IPA Summer School..

Want a job in advertising? You should probably check this out.

Hello there.

The good folks at the IPA have let me know about their 2012 Summer School. There's quite an extensive blurb - read more below:

Students: do you want to work in adland?

Have you always wanted to work in advertising? If so, the IPA’s Ad School could help you get one step nearer to getting your dream job. Submit your entry now for your opportunity to work in one of the top UK advertising agencies, including Addiction London, CHI, Euro RSCG, Karmarama, Kitcatt Nohr Digitas, Ogilvy One, Rapier and SFW, this summer.

The 2012 School comprises of three programmes: the client service/planning programme, the creative programme and the search programme. The programmes provide students with the opportunity to work at some of the top agencies where you will learn from the best in the business, work on live briefs, projects and pitches and enjoy a series of evening seminars and social events. In addition, you will be given prize money, and if you prove to be successful in your placement, there is the possibility of a job interview.

The client service/planning programme:
• You will work at your allocated agency for eight weeks (starting on 2nd July 2012) on briefs, projects and pitches.
• You will be provided with an agency mentor who will guide you through the eight-week experience.
• You will receive an £800 prize on completion of the programme.
• Here are details of how to apply.

The creative programme:
• You will work at your allocated agency for eight weeks (starting on 2nd July 2012) on briefs, projects and pitches, as part of a creative team - one copywriter, one art director. The IPA will pair the roles up accordingly.
• You will be provided with an agency mentor who will guide you through the eight-week experience.
• You will receive an £800 prize on completion of the programme.
• More details can be found here.

The IPA Ad School has also launched a new Search Programme this year which will offer students the opportunity to work in one of the UK’s top search agencies this summer where they will gain an extensive insight into the ever-evolving world of search.

The search programme:
• You will work at your allocated agency for eight weeks (starting on 1st August 2012) as part of their search team.
• You will get the opportunity to take the IPA Search Certificate and the Google Adwords Fundamentals Exam (GAF) at no cost. This means that you walk away with two qualifications as well as an extensive eight weeks immersed in the search industry.
• You will receive an £1500 prize on completion of the programme.
• More details can be found here.

Says Chris Whitson, Planning Partner, SFW and Co-Founder of the IPA Ad School: “The IPA Ad School is our industry’s chance to prove its worth to bright, motivated young people. And for those young people to see if it’s an industry that can offer a compelling career choice. It’s an intensive learning experience for the successful candidates.”

For full details, click here. UPDATE: The deadline's Friday the 20th of April.

Good luck, all.

Gap Jumpers..

Either this or that...

Hi all.

I'd like to alert you to a new company my brilliant friend Niko has just founded, called Gapjumpers. Check it out.

It's just gone live for challenges, but essentially the premise is that industry people post challenges (clients and agencies), you guys answer them, and earn kudos from relevant brands and people - providing you with relevant endorsements long before you join the workforce, hopefully making the transition to a full time job more fun and less costly.

I think it's a great initiative. Find out a lot more here.

I hope to post a challenge soon. Have a look, chaps, and good luck.

Quirk need YOU...

If you do this, you may be just right.

The good people at Quirk have been in touch. They're after a graduate on a year-long contract, with the possibility of it being extended further.

More details on them (and the role) are below:

"Quirk is a digital marketing agency based near London Bridge. We work with clients including The Financial Times, Warner Bros., SAB Miller and Nando’s. With over 140 employees working throughout London, Cape Town and Johannesburg, Quirk is a dynamic, fun, hardworking and rapidly growing agency.

We want somebody who wears their personality on their sleeve, has opinions and ideas and is excited by the prospect of taking ownership of a project. This person also needs to have a strong eye for detail, a positive resourceful attitude towards organisation and a fantastic sense of humour. We are looking for somebody to not only work hard, but also to contribute to the culture of the agency. There is a real prospect for growth in the agency for someone who is ambitious enough to make the role their own.

The job: Quirk Graduate

This is a paid 12 month graduate position which will cover a wide range of roles and responsibilities. We want someone who is keen, enthusiastic, a hard worker and quirky.

Requirements:

• Sufficient Undergraduate or Post Graduate qualification

• Must possess a love for digital and a passion for marketing

• Must be intelligent and have the ability and drive to learn quickly

• A high level of organisation and motivation

• Work well under pressure and must meet deadlines

• Must be a team player

• A good level of numeracy/literacy

• Ability to use Word, PowerPoint, Excel

• A sparkling personality along with a unique sense of humour

Responsibilities:

• Administrative support across global projects

• Learning and upskilling him / herself into a valued member of staff

• Office administration (prepping for client meetings, general running)

• Contributing to brainstorms • Conducting audits of potential client sites

Benefits:

We want somebody with lots of energy who isn’t afraid to get stuck in. In return for your efforts we are prepared to pay for you to take (and hopefully pass) a number of qualifications, including:

• Quirk eMarketing qualification

• Google Analytics practitioner

We buy you cake and present on your birthday and we do lots of fun activities to take a break from the grind.

Opportunity for growth

Though this is a 12 month graduate programme, should you demonstrate that you have what it takes there is the potential option of a full time position beyond the 12 months.

UPDATE: The correct email address to use is tammy at quirk dot biz.

Good luck, all.

Dare to dream..

I doubt you'd be working with the US Women's soccer team...

Hello folks.

There's a new, exciting graduate job up, posed by the lovely Nick Emmel at Dare. Below's the job spec:

"Do you ever look at the likes of Zuckerberg and Larry Page and think that you could have done the same if you were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time? Do you get angsty when you see all these exciting little start-ups selling themselves for enormous sums and wonder why you never got a slice of the action? Do you pine to be there at the formation of something great? To get the chance to mould it with your own fair hands?

These opportunities rarely pop up. And when they do, it takes a clever (or lucky) soul to spot them. Sometimes you just need someone to point them out to you.

We need a graduate to join our new little venture. It's a rather exciting, nimble little beast. Doing all those digital agency things, but doing them in the way that everyone agrees they *should* be done.

No process, no politics, no timesheets.

Just clever, quick, creative thinking by a few lovely people. Making proper stuff, properly.

Below is the job spec:

• A graduate, with maybe a few agency work placements under their belt looking for their first permanent gig.
• You'll have an impressive academic record and a desire to keep on learning every day
• Someone, that despite being new to the game, is already thinking about being at the top
• A broad-minded soul, willing to get their hands dirty in every part of the agency world. Planning, account management, production, even creative.
• An articulate, chatty individual who doesn't get intimidated by senior types or men with beards
• Finally, you better be a lovely person. Being in a small team means that plonkers aren't tolerated.

You have a passport and no criminal record (unless it was for something cool).

Drop me an email at nick.emmel at thisisedc.com. It'll be fun, we can chat and stuff."

UPDATE - 13TH OF MARCH; THIS HAS NOW CLOSED.

Sounds like a cool gig to me. Good luck, chaps.