A whole load of schemes have opened in the last week or two so the season for applications is truly in full swing… I thought it was about time I reflected on the process as it was this time last year that I was contemplating my future… a future I saw being in advertising….
Now I applied for the 2009 grad schemes, maybe about 25 in total over October/November and that was a hellish period of time; my mind was overloading with weird and wonderful questions and I spent many hours of my life filling out forms that never came to fruition.
(here begins what I guess could be considered as ‘advice’ for any aspiring grads hoping to get into advertising that may have stumbled onto my barely read blog…)
I ended up having an interview at Ogilvy, which then led to an invite back to their intense assessment day just before Xmas. From almost a thousand applicants to 40 of us, working ‘together’ to try and fight it off for only 3 spots, it was bloody horrible. I didn’t make it, and knew from the moment I walked in that I was in no way the best in the room, and that Oglivy really wasn’t for me. I decided to make the most of the day, learn as much as I could, including good and bad practice from those around me, and soak up as much info about the industry as possible. Had a presentation from their CEO and now president of IPA Rory Sutherland, which proved to be the most interesting part of the day! Drowned my sorrows on the train home, contemplating the speculative emails I would have to send out over Xmas to try and secure an interview or something, anything, to get me a job in this industry.
Luckily a few weeks later I had another application success, this time with Iris; interviews were set for after the new year so I hung off the random emailing/begging other agencies for work, and made a list for worst-case-scenario job hunting. Much friendlier, less intimidating, more informing interviews this time round, with more interaction with their older grads. I had a couple extra months knowledge on me at this point, plus feedback from the other agency fluff so it wasn’t so daunting. Sailed through first round interviews and made it down to the last 25ish on our assessment day, another day that was far more fun than my previous experience. I worked my ass off all day, impressing the interviewers and asking as many questions as I could to get myself remembered. I tried to shine as best I could during solo and group presentations, whilst not stepping on anyone else’s toes (a tactic id seen too often at the other agency!) So obviously what I did worked and I got offered a place at Iris! The culture and whole nature of the workplace is far more fitting to who I am and how I work, so I’m really really chuffed all my hard work and perseverance paid off!
So to anyone whos stumbled across this blog, chin up! It’s going to be a hard year for grads, especially since bigname agencies may be cutting their intake, or postponing their schemes altogether. Its best just to persevere and learn as much about the industry as possible; read campaign, brand republic and marketing week everyday, subscribe to marketing twitter feeds, and be on the look out for general new and interesting developments in the world of communications- all of that will make you stand out and have the best answers in the interview period.
For better advice than anything I could probably offer, check out the Adgrads blog; their facebook group along with the ‘advertising applicants 2009’ group helped me a lot during my applications, and it’s a great place for likeminded grads to come together and brainstorm/moan about the lovely process that is job applications…!
Good Luck! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment