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10 steps to making it as a creative.
Siobhan Long, NABSCareer [email protected] 292 7330
Bonnie Harold , LIZ HConsultant
[email protected] 437 7863
Amanda Wallace, OpenAd.netCreative client services manager
[email protected] 290 2711
Many thanks to all the creatives whose words of wisdom have been used in this guide. And, special thanks to Caroline Pay, Peter Harold and Savvas Voudouris
for sprinkling their magic throughout.
design by www.peel-me.com
Goodbye uni... Hello job.
offers creatives another way to sell
their ideas. Anytime you have an idea that
you’d love to see used, you can sell it online in the Gallery
or you can enter Pitches that are frequently posted online.
While you’re seeking employment this is a great way
to keep your thinking fresh and earn some extra money
from your ideas. Pitches are also a great way to test
how well you work with new partners. And, once you are employed,
you are welcome to enter ideas on behalf of
your agency - and possibly find new business -
or you can enter in your free time.
is a small, bespoke headhunter in Soho
who is a trusted and highly regarded carer
of careers. They find jobs for creatives; account
managers and planners at all levels and work
on behalf of a number of top advertising agencies
large and small across a spectrum of communications.
If you’re a young, ambitious creative wanting to
make a name for yourself in advertising,
Bonnie would love to meet you and help you succeed.
Whether it be knowing which agency is best suited to
you, finding mentors to help you with your portfolio
or general advice on getting started Liz H endeavour
to help guide the best creatives into the best agencies.
is the trade charity for the marketing
communications industry, we provide a number
of services for creatives, from careers advice
through to access to computers and office
space. You can also receive expert information
to help your work and build on your portfolio.
Creatives can benefit from NABS continuous
training and events programmes that run
throughout the year such as: building
creative partnerships, day placements
at top agencies, Portfolio Critiques and workshops.
Your university days (the fun bit) are over, now it’s time to get a job (the serious bit). How hard it is and how long it takes is kind of up to you, your talent and your dedication. The good news is, with a little help from us, and this survival guide, you will be well on your way. Good luck!
Find outwho canhelp youand how.
In this game, two heads are always better than one. Never underestimate the value of someone to bounce ideas off/argue with. You’ll also need someone to help carry all your awards home, right?
Be onehalfof a dreamteam.
Before you set off you’ll need to find your perfect partner- in a work way. Your partner says a lot about you, so here are a few things to consider on the search for your other half:
If this simple test meansyou are now sans partner,don’t fret. Bonnie at Liz H
can hook you up with othersingle creatives and NABS runs
the ‘Lonely Hearts Book Club’with Kendall Tarrant-a great
chance to meet your new partnerand check out guest speakers, set
briefs and Q&A sessions.
Can I really spend 95% of my waking hours with this person?
Do I like them?
Do I rate their thinking?
Can I hear them out?
Can I be really honest with them?
Are we better together?
Can they do all the things I can’t?
Are they at least as good as me?
Do we want to work in the same places?
Do I fancy them? (Always a bad idea)
Always listen to advice; most people you meet werein your shoes not too long ago. And if you thinkthey’re talking twaddle, take great pleasure in
proving them wrong.
Listen up.
Owen Lee, creative director, Farm
Nick Studzinski, creative director, Publicis
Simon Learman, executive creative director, McCann Erickson, London
Andy Dibb, creative director, O&M
“Never be afraid to fail.”
“Show some passion. A cliché? Perhaps. But, it’s the thing I look for most in any young team - a bit of hunger; fire in their belly; a bit of energy; that little spark. Very few teams can rely purely on talent to secure their first job. Creative directors are always looking for a little bit more and for me it’s a teams passion that will be the deciding factor.”
“Have a point of view. Opinions are just opinions, but you have to start somewhere. You have to believe in something.”
“It’s up to you. Nobody will call you, reply to your letters, ask to look at your book; you’ve got to keep the pressure on... email your book to creative directors... post copies of it to creative directors...pester their secretaries? pester headhunters... look enthusiastic? don’t lose heart...walk those streets? see those teams... it’s all down to you... go for it.”
“It’s easy to say you’re creative. Genuinely creative people don’t just talk the talk. They walk the walk. They write, paint, blog, take photos, make short films, build websites.”
Gerry Farrell – creative director, Leith Agencywww.leith.co.uk/geezajob/index.html
“Pick everyday products - stuff you find in the supermarkets and on the high street. Don't finish ads up to a high standard - it's the ideas that matter at this stage. Neat line drawing or scrap art will do. Stick to posters - if you do TV, keep it to 3 or 4 frames and don't put radio in.
“Go for a crit. Then go back again with a totally new book. Then do it again, and again, and again. The point isn’t to end up with the mythical perfect portfolio. It’s about practice, practice and being seen to practice. Do lots of crits, listen to everybody, take everything in. But, hold firm to what you believe. Don’t let your book become a portfolio by committee.”
