Sloth - The Greatest Sin in Ad-Land..

Hopefully not a potential grad..picture by pierre pouliquin, usual rules apply.

Anyone who reads this seen Se7en? Well, if you haven't break off and watch it now. It's a blinding film.

Done it? Good. You'll have noticed that one of the more unpleasant parts involves the untimely demise of someone who has been deemed to be slothful, one of the seven deadly sins.

While real life won't quite punish you in the same way as a very nuts Kevin Spacey, in the end, you'll see the benefit if you don't fall into the trap of assuming that by rocking up to an agency with a good degree and a few thoughts, you'll get a job. Nonsense.

Being lazy, but bright, only takes you so far. Christ knows I'm sure you've met enough people throughout your life that were quite a bit cleverer than you, but really disinterested in pushing the boundaries. Well, advertising, like a lot of communication disciplines, rewards those who aren't afraid to have a point of view (without being a nonce about it) and be proactive in following it up.

So, you are interested in the future of comms? Write a blog post about it, start a debate - think around the topic. Maybe that's not what you're getting into the business for - maybe you are in love with the idea of a music track to help tell a story. So, write a podcast, with all your tunes on it.

Just don't sit there and twiddle your thumbs. You might not, for reasons of finance or whatever, be able to do work experience in London. So, use whatever means you can to talk to people on the other side of the fence. Set up a Skype chat with a planner or a creative (or whatever your discipline) on the other side of the world. God knows you can do it easily enough now.

Also, don't expect a CV and a 3 paragraph email explaining why you are so 'passionate' about the business to prove your talent. It might get you an interview, maybe. But Christ, you are going into a business which rewards lateral thinking - entirely the antithesis of the sloth like behaviour you might have been practicing before you got out of university.

I think it was Gandhi who said 'You must be the change you want to see in the world'. And so it goes. Not willing to shake things up? You're going into the wrong business.