When thinking of life after graduation we picture ourselves working our way up the ladder of an advertising agency, starting from the bottom doing grunt and less than desirable work then someday managing accounts.
According to Simon, the ladder is burning from the top down. Top management positions are being laid off all over the country to reduce overhead costs and to bring in young talent.
This is good, exciting news but the pressure is on. Everybody is relying on the fresh graduates to solve digital problems with brilliant digital solutions. Bring it on! This pressure has started a buzz around the SOJC at U of O and many students are becoming as Simon says, “generalists who specialize in everything.”
We are learning the software and tools, but also learning how to think creatively and strategically. This is something we like to call a “creative strategist” here at the SOJC.
This is fantastic because we will be indispensable to the agencies and clients we work for and create great advertisements. We have the power at our fingertips to make great things happen. Instead of asking ourselves what agency can I work at, we need to be asking ourselves “how can I be an agent of my future?”
Simon also said “we need to begin as an expert then work our way up to an amateur.” Finding a niche or specializing in, say, in-game advertising will get us noticed and our feet in the door, but after we settle down and build on our personal brand we need to take a step back and look at the big picture. We need to collaborate ideas, build off each other’s inspiration and create change that betters the industry and betters people’s experiences with brands.
Written by Jenny Jensen
I didn’t catch the whole session, but I especially liked what Simon said about letting go of “the urgency of attachment” to that first job as a commentary on your worth as a human being. I paraphrase now, but he said that there is success readily available to those that show up and work it out as they go along, informed by their passions. As an ad grad who decided advertising really wasn’t for me, that is advice I would have liked to hear as a student who felt desperately like the next step mattered. So long as you keep stepping, it really doesn’t.
q222MS Excellent article, I will take note. Many thanks for the story!