Careers in Advertising & Design

Do's & Don'ts... Don't think that because you can draw you don't have to communicate! Value your verbal skills. You will need to sell your ideas, and this is usually done in a presentation in front of a creative team. Advertising is not for wallflowers. Don't limit yourself! Draw, if that's what you like to do. You can actually get paid for drawing, but in order for that to occur, you need to show your work and your versatility. Do stretch yourself and your imagination. The same goes for writing. Try writing different pieces and using various styles. Do take this opportunity to see what you can do. Don't think that because you're creative, you don't have to show up on time, prepared and ready to work. Movie director Woody Allen once said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Think about that. Do take responsibility for your own performance.

Have you thought about a career in advertising?
Advertising is "selling." It's also "influencing." And advertising should end with action, so it's also "directing." If you like to sell, influence, and direct, and if you can do these things with a flair for amusing, informing, or engaging your audience, then you have a chance at being a success in advertising.

Advertising is done through various media—radio, video, newspapers, magazines, and now, e-mail, the internet, and multimedia. The various players in advertising are media, advertising agencies, and businesses—in short, anyone who sees a need to influence people.

What are the careers in advertising?
Some programs will prepare students to enter the creative side of advertising, where they will come up with the ideas that sell and influence the intended audience. There is also the producing side of advertising, taking the creative ideas and making sure they are completed and on time. This is not to say producers can't be creative. Nor does it mean that creative people don't care how an ad is produced. It simply acknowledges that there are two general divisions in advertising, and people tend to sort themselves out according to their specific strengths.

There are also a host of other careers, smaller in number, but nonetheless important. These include advertising research, account management, and new business development. Other career areas similar to advertising are marketing, communications, and public relations.

So you're creative?
Great! My advice is to do what you like to do and like what you do. Advertising isn't the easiest field to break into or become successful at, but if it's where your heart lies, you owe it to yourself to pursue it. You may come to regret letting yourself be talked out of advertising because someone told you it was a difficult undertaking.

Keep drawing, if that's what you like to do. Keep telling and writing stories, if that's what inspires you. Don't let yourself be distracted by what's hot, or by the current state of the economy. I have heard a lot of talk about the next hot trend in visual communications. Be careful! By the time you have graduated from college or art school, chances are that several trends will have come and gone. Find your passion and follow it!

Is it tough to get a job in advertising?
By its very nature, advertising is competitive. The better ads sell more, influence more, and attract more attention. If you're good, you will gain more and more responsibility and a better salary. But, as with most jobs, you have to prove your worth first.

Will a degree help you get a job in advertising? Here's the real scoop: you are hired on the strength of a portfolio of work. One advertising recruiter recently told me, "We hire portfolios, not people."When you visit art schools, ask how they will help you prepare a portfolio. Listen carefully to the answer. Your portfolio is the body of work by which you will be judged.

At the same time, be aware that having a degree will help. This was not always the case. Twenty years ago, having a B.A. or a B.F.A. wasn't important, but things are different today. In whatever capacity you enter advertising, you will be talking to and working with people who have college degrees. Some will have multiple degrees. Having a degree of your own not only puts you on equal footing with them, it means you have acquired a certain level of knowledge and mental acuity which should help you in many situations.

Remember, if you like to do creative work, you've come to the right place. Advertising, as an industry, employs more people performing and producing creative work than any other occupation.

You can have a career in advertising!

Editorial provided by Rodney Clough, Program Director, Advertising and Design, International Academy of Design and Technology—IADT—Chicago.