4-30-13
Attention aspiring ad stars, marketers and PR wannabes:
Summer’s almost here. What are your plans? May I suggest reading this recent article I came across, 5 Reasons Why Your Education Didn’t Land You the Job. Does that change anything for you? Landing a copywriting job with a top Minneapolis agency the week I packed my college stuff into boxes was a dream come true, but it’s not the norm.
You want that dream job? You’ve got to fight for it. You’re kidding yourself if you think your degree alone will get you a foot in the door. A degree doesn’t tell us how qualified you are for the job. It tells us you took some classes, which anyone who forks over the money can do. Though college is great, and I certainly learned a lot, it pales in comparison to the experience you'll gain beyond the classroom.
If a few less As and a little less money is what you must sacrifice to land yourself a job upon graduation, by all means, DO IT.*
This means doing beyond what is required of you. It’s anything and everything you can get your hands on that isn’t a test or paper. In the real world, a test isn’t a sheet of paper with multiple-choice questions. It’s selling your line of copy in 30 seconds without breaking into hives. It’s designing an experience that makes your client do happy dances. It’s coming up with an idea the PR world hasn’t seen before. It’s strategizing a marketing idea that brings in real money.
If you have the opportunity to intern (or volunteer or do free work), do it. Just do it. Here’s why experience matters:
Narrow in your passions
What is it that makes you excited about this line of work? You may know already. Finding an internship will also tell you. A wide variety of beyond-school experiences showed me what exactly I like to do and what I don’t. For example, I learned the value of writing press releases, but I realized I’d rather write ads. Use this time to discover where you want to go, otherwise someone who wants it more will snatch your jobs away. You’ll also (hopefully) get a realistic sense of what you’re good at. Don’t tell an interviewer you’d make a great account person, a great designer, and oh, you want to write. Sure, it’s valuable to have experiences (and skill) in different areas, but they want to know where your passion is and where you can really contribute.
Show your stuff
They’ll want to see what you can do. It’s one thing to say you want to write headlines, but are you good at it? They won’t know until they see some. Having some sort of portfolio (of writing samples, marketing plans, designs etc.) is an expected way to showcase your talent. If it's too late to find an internship, volunteer your services somewhere or create a made-up campaign (or whatever is needed) so you can begin showing what you can do.
Show you care
By building your list of experiences pre-graduation, it shows you’re passionately excited about this stuff. Excited enough to skip a weekend of partying or a paycheck. It shows you understand it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and you’re going to do what you can to separate yourself from the crowd.
So there you have it. Showing what you can do is essential (for interviewers). Learning what you can do is invaluable (for yourself). I hope you're not overwhelmed, but empowered to hustle! A full resume will get you a career, in which you can pay off your bills, start a living (beyond your parents' basement) and put those smarts to use!
*side notes
On grades: *Coming from someone who took serious pride in racking up As, to my dismay, I found out it doesn't matter a whole lot in the end if that's all you have going for you. (By no means am I telling you not to work hard in school. I'm saying you don't need to stress if you end up with a less-than-flawless GPA when you have aquired real world experience along the way.)
On money: *Even if you’re paying for school yourself (which I’ve been doing too), don’t let it be a hindrance to finding real world experience in the actual industry you want to be a part of. It’s a short-term sacrifice for long-term success :)