Get Involved At School

Around my second year of undergrad, I discovered portfolio schools. And it pissed me the hell off. Why didn't somebody tell me about this before? Why am I sitting here, bored to pieces, in Media Planning and Strategy class when I could be taking Storywriting or Photoshop II?

I did not drop out of school and join the Circus then and there. (My mother would have hopped on a plane and flogged me wherever she found me.) But knowing that there was a copywriting program out there where I'd have the opportunity to build my portfolio more than Copy & Vis I and II gave me focus. And hope. 

 

I spent the next two years making sure I got the most out of my college experience (study abroad, work study, drunken Mondays, hungover Tuesdays...you know, the usual) and prepping myself the career I wanted. I did a summer program at the Creative Circus to get a feel for what portfolio school would be like (turns out it was just like my creative writing workshops). I increased my involvement in Ad Society, UF's student advertising club, worked at the school's newspaper and wrote the newsletter for the Caribbean Student Association. I applied for every internship under the sun (did one in account services at BBDO NY and one in the creative department at then FCB Chicago) and won a student Addy for a ad I did for a class.

I knew my degrees in Advertising and English wouldn't land me exactly where I needed to be at the end of those four years, but I was going to make sure I got as close as I could. (Yep. I'm a huge nerd)

 

Okay okay okay. Enough about me. What are you going to do? Here are some tips about how to get more involved while you're at school (undergrad or portfolio school).

7 Ways To Get Involved With Advertising At School:

Join student clubs. There was a napping club at UF. Napping. Yep. So I'm pretty sure your school has an ad club. The American Advertising Federation (AAF) has student clubs at colleges and universities all over the country. They have speakers, panels, social events, agency visits, competitions and other great opportunities for you to learn more about the industry and connect with people. If a club doesn’t exist at your school, start one. 

Get a student membership in professional organisations. Most of these big name organisations like the One Club and the Art Directors Club offer student memberships for a discounted rate. I know as a student it may still seem expensive, but consider it an investment. Start putting aside your beer/pizza/shoe money to save up for it.

Find a teacher to be your ally. Find a professor who you respect and feel comfortable with to get career guidance and personal and professional feedback. They can introduce you to people, put you on to books, websites and techniques to make you a stronger creative and they can give you personal and professional feedback to help you grow. And now you have someone who you can count on as a reference. 

In undergrad, Dr. Duke was my hero. She taught one of the few creative classes at UF, Copy & Vis, and was a copywriter, so I aligned myself with her early on. I ended up taking an independent study with her my senior year where I worked on my portfolio and portfolio school application. Her insight, advice and feedback were instrumental. One time, dangerously close to graduation, she told me to focus on my poetry instead of advertising. (Sometimes I wish I'd listened.)

Find an industry mentor. Connect with someone who currently has the job you want. Even if it's a junior at a local agency. Get advice, tips, feedback and a real look at what it takes to get and keep a job in advertising. One of the things I appreciate at the Circus was that for my last few quarters I had a mentor who was currently working in an ad agency to give me feedback on my book. She told me what was working and what wasn't and while our relationship wasn't deeper than a few emails every few weeks (mostly of her tearing my work apart), it was very helpful to me. Reach out to someone whose work you respect, start a relationship and ask them if they are willing to help you. (Sometimes using the term "mentor" is overwhelming so use it sparingly) Meet for coffee or start emailing and see where it goes. (In the meantime, you have my blog!)

Enter student competitions. Competitions are great ways to get work for your book, to work on something you previously may not have considered, and if you win, to get your name out there. There are always competitions going on. Always. Check out the AAF. One Club, Cannes Young Lions, Young Guns, Art Director's Club, D&AD... Start googling chicklets.

Read. Stay up on what's going on through industry publications. Creativity, Com Arts, Archive, award books and so on, so forth. Get a student subscription or check it out at the library. This not only serves for inspiration for your own ads but it gives you something to talk about when you do connect with professionals. (Read up on small talking tips)

Get relevant experience. Start writing or designing ads for whatever organisations you are involved with. Or offer your services to others. Work on everything and anything you can to increase your skills and add bullets to your resume. You may not end up doing anything that could go into your portfolio, but nothing beats experience. (Except for Rock. Rock always wins.) 