“Don’t just have ads in your book. If you’re trying to get a job as an advertising creative, it’s probably because you have a love of ideas. Media is changing and what advertising agencies need is people who come up with ideas no matter what the media is. So, demonstrate this in your book. The madder the better.”
“Keep it simple. Don’t be precious. If you’ve seen it before, take it out. Ten campaigns is enough. It has to be self-explanatory.Always try and be there when people see your book. You can always improve your book. Pick the agencies you want to work at and focus on impressing the teams there. Make sure your briefs aren’t the same as everyone else’s.”
Kim Papworth – creative director, Wieden and Kennedy
Markham Smith – senior copywriter, AMV BBDO
Matt Lee and Peter Heyes – creatives, DDB London
Caroline Pay – Senior Creative (formerly BBH and Mother)
“Think about where and when people use digital media and how you’ll make them want to interact with your ad. Be realistic - ask yourself if you would interact with your own idea. Some great ideas are too complicated to be effective.Innovate. We've all heard of MySpace and Second Life. What do you think will be next - and how can you use it to promote your brand?Make sure the person viewing your concept understands what's meant to be happening, even if you're there to explain it.”
“Demonstrate your best skill and show what you’ve got that’s different. E.g. writing, humour, design, etc. Your book should represent you.Be prepared to work harder, for longer, and for less money, than at any time in your life.Have fun and enjoy it! Because this is the only time in your career where you’ll never have to do what clients, planners, account handlers, creative directors and basically anybody else who’s in the room at the time, tell you to do.”
Gavin Gordon-Rogers and Gemma Butler –
creative directors, Agency Republic
Anson Harris – creative director, Meme, part of WCRS
At the end of the day, it’s your thinking that will get you hired, promoted and awarded. Your book has to do the talking, so make sure it’s saying the right things.Make sure you are carrying
the best book in town.
Kingly Court (off Carnaby St) out door covered cafe - buy a drink and get free wi fi.Star Cafe - Chapel St - cheap V Italian cafe, free newspapers to read while you watch Soho go by.Borders on Oxford St - sit, read, think. Starbucks upstairs - all the mags you need plus coffee and free Wi Fi.Cowling and Wilcox Broadwick Street - good art / portfolio supplies shop.Prince Charles Cinema - Leicester Sq - flicks for £3.00 and discount bar - www.princecharlescinema.comPhotographers Gallery - Great Newport Street - cafe and gallery.Mail boxes etc - printing, photocopying, etc www.sohoprint.com
Get out there.
Know where to work, eat and drink. Coffee shops, bars, bookshops, parks, libraries, anywhere is more inspiring than your partner’s kitchen. Your future employer may well be passing, too…
Soho W1.Liz H - 61-63 Beak St - W1F 9FLNABS - 91A Berwick St W1F 0NEOpenad.net - 8 Hanover Street- W1S 1YEBerwick Street Market - good coffee shops, fruit stalls, cheap fast food cafes.John Snow - corner of Broadwick St/ Lexington - cheapest beer in central London.Golden SquareSoho SquareNew Piccadilly Cafe - a Soho institution - 1950's style cafe that hasnt changed in half a century and neither has the menu. Great spot to eat, drink, think, draw whatever in fab retro surroundings.
Go West: towards Knightsbridge/ Kensington/ Notting Hill etc V&A - great cafe, lots of space, good exhibitions. Museum of Brands: www.museumofbrands.com must do fab museum showing brands, packaging and advertising through the ages.
Go East: loads of free galleries, cheap eats and lots of ad agencies too. Big Chill Bar off Brick Lane: large bar, quiet in the day, Wi Fi.
Go South: Tate Modern - free gallery, large cafe, great views.
Go North-ish: British Museum - peaceful, beautiful library - must be quiet so probably not good for highly vocal teams!
See junior and middleweight teams. Save the seniors for when you know your book is very, very good. Make sure you are getting crits from the team that sorts the placements.
You get very few shots with a creative director – don’t waste your chance or their time.
Don’t argue, just nod and smile- even if you think they are completely wrong.
Be nice-they are also judging whether they’d like to have you in the office next door.
When you find a team who like what you do, always go back and see them- these are your mentors. Keep all your contacts and help them to remember you – good conversation will do it.
NABS run weekly portfolio crits that offer one-to-one sessions with award-winning senior creative teams. Use them.
If you are still out of work after a year, you can sign up for NABS Book Camp which also incorporates a creative selling skills workshop. Then go out there and do it all again.
Crits are the key to success.
The more good people to see your book, and slate you book, the better chance it has of becoming the best book in town. Fact.
Placement
Heaven.
