Act like you own it

Last night I went to see a band at a local club. One of the singers was starting to bug me and it made me want to grab him after the show and give him a few performance pointers. Pay attention because these same pointers apply to any somewhat nervous person looking for a job.

1. Act like you own it.**

This singer had a great voice, he was just too nervous for his own good. 

Shore up your confidence, settle your nerves and you WILL shine through, especially when you have the creative chops to back it up.

**This is different than "fake it 'til you make it". This singer had a great voice, he just didn't share his confidence with anyone. I'd assume you had a great book until you prove me otherwise.

2. Find something to do with your hands.

This singer could not figure out what to do with his hands. After a while, that was all I could pay attention to. He'd hold them stiffly at his sides, then hook his thumbs in his back pockets for a millisecond, then put them in his front pockets, then back out again. 

Fidgeting gets you nowhere, just breathe and sit still. Sit on your fingertips if you have to.

3. Shut up. 

Once this singer started chatting into the mic, his nerves took over and he didn't know how/when to wrap it up and get back to the music. 

Nerves make all of us chatty and next thing we know we started a story about our portfolio and ended it talking about our cat. Again, take a breath and relax as much as you can. Answer the question you've been asked, then shut up.

4. Have fun. 

My guess is this singer loves to sing. But combined with being very nervous, not knowing how to perform in front of an audience and squirming a lot, he just looked like he wasn't having much fun.

Advertising isn't rocket science. It is an industry where you can have lots of fun. Remind yourself of that as you head into an interview and feel yourself starting to get nervous. 

Tell yourself: "This is fun. I am fun. This interview will be fun. 

And I will own it."

Hey you, pay my way!

One way to get into an advertising or design school is to have someone else pay for it.

Check out this scholarship being offered by Langara College in Vancouver.


2011 Rethink Scholarship at Langara Call for Entries from Rethink Canada on Vimeo.


Their site says:
We think it's important to nurture young talent. That's why we teamed up with Vancouver's Langara College. Together, we offer one aspiring art director or designer the chance to win a two-year, fully paid $18,000 scholarship to Langara's Communications and Ideation Design Program.

To apply, students are asked to fill a classic black sketchbook in any way they want. Or take it apart and rebuild it into something totally different. They simply need to convey their ideas, passion and creativity using only the black book. We then judge the sketchbooks to award the scholarship.

You got nothing to lose by entering. Except a free education.

(Capital D) Don't

I am very trusting, especially when it comes to portfolios. If you are showing me your book and there's a load of work inside, I assume it is yours. I trust it is yours. Why would I doubt otherwise?

Am I too trusting? Are there recruiters out there who keep an ounce of doubt wondering whether every piece inside is actually truly that persons? I never, ever would have thought so.

Until today.

There is a crazy story circling the internet today about a not-at-all-junior creative who has be outed for putting creative work he did not do on his portfolio site. Un-capital B-believeable.

Lots of thoughts are swirling through my mind:
     why in the heck would someone do this?
     have I been looking at bogus work from other people?
     how will I ever know what is truly legit or not?
     how many other people do this?
     why in the heck would someone do this?

Guys, this is never, never, never ok.

First, let's just say you get hired off a bogus portfolio. Day one on the job you'll have to prove your creative chops and when you come up short, you'll be found out anyway.

Second, let's say someone finds out (a la not-so-junior-creative referenced above). And not just someone, a large portion of the advertising community finds out. Well, you can kiss your reputation and hire-ability goodbye. And I will tell you, that is never going to be worth it.

Some advice: Be very clear on attributing who else worked on the pieces in your book. Be very clear about your role on the work. Be clear about what is your original idea and what is not. Be clear about whether you worked fulltime versus freelanced. Be clear on your title and role. Be clear about your salary (that's a whole other blog post by the way).

Be clear. Be clear. Be clear. And, god forbid, do not steal another person's creative work.

Very Cool Format

I saw this arrangement on a portfolio site the other day. It caught my eye. His twitter status updates (99% work-related, mind you). And below a cool graphic timeline of his resume.

Not only is this cool, I pretty much want to hang out with the guy. Anyone who does an adventure race in Moab and was the director of a YMCA camp has enough guts and stamina to hang in an ad agency creative department. THIS is what I mean when I say I want to know about you/your personality/interests. It's what makes you different than the next candidate.

