IS ADVERTISING FOR YOU?
It all depends upon what you want out of your life and career. If you are bright, alert, aggressive, curious, competitive, and willing to work really hard (at often strange hours), and if you like excitement and exciting people, then advertising is definitely for you.

You will have to be flexible -- ready to turn on a dime -- and have unlimited confidence in yourself, even when you make the inevitable mistakes that we all do. You will be dealing with all kinds of people, problems and opportunities. And you will be very well paid for your efforts.

WHAT ADVERTISING AGENCIES DO
Ad agencies earn their income by planning, creating, producing and placing ads (print) and commercials (broadcast) for their clients - companies big and small with products to sell. Agencies are responsible for practically all newspaper and consumer magazine ads, outdoor and indoor displays (including billboards), radio and television commercials, and the ads that appear in professional, technical and business-to-business publications.

Their success or failure rests on the abilities of professionals in a number of inter-related disciplines. They must create advertising that persuades a sufficient number of prospects (the public) to respond the way the client wants by buying its products.

Agencies accomplish this tough assignment in a number of ways. They can familiarize us with a product in a memorable ad, frequently exposed. With constant repetition, an ad reminds us of the product (of which a previous series of ads made us aware). Agencies frequently spread the news -- what's new or better about a product. Some ads in reaction to damaging news or events -- like the Tylenol scare -- reassure customers of the product's safety or the company's stability. Still other corporate or image advertisements simply try to leave consumers with an overall, generally favorable impression of the company itself.

Whatever an ad's stated purpose, size or scope -- whether it's a $20 million, prime-time TV campaign or a direct-mail piece targeted to a highly- specialized audience -- its purpose is the same: Advertising exists to sell.

AGENCY DEPARTMENTS

Within an agency, there are usually four departments involved in the development of advertising:

• Account Management (Account or Client Service)
• Creative
• Media
• Research and Planning

1. ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT (ACCOUNT OR CLIENT SERVICES)

Acccunt Management is the ad agency's nerve center. Typically, the department is organized into teams, each of which works with specific clients and products. Their responsibilities are both numerous and extremely varied. Among the most important are solving problems, providing information, analyzing trends in the marketplace, establishing the product's or service's objectives and strategies, planning & supervising the creation of advertising campaigns, and, above all, making sure that the lines of communication between the client and agency staff remain clear and wide open so that the client-agency relationship blossoms and prospers.

Entry-Level Title: Assistant Account Executive - AAE for short.

No matter what sort of degree you have, you will begin your career in this apprenticeship role. Every AAE works with a particular account group and at least one brand. A new AAE's first responsibility is to become immersed in his account -- to research its history, problems, and its goals. This is also the time to get to know the people in the other departments who also work on the account, and to understand everyone's role clearly. At this stage, the AAE is on the receiving end of a barrage of complex information. As difficult as it may seem, the facts have to be learned both quickly and well -- they'll soon be put to use in planning, decision-making, and problem-solving. Eventually, just about the time trainees start to feel that they know their way around, most are switched to another brand, and occasionally to another account. Learning to adjust to changes is essential in an advertising career. Success in account management is built on a broad base of experience.

2. CREATIVE

To land a job in the creative department, you need a portfolio of your writing and ideas. Writing copy requires a feeling for the language that goes beyond the simple communication of information. Rhythm, syntax, and meaning influence the choice of words that will create the right mood and reaction. Copy-writers are well paid for their talent, since their command of the language can move millions to purchase a product. In fact, television commercial copywriters earn more money per word than any other kind of writer. The best way to break into any agency, large or small, is to show that you're a good idea person who is able to come up with clever phrases, catchy slogans, and eye-catching copy.

Entry-Level Title: Junior Copywriter

As a junior copywriter, you will be working as a member of a creative team under the supervision of a more experienced copywriter. You may be expected to write copy for a campaign, or you may have to come up with some original ideas for selling a product or service. Depending on the size of the agency and the importance of the campaign, you may be invited to take part in brainstorming sessions, where a group of creative people toss out ideas for a new campaign. Your success will be linked to the success of your creative group and your own contributions. Promotions will be based on your consistently good ideas and great copy.

