The importance of a mentor..

It could even be this guy (though he's a videogame Samurai character).

Hello, all.

It's been a little while since I sat down and actually wrote a post for AdGrads, beyond job openings. Sorry about that - the day job's been rather busy since I started in October.

Anyway, I thought i'd write a little post about mentors and mentorship, and why they/it are the most important thing for your impending career (or even if you're a year or so in).

Though it's in the annals of the AdGrads' first year, I thought I'd explain a little bit about how I came to get into the industry.

I'm actually very fortunate. My father worked in the business, in the Midlands. So, I grew up knowing quite a lot about Advertising. At least, how the industry worked outside of London in the 90's, at any rate. And, being aware of the history of certain agencies, something that I think most graduates could benefit from - so as to not repeat some of the mistakes of the past/to learn from what's gone before.

So, if you like, my first mentor was my Dad. I still call him whenever I have a big career decision to make, and he always proffers a thought through opinion. Being an ex-client too helps.

Moving on then, I initially found it tricky to get into the business (and this, in truth, is how AdGrads came to be - borne of frustration), and relied on my Dad a lot for his opinion and support.

I also began to blog - before AdGrads was and is my 'other' blog, Confessions of a Wannabe Ad Man, that's been around since mid 2006. Not only did it enable me to show off my thinking, it also, more importantly, helped me meet people in the business who I'm still friends with today.

One of them, Richard Huntington (now CSO of Saatchi & Saatchi), gave me my first planning job. We're still very good friends today, and still talk about career stuff/life/the Universe, and so on. He (and others) provided me with an up to date appreciation of what the business is about. He's been invaluable to me when I've had tricky decisions to make.

Before my experiences with mentor figures (and there's more than just Richard and my father, but that's just a flavour), I tended to have more of an academic approach to learning about the modern communication business - reading Campaign, key books (Truth, Lies & Advertising, amongst others) and so on. That's not wrong, but what's better - reading about it second hand (and, undoubtedly realising about half of the graft that's gone on) or talking to someone who does it day in and day out?

Now, getting in contact with these 'mentors' is difficult, I must admit - particularly if you aren't from London or the South East. But it's not impossible. The web is a tremendous tool, and if you can email people for a coffee before their day begins, or pique their interest with a thought through opinion or piece of work online - you'll be much closer to getting in.

And, one final thing - don't ever stop meeting people. You'll find new mentors for yourself along with becoming a de-facto 'mentor' for new people. And you never know when one or the other will come in handy. I'm not saying 'be a tart', but instead, be open and willing to meet people if they need your help when you're a year or two into the business. You never know who you'll end up working with, or even, perhaps, running an agency with.

Let me know what you think - I'm happy to answer any questions you may have in the comments.

TCA have ANOTHER opportunity...

Not sure that would work as a CV posting.

Hello all.

The good people of TCA London have another intern position open for you guys.

I'll let them explain further:

"We have an opening for a paid Internship (£200 a week) for a 3-month placement within the Promotions team, starting immediately, working on the Argos account. For the right candidate, this could even lead to a permanent graduate role.

The Argos team creates collateral for Argos stores and argos.co.uk to complement a vast number of calendar and Argos-owned events, as well as creating and delivering high-profile consumer promotions. The Intern will work closely with the Account Manager to:

- brief Creative teams, Designers and Studio

- compile competitor reviews

- create weekly status and contact reports

- provide general management support for all projects

If you are interested in applying for this position please go to tcalondon.com and email your CV to the Recruitment email address, subject "Argos Intern".

The closing date for receipt of CVs is the end of the day on the 23rd February 2012."

Good luck, guys.

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.

Work Club are after interns..

These people won't be working there.

Hello all.

The good people from Work Club have been in touch - they're offering internships in account management, to start ASAP.

Below is the blurb. Good luck, gang:

"We're looking for people to start from around the end of January for three month internships in Account Management.

We want people who are self starting, creative, sharp and interesting.

If you're a Campaign/Marketing reader, you'll be aware that we won digital dark horse of the year and Agency of the year. These internships are a fantastic opportunity and a great place for a graduate to come into.

We have several hires who started here as interns and have been offered full time positions off the back of it.

Please email hello at work-club.com if you're interested."

UPDATE (6th February): They have closed their applications now, and those people who've been lucky enough to get an interview will be contacted this week.

