Advertising as an industry is becoming more and more important for modern companies. Even if that weren’t the case, as a prospective career advertising offers an exciting and dynamic career filled with creative opportunities. As of 2021, American companies employ a total of three hundred and forty-seven thousand people with a projected growth rate of 10% over the next ten years (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/advertising-promotions-and-marketing-managers.htm). If this trend holds to be true, the advertising industry is not likely to turn away any prospective applicants.
The point is, if you consider you’re your credentials early, it shouldn’t be hard to find a position for yourself somewhere in the industry.
The first and most obvious step to take is to pursue some form of advertising education. Since the sixties, advertising has become a more scientific process, especially with developments in phycology and sociology to better map the consumers responses to campaigns before a company may commit to them. This needn’t be a full university degree if that is not feasible. Most business focussed Tafe courses or similar should make you significantly more employable. Though for best results, when looking for an entry level position, having a bachelor’s degree will seriously improve your chances.
The next thing to do is network. Like any white-collar career, the secret to getting employed is nepotism, or at the very least having a foot in the door before being officially employed. There are several good ways to do this, but the methods that would be best for your career would be interning or freelancing. Both of these provide the much-coveted experience that may end up being the deciding factor when trying to interview for a position. In the opinion of this humble writer, the best option between these two would be freelancing. The reason is simple: freelancing guarantees being paid for your work, allows for easy building of a portfolio, and gives ample experience in building your own personal brand, which can be leveraged once in the industry.
As mentioned above, keeping a portfolio is an important part of finding a media job. Recruiters expect to be able to evaluate interviewees by their work. Keeping a portfolio like this means that a prospective employer can evaluate you more effectively and determine whether your work would fit with the branding of the agency. The most important part of building a portfolio is to have a diverse portfolio, either in medium, style or subject, and having explanations for your choices and design decisions ready for each piece. Even more so then having effective, or evocative work, being able to explain your methodology, demonstrates your understanding of concepts and an ability to discern these artistic elements in others. This should seriously aid in finding some position, and if your explanations are sufficient, may lead to an oversight position of other designers and artists. (https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-work-at-ad-agency)
According to industry insiders, the most in demand roles in the industry are in management. With the sudden influx of digital talent, agencies are finding it difficult to fill executive positions and effectively manage their teams. The other thing that agencies are employees with traditional media experience. To make use of this gap in the market, focussing on broader business skills or good management pontential can seriously help your chances of being hired. The best way to make recruiters believe you to be fit for the higher echelons of management is to research the firm before going to be interviewed and showing some interest and enthusiasm in the firm and their work. The most important thing to a potential employer is believing that you already know what you are doing. If you want to do really well, and accelerate your promotions, being well informed on the agency, and their work. The other option for progression, of course, is to take very poaching effort aimed at you, especially if it offers a pay rise (https://www.adnews.com.au/news/talent-war-advertising-s-most-in-demand-jobs-and-how-the-industry-tries-to-fill-them).
That is all the most important things to know if trying to get into this industry. Those already there, please share your insights for the rest of us. Those trying to make it, we wish you all good luck.
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