I realize it’s only February, but this is the time when a majority of college seniors start to feel the inevitable panic that comes with graduation and the need to find a paying gig. Maybe I’m still feeling the love from my Valentine’s Day hangover, but since my story about breaking into the biz is still fresh, I thought a little empathy could be beneficial.

It all started on a cold December night in 1984 when a beautiful blue baby emerged. After some medical miracles, he uttered his first sounds and hasn’t shut up since. It was clear in that Fargo hospital that his voice would be prominent in all that he did. I’ll spare you the next decade an a half filled with singing, dancing and tights. (Hey, some people can run, I could pirouette.)

During my sophomore year in high school, a guest speaker came to talk about advertising at one of our career week events. Before that lecture, I had thought advertising was just making commercials for the Super Bowl or the Final Four. (Just because I run like molasses and have the cannon of a crippled T-rex doesn’t mean I don’t wish I could ball.) At this seminar, the speaker from a local agency explained what marketing was. He held up a Coke can and explained how the colors, ads and placement all were developed to sell more sweet brown liquid than Pepsi.

Eureka.

In 20 minutes of exposure to branding and positioning, my path was set. After graduation, I enrolled to Minnesota State University Moorhead, which has arguably the best Mass Communications program in the area. Through dabbling in different aspects of the craft, I realized that the creative side of advertising was the best fit for my skill set. I’m not a designer and I don’t pretend to be, so my path to being a writer was even more uphill as agencies began to shift from the designer-writer tandems of the past to the designer-headline designers of today. Writers, we need to take back our jobs by well, writing more and writing better, but I’ll leave that subject alone for another day.

When I graduated in December 2007, I left with a degree from a reputable state school, a pretty strong portfolio, several awards, accolades and pats on the back. I was ready for the world, but were they ready for me?

Items I submitted for the local ADDY competition were seen favorably by the judges and I earned heavy recognition in the student contest. When it came time for the ceremony, I got all dressed for success assuming my showing would make me the young gunslinger that would be fought over by all the local agencies. Now I know what Brady Quinn felt like on draft day. I didn’t get oohed and ahhed over as expected. I didn’t walk away with a pocket full of business cards. I didn’t even make the paper. That spot was reserved for a good friend who won a scholarship. Nope, the only contact I had that night was with a good designer friend of mine and a few folks he worked for. They just happened to be Absolute Marketing Group, the young agency that eventually took a chance on me.

I didn’t start with Absolute right away. It took about six months for them to develop a need for me. In that time, I decided to “strike gold” by becoming a freelance writer. It was great at first. I started working for another agency doing a few projects here or there, but the four hours a month of work wasn’t a career let alone a living. As is the risk with freelancing, I got replaced for a full-time hire by a guy that was working with me. He had equal skill, but a bigger resume. That’s life.

Luckily my relationship with the designer and my meetings with the team here at Absolute paid off. I started in May and haven’t looked back since.

Maybe that’s a long-winded story, but now you know my perspective. Here’s what I would have done differently and some general advice for you grads.

  1. Claw for an internship. This is probably my biggest regret. Fortunately, my company let me take my lumps. You may not be so lucky. Another key reason to invest in an unpaid internship is the exposure. Everyone in this business is connected. The place you intern with may not be hiring, but they can put you in front of the people who are. A good reference from a respected member of the industry is just as good or better than a killer resume.
  2. Brand yourself. Know exactly what you want to do. You may not get that exact job, but it shows much more initiative than someone who “just wants to be in advertising.” Part of that branding comes with a cohesive resume and cover letter. Speaking of cover letters, resumes and such, have them ready. Don’t make a naked cold call. Send your cover letter, resume and a strong sample or two (if you want to be a creative) and then FOLLOW-UP with a call.
  3. Show your mind off. A portfolio should not be a folder of class projects combined for review. It should be a greatest hits album of your best ideas. I had a wonderful professor abroad who told me this one truth. “Monkeys can push buttons. Ideas change the world.” A clean layout without thought will lose to genius on a napkin EVERY TIME. I’m not saying dig through your crayon box, however. There is a lot of value in polish, but if you are a designer who lays every image out in a square frame or a writer who can’t intertwine a headline with body copy, you will get passed over for someone who’s ideas pop instantly and last after his or her book is closed.
  4. Be patient. Be diligent. Everyone knows the economy sucks. Marketing is taking a huge hit and the job market is flooded with experienced practitioners looking for work. You may have to trudge harder for longer, but the fact that you are willing to work for less is a great selling point.
  5. If you go with plan B, hold on to your dream. It may not be possible to crack into this business right now. That doesn’t mean you should stop trying or settle for something that’s “kinda like what I went to school for.” Keep your portfolio updated. Just because you won’t get a grade on it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t go into production in your spare time. Stay current. Keep your ears open to what’s going on in the advertising world. I subscribe to AdAge. It’s free and it’s informative. Evolve your skill set. I’m very lucky, but I would have been more marketable if I knew php, HTML or Flash.

Class of ’09 I wish you the best of luck.

If you start to feel that panic, send me a cover letter, resume and creative samples. We are still accepting applicants for our summer and fall internships.