Finding your fit

Is this the place for me? Will I fit in? Two questions many people asks themselves when considering moving out of their comfort zone and onto new beginnings. As we are gearing up to travel across the country and explore agency cultures and dynamics, these are two questions constantly on my mind.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the playground, first-day-of-high-school questions. Although they are related. I’m talking about the questions you ask yourself when considering a place to work (live) as you start your career. It’s about considering a culture, what it values, and how you relate to it. Often we are in such a hurry to find our first job and end the discomfort of “what are you doing with your life” that we take whatever comes first. Lessons come from these moments, but taking time to find the right fit can be just as valuable to the start of a career.

Hopefully we’ll all have answers to these questions in a couple of weeks!

Jesse Summers 4.27.17

Reminiscing

As the time gets closer for us to embark on our journey to the concrete jungle, I can’t help but reflect a little on things I wish I had done or knew before going on the trip last year. As a Junior, going on the trip is extremely insightful and pushes you to do your absolute best to come back in the fall and amaze your classmates, professors, recruiters, and even judges. This trip is an opportunity for you to network on such a unique platform with people from big agencies to small agencies, but most importantly, with each other. 

One of the biggest things I can urge everyone going is to set aside times after the agency visits and talk with one another about the agencies you went to versus the ones that your peers went to. Take notes, because collaborating and decompressing and hearing the excitement in the voices of your peers can give you a feel for what those places are like. I made some of my greatest relationships with Lina Rode, Tucker Stosic, Jocelyn Parker, and many others that I didn’t know before the trip. Through this, they have been my biggest supporters along with some other not mentioned peers this year and push me to do better and I hope I can do that for them too. 

Another big thing for me was to ask questions. I think it is essential to ask what is on your mind and prepare questions before going. 9 times out of 10, someone has the same question as you and might not be as willing to speak up. Not only does this benefit you, it can benefit everyone. Also, the people WANT your questions and are curious about your perceptions of the industry and agency just as you are curious about their life and the agency. If you want to get the most out of the trip, coming from someone who wishes they would have capitalized more on it last year, ask questions, hangout with people you don’t necessarily know, and be genuinely curious. It will make the trip that is already so exciting and memorable, that much better. If you time, take people up on coffee walks, or going to get $1 pizza, or take the subway with someone who posted that you don’t know. Connection and communication, friends. 

Looking forward to a wonderful trip with all of y’all and seeing the city in a new light. If you ever find a hole in the wall place, let me know and let’s chat about the agencies you adore and maybe the ones that will surprise you. 

All of the best as we prep for the upcoming trip. 

James McAndrew. 4.27.2017 

Kudos for Convo

It is not easy. Emails to people you’ve never met are daunting, and it can feel incredibly needy to ask if they can spare a few minutes of their valuable time to talk to you, a nobody, about the industry. Terrifying scenarios run through your head. What if they don’t like my work? What if they don’t have time? Or worse. What if they never. answer. (gasp at the horror!).

And just like those fears you had in middle school of walking through the halls naked, these scary nightmares rarely become reality. You don’t realize it until you start talking to a number of professionals, but most of these people really want to help you out, because they got into the industry the same exact way. 

Networking is such an emotionless word. It’s more about creating connections with people and having conversations about the industry and all that it encompasses. Be hungry. Smile. And most importantly, be a nice person, because it goes a long way.

Allison Graaff 04.27.17

Discovery is a beautiful thing.

Every year I have a revelation right about now. A week or so away from an amazing experience where invested people go to a wondrous place, I realize that I love watching people find themselves. Sure it’s about advertising done well, about the excitement of a city that has no equal. I love knowing students will use this. But more, it’s about ten years from now. Someone will remind me that this is where they understood a “career,” where they found themselves with the right questions. 

This year will be no different. Here we go, all 117 students and faculty. 

Ready.

Deb Morrison  04.25.2017