OTHER ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES

"CLIENT COMPANIES"

Some analysts like to point out that ad agencies employ only one-third of the people actually working in advertising. So, who else are they including in this industry? Everyone, from the people who sell advertising space for thousands of trade and consumer magazines to the employees of the many suppliers - TV production houses, research firms, etc. - to those in charge of the advertising and marketing functions at the client companies.

Since it is impossible to cover all the firms involved in the advertising industry, we have limited it to include only the kinds of companies involved in the core of advertising -- the creation and production of print ads and broadcast commercials. These kinds of companies fall into the following four categories:

• Manufacturers
• Retailers
• Catalogers
• Peripherals

MANUFACTURERS - Includes everyone from the top Fortune 500 companies major advertisers like General Motors, Procter & Gamble and General Mills - to the smallest local manufacturing operations. What all these companies have in common is the need to establish a distribution system for their product(s) - which often necessitates advertising in the trade (business) magazines that reach that industry's network of retailers -- and then sell the customers into the stores, and encourage them (through consumer advertising) to buy the product(s).

RETAILERS - "Retailers" are those companies -- local stores and businesses or even professional individuals or groups of lawyers, doctors, etc. -- who sell their services or goods directly to the public. What differentiates them from the large retail chains (the Catalogers we'll discuss next) is the size and scope of the companies and their advertising needs and budgets. They're usually on the small side and are also local businesses.

CATALOGERS - These are large retail chains such as Sears, Penneys, etc. or the companies that produce and market direct mail product catalogs. While the large chains' national print and television advertising is usually handled by an ad agency, these retailing giants also produce their own catalogs which is handled in-house by their own staff of writers, designers, photographers and production specialists.

PERIPHERALS - All those companies and industries directly or even loosely allied with the advertising industry. Everything from the magazine publishing industry to the variety of suppliers utilized by ad agencies -- design, research and production firms, printers, photographers, etc. Someone who sells advertising space for Good Housekeeping magazine is a member of that magazine's advertising sales department. But ultimately, he or she works for the Hearst Corporation, a publishing (not an advertising) company. Likewise, while various suppliers like research, graphic design and sales promotion firms may count advertising agencies among their clients, they are independent companies working for a variety of clients - agencies, corporations, retail stores, etc. They are not exclusively in the ad business.

MEDIA

The Media department deals with planning a marketing strategy and buying airtime and space in printed media for the agency's ads.

Entry-Level Titles: Media Planner and Media Buyer (Broadcast Buyer)

While Media Planners are specialists, they are, in a way, "generalists" who oversee all of the media activities employed to satisfy a client's needs. Primary prerequisites for a media planner are a broad knowledge of all areas and a basic understanding of the marketing process. To this the planner must add a specific understanding of each client's marketplace position. As a consequence, the planner, along with the client and the agency's Product Group, plays a key role in setting the overall marketing and advertising strategies.

Media Buyer - The other major job responsibility within an agency media department involves the various media buying functions. Most of them are concentrated within the electronic media area (which is why many agencies have replaced the term "media buyer" with "broadcast buyer"). They consist of broadcast buying for both local and network television and radio, as well as buying advertising time on local and national cable television. To accomplish these functions properly, a composite of skills and knowledge is required. These include an over- all general familiarity with all media, as well as specific knowledge of the current marketplace conditions for each medium with which the buyer is involved.

The research department studies consumers' perceptions of products and advertising effectiveness. A solid statistical background is a real asset. You must be able to read and interpret data and have a real interest in the products and consumer reactions to them.

Entry-Level Titles: Research Trainee, Junior Project Director, Market Research

Analyst or Assistant Research Executive.  Since there are relatively few entry-level jobs available in agency research departments, only the largest agencies (the top dozen or so) even hire research trainees with only a Bachelor's or Master's degree and no experience. Training is\ predominantly "on-the-job", the trainee working in concert with a seasoned researcher, performing the day-to-day research activities on his specific accounts or projects.

