Dare's 2012/13 grad scheme...

You don't have to enter a room like this man - but it might help.

Hello all.

I've had another agency get in touch; Dare have let AdGrads know about their graduate scheme, which has just opened.

Details are below:

"Recent graduates and daredevil wannabes. This is Dare calling. We’re pleased to announce that we’re kicking off our Grad Scheme for October 2013 with a slightly different take on your standard application form.

We’ve been playing a bit of truth AND dare. We reckon you’re probably quite bored of answering the same questions on your applications, so we’ve dared ourselves to create a form that veers off the path slightly. We’d like to know how brave you are, as well as finding out how you think and what makes you tick.

Because we do stuff differently here, it wouldn’t make sense to copy everyone else in how we find our grads. We’re unique. Something we knew right from the off when we challenged convention by merging a traditional and a digital agency. What’s more, this diversity means our grads get to work on an unusual blend of projects; everything from TV to radio and apps to Facebook pages.

You’ll be able to find out more along the way on our Facebook and Twitter pages, which we’ll be stuffing with useful and interesting bits of information about what you can expect of us. We’re also running live Q&As alongside the application process to answer any queries you have about life at Dare towers. Our existing grads will be all ears.

We’d also like to invite you to our Open Day on Tuesday 30^th October. It’s your chance to meet us, ask questions and have a nose around Dare Towers. It is first come, first served – as a result, we can only accept the first 100 people to request an invite. RSVP by emailing daregrads2013 at thisisdare.com

First things first; head over here to get your application underway- we dare you.

Good luck and hopefully see you soon!

Dare."

Good luck, everyone. NB - the scheme's applications close on the 9th of November, so be quick.

LBi need YOU...

The lost boys need you...

Hello all.

There's a new opportunity from LBi that you guys should be aware of. They've sent through quite a detailed graduate spec, with a few questions to answer. Have a look, and get involved:

"LBi is a global marketing and technology agency blending strategic, creative, media and technical expertise to create business value.  We help our clients to understand ‘What’s next?’ on their digital journey to ensure their customer’s needs are being met in an ever evolving marketplace.


We call what we do ‘Building Exceptional Things’. What that means is that we’re set up to solve our client’s business problems using a number of different digital initiatives.  We develop creative concepts that translate into digitally led advertising campaigns, transactional websites, loyalty programmes and social media campaigns and anything else along the way.  Our client list includes some of the UK’s biggest and most exciting brands such as Virgin Atlantic, Coca-Cola, Compare the Market, BT, Lloyd’s Banking Group and many, many more.


The Opportunity


To manage such high profile clients, we need exceptional people to join our 600 strong UK team, the majority working from our Brick Lane office in London.  We’re looking for up to 4 amazing graduates to become part of our Client Services department.  You’ll join our graduate training scheme where you’ll develop your skills over a 9 month period with a view to becoming a fully-fledged member of the team working as an Account Executive within one of our portfolio of clients. As part of our structured programme you’ll be given a background in all of our departments, work with some high profile clients and be sponsored through an industry recognised professional qualification with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).


Given our dedication to developing new talent, we’re not solely looking for applicants with a background in marketing or digital (although this would be a bonus).  We’ll ensure that through training and on-the-job learning, LBi will help you become a well-rounded member of the agency with a solid background in all the essentials it takes to become an account management guru.  


The Application Process


In order to be considered for this opportunity we need you to send us your CV along with your responses to the questions outlined below by 25th June 2012.


1. At LBi we help our clients through their digital journey, describe some of the key challenges you think they may face and how we could help. (200 words) 
2. Our Client Services team are considered to be the face of the agency both to our clients and to our internal teams.  Why do you think you’d be a fantastic addition to our client services team? (200 words) 
3. What excites you most about working in the digital industry?  (200 words) 
4. Our values are expert, collaborative and provocative.  Give us an example of when you have embodied one or all of these values. (200 words) 
5. We are known for putting on amazing parties.  If you were to be in charge of our next party, what would be the theme and how would you ensure it would be a success? (200 words) 


You can either apply directly via our website at www.lbi.co.uk/join-lbi or email your application to careers at lbi.com with the subject header ‘Client Services graduate scheme’. If your application is successful you will be invited to take part in an assessment day in our Brick Lane offices on 17th July 2012."