Get What You Want

Came across this quote the other day on Twitter and thought it was the best thing since wi-fi.

"Go in knowing what you want to get out. If you go in empty minded, you'll come out empty handed."

If you're in school, about to be in school, interning or looking for a full time job, ask yourself - what do you want to get out of it?

What do you want to learn?
What do you want to get better at?
What do you want to conquer?
What skills or experiences do you want to leave with?
What points do you want to add to your resume? Or campaigns to your book?

Really take a minute (or few days) to think about what you want to get out of the next 3 to 6 to 12 months. (Personally I can only make concrete plans for 3-6 months ahead. Who knows when the pigeons are finally going to rise up and rule the earth?)

Make a list of where/who you want to be in the next 6 months then make a list of the steps you need to get there.

* Who do you need to talk to?
* What do you need to do?
* How can you strategically place yourself in the right situations and around the right people to make sure you're on the right path?


 Be honest and clear about your intentions:

If you want to work with a certain copywriter because they're good at long copy and you need a long copy campaign in your book, say that.

If you want to take a certain class because that professor usually sets his students up with internships, talk to the (I can't remember what they call the person who helps you pick classes. But talk to him/her.)

If you want to go to a recording or shoot to learn about what it's like, tell your creative director.

If you want to work on this project so you can get exposure to digital campaigns, speak up.

Yes, you should also be thinking about what all you're going to give, but also think about what you'd like to receive out of an experience. Who do you want to be at the end of it? How do you want to grow from it? How will having done this make you better?




No one else will really decide this for you. After high school you're pretty much on your own to determine your own path. In this business, whether you're in school or on the job, how far you get largely depends on how far you're willing to go. If you don't perform, you'll fail. If you fail, it's your fault.

Your success depends on you.

Breaking News: Miami Ad School NY Accepting 1st Year Students Fall

This is great news! New York is the best and now you can go to a great 2 year portfolio school at one of the best schools.

Pratt, SVA, FIT and Parsons are great too, but they're more design/art director focused, and most of them are longer than 2 years, so this will be great option for those who already went to undergrad and my fellow writers.

Here is the official press release

Registration is open. Go to Miami Ad School's site for more info http://www.miamiadschool.com/advertising-school/new-york?ref=blog

Interview: Creatives who made their own way

Meet Sy and Simeon, copywriters who did not go to portfolio school and worked on their books on their own.

Sy started in proofing department at Arnold in Boston and is now an award-winning ACD-level freelance integrated copywriter. Simeon also a copywriter, is a student competition winner and recent graduate currently looking for work.

Q: How did you know you wanted to be a creative?

Sy: Grammar is lovely, but I had too many opinions to be a proofer.

Simeon: I remember picking up a magazine ad and showing my [high school] guidance counselor. "I want to do something like this," I said. He told me that I should study graphic design. Hated it. Sucked at it. I discovered copywriting eight years later. Loved it.

Q: Why didn’t you go to portfolio school?

Sy Ingoglia

Sy: To be honest, I didn't even know there was such a thing until I saw all the other folks on the team paste up ideas after a long weekend brainstorm. How in the hell did they get the balls to do that? All those concepts and presentation skills. It was completely alien to me. Then someone said they learned it in school. Sneaky.

Simeon:  My decision to not go to portfolio school was based on the amount of opportunities I had to develop spec campaigns under the guidance of the people who I wanted to impress and would eventually hire me.

Q: How did you get to where you are?

Sy: I can say I was extremely lucky in my career evolution.  As I was working on my first book I weaseled my way into a writing job on the Interactive team for Volkswagen and I never had to show it. 

Simeon:  A true creative finds solutions to problems and that's what I did. I went to a nearby school and I built my major around creative advertising. It's been stressful working full-time and going to school full-time while working on my book.

Simeon Coker

Q: What did you wish you knew then?

Sy:

- That there are a million people doing what you do, but only one who's you. 

- There's a delicate balance between confidence and arrogance. 

- Be your own best editor. 

- Write it again, but better this time.

Q: What have you learned?

