I want to preface this by saying, please take this with a grain of salt. It’s only my experience — but if you’re keen to start your own journey in marketing it might help you along the way.
I never set out to have a career in marketing. I studied social science straight out of Uni with the intention of being a phycologist, and in a complete 180, landed my first graduate job in a photo agency pitching photographs of celebrities to glossy weekly magazines (Victoria Beckham in short-shorts with cellulite anyone?)
It wasn’t until I got my first marketing role that I realised nothing prepares you for working in any industry straight after University or finishing school. You might have the practical skills — but what about the social aspect?
So if you’ve just landed your first role, or looking to get into the industry — here are 5 things I wish someone told me before I started working in advertising and marketing.
1. It will take over your life
By this, I don’t mean you will be physically working 24/7, I mean you will see work EVERYWHERE. You’ll be in tune with the psychological ploys in TV ads, scoff at the latest TikTok ad created by a creative agency that obviously consists only of white men, know how much that billboard by the airport costs or laugh at some other brands marketing fail to cover up the anxiety and relief that it wasn’t you.
Trust me, your loved ones aren’t impressed when you hastily point out marketing faults of random brands.
Working in marketing isn’t a slow-paced-clock-off-at-5 type of job and if you’re first starting out in the industry it can be super hard to turn off the switch that reminds you of your job (or what you forgot to get done) on the weekend.
2. You’ll never feel “on-top” of the trends
The latest marketing “silver bullet”, platform launch, viral trend, colour of the year, way of working, algorithm change, what generation is doing what and why… doesn’t slow down, and it changes as quickly as Kylie Jenner changes her wigs, and if you don’t continually learn along the way, you will get left behind.
When I first started out, Twitter had just launched, there where maybe 5 websites that were reputable and newspapers where still considered the best place to advertise. I was in awe of the newly formed digital team and programmatic buying may as well have been explained to me in Chinese. That was almost 10 years ago and I’m still in the almost exact same boat, scratching my head at WTF a NFT is and if I should invest in Meta with Dogecoin.
3. You’ll get to work with some great brands
Throughout my career I’ve worked on accounts for luxury goods, alcohol, fitness, hospitality, hedge funds and once a salon that provided high-quality man-scaping.
Learning different businesses, industries and inner workings of brands is fascinating. They speak to different people on different platforms and require different skills. It’s never the same and each industry has a unique set of laws and ways of operating.
You will learn something from each brand that you can take into the next one, allowing you to continually grow and find find better solutions as you go.
4. Burnout is real
It’s not a big secret that marketing agencies and advertising roles tend to have high turnovers. Added pressure of quick turn around times, the constant need to be both reactive and proactive to keep up with all the trends, demanding clients calling after hours and workloads straddling advertising campaigns, website updates, planning for future strategies and more — burnout can creep up pretty quickly.
Make sure you look out for a company that doesn’t claim they are looking after their employees with “perks” as ping pong tables, pizza Fridays or free coffee. Ensure that the company aligns with your values, respects workers needs and can provide you with any policies or plans around employee support.
5. It can be limitless
Being part of a quick moving industry means that it will open a lot of doors for a long and fulfilling career. For example, I’ve gone from booking advertising posters on bus shelters to placing products on national TV shows to helping build apps and websites.
Whatever your interest is in the industry, you can usually transition your way there pretty easily, so don’t feel like you’ll be stuck doing one role or task forever, there are always a ton of jobs going as businesses grow and digital marketing expands.
…the free champagne at industry events doesn’t hurt either.