Behind the scenes at SCA2....

The class of 2010/11.

Hello gang. Apologies for the radio silence in the last few weeks; I've been on hols and busy with a spot of work.

Anyway, this post is a guest one from Samantha Jenkins, a recently graduated student from the School of Communication Arts 2.0.

I will let her explain more, but suffice to say, the School is after a 2011 intake. If you like the sound of a creative career, you should definitely read on.

Anyway. Here's Sam:

"Some people believe in luck, fate, a big-break, chance, destiny and fortune.

It’s where you’ve come from, who you know, your lot in life.

Others trust in sheer determined hard work and tireless perseverance.

Ball-breaking, back-aching commitment.

Some people regard phenomenal genius, which needs neither rabbit’s feet nor elbow grease, enough to propel one’s vision into a world of desperate anticipation and quivering awe.

One thing’s for certain. All people have hope.

Hope that one day lady luck will whisper sweet nothings, promising everything.

Hope that sweat and tears will turn to rain, drenching the drought of dreams fulfilled.

Hope that raw talent will be plucked whilst ripe and bursting with vitality.

Hope that after studying for years to earn the perceived right into the Promised Land of employment, one does not end up circling in and out of the spiraling, rotary doors of the dole office.

After quitting my A-Levels in the hope that I did not need them, I discovered I was right after securing a place at university.

After quitting degree course, after degree course in the hope that I did not need them, I discovered I was right after securing a place in the dole queue, even after eventually obtaining the highly desired graduation photo.

Something had gone pretty wrong – or had it?

Degree in hand, I was meant to get a job; and I did.

Bartender. Quit. Retail Assistant. Quit. Telesales Operative. Quit. Receptionist. Quit. Tour Guide. Quit. Bungy-jump Coordinator. Quit. Gallery Assistant. Quit. Online Marketing Assistant. Quit.

All of the above merely a small handful of the job opportunities given to me as an Applied Arts graduate, hopping from country to country trying to discover who on earth I was; what, for heaven’s sake, I wanted to do with myself; but more importantly, how the hell was I to get there.

The church was my saviour.

The house of worshipping creative freedom that is The School of Communication Arts 2.0 happens to exist within a Methodist church in Vauxhall, South London.

Having now completed study at SCA 2.0, I now realise that the Job Centre was the best possible place for me as I walked through its doors little over a year ago. It was here, at what should have been the lowest point of my career’s journey - signing on to my weekly giro - when I signed out of my old way of thinking.

A state of mind that had crippled me by a rigid set of rules which led me nowhere; the same brain washed mind-set that leaves young creative people unemployed or in jobs that they despise all over the country - the belief that spending 3 years within the UK creative education system will result in a career.

A-Levels and degrees are not needed to become a creative.

Once realising my degree meant jack shit, I just started to do stuff I wanted to do.

It was this stuff that got me noticed and this stuff that started my journey of luck, fate, hard graft, perseverance and self-belief that has, in just a year, earned me a work placement in the Amsterdam based creative agency, Strawberry Frog.

Stuff. Looking at stuff. Being interested in stuff. Caring about stuff. Finding stuff. Sharing stuff. Creating stuff. Being stuff.

HAVING IDEAS AND DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THEM.

How can these ideas bring value to a brand and therefore bring value to an agency?

The SCA accepts students because they are creative and then shows them how to translate their ideas into a format that agencies will want to hire. Have a look at some of the work here.

The people that work within these agencies have written the entire curriculum that is available for anyone to view. Here, take a look.

This curriculum is taught to students by the very minds that wrote it – the industry itself.

The school only has a handful of employed staff. Creative professionals visit the school everyday, delivering the curriculum, giving talks and workshops, imparting tips and advice, helping develop ideas, critiquing work, offering mentorship and friendship.

Additionally, the networking opportunities offered at SCA are unrivaled. With over 400 mentors and only 30 students, there is plenty of time and attention spent on the needs of every individual.

Students get to work on live briefs for real clients, getting to see their work become a reality before even stepping foot inside an agency.

And step foot they shall as the course offers every student guaranteed 6 month work placements in some of the top advertising agencies.

The SCA 2.0 changed my life.

To all of you who’ve just received your A-Level results…

Pass or fail – YOU DON”T NEED THEM!"

I hope that was helpful to anyone considering a creative career. Good luck with your applications, guys.

More grad schemes: McCademy's open

Something to get your attention.

Hi all.

We're rapidly entering into grad recruitment season, and the good folks at McCann London have begun recruiting for their new graduate intake. It closes on the 1st of August and you can apply here, on the Facebook page. The twitter account has been set up for any questions you may have.

Below is the official blurb.

"You’re about to graduate and want to get a job in advertising? Great. But you’ll only get on in advertising, if advertising is where you want to get on. Not banking. Not law. Not accountancy. Not hedging your bets by applying for all of them. It’s an old cliché, but advertising is all about selling the dream. But not always living it.

If you think it’s all parties, shoots and long client lunches you’re in for a rude awakening. You’ll be found out faster than you can say 'Lipsmackingtimewastinguselesspieceofbadreputationmakinggoandgetajobinbanking'.

You still in? Good.