Simeon:  Patience. I know I'm not alone when I say I suffer from Creative A.D.D.. My attention span is short and I expect everything to happen within that window. I've learned that you have to wait to do great things like quit the job you hate to do the one you love. Stress has humbled me and has given me a new outlook on life - good things come to those that use their waiting time wisely.

Q: Any advice for someone trying to decide if they should work on their book alone vs going to portfolio school?

Sy: No one can teach you how to think of ideas, and that's the real trick. 

Simeon:  Your 3 a.m. brain is not as smart as you think it is - I learned that working on my book alone. You need another set of eyes. You need someone to call you on your BS.

See Sy's work at http://carrieingoglia.wordpress.com/   and Simeon's at www.simeon-c.com

What is Portfolio School Like?

1. You'll finger paint. Creativity comes from everywhere. Portfolio school teaches you how to think- differently, quickly, strategically.

2. You'll do it 100 times. Then another 10 times after that. The further you push yourself and your work, the farther you will get. Never stop at your first thought.

3. You'll daydream. Working with no budgets and no real clients means you can think as big and creatively as possible. Go for it.

4. You'll get your feelings hurt. Criticism and feedback make you stronger. Once you start learning what sucks, you'll start developing your own filter.

5. You'll learn how to imagine other people naked. Presenting is a valuable skill in this business. Most classes are set up with you sharing your ideas with your classmates weekly.

6. You'll practice for pitches. Every assignment is like a pitch. New client, new challenges, new chances to shine. And the intensity of final presentations/panel/end of the quarter is pretty close to Pitch Mode at an agency. Just with more pressure.

7. You'll play nice. Knowing how to work with a partner is essential. You don't have to like them, but you have to be able to work with them.

8. You'll make mistakes. Mess up now so you don't mess up later.

9. You'll make things. "Hands on" really means hands on. You'll be laying out, mocking up, building, cutting, framing, photographing, directing, casting, recording, editing, sewing, binding, beading, papermacheing (do people still do that?), pasting, starring in and shellacking most of your own work.

10. You won't be the funniest/weirdest/most creative one anymore. (Which means you have to work hard, longer, smarter)

Article: What You Won't Learn in Ad School

From AdAge 5/24/11

What You Won't Learn in Ad School

Insights for the Next Generation

 By: Curt Hanke

There's one thing that everyone in the fields of advertising, marketing, digital and the like all share: We were all once newbies. Young pups. No matter how we earned our first job or sneaked into this industry -- and regardless of previous class work, internships and competitions -- we really had no idea exactly what we were getting ourselves into.

Recently, the University of Wisconsin Ad Club asked Shine to speak at its monthly meeting. Inspired by their impending graduation, we decided that instead of the expected dog-and-pony show, we'd offer a fresh perspective for the graduates -- and anyone considering entering the business.
Now, to be fair, it's been 17 years since I passed through the UW Journalism School's hallowed halls (go Badgers!), so I thought it worth pulling in another perspective as well for the presentation -- one more relevant for the modern student. With this in mind, I invited a Shine colleague (and advertising newbie) to join me, a 2010 graduate from the University of Oregon (go Ducks! -- you're welcome, Emily).
 
The assignment we gave ourselves: Identify some of the key insights that we wish someone had shared with us when we were in school. The presentation theme: "21 Things You Won't Learn in School." The result: Surprisingly similar perspectives, albeit from very different vantage points. And for you: A few of our key insights for your reading pleasure, as another generation of students enters the ad game.

The Stakes Are High
Welcome to agency life. A life with real clients, dollars, expectations and people. It's a profound leap from classes and competitions to clients and campaigns. Every project matters. Each decision has implications. The trust that clients place on their agency partners -- and how that agency honors and cultivates that trust -- has a very real impact on your careers (and life). Very quickly, you realize that you're not in Kansas any more. And that your success is defined by much more than a grade.

It's Not Just About Great Work. Or Even Results, for That Matter
There are plenty of agencies that do great work every year that get fired. And I'd dare say, even more agencies that do lackluster, mediocre work for their clients that don't. Our business isn't just about the work or whether it makes the cash register ring. It's about people -- relationships -- and the myriad of individual interactions that build trust. In college, you most likely didn't take a class in how to show the right level of urgency for a client, or how to best manage and push back on subjective feedback, or how to handle the oft-necessary budget/schedule/expectation conversations, or how to be a "junior" all over again. But these are some of the many tests of the workplace that will influence every individual's success or failure in this business, in one way or another.