James Kinney, nice job.

Translation

A junior contact of mine, Ryann Flynn, contacted me the other day to help her decipher what creative directors really mean when they pass on hiring you. She had a couple of great interviews (or so she felt) and was ultimately told she wasn't hired.

1st place: told her she was "very talented with a bright future" but that her not getting the job was a matter of "agency culture"

2nd place: told her and her partner they "loved" their books and liked them both very much yet they have "decided to go in a different direction"

It got me thinking about how hard it is for a recruiter or creative director to tell someone you're passing on them. What's my take on what these statements mean?

Here a few translations that may help:

Deciding to go in a different direction = we hired the other team
It's a matter of agency culture = not sure your personality will fit in
Your experience isn't what we are seeking = it is, but we're passing on you
We have no jobs open right now = we do, but we're passing on you
There is a hiring freeze = there is a hiring freeze

I assured Ryann that no creative director would tell you they loved your book if they didn't in fact love your book. And if you are told you are talented with a bright future, you can be assured you are and you will. No one hands out statements like that without meaning them.

Happiness

Sometimes portfolios make me happy for reasons other than the good work inside. Now, don't get me wrong, I love love love when the work inside is great. But sometimes a book will affect me for other reasons right when I land on the site, before I see even one lick of creative which is cause for genuine happiness.

Like a really, really cool format.

Like a fun, sparky style.

And, like this recent one, a thoughtful insight into others' creative work.

Michael Wilson's portfolio made me instantly stop and call him up. Not send him an email. We're talking serious dialing of a phone. I really, really liked how he presented his work and wanted him to hear firsthand how it impacted me.

What he does that is not only unselfish but generally interesting, is show a collection of other people's creative work (before you even click through to anything he's done). And, he gives a short paragraph on why he finds each piece interesting. That enables recruiters like me to get a glimpse into how Michael seeks out creative inspiration, how he describes what he likes and how he is pretty daring to put his personal preferences out for everyone to see and judge. A trait that will serve him well in this industry.

I clicked through 4 or 5 links on that page before I ventured on. And by then, I felt like I already had a nice experience on the site. I learned a few things and saw some really neat stuff I hadn't see out there. Before anything else.

Now, to top it off, Michael had some very nice work to back all this up. I am proud to say he's been hired to be our summer intern this year. So I am even happier than I was before.

Great Online Primer

Check out this very cool website from Aquent. At first you don't really know what it is. The design is black and white, kind of template-y. But once you start clicking, you see that is a primer about the online space. Definitions of interactive components and a (very cool) list of what jobs you'd need to create it.

It's the best primer I have ever seen to explain what people getting into the industry might really want to know about career possibilities. (Not to mention how super smart a staffing agency was to create something like this).

Here's a sample of the information Aquent provides.
Interactive Design:
Interactive Design is the process by which an idea is nurtured and cultivated to become a truly awesome online experience. Any experience, from a Web app to a full site, depends on it. The key to this winning formula is equal parts beauty, functionality and practicality, built on a solid layer of code to make it accessible and engaging.

You’ll need:

Interactive Designer
Interactive Designers are masters of the balance between form and function. They can design user interfaces that engage (and retain) visitors. They know what the latest tech can do, and they utilize every last drop of designer-y goodness to deliver an experience that is both easy to use and totally gorgeous.

Front End Developer
Front End Developers are the folks behind the curtain, utilizing the latest Web development standards and solid hands-on technical skills to create sites that function properly across a wide variety of browsers and platforms. They connect with Quality Control to ensure flawless execution. They make it work.

Interactive Copywriter
Interactive Copywriters are a rare breed of Copywriter. In addition to being funny, modest and gorgeous, they understand the intricacies of writing for the online world. They know how to write something as simple as a killer tagline, or as complex as an entire blogs worth of content. Quite useful, indeed.

Project Manager
Project Managers are the baking powder for your Interactive cake: you need one if it's going to rise. They coordinate the details of design and development, working directly with clients and resources to ensure on-time delivery. They also handle budget and staff management, taking even more off your plate.

User Experience
Developing fantastic user experience (UX) requires: user research, interaction design, information architecture, visual design, and usability testing. UX covers all of these, so your website or application is engaging and intuitive (oh and best of all increases sales, better conversion, and more).

Brilliant.