Once you have your foot in the door at a place, it all gets rather exciting. They think you have potential; it’s now down to you to prove it.
Placements give you experience – your first,second, tenth or twentieth may not get you a job,
but it will mean better ads for your book,teach you how an agency works, tell you where
you want to work and test yourpartnership to the max.
Placements usually last two weeks and then you’ll either be asked to leave or to stay for longer. And longer. And longer. A long placement is promising but doesn’t mean you’ll get a job at the end of it – make sure staying is in YOUR best interest.
Bonnie at Liz H can put you up for placements; tell you which agencies are looking for teams and also you can sign up for a TBWA/NABS one-day placement.
“The other day a pair of wannabes got a brief from me, they came backwith very funny real, animated films, not just script ideas and I was soimpressed, I gave them a job on the spot.”
Gerry Farrell – creative director, Leith agency
“In order to secure a placement, you must be prepared to do pretty much anything. At the book crit that led to the placement that got us our first job, the creative director we were seeing came across a long copy ad in our book. He geordied, "I don't read copy, me". I replied, rather stupidly, "Oh go on, it's really good, I'll even sing it to you if you want." "Go on then," he says, "sing it." Oops. So I sang it. To the tune of God Save the Queen. Loudly. We got a placement. And then a job. At the greatest agency I've ever worked at.”
Johnny Watters - middle-weight copywriter - Claydon Heeley
Make yourself as indispensable as you can.
Be a help not a hindrance.
Show off what you’re best at – you’ll be hired because you add something no one else can.
Have a sense of humour.
Don’t be annoying.
Listen until your ears bleed – ask questions and remember the answers.
Read people. This is the hardest bit- knowing who to approach and when e.g. if the CD is having a barney, don’t attempt small talk.
Get on the killer brief, even if it means you beg, borrow, steal and work through the night.
Only present your best work- 10 great ideas is better than 50 OK ideas.
Prepare to make tea and coffee, work late, be poor and do all of that with a smile!
Make sure everyone knows who you are and why you’re there.
Put in the hours.
Turning your placement into an actual, real live job.
No more beans on toast.
Your first job will make you feel amazing,and your mum will be very, very proud of you.
BUT…
There are only 10 Top 10 agencies,but 100 Top 100. Aim high, yes.But you can
also increase your chances by aiming wider.Once you’ve got a job it may be easier
to look for the job.
Don’t stay too long, four years max – your first job is just that.
Keep your eyes open to other jobs. Redundancy does happen - don’t take it to heart.
Make the most of it– this is your time to be a sponge and push your ideas.
Get to know ALL colleagues.
Don’t feel intimidated, you are there because you are good enough to be there.
“In all, it took us about 18 months of placements and being unemployed before we got a proper job. Jo and I graduated as a team from Leeds Met Uni, having studied BA Hons Graphic Design. We sent our book to DDB London and they gave us a month's placement. We managed to extend it to four months by writing ads that actually got made (for VW). When that placement ended, we spent a couple of weeks seeing creative teams with our book and we eventually got placements at some smaller agencies - BANC and MWO. From there we went to RKCR/Y&R for three months and then we secured another three month placement at Ogilvy. That was great because they paid us properly and three months is enough time to get work made. Whilst on placement, we entered the D&AD Young Creative Competition, and won. The prize was to represent the UK at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in their World Young Creatives Competition. It was great and gave us a taste for a life in advertising! As a result of our success, Ogilvy gave us a job and we have been there ever since.”
Kate Clough – creative, Ogilvy Advertising
“Don't be afraid to say no. When we were doing the placement rounds before getting our first jobs, we found ourselves at a very, very good DM agency, working on the hottest new client in the telecommunications arena, for about a month. But we were bored. It was the only client we worked on. We did some good stuff and got on alright with everybody. But we were really, really bored. Suddenly, we were offered a job. Our first job! And it was bloody good money too. But it would be working on this one client. Forever.We thought about it and we very nearly said yes. But we didn't.We stuck to our guns and said it wasn't for us. Then we went on to our next placement, where we won them over with dazzling work and got ourselves a job working on every client in the agency and in pretty much every media. We made the right decision.
Johnny Watters - middle-weight copywriter, Claydon Heeley
And finally, keep listening.
“A great book is important for getting your foot in the door - but that's only the beginning. Just as important is enthusiasm, hard work and a willingness to listen and learn once you're in. Oh, and not turning up in suit and tie on your first day. Trust me, I know. Good luck.”
Rob Mosley - Creative director, Nonsense Ltd.
and forthose of you without a portfolio...
“Never give up. If you can take all the heartbreak, all the disappointment and still dust yourself down and come
back for more, you’ll be just fine. The last man standing is the only man who can win.”
Ben Priest, creative director, RKCR/Y&R
