be yourself, respect others
If I’ve learned something this trip, it’s to be yourself, be honest, and be genuine. Conversations with professionals are the most natural when you stay true to yourself. No need to flaunt achievement, or dominate a conversation. Be authentic, listen first, and let the conversation flow. The people you’re talking to will respect your patience, and be just as willing to have a conversation a couple minutes later. Ask questions, and listen to the answers. If you care about interacting with someone, be genuinely curious about their experiences and perspectives. Gain a friendship before you ask for a favor.
#hottakes
Simon Calem | May 10th
New York.
This few days have been about trying to learn the city, getting to meetings on time, making sure I eat a meal and looking for opportunities. If there’s something I have learned on this trip it’s that people are willing to help you out. The opportunities are out there, it’s up to us to grab it. One common advice many speakers have given me is “do the simple things.” Work hard, be useful with whatever is needed, check slides, etc. The small things seem to have a large impact in this world. Overall great mentors, speakers, and agencies. NY is still as crazy as the first day.
Alex Chaparro
Make it your Business.
Valerie Nguyen is grinning, a state she seems naturally in. She possesses her microphone in confidence, always quick to add wisdom during a lull in conversation, but never quick to cut someone else off who is making a point. Rail thin and 5'6", her essence seems to somehow bubble out of her with an energy that fills the room. Her wit is sharp and her advice is pointed, no doubt honed from years of considering the questions and topics we are navigating through at the Flock panel event she is hosting with the help of four other established women. Isms and words to live by seem to come out of her in droves, and I try my best to keep up with her as quickly as possible. “A great tool to use if you want to be a good ally is WAIT, which is short for Why Am I Talking. Think about what you are adding to the conversation and whether you have let the other person speak.” I laugh out loud but her words still ring true, so much so they bounce around my head for the duration of the week. “Ask for what you want,” she says, “at Wolf and Wilhemine, we have a rule where you won’t even be considered for a raise if you don’t ask for it. We think it’s important to teach people to ask for what they want.” Believing in something is one thing, but doubling down on it is something completely different. I am completely in awe. She leaves me especially blown away with one of her final statements “if you want to be a producer, make something. If you want to be a writer, write. Make it your business and it will become your business.”
Caden Bohn #uonyc
Your first professional interview
While we’ve all had the interviews that decipher if you’re landing the restaurant job, the retail job, or the reception job most of us are just now getting experience in the professional interview world. Today was that day for me! I didn’t know that the mix of emotions I was feeling was even possible. It was terrifying, SO exciting, and once I started talking so natural. I was nervous but I put on my big girl panties, gained some confidence, and did the damn thing. So to whoever has yet to experience this terrifying but exhilarating day: Be yourself and have a ton of fun talking to these professionals who have so much knowledge to give.
-Devyn Schnake 05.10.18
Taller Buildings, Higher Expectations
After my final visit with JWT, I felt a sense of inspiration from their internship class. The ideas that they shared and the brilliant moments they collected weren’t from being the “best.” They used personal insight to drive their designs and the work was great because of that internal introspection. Knowing that I have another year to hone my craft and continue to be inspired is thrilling, and if there’s anything that this trip has given me, it’s that greatness isn’t from studying the pros or through mimicry. It’s about finding your voice, understanding your perspective, and collecting as much inspiration around you to form a unique idea. I also fucking love this city.
Hannah Kloft
Wieden, Kennedy, and Culture.
Sitting in a room full of
over a hundred eager students, folks within our 10+ person panel seem
relaxed and at home. In true Wieden fashion, the advice we are given is
quick and digestible, while still being strikingly profound. “Take a
moment of ‘oh that’s true, and wrap it in entertainment’” says ECD Karl
Lieberman. “Things can be true but still boring as fuck.” “Everything
has to be shorter,” says Matthew Herman, a copywriter. But more of all,
Wieden employees want us to know about Culture. “Creatives have to do a
ton of research,” says Liberman, “watch films, read books, and ask
yourself, what makes this interesting? Why am I plugged into this
television show right now?” All of this is necessary to not compete with
other advertising agencies, but with culture. “We aren’t making
commercials that compete, we are making cultural moments that compete
with music videos and films on their own” he says. How does one start
doing something like this? “STOP WAITING. Make something cool yourself.
Permission will never be given to you,” he says, I miss the end of the
lecture, already frantically scribbling ideas.
Caden Bohn
don’t do ads
truer words have never been spoken. we all got bullshit detectors. we know what ads are. and we don’t like them. so what do we like?
well… i like television.
but why do i like it? the characters… the story… the comedy… reese witherspoon? maybe a mixture of all. television is the way into so many worlds and cultures that can never be experienced in little ol’ eugene. television, like twitter, illuminates the voices of those whose shouts in the dark that would never reach me otherwise. television and twitter… these are the places where we can connect, observe, and learn.
ads are designed to sell. advertising has a negative connotation. but storytelling? that’s positive. and that’s what we need to do each and every time we communicate.
so don’t do ads. do tell a story.
@kyle4prezident (5.10.18)
Post-Grad Guidance
For me, this trip was never meant to be anything more than just seeing the vibe and culture within agencies in New York. I never wanted to work in New York. Part of me didn’t even know whether I wanted to work in advertising. From the first day I arrived in New York, all of those initial thoughts washed away. Navigating the subway is much easier than expected. 99 cent pizza is the most important food group. The agencies I’ve been to have opened my eyes and now have me rethinking whether I should be more open to applying for jobs in advertising. All in all, I have been wrong about everything I thought I knew. This city is incredible, the people on this trip are all incredible, and the agencies we have all gone to are incredible. This trip has been exactly what I needed to guide me in my career post-graduation.
Matt Wunderlin 5/10/18
Advice.
When I was preparing for this trip, I thought I would only be learning about advertising and my future career. I ended up learning about a lot more than that. Hearing from young professionals about their life decisions and advice ended up being equally as inspiring as their career success stories. So, I will pass on what I have learned thus far to you.
Follow your heart & passions, not the money.
You may think that things are not going to work out how you want, but they will.
You will end up where you need to be.
As cliche as it sounds, it really is more about the journey than the destination.
Don’t have a job yet? Be a lyft driver.
- Sydney Humble
The little things
Through all of these visits we have heard amazing stories of amazing people and how they got to where they are. Some people think it’s luck and the right place at the right time. I’m sure some of that is involved but truly it’s obvious these people simply were open to opportunities and change. They took every opportunity they had to meet new people. They took every opportunity they had to do little things for their peers and friends. It all just reminds me how important it is to enjoy what we are doing and take risks. Don’t live in fear of what people are going to think because a lot of these people were rejected by the companies they now run. You never know who you are encountering out in the world. Some person you meet one day could be the next person to change your life. Step out of every comfort zone you have for the opportunity to better yourself and the world around you. You’ll be surprised at who you meet!
-Jake Wilmink