Zac Ryder

I am most proud when the juniors I hire move on to bigger and better things with regard to their careers. The end product of my work efforts is a person, not a portfolio.

Zac Ryder was a junior copywriter trying to get his foot in the door when I met him back in 2004. His relentless pursuit of a job was endearing (which in some cases borders annoying, but not so with Zac). He called, he emailed, he said he'd sweep the mail room, he offered to work for free and, eventually, I hired him as a junior writer.

It's one of the best hiring decisions I've ever made. Zac spent three years here at Y&R and contributed beyond his years and experience from day one. Seriously, he was concepting on new business pitches and presenting to our executive team right out of the gate. His passion was infectious and he had the talent and drive to back it up.

When a creative gives their notice, I'm happy and sad at the same time. Happy that the person is taking what they've learned at our agency and building the next part of their career from it. Sad for obvious reasons. I am very proud when a creative takes the next step with a portfolio filled with a few years of great work from the opportunity they had at our agency. Zac Ryder continues the trajectory of his career and makes me very proud indeed.

Thought and Meaning

A couple of nights ago I attended a Graphic Design portfolio review at Cal State University, Fullerton. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the work. There were a few gems amongst them and I am very happy that a local college is producing some worthy design graduates.

A recurring conversation I had that night involved the story and meaning behind what the students had designed. While reviewing a set of logos, I asked one student, "What do those circles mean?" She was silent for 10 long seconds. She didn't know. Or at least didn't know enough to be able to communicate it to me. To end the awkward silence, I suggested what I thought it meant, yet what I think it means and what the designer intended it to mean are two totally different things so that wasn't much help.

We ended up having a long discussion about what the company stood for, its values and reason for existence and how those very important facts tie into the makings of a logo. That holds true for any piece you set out to design. Another student had a random heart beat line going across the spine of a book jacket. Again, I asked "What does that mean?" Silence.

A huge part of finding out about a candidate is learning how they think. I can see your work. I really can't see how you think or got to what you ultimately put on paper. This discovery is fascinating and it is what sets you apart from every other designer. Know why you designed something. Know why you put a circle or a color or a texture into your work. Meaning cannot be extracted from design.

Range

I met a junior art director yesterday who had a portfolio with a very nice range of work. This is key when putting together your book. Essentially, if your book consists of photo + headline for most all your pieces you should rework it. Artistic range goes beyond that and shows you can create layouts with a varied amount of looks.

Sean Leonard is his name and he attended University of North Texas. When I complimented his range, he told me that at UNT students are not allowed to use stock photography in any of their work. Wow. Imagine that constraint. That's fantastic!

When you can't use stock photos you are forced to rethink how you will convey your idea visually. What Sean learned is essential. He learned to explore texture, line art, typography, hand writtten graphics, water color, as well as taking his own photos, all in the name of making him a better art director. Anyone can pick a photo and overlay a headline. Heck, I can do that.

Any junior art director needs to show they can think beyond a conventional photo and can execute a variety of graphical treatments on the computer. I appreciate that instructors at UNT teach this way, it really shows in their graduates work.

Another great read

Anthony Kalamut, the Program Chair of Creative Advertising at Seneca College School of Communication Arts passed this link on to me. It falls into the "must read" category for juniors.

"How to get a job in advertising (a good job)" is posted by Scott Goodson, the founder and CEO of Strawberry Frog. It is a discussion between Kalamut and Goodson providing insight into preparing youth for a career in advertising. It struck me because my last post touched on a similar topic. Personality, passion and pursuit being of the essential traits for a young creative looking to break into the business.

Kalamut covers five major pillars in this conversation:
1. Passion
2. Opportunity
3. Honesty
4. Youth
5. Optimism

Good stuff, have a read, take something away.

Either way

Before I write this, know that I wholeheartedly can go either way on this. Sometimes I yell out, "No, never." Other times, it's "Ok, cool."

Jr. Art Directors who can write. I know you've seen it. A portfolio filled with art direction, design and. . . copywriting samples. Folks, I just don't know what to do with that. Sometimes I just want to stick to the point and see how you can art direct. Help me out here. I'd love to know how other creative recruiters feel on this one.

Recently a jr. art director was in showing me their book. Amidst were radio and tv scripts. (ignore the fact that I am retarded and pretty much hate reading scripts from jrs). That day, I was only in the mood to accomplish what I set out to do: find a good jr. art director. I didn't want it muddled up with a half-writer. Do I judge their copywriting abilities with equal measure? Do I not consider them if their writing sucks?