Sound interesting, gang? 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.

Two helping hands..

Two helping hands? Quite possibly.

Hello folks.

Two more grad related odds and sods have found its way to AdGrads towers in the last few days. One of which is an internship opportunity, and the other is an agency fronted resource. Here we are:

1) TCA London - Digital Internship

"You would be a junior member of a growing digital team in an integrated marketing agency. The size of the business and the breath of digital opportunities within our agency means the role would offer plenty of variety and be a great opportunity for a analytical, web savvy marketing graduate to start a career in digital advertising. You would work across social media, eCRM, online advertising, website development, search and mobile projects. We have outlined some of the key responsibilities below, but this list is not exhaustive:

- managing updates on our company Twitter feed

- helping compile digital competitive reviews for our clients

- helping compile a monthly digital newsletter for our clients

- web analytics and reporting on a scheduled and ad-hoc basis

- supporting our Digital Planner on creative briefs

- comprehensively testing websites before they go live

- helping manage Social Media campaigns

- general Digital Team support where required

If you are interested in applying for this position visit our website and click on the appropriate link.

Please use the subject line “Application for Digital Intern, fao DM/SP” so we can process your application as quickly as possible. It is a paid internship (£200 per week), and they are typically 3 months at a time"

NB: Amended job spec. CLOSING DATE IS THE 15th of Feb, at the end of the day.

2) Leo Burnett - The Foundry

"The Foundry is Leo Burnett’s brand spanking new grad scheme. It came about when last year’s grads pitched the idea of a graduate-run micro-agency to the senior management, with the aim to get as much hands-on experience as possible. And by God they took them up on it.

A junior planner, two account execs and a pair of friendly creative types have been hired to take on some real work, working together as The Foundry on some exciting young businesses.

The Foundry blog page has been set up as a useful tool for grads trying to get into the industry – sharing the experiences of the infant madmen and women as they get cracking on some juicy work. It’ll be also be a place where grads can pick up tips, tricks, industry knowledge and find out who does what and why they do it. We hope it'll be useful for grads deciding whether to get into the ad business."

I hope those are both useful, folks.

TCA need a fresh-faced digital grad...

I'm not sure if they have this basin. Maybe. You'll have to ask.

Hello gang.

TCA London (The Communications Agency, acronym fans) are after a digital grad.

Find out more by clicking here to apply, or reading the blurb below.

"You would be a junior member of a growing digital team in an integrated marketing agency. The size of the business and the breath of digital opportunities within our agency means the role would offer plenty of variety and be a great opportunity for a analytical, web savvy marketing graduate to start a career in digital advertising. You would work across social media, eCRM, online advertising, website development, search and mobile projects. To add a bit of perspective, we have outlined some of the key responsibilities below, but this list is not exhaustive:

- managing daily updates on our company Twitter feed

- compiling digital competitive reviews for our clients where required

- compiling a monthly digital newsletter for our clients, relevant to their sector where possible

- web analytics and reporting on a scheduled and ad hoc basis

- setting up, broadcasting and reporting on email sends (basic html experience a nice to have but not a necessity)

- Briefing our creative teams and supporting them through the idea generation process

- Managing 3rd party production partners and helping support account teams from a project management perspective

- Comprehensively testing websites before they go live

- Day-to-day responsibility for managing Social Media campaigns (brand management, responding to consumer questions etc...)

- Supporting the digital planner in responding to briefs - research, insight, audience analysis and planning rationales

- Supporting the Head of Digital in raising the profile of Digital within the agency and responding to new business opportunities

If you are interested in applying for this position visit our website and click on the appropriate link - http://www.tcalondon.com/news/recruitment.html

Please use the subject line “Application for Digital Grad/Exec, fao DM/JM” so we can process your application as quickly as possible."

Best of luck, all.

A couple of new roles to tell you aboot...

Not this sort of collective. This is ANIMAL Collective.

Hello.

The lovely chaps at Collective are after two folk; one Junior Planner, and one Project Manager. (These roles would be up on their site, but it is being made more spangly, so they aren't...yet). Crucially, these roles require 6-9 months of agency experience, so no straight raw grad roles; more mildly experienced grads.