Best of luck, all.

Anomaly need a runner...

Not like this.

Hi all.

Two updates in a week - I'm trying to fulfil my New Year's resolution of updating AdGrads more frequently, y'see.

Anyway, my employer, Anomaly, is after a runner for our London office. You'd get to work with me..you..err, lucky things.

Details of the job are below, and ideally, you'd be available to start at the beginning of February. It is paid.

"We're after a runner for our London office, based in Clerkenwell. The runner's job is to keep the agency running smoothly, primarily assisting with office admin..

Examples of the sort of duties you'd be expected to perform include:

• Answering phones
• Dealing with post
• Booking and setting up meeting rooms with tea and coffee
• Running errands
• Keeping the place neat and tidy
• Booking out meeting rooms
• Ordering stationery, paper and other office supplies
• Booking a variety of things - travel, couriers, taxis, IT/AV equipment
• Helping organise office parties

Additionally, you're more than welcome to get involved with other agency work, but the duties above take priority.

THE POSITION HAS NOW BEEN FILLED. Thanks, all.

Good luck, all.

A few more Graduate opportunities...

Hopefully the rainbow brought on by a job will be less painful..

Hello all.

Sorry for the tremendously slow updates; a combination of Christmas and a very busy run up to the festive period left me sidelining AdGrads a tad. But no longer.

There are three opportunities to tell you about:

1) Publicis London:

Publicis are running a graduate scheme that closes on the 22nd of January at 8pm. You can find out more here. You need to send the application form and your CV to gradteam at publicis.co.uk.

Their blurb is below:

"Publicis London is looking for the most promising new grads to join our account management team. Successful applicants from the interview stage will be invited to the ADcademy: an intensive 4 day introduction to the ad industry taking place at 82 Baker Street. Here, you will glean insight from some of the best people in the business and learn what the job is all about, including pitching your idea to a real-life client.Following the ADcademy in April, some lucky grads will be offered places on the year long grad scheme to start in October 2012.

2) Saatchi & Saatchi:

Saatchi's graduate page can be found here. Its Facebook page is here. It has yet to announce dates, but given the launch of the page/the relatively closed nature (you have to ask to be invited to the FB page) of the FB page in order to apply, you should sign up sooner rather than later. As soon as anyone knows the dates, please email me at william dot humphrey at yahoo.co.uk. UPDATE: I've been told this launches on the 19th of January, and anyone who asks can be a member of the FB group.

3) Fallon London:

A few grads have alerted me to Fallon's internships. You can find out more here. In short, you can apply for a paid 3 month internship in account management or planning, or a month's creative placement by emailing myfuture at fallon.co.uk. Planning internships are particularly thin on the ground, so you could definitely apply if Planning's something you might be interested in.

Good luck with those 3, all. I hope to post more regularly in the next few months.

Client services or creative? Or both?

Or a creative suit.

Two new roles to tell you about, chaps.

1) Lambie-Nairn:

The good people at LN are after a client services intern; someone to start ASAP. They're after:

"A graduate that can demonstrate that they know what branding means, someone who is able to work under pressure, meet deadlines and has a keen eye for detail. The candidate will attend to the Global Executive Director a day a week, as well as routinely attending brand clinics. Enthusiasm is very important, as is being conscientious. A Spanish speaker is preferable."

2) Ogilvy's Creative Academy:

"Ogilvy have decided that as most graduate schemes (historically) focus on account handling and planning, that they'd like to run a creative version. Find out more here and here. You'd be working in the creative departments of Dialogue and Ogilvy Action, working with some of the biggest brands in the world - Gillette, Duracell, Braun, Venus and Coca-Cola, giving them access to some of the incredible talent and knowledge within the Ogilvy Group. Various top design universities are taking part, and while we have focused on key creative Universities, such as Kingston, Bournemouth and others, this opportunity is not limited to advertising students.

We know that creativity can come from any discipline or background. Any graduate who feels they can create and execute an idea that can change or reinforce consumer behaviour is eligible for this amazing opportunity. Partners in the scheme are DNA (a boutique specialist Recruitment Consultant) and the MAA(representing the industry). Ogilvy will also have the involvement of P&G in judging our future creative stars. Plus they're exhibiting the finalists’ entries in our Westbourne Terrace office wine bar from February 2012."

Good luck, chaps.