I guess that's why I prefer online portfolios labeled by section. That way, if I am focused on just art direction that day I can choose not to look. Or, when I am curious and have the time I can see what other talents this person might bring to the table. There may come a time when I need them to bang out a headline or two and I full well know that writing ability would come in handy.

File under: Things I wish I'd written

Today's Blog post from Alex Bogusky gives some great insight into the definition of success. I'm envious, I wish I wrote it. You should read it.

My favorite parts:
"We all get caught up with other people’s definition of success and societies' definition of success that we lose our own."

"Don't ever believe there is only one answer. There are literally millions. It’s a beginners mistake to think there is one right answer. Or that a great answer doesn’t have an even greater solution if you keep thinking. Some people make this beginners mistake for their entire career. So have lots of ideas. And make multiple leaps of logic. And then test your theories. Be linear when necessary but remember great thinking is not linear."

"Finally, have fun. If you’re not having fun you’re doing it wrong. So use your internal fun meter to alert you to the need to make changes. Lot’s of small changes are better than great big ones. So figure out ways to have fun and stay on path wthout having to change jobs all the time. The most successful people I know are very rarely the people with a zillion jobs."

Jr. to Owner

Is this the career progression you envision? Jr. Art Director (or writer, account exec. . .) Sr. Art Director > Creative Director > Agency Owner. That's a long way out and most of our career telescopes can't focus that far. But rest assured, it happens. Maybe it will to you.

Every agency owner has a "used to be" story. They used to be a jr. account executive. Or they used to be a sr. art director. And now? Through perseverance, focus, passion, dedication, conviction, and a boat load of smarts, they own the place. They've risen through the ranks (albeit much higher than the average joe) starting out in this business just like you and me. Remember that when you are nervous going into an interview or finding your hand shaking while making a presentation. Everyone in this business was junior once.

If you see yourself owning an agency someday, find a few role models and learn how they made it happen. Take BD'M in Minneapolis. Started a few years ago by three partners who turned the dream of owning an agency into reality. Monday they were named Best Small Agency in the 4A's O'Toole Awards. Three guys, once junior, now owners and making it happen.

Put being new to advertising in perspective. It'll help when you are overwhelmed with trying to find your first job. Or you don't know whether to leave that job to take another. Every person in this business started in the same square one. Every agency was once a couple folks with a dream. Trust that you'll get there.

Smart

Miss Jessica Menda, I applaud you. Your website made me smile and was a very smart "Hey, I want a job" thing to do.

Jessica took JetBlue's all you can fly in a month pass and is using it as her own personal recruiting trip. As she says, "31 days, a JetBlue all All-You-Can-Jet Pass and the search for adventure and a paycheck." From September 13th through October 1st, Jessica is jumping from city to city setting up interviews with agencies.

Her site shows you the dates she'll be in each city, you can find her on a map and track her adventure on twitter. We can all be ever so slightly envious that someone is spending one very cool month traveling around and meeting creatives across the nation.

Torn

I just got stood up. Or dumped. Not sure which and not sure how I feel about it.

A young junior art director was to start here Monday and just contacted me to say he can't. Apparently Crispin called and trumped my offer.

One the one hand, I am really bummed. We are crazy busy and this junior was going to be a huge help on a new account. I really liked his book and thought he'd be a great fit. Plus, it kinda sucks to go through all the interviews, approvals, and paperwork it takes to finally get someone hired to have that fall through. So from a business standpoint, bit fat ugh.

On the other hand, I am a sucker for juniors and get weirdly proud when good opportunities abound. This young guy had two great agencies vying for his talent. How cool is that? I can't help but feel happy that good things are still happening on the hiring front in advertising.

On a side note, I'm fairly flattered it was Crispin scooping this guy up. It pays me a somewhat backhanded compliment when I head upstairs to tell finance and HR why he is not coming.

Big Ad Gig

It was bound to happen sooner or later. An American Idol-like contest where the prize is a 30-day freelance gig at an ad agency. All you have to do is create a video declaring "I deserve a big ad gig" out in a public space (a little embarrassment never hurt anyone).