Their main clients are EA Games, Honda and the BBC. Collective are down-to-earth, fun and friendly digital agency in Clerkenwell, near the awesome Exmouth Market.

There isn't a closing date, so get those CVs (and covering letters, if you have 'em) in to Nicola Morgan (nicola dot morgan at collectivelondon dot com) as soon as you can.

A bit of a different one....

It's just like this, honest.

Hello there. Thought I should drop you guys a bit of a different post than the usual advertising job opening.

I've recently moved agencies to a PR shop called Edelman. Now, we're hiring in our digital team, and one of the roles specifically calls for a grad.

Now, I bet you're thinking - this is a blog for advertising/media jobs? Well, this role is more like a typical digital agency position, and so I thought it'd make sense if I put it up here. It's an ideal role if you have an interest in digital communications, and want to be involved in the wider communications mix.

Details are here, and there are other jobs here if you're interested.

BMB need YOU...

There may be this level of handlebar 'taches in the agency. One can only hope.

Hi gang.

There's another opportunity for you guys. If you're interested, email Tom Brady (tom dot brady at bmbagency dot com):

BMB are looking for a digital production intern for 3 months to assist in our burgeoning department.

Responsibilities include:

• Assisting with the scoping of projects (statements of work, timings, budgets)
• Liaising with the traffic department to make sure work is effectively developed
• Liaising with the client services department to ensure the smooth transition of projects
• Dealing with digital client administration as and when required
• Briefing designers and developers on projects
• Working with the TV production department on projects as and when required

This in an internship position with a nominal weekly allowance, but with the distinct possibility of a perm role at the end of the period.

The ideal person will have the following attributes:

• Knowledge of the digital advertising industry
• A well rounded, outgoing and enthusiastic personality
• Excellent attention to detail
• Positive problem solving approach to work
• Ability to multi-task and prioritise large workloads
  

So there you have it. Best of luck guys.

EDIT: This position has now been filled.

Joining The Good Ship Albion...

You could work with these people. Not sure which department the jester's in.

Just to alert you guys - Albion are hiring.

For more information go here, but some of the blurb is below. No CVs...interesting stuff.

Role:

Graduate Account Executive

Experience:

Graduate level with a good (and relevant) degree with any agency work experience being a distinct advantage.

How to apply:

CV’s are boring. Why not send us a link to your blog, website/online portfolio or social networking page – or even create a short video-clip of why you want to work for Albion and post it on YouTube or Vimeo. Make it stand out – be original. Point of contact: Neil Potter

Best of luck guys.

If you aren't online...where are you?

Joining the dots. Pic from vasta, usual rules apply.

One of the first questions which gets asked when you're thinking of applying for a job in advertising is about t'terweb. What role does it now play in the greater scheme of things?

I think it's quite a difficult question to answer. In terms of advertising, it really depends on the job it's required to do. Indeed, the same thing seems to apply when considering which sphere to move into when first starting out.

It really depends on you. Some people are more naturally interested in the web, whereas others are fascinated by people and why they do the things they do - or, to be fair, want to be involved with famous work that gets on the telly and gets people talking.

And in all honesty, the choice is getting more tricky. Agencies like BBH, WCRS/Engine, AMV et al, once derided for not 'getting' digital a few years ago - have now begun to win big at the digital awards.

Does this mean you shouldn't work at a digital agency, if the bigger, 'traditional' boys are kicking arse and taking names online?

Well, no. Digital agencies may typically have smaller budgets, and may have to work with the same strategy the lead agency has devised; but, as a result, tend to be smaller. And there's a lot to be said for not being a tiny cog in a very big agency. Sure, you may not get the same sort of traditional training you get in a big shop, but you will get your hands dirty, and quickly. Not be cosseted by an agency which spoon feeds you until you're two years in or more.

Flip that, and sometimes digital shops expect too much on a raw grad, and don't invest in them properly - given the greater responsibility, it can be a nasty combination.

It really depends what you're after at that moment in time. Yes, 'digital' (whatever that term actually means) will eventually permeate every single shop in town. But the mindset might not. I've always felt pure digital shops have had a willingness to share and to learn from their mistakes, where their more traditional cousins haven't. They also don't tend to have the politics which naturally comes with a larger agency and, traditionally, more senior staff on board.