How are you on honesty? Well, just like people don’t fall for ads that over-promise, Grads shouldn’t fall for agencies that over-promise. So we don’t. We just want you to be yourself when you apply. No-one’s expecting you to be Don Draper or Roger Sterling. Not on day one anyway. But if you don’t know who comes from Meerkovo, we could be in trouble.

And one more thing. Don’t try and be too clever. Because you know what comes after clever?Dick. Know what you’re letting yourself in for? Well it’s not going to be so much Mad Men as Tea Boys. And Girls. You’ll be expected to photocopy. Fetch. Carry. Buy the train tickets. Do the dirty work. But that’s where everybody starts. All today’s big names were once very small fry. More than anything, you’ll be expected to listen and learn. And that could take you anywhere.

It’s not just about TV ads, you know. You could be a producer, creative technologist, programmer, researcher, account manager. Or even a job we haven’t created yet.

If you’ve got talent, we’ll spot it. We know that good ideas can come from anywhere. And pretty soon you’ll learn it’s a fantastic job to have. How often do you hear your mates talking about spreadsheets and base rates down the pub? You don’t. But, you do hear them talking about ads.

If you’re lucky, your ads. Because what you do is seen by millions everyday. In the break on Coronation Street. In the pages of The Sun. Posted up on YouTube, spread via Facebook and on the poster site near where your nan lives. Sent round as a ‘have you seen this?’ email.

You’ll be able to say ‘I did that’. And sure, for every Drumming Gorilla there’s a thousand Toilet Ducks. Just like for every graduate job there’ll be thousands of applicants.

But if it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth having.

Good luck, gang.

The Young APG awards..

You too could win one of these shiny, shiny lightbulbs...

Hello there.

The APG have been in touch with me to alert you strategic, AdGrad types about the second year of its 'Young Talent' award.

So, without further ado:

"Every year the APG awards the leading strategic thinking in the industry. When the last APG awards came around in 2009, we expanded this to include a Young Talent prize, aimed at awarding the best thinking for students in full time education.

We wanted to let you know that the deadline for the 2011 Awards is imminent - Friday August 26th, 2011.

The awards are simple to enter. In just 1,000 words, tell us about a brand that you would like to invent that would appeal to people your age. The brand should be invented completely from scratch. The best 3 entries will be given a prize at the 2011 Awards Ceremony in front of leading strategists from all of the London's best advertising agencies. They also represent a great way of securing a job in the industry: of last year's winners, two are now in full-time employment in advertising agencies and the third will walk into a glittering career when she graduates from university.

Details of the award can be found on the website."

Good luck, gang.

Rainey's want an Account Exec...

A black cat. You might be working with two of them.

Rainey Kelly have gotten in touch with me, letting me know about a new role for a grad.

So, without further ado, here's the blurb:

"Would you like to work for one of the UK’s top advertising agencies?

We’re currently looking for a bright, sparky individual to join our Account Management department as an Account Executive.

As the UK’s most effective creative agency, we develop multimedia campaigns for some of the country’s biggest brands, including Virgin Atlantic, the BBC, Lloyds TSB and M&S. That includes everything from traditional media like TV right through to the most cutting-edge new media, which makes it a truly exciting place to work. And while we take great pride in what we do, others agree too – as well as being top of the Gunn Report, we are also the only advertising agency ever to win a BAFTA.

The challenges of account management are many, but the main skills you will need as an Account Executive are good organisation, a sharp mind, speedy problem-solving and an ability to think laterally. (Proficiency with a kettle wouldn't go amiss either.) Needless to say, it's also fundamentally important that you are turned on by ads in all their forms, contemporary culture, and finding out what makes people tick.

We’re not looking for a particular type of character, though. One of the best things about rkcr/y&r is the diversity of people who work here, so we like to keep an open mind about who we recruit next.

If you’d like to find out more about us, have a look at our company website: www.rkcryr.com.

To apply, please send your CV, a covering letter and a short written response to the below question to grads@uk.yr.com.

“At RKCR/Y&R we believe that brands need energy to survive. Pick a brand you think currently lacks ‘brand energy’ and tell us what you would do to revive it” (300 words)

Equally, if you have any questions, just drop us a note and we’d be happy to help. We’re looking to hire soon so don’t hesitate to get in touch. Look forward to hearing from you! One other thing – please only apply if you are eligible to work in the UK."

Best of luck with it.

A new gig at the Circle Agency...

More than one circle, it would seem...

Hi gang. Back from hols now, and we've got another vacancy for you. The blurb is below:

"The Circle Agency are looking for a brilliant grad to join their growing team. They are a full service experiential marketing agency dedicated to delivering unforgettable campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands. If you think you have what it takes to help create and activate award winning brand experiences and are a recent graduate, they would love to hear from you. Simply download the PDF and follow the instructions."

Best of luck, all.

One more job...

Good advice.

Hi gang.

The last vacancy before I go on holiday is from Quirk. They've got a need an intern for some social media work. Their clients are Warner Bros, Investec, SAB Miller, Nando's...to name a few. If this sounds like your cup of tea, email Tammy (tammy dot joseph at quirk dot biz).

See you lot in two weeks. Good luck.

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.