Don't you miss the days where you got up at 10am, then had two hour lunches with your friends at university? Or spending your day studying at the library, but in fact, half the time was spent debating about who is going to win this weekend’s Geelong and Collingwood game? Life was relaxing back then, but looking back I wish I had done a bit more with that time.
It's been 4 years since I left university, and it was a massive learning curve since I got into advertising. It took almost 9 months to land my first gig after I finished my marketing degree. While it was great to understand the concepts and definitions of brand management, consumer behavior and strategic planning at uni, I really needed more hands-on skill sets to get my foot in the door. Truth is, when you start off in most industries, you are most likely be starting in an entry-level role. Therefore, hands-on skills are a must. For those who are hunting today, I thought I’d share a few tips from what I’ve learned along the way.
Numbers
Many advertising decisions are made based on quantitative insights. A lot of these findings are based on large amounts of data. To be able to organise numbers and gather meaning from them is the key. Many agency or marketing entry-level positions require you to be able to gather campaign results, so brush up on your Excel skills.
Platforms and Tools
You should be getting yourself familiar with various platforms or tools depending on what area you get into. But things like Google Adwords, Facebook advertising, Google Insights, and Wordpress are all accessible tools you can get your hands on. You can even find help guides on how to use adserving platforms and market research tools such as Double click and Nielsen.
Do more than just study
University is the best time to try various things in life. Travel or volunteer in an NGO. These give you real examples to say during your interview and allow you to have a go at managing teams and working with people.
Search yourself on Google
You will be searched, so keep those Facebook late night photos private and get your Linkedin profile in check. Why not start your own blog to have a point of view in advertising?
Understand people
If you want to grow in this industry, your ability to understand and influence others becomes increasingly important as you progress in your career. This is the most important of all. Ultimately, we are here to influence others. Let it be our clients or clients' customers. Clients will first want to be understood by you before they hear your ideas, and customers often feel they are misunderstood because brands are not listening.
Read Daniel Goldman’s book on Emotional Intelligence, it helps you to become more self-aware and understand people’s emotions.
So good luck to those on the hunt. While the the drinking and the perks are nice, it’s actually a pretty good feeling when you get to help brands progress.
Xikan Han
Digital Account Manager
PHD