I'm firmly of the belief that, within the first few years of your career, it honestly doesn't matter which side of the fence you sit. You do the job for a few years, and find out just what you're interested in, and, crucially, who at work you admire, and what kind of person you think you'll become within an agency. Will you be the thoughtful planner? The professional account handler? Or a mixture of those? Well, no-one will have any idea before you get there. So use the web to highlight your personality a bit.

Even if you don't really use the internet beyond functional google searches and reading around online, there's nothing to compare with actually using the tools - because they'll help shape the comms industry for years to come.

Before you've gotten in, have some form of presence online. Both Sam and I both had quite major presence online before we got our jobs. It helps when someone has already read your blog/knows a bit about you. If you enter a room with your interviewer knowing your interests, and crucially, how you think - you'll be in a good position before its ever begun.

So go forth, blog, twitter, hook up your music taste to last.fm, keep a delicious, or run a facebook group. It doesn't matter whether it's obviously to do with advertising. If it proves you're self motivated, intelligent and thoughtful, you'll be in a good position.

Even now, i'm surprised when I can't google someone's name and find out more about them. I'd bet this'll get more apparent in years to come.

Dare To Go Digital

The dust may have settled on the year that was but the graduate recruitment machine soldiers on. Today we have my homeboy Will Lion talking about digital agencies and why you should apply to Dare's grad scheme this year. Their application deadline was today, but has been extended to the 20th of this month, so get applying. And good luck.

Will is a graduate at Dare and his blog is here.

It might be overstated (there is probably always going to be the bed, bog, bath element) but Mr Billingsley's comment is almost certainly right: we're going to be digital advertisers because the world is now digital, and getting more so.

What does all this digital malarkey mean for people looking to get into the communications business and, before we look at that, what does digital mean anyway?

One of the lovely insights of Dare's grad video; where the parents of Dare folk gloriously fail to define what their children do, is that pinning it down is tricky.

Part of its slipperiness is that things just keep shifting. Facebook was born in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, the App Store in 2008 etc. The only constant is change.

The other thing about 'digital' is that it is polysemous; it has multiple meanings.

It is used to refer to electronic media (web, screens, mobiles, ipods, nike+ shoes etc) but also, and more importantly, the behaviours those media have unleashed and fed: interaction.

There is an important difference there that Jeremy Bullmore expressed perfectly in Campaign when he said,

There are two important things there for grads trying to get into the industry. The first is, whose roof?

Most of you will have been concentrating on the big above-the-line ones. That is a good bet for a digital future as long as that ATL agency gets digital, which means they aren't just talking about it, they're doing it (hmm, a black sheep has just popped into my head.)

On the other hand, another good bet are the agencies whose best is yet to come: the digital ones, primed as they are to thrive in the coming digital ecosystem.

And now for the second important bit of Mr Bullmore's quote: if you're worried about applying to a digital agency because it's got the word digital in it, don't be: as he says, it's not really about tech, it's about interactivity.

And what's that? It's spreading the intelligence more evenly between people who make stuff and people who consume it. Sometimes it's only a little, sometimes it's a lot.

This interactivity lets you do a lot more than you can at your typical traditional ATL agency. Or to reunite that idea with its owner:

I think that's really exciting (and Mr Tait has 9 more great reasons digital is better for those interested). In digital you're unshackled from just doing TV, print and radio to all sorts of exciting things like sites, applications, blogs, games, branded content, widgets, podcasts, social things and experimental stuff. And a lot of this (not all) is actually useful to people; it's additive rather than interruptive.

In my experience grads tend to think of digital as something on-the-sidey and techy. Maybe it once was. Now it ain't. Technology is so ubiquitous, so ready-to-hand, that it's becoming invisible and when that happens it gets socially interesting. In other words, technology and culture used to be separate, increasingly they are the same (look what you're doing now.)

It's a brilliant time to get into an industry that's only going to grow (even in these tough times) and that's much more about interesting interactive ideas than it is about tech.

Go on, apply!

Obviously, I am biased but this would be a good place to start...

(For those wanting more, I suggest you have a play in here, read this, canoe back up this and maybe watch this. That should be enough to be getting on with.)