Dear Younger Me: Insightful Advice from Industry Experts
Earlier this month, iknowho put together and hosted an event for young people either looking to join the advertising industry, or further their advertising careers.
Over 50 attendees at the event, titled Dear Younger Me, were treated to an insightful and candid discussion from the panel of industry leaders (Jasmin Bedir, Sophie Lander, and Rachel Lounds) steered along by Young Bloods Co-Chair (Charlotte Berry).
If you weren’t able to attend, don't worry!
We have compiled the most valuable takeaways for you here. The advice they offered up to their younger selves is good advice for us all.
What qualifications do you need to start your career in advertising?
If you are looking to start your career in advertising don’t hang all your hopes on a degree. Going to university can broaden your network, give you life experience, and teach you the theory of advertising / marketing / communications.
But there are also other pathways into advertising, such as: starting as a receptionist as Rachel did, joining the production department as a trainee, attending a design college, or even doing an ACA short course.
“Personally, I never look for degrees in any of our people … I don’t have a formal university degree either” Jasmin Bedir.
Show your interest by asking questions about the business
Sophie Lander shared some questions anyone can ask at an agency job interview to show they are interested in the business & its' future.
- Where do you see the business going in the next 12 months?
- What capabilities is the agency looking to grow?
- How did you find <high profile client project?
- What other clients are you looking for ?
Overall our panel agreed they look for the following attributes in their teams:
- Someone that really cares about the industry
- Is interested & shows their interest in the agency by asking questions
- Is a self starter / self motivated
- Shows Resilience and cover recover / learn from mistakes
Confidence tips
Being in the creative industry, your work is constantly judged by subjective standards. None of us feel confident 100% of the time, and moments of self doubt are completely normal.
So Rachel Lounds, Confidence & Mindset Coach, shared some simple tips to help build confidence & resilience at work:
- Put feedback into context rather than internalise it
- Reframe those thoughts “I mightn’t be able to do it right now, but I’m smart enough to find out!”
- Up to 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some time, so talk about it
- Just keep going - Confidence comes from taking action
- Focus on progress over perfection
Another tip we loved from Charlotte Berry, was to “find one or 2 people that really believe in you & stick with them”. Borrowing the belief of a mentor is a real confidence boost, and one day you might pay it forward by being that person for someone else!
To wrap things up our panel shared the advice they would give to their younger selves.
- “Ask more questions earlier on. If someone smarter than me was in a room, ask them how did they come to that decision” - Sophie Lander
- “Work on believing in yourself. Ask for help, guidance, and a mentor” - Rachel Lounds
- “Build a network. Make connections” - Jasmin Bedir
- “Put up your hand for everything. Get involved!” - Charlotte Berry
We hope you found these tips and advice from industry experts helpful. If you are looking to take the next step in your agency or marketing career reach out to one of our specialist consultants today.
