Mediabistro Archive

What It Takes to Get and Keep a Job in Advertising, According to Three Industry Pros

By Mediabistro Archives
2 min read • Published January 8, 2016
By Mediabistro Archives
2 min read • Published January 8, 2016
Archive: This article was originally published by Mediabistro around 2016. It is republished here as part of the Mediabistro archive.

1. A Good Fit with the Culture

“You might be smart as heck or have great design skills, but if you are a poor fit with the agency’s culture, you’ll be miserable and so will your employer. When applying, candidates should do their research by checking the agency’s website and social media profiles, and read reviews on sites like GlassDoor. Agency hiring managers, on the other hand, should use behavioral interviewing questions to determine whether there is cultural fit. At my agency, we’ve developed a Culture Code and posted it to SlideShare. We also have it embedded on our careers page. I expect that anyone I’m interviewing will have reviewed it prior to meeting with me.” —Kathleen S. Booth, Owner and CEO, Quintain Marketing

2. Curiosity

“If you’re not curious about learning new things, it’s really hard, and you’ll have a lot of long nights and stressful times. But if you feel like each project is an opportunity you can grow from, you’ll be able to get through those times and find a lot of job satisfaction.” —Chris Graham, VP of Product and Advertising, HYFN

3. A GreatWork Ethic

“The most important attribute for a new hire is work ethic. With no on-air experience, I wanted to be an on-air traffic reporter. I landed a traffic reporter gig at the number-one rated Armitron station in the country, reporting traffic from 3 AM to 11 AM on weekends. I left my home in Philadelphia at midnight on Friday night, drove three hours to DC and was on air at 3 AM. I did that gig for six months before landing a spokesperson gig on QVC for a gardening company. Show me a new hire who is on time and works till the job is completed, no matter what, and I will show you someone who I can’t wait to give a raise or promote so I can keep them.” —Marilyn Heywood Paige, VP of Marketing, Fig Advertising
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