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Topic: Switching from in-house to agency
| Author | Message |
| TravelPRGirl | Posted – 10/3/2008 8:44:27 PM | show profile I graduated from college in 2007 and have been interning for pretty much the past year or so. I did a couple of agency internships and two in-house ones. I recently started working full time at the last company, doing in-house marketing and PR. The thing is, I really want to do agency work. I like where I'm working now (and I know that I'm fortunate to have a job in this climate) but many agencies that I've been researching for future reference seem to be adamant about having strong agency experience. I understand the differences between agency and in-house (agency requires you to multi-task between different clients, requires you to know how to maintain relations with clients, etc.) which I am familiar with. I'm afraid that my in-house work and agency internships just won't be enough for an agency job when I decide to move on (likely within 6 months, as I've been interning here for 6 months already). How hard is it to come from in-house to agency? |
| marianna | Posted – 10/3/2008 10:40:31 PM | show profile Fear not, TravelPRgirl, I was able to do it, and I'm not the first. But these moves usually come about because the agency thinks you can bring in new business or you have positive relationships with their current client list or you're knowledgable about an area of business they'd like to get into. I think the reason most agencies will resist hiring in-house people is because an agency work load is usually pretty brutal; you get 6 clients immediately dumped on you and they all want impossible results. Most in-house PR peoples' workdays are comparatively relaxed, and they are unprepared for the manic environment of an agency and freak out. This isn't always the case, of course, but it's common. BUT if you want to try, just research an agency's current client roster and attempt to persuade them you can "enhance" what they're currently doing. That's how I did it, along with a ton of shameless name dropping! |
| Cyrus | Posted – 10/5/2008 5:54:57 PM | show profile Personally, I think unless you're getting a bad financial deal and/or have some other compelling reason for wanting to dump in-house, I'd keep that. Realize that most agency people would love to have an in-house gig because there's a lot less stress associated with an in-house gig since you don't have to worry about a client leaving you. Sure, you could still lose your job, but that's really apples-to-apples since that possibility exists anywhere. Like I said, I know a lot of in-house gigs pay less than you'd get for a comparable experience level at an agency, but you can think of that as the "stress premium." ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