Your video submission in conjunction with the quality of your portfolio could land you at CP +B, Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness or Atmosphere Proximity for 30 days. Oh yea, and it's paid.

The harder it gets to find a junior job, the more daring you have to be to land one.

Niceness

I just read a headline on Ad Gabber that said, "Being Nice Will Kill Young Creatives."

The article says, "It's true being nice just to be nice doesn't help anyone. In fact, according to this video for the Denver Ad Club, it can cause a person to drown. Of course, no one in advertising is ever nice just to be nice. In fact, going into advertising offers the perfect platform for a person to rip the shit out of another person and toss it of as simply "critiquing the work."

So, so true. Yesterday I was chatting with another Advertising instructor. He normally rips the shit of of his students with the full intention of making them better creatives. We were talking about how this somewhat harsh method was really for the best of the students. Being tough pushes them and results in better creative. The sucky kids won't care and will end up hating the teacher, but the good ones will care, will work harder and will create better work.

We all know what we mean when we use the word nice. How was your date tonight? Nice. How do you like my new haircut? It's nice. Nice is the word we use when we can't think of something more substantial to say.

Is that really what you want to hear about your portfolio? Sure, being nice to you (with regard to your work) spares everyone's feelings. But, back to the Ad Gabber article -- Being nice will kill young creatives.

Keep that in mind when a creative director or an instructor rips your idea apart. In fact, seek out criticism. I always feel bad when I don't like work in someone's portfolio and they are sitting right in front of me waiting for my response. I will always try to give some suggestions as to how they could rethink or rework or even just start over with their idea. I might feel bad that I didn't praise the work, but I do know better work may come out of my advice.

Mostly, I think I am too nice. I struggle with what to say about a book that I don't think is strong. Usually, it's "you have a good range of work." Which is true without being judgmental. Starting today, I will taper that practice. Of course manners and politeness won't be tapered. But everyone deserves honesty and genuine feedback and maybe my being too nice in that regard is the exact opposite of being helpful.

$162,500??!!

I recently tried to book a junior art director for a 9-day stint. My staff person went on vacation and we couldn't be without the resource for that many days. I had a few people I was considering, quite a few in fact, as the pool of available people has been getting bigger and bigger. It felt great to have so many options.

One thing that is hard to contend with when recruiting junior freelance is proximity. If they don't live in Southern California, it makes it fairly difficult to book them. It's not like I can offer to fly them in or put them up in a local hotel. Heck, I can't even do that for senior freelance anymore. If a junior creative lives in another state, I pretty much have to rule them out.

Two weeks ago, though, I lucked out. An out-of-area junior was going to be in Orange County visiting family and was available to work the exact days I needed. She had a strong book, which made me all the more thankful it would work out. Then we got to the part about rate.

I offered an hourly rate, a bit on the low side. Not low if you are a junior and out of work. But low if you want to say, buy a house. My offer was turned down. The response was that she was currently getting $650 a day freelancing. Six Hundred Fifty Dollars. A day.

Grab your calculator, multiple by 5 days a week, then again by 50 weeks a year. Yea. That's no typo folks. It's an annual salary of $162,500. So either she is really f-ing good and should not put the word junior anywhere near her resume --or-- the agency who hired her at that rate is printing money down in the basement and shoveling out the top floor window.

I am going to go with she is really good. But my gut tells me, no junior can command that rate and get away with it for very long. A few years ago, I would certainly believe it. But not in today's economic climate. Every freelancer who contacts me has offered to cut their day rates, substantially.

If you are going to freelance, get your rate in line with your title. Or your title in line with your rate.

*6 years later I am adding a comment to this post. First, I am incredibly stoked people are still finding, reading and commenting to me on this topic. Next, let me clarify a couple things: this post was written with regard to fresh-out-of-school talent. Like their resume ink hasn't even dried yet. Ones that warrant bookings for $25-$35 an hour. Based on the number of healthy, heated comments I (still) get over this post, I am sure there are many, many creatives out there who feel they are worth more than some of the day rates out there (which of course are higher to cover taxes, insurance, unstable bookings, and so on). My point above was that if you are pulling $650 + a day, you probably aren't very fresh-out-of-school any more.

Creative Orchestra

That's what I'm talking about. An agency consisting of just one department: creative. A department consisting of just one level: junior.

Hey Creative Orchestra, when you're ready to hop the pond and open stateside, Sign. Me. Up.