A FINAL WORD ABOUT ADVERTISING JOBS

AT CLIENT COMPANIES

The business of these companies is to sell whatever products they manufacture or services they offer. The only companies whose very product is advertising itself are the ad agencies. Therefore, even if someone is in overall charge of the advertising function for a Fortune 500 company, we would tend to conclude that he works in whatever industry that company is involved in, not the advertising industry.

If you want to work in advertising, you should seek a job at an advertising agency. Otherwise, you'll really be working in whatever industry your company is involved in. Whether you're in the accounting, advertising or production departments at General Motors, you're still in the auto business!

HOW SHOULD YOU PREPARE YOURSELF?

Most agencies demand that you have a college degree (Bachelor's is most common) in order to be interviewed. Larger agencies are more apt to demand an M.B.A., although they, too, will often take a selection of B.A.s that seem to possess outstanding characteristics.

Starting salaries for B.A.s range from $18,000. to $23,000.; for M.B.A.s from $26,000. to $34,000.

It is felt that agencies will not really care whether you have taken specific advertising courses in college, majored in advertising or marketing, or did neither. It is more important to have demonstrated the ability to learn. Most liberal arts degrees represent a number of majors -- literature, English, history, science, journalism, economics, political science, business administration, sociology, psychology or government.

You'll need to know how to communicate -- so stay away from "communications" schools and courses. Study communicators well. Novelists, playwrights, poets. You need words! You may never need to write, but you're going to be in a business in which the ability to say what you mean will count for a great deal.

Take all the literature courses you can. Learn another language, if possible. Study history. Find out what people cared about and what they did. When you start to see parallels between what people did in Greece two thousand years ago and what people did yesterday, you'll begin to be educated. Music and imagery are just as important as words, perhaps more important than words in the actual creation of advertising. Learn about the music other people like. As for images, there is art, and there are galleries.

All of this is education. When you come out of school you should be able to read and talk and write and think!

QUESTIONS EVERY INTERVIEWER KNOWS. . .AND MOST USE

Preparing for your interviews by learning about the agency is a key first step.

Preparing to deal with the questions the interviewer will throw at you is a necessary second one. Don't go in "cold," oblivious to what's going to occur when you walk into his office. There are certain questions we can almost guarantee will be asked during any first interview. Study the list of questions (and hints) that follow, and prepare at least one solid, concise answer that you can trot out on cue. Practice with a friend until your answers to these most-asked questions sound intelligent, professional and, most important, unmemorized and unrehearsed.

1. 'Why do you want to be in advertising?"

Using your knowledge and understanding of the advertising industry, explain why you find the business exciting and where and how you see yourself fitting in.

2. "Why do you think you'll be successful in the ad business?"

Using the information from your self-evaluation and the research you did on that particular agency, formulate an answer which marries your strengths to theirs and to the characteristics of the position for which you're applying.

3. "Why did you choose our agency?"

This is an excellent opportunity to explain the extensive process of research and education you've undertaken. Tell them about your strengths and how you match up with their agency. Emphasize specific things about their agency that led you to select an interview. Be a salesperson—be convincing.

4."What can you do for us?"

Construct an answer that essentially lists your strengths, the experience you have which will contribute to your job performance, and any other unique qualifications that will place you at the head of the applicant pack. Be careful: This is a question specifically designed to eliminate some of that pack. Sell yourself. Be one of the few called back for a second interview.

5. "What position here interests you?"

fI you're interviewing for a specific position, answer accordingly. If you want to make sure you don't close the door on other opportunities of which you might be unaware, you can follow up with your own question: "I'm here to apply for your Account Management Training Program. Is there another position open for which you feel I'm qualified?"

If you've arranged an interview with an agency without knowing of any specific openings, use the answer to this question to describe the kind of work you'd like to do and why you're qualified to do it. Avoid a specific job title, since they will tend to vary from agency to agency.

If you're on a first interview with the personnel department, just answer the question. They only want to figure out where to send you.

