insane thing happened with this article. Just eight hours after publishing it for the Circus website, I received a call from the creative recruiter at Wieden+Kennedy asking if I could be in Portland in three days.

That was a week ago. Here I am now, writing this addendum from the desk of my hotel room, four days into my freelance gig on the Starbucks account. The two events were completely unrelated, mind you, but it’s still a pretty funny coincidence. I guess it’s either somewhat appropriate or extremely ironic, depending on your point of view. (I prefer irony. The world needs more of it.)

Really, I’m just glad I sent this out when I did. It would’ve sucked to have had to rewrite that long-ass title.

Here are two art director alumni’s websites that represent what I think an art director's website should be. One alumnus is working at AKQA New York. The other graduated recently and has just started the job hunt process.

The first website for Gabe Cheung, art director, http://www.gabrielcheung.com/ has simple, easy, well organized navigation, but more importantly, all his work is great and easy to understand. The dilemma today for grads is how to explain interactive ideas in a simple way that communicates quickly. Go directly to his interactive section and you will see what I mean. JBL and 1-800-Flowers are both great. You don't even have to read the descriptions to understand the ideas - you are entertained; a great presentation. And if you do read the descriptions they are short and sweet. He also has a great balance of print, interactive, design, and video. He shows his versatility as an art director and all the work is smart. Perfection.

The second art director, Michael Wright, also did a great job with his website, http://www.michael-wright.com/. Also note that he is copyrighting his work - very smart thing to do in today’s internet society. Everyone should do this. His website is also easy to navigate and includes some extras if you are really interested in seeing more. He has multiple fully integrated promotional solutions for products and/or companies - we aren't just doing "advertising" anymore. He also has plenty of examples that demonstrate skills without sacrificing good ideas. Check out his Belu Water flash video spot. The work ALWAYS has to be first - the skills second. But when we see the skills demonstrated well, it's simply like watching the puppet show - we are entertained - and thus we know that the puppeteer knows how to pull the strings.

Bottom line, like Nirvana said, "Entertain us." Creative Directors are consumers too - consumers of your book - so entertain them with it! These two guys pulled that off. Kudos!

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Sunday, July 20, 2008

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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Circus Alumni Website of the week

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