Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aidan Sykes
(@aidanpsychs). I’m a Humber business marketing student who is ambitious and looking
to break into the Marketing/Advertising Industry. If I had to sum myself up in
one sentence it would be…“Young creative with a business mindset.”
Adweek is an amazing opportunity for students to learn,
network and get some insight on the Marketing/Advertising from Industry leaders.
It’s a week full of speakers-series,
workshops, and events that you don’t want to miss!
Next Generation Day
It was an early morning at the Bell TIFF Lightbox. I
struggle to get up for my 8am classes, but this morning I felt like a little
kid going to their first day of school. It was a restless night, had my clothes
picked out the night before, and was ready to learn and network with the
industry’s top executives. People from all over Ontario were in attendance,
some travelling more than 6 hours to be here! The day started with a panel of
speakers spanning from Directors’ to Account Managers. I really liked the mix
of experience because we got insight from all levels of the Marketing/Advertising
Industry. I took a lot of notes and decided to share some of them with you
(Check Out My Black Book Of Advice
at the end).
A very compelling story that really motivated me was from
Emma Brooks, Digital Strategist from Publicis Modem. She graduated from
Dalhousie University and decided to try and find a job in Toronto; she knew no
one and had only been here one time before. She used all of the networks she
knew from school and cold called every possible place she could find to get
information interviews and try to get her foot in the door. Did I mention she
was only able to stay in the city for a week! After preparing for her journey
from Halifax at the end of her week in Toronto she had multiple internship and
job offers….
After the panel was done we got some words of wisdom from
Burke Moody (Exec. Director of AICE New
York) who discussed the wonderful world of post-production editing. It wasn’t
the most engaging of speeches and interested 1/15th of the crowd. I
wished they had someone that would have spoke more to the entire industry
rather than one specific niche sector. On the plus side he showed us some
really cool edited movies that highlighted the work that editors do that we
always overlook. You can see some really cool videos (If you can only have time for one, watch The Shining) at: http://tinyurl.com/a7j238q
We were than
split into groups according to the agency that we were assigned to. There were
so many times when they were calling out agency names that I just wanted to get
up and pretend to be apart of a group, but I managed to restrain myself. People
had the chance to get an insider view of agency’s like TAXI, McClaren McCann,
BBDO, DDB, Olgivy, Juniper Park, etc.…. My head was spinning with all the
amazing agencies’ and corporations who were willing to open their doors to us. I
was a part of a group attending KBS+P. It’s a smaller agency that just won
Target Canada as a client. They were open and very welcoming. They gave us the
typical spill about the company, office tour, and broke down job titles to give
us a better understanding of agency life. The best part was when they gave us a
chance to work on a current creative brief they had. They even said that they
were going to present some the ideas we came up with to the client! I don’t
know how much involved we could have got.
After meeting
some great people at KBS+P the group and I attended the networking event. We
met up with all the other attendees; I got to meet some great people while
enjoying good music, food and drinks! Unfortunately the industry execs weren’t
able to attend, due to playing catch up from a missed day of work.
Overall it
was an experience that has taught me a lot and I would not trade it for the
world. I would suggest if you want to get into the Marketing/Advertising
Industry you need to block off everything for Adweek and attend as many
sessions as possible. Knowledge you’ll gain will be invaluable and give you a
leg up when looking to break into the industry.
Thank you to
all the organizations and Individuals that participated and gave their time. Especially thanks to the Institute of
Communication Agencies (@ICA) for putting this together.
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A
Look Into My Black Book of Advice
· Build
your personal brand
o
Best way to
market your skills is by showing potential employers how you market yourself
· Cold
Calling
o
Call all the
places your interested and see if you can get an information interview
o
Don’t be
overbearing but be constant annoyance until you get your chance, nothing worth
having comes easy.
· Find
transferable skills
o
Look at he
skills you’ve gained in school and at your current job and spin it to fit what
your looking to get into, look past the obvious and find connections.
o
Example:
Retail position can be an example of your customer service trend analysis
skills your understanding of trends as you see what people are buying based on
understanding seasonality and your ability to capitalize on it and increase
sales for your store.
· Build
and MAINTAIN Relationships
o
It’s always
good to meet someone, but usually we don’t stay connect which is the ultimate
pitfall. Message them every now and then so they remember you.
o
DO NOT ask
for a job, ask for advice and insight, you have to come across as someone that
knowledgeable, which will work in favour in the long run
o
An example:
Send them an article that pertains to their company or Industry and just send a
small message.
· Stay
update with what’s going on
o
READ, READ,
and READ
o
Subscribe to
any magazines, become a member of CMA, follow industry blogs
o
When
networking this will give you relevant topics to talk about rather than having
the regular mundane conversations that will leave them forgetting your name
once you leave their sight
· Find
A Mentor
o
This may be
difficult, but if you can find a professor or someone in the Industry that is
willing to help you, they can help you build skills and widen your network and
better prepare you for the cruel reality of life after school
· Write
For Fun, Better yet Blog!
o
Communications
is in everything we do. No matter what you get into, writing skills is needed
especially in the Marketing/Advertising Industry.
o
Practice anytime
you can. The better you write the easier it will be for you to relay your ideas
and present yourself professionally when addressing people.
Additional
Notes
Interview Advice
·
Presentation
is everything, be well dressed, show them that you can fit into the
organization
·
Research like
your life depends on it, know everything that’s going on with the company and
more importantly what’s going on in the Industry surrounding it, and the person
interviewing you if possible
·
Have case studies prepared that you can use as
examples. One that’s doing well and one that’s doing poorly and know what you
would differently if you had a chance to change things up
o
Don’t do
major organizations like Apple, Blackberry, Google. Look for cases that relate
directly to the competitive environment that the company is situated in
·
Always ask
questions at the end. Prepare some in advance, it shows you’re engaged and
genuinely interested
·
Smile, be
energetic and show your excitement just don’t be too much, remember they are
people too and will be more open and accommodating if they sense your passion
Internship/Job Advice
·
Stay longer
than your boss, always. Show your dedication through actions
·
Do anything
they ask and do it willing and happily, remember they have been doing this
longer than you so whatever it is look for the lesson behind it
·
Take initiative,
ask to take on more and if that doesn’t work find extra work and present it to
your boss
o
It may not guarantee
a job immediately, but you leave a mark that may help you later on
·
Network as
much as you can and build relationships, learn to figure out if what they do is
what you really want to do
·
Get reference
letters where possible, there’s no better way to promote yourself than having a
previous employer(s) rave about your skills and work ethics
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