6. "What are your strengths and weaknessses", and

7. 'What are your hobbies (or outside interests)?"

Both questions can be easily answered using the data you gathered to complete the self-evaluation process. Be wary of being too forthcoming about your glaring faults (nobody expects you to volunteer every weakness and mistake), but do not reply, "I don't have any." They won't believe you and, what's worse, you won't believe you. After all, you did the evaluation—you know it's a lie!

8. "What are your career goals?"

. . .Which is why we suggested you prepare a Five year Game Plan. Quote from the form.

9. "What jobs have you held and why did you leave them?"

Or the direct approach, "Have you ever been fired?" Take the opportunity to expand on your resume, rather than precisely answering the question by merely recapping your job experiences. In discussing each job, point out what you liked about it, what factors led to your leaving, and how the next job added to your continuing professional education. If you have been fired, say so. It's very easy to check

10. ''What are your salary requirements?"

If they are at all interested in you, this question will probably come up. The danger, of course, is that you may price yourself too low, or even worse, right out of a job you want. Since you will have a general idea of industry figures for that position (and may even have an idea of what that agency tends to pay new people for the position), why not refer to a range of salaries, such as "$16,000 - $19,000?"

If the interviewer doesn't bring up salary at all, it's doubtful you're being seriously considered, so you probably don't need to even bring the subject up. (If you know you aren't getting the job or aren't interested in it if offered, you may try to nail down a salary figure in order to be better prepared for the next agency interview).

11. "Tell me about yourself"

Watch out for this one! It's often one of the first questions asked. If you falter here, the rest of the interview could quickly become a downward slide to nowhere. Be prepared, and consider it an opportunity to combine your answers to many of the previous questions into one concise description of who you are, what you want to be, and why that agency should take a chance on you. Summarize your resume briefly—and expand on particular courses or experiences relevant to the agency or position. Do not go on about your hobbies or personal life, your dog, where you spent your summer vacation, etc. None of that is particularly relevant to securing that job. You may explain how that particular job fits in with your long-range career goals and talk specifically about what attracted you to their agency in the first place.

12. "Do you have any questions?"

It's the fatal twelfth question on our list - often the last one an interviewer throws at you - after an hour or two of grilling. Unless the interview has been very long and unusually thorough~ you probably should have questions about the job, the agency, or even the industry. Unfortunately, by the time this question off-handedly hits the floor, you, sensing you're almost out of the "hot seat" and looking forward to leaving, may have absolutely nothing to say.

Preparing yourself for an interview means more than having answers for some of the questions an interviewer may ask. It means having your own set of questions - at least five or six - for the interviewer. The interviewer is trying to find the right person for the job. You're trying to find the right job. So you should be just as curious about him and his agency as he is about you. Here's a short list of questions you may consider asking on any interview:

1. What will my typical day be like?

2. What happened to the last person who had this job?

3. Given my attitude and qualifications, how would you estimate my chances for career advancement at your agency?

4. Why did you come to work here? What keeps you here?

5. If you were I, would you start here again?

6. How would you characterize the management philosophy of your agency?

7. What characteristics do the successful at your agency have in common (fill in the blank with an appropriate title, such as "copywriters," "account executives" etc.)?

8. What's the best (and worst) thing about working here?

9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your agency in terms of salaries, benefits, and employee satisfaction, in comparison to other agencies your size?

Other questions about the agency or position will be obvious -- they"re the areas your research hasn't been able to fill in. Ask the interviewer. But be careful and use common sense. No one is going to answer highly personal, rude or indiscreet questions- Even innocent questions might be misconstrued if you don't think about the best way to pose them - before they come trippingly off your tongue.

Unless you're interviewing with the Personnel (or Human Resources) department, remember that most, if not all, of the executives you'll be meeting will not be profes sional interviewers. Which means they might well spend more time talking about themselves than the agency, the position or you. If that happens, use it as an opportunity to create an informal dialogue. Such a "conversational approach" is often a more productive way of finding out important information, and selling yourself, than a straightforward question and answer session anyway.