It's Ultimately About People
No matter how "creatively driven" the agency, we are ultimately responsible for helping our clients interact with real, living, breathing human beings. While it's tempting to get caught up in pursuit of fake gold awards to hang on the mantel, we need to always remember that we're being paid to create connections between people and brands -- whether it be building awareness for a new product or cultivating evangelism for an established brand. So while we may make ads, or build apps, or design and program websites, we must never lose sight of the fact that we are truly in the "people" business.

Ambiguity Is Everywhere
Every agency or firm has its own universe -- its people, personalities, processes and the like. In addition, every client has its own universe -- its own dynamics, motivations, politics and such. And then we have the actual universe -- the world in which we live, breathe and market -- constantly shifting and increasingly morphing at a faster rate than ever before. It's a web of connections that changes each and every day. Remove or modify just one component, and the entire web is altered. And it is our job to understand this web; divine not just direction but inspiration; create engagement platforms that resonate; and make everyone feel good about the process. (Indeed.)

The World Is Not Rational
Research has demonstrated that even when consumers believe they are making rational decisions, the vast majority of brand preference are driven by their emotions. And if you think this irrational behavior is constrained to the consumer marketplace, you're kidding yourself. When I graduated, I most certainly had the naive perception that the workplace was rational. "Look at them! They wear suits! They must be rational!" The reality is that we're all emotional beings, sorting through the needs and wants of our conscious and subconscious each and every day. We all have good and bad mornings, stresses with maintaining a good work/life balance, and everything else that comes with the modern-day workplace. Within and between clients and agencies, people want to feel secure, important, respected and, yes, liked. Starting with this premise and working backward for every relationship, client, engagement and assignment is critical to understanding "how things work" -- and successfully navigating this industry's sometimes choppy waters.
 
It's Less Fun Than You Think (and More Fun Than You Think)
Make no mistake about it: A career in advertising may well be one of the most culturally enjoyable life choices that you can make. That said, we don't sit around drinking and napping all day before scratching out a campaign idea on a cocktail napkin the night before the presentation. We work hard and take what we do very, very seriously. This field is not for everyone. But if you are innately curious, embrace change and have a passion for solving problems, you're off to a good start. So buckle up. Get ready for an exciting ride. And if you ever lose your way, take heed of our final "thing you won't learn in school": A little hustle goes a long way.

 

Portfolio School, Fool

It may seem like I'm leaning toward portfolio schools. Probably because I am.

As a alum of the Creative Circus and part-time teacher at Miami Ad School, I think these are the best places to go to in order to make the most progress the fastest.

You can work on your own but you have to be super disciplined, good at judging your own work (or have other people who can give you good feedback) and really push yourself. It's totally doable and if you have the creativity, people will see your great thinking - which is the whole purpose of putting a book together in the first place.

At the end of the day, your book is as good as you make it. Where you go to work on it doesn't matter as much as how much work you put into it and how inherently good you are.

(Fortune cookie moment) Whether or not you're going to be great is completely up to you and only you.

Here are some portfolio schools across the country:

The Creative Circus Atlanta, GA

The Portfolio Center Atlanta, GA

Miami Ad School Miami, FL

VCU BrandCenter Richmond, VA

The Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA

Brainco Minneapolis, MN

School of Visual Arts (SVA) New York, NY

The Chicago Portfolio School Chicago, IL

Every school has its own programs, personality and prestige. Pick which one best fits you and go make an amazing portfolio.

(Side note:  I don't know much about art schools, but I'm going to ask around and get back to you on that.) 

Where for art thou Portfolio?

Now for those of you I made stand outside at the beginning of the last post, sorry about that. I have to have standards you know.

Don't take it personally. Well, actually, yes, take it personally.

You can't be very serious about getting a job as a creative if you don't have a portfolio.


So you have two options.

Work on your book on your own. Or go to portfolio school.

Portfolio School
Pros: 
You are trained to think creatively and strategically
You are taught by teachers who are or used to work in the agencies you want to work
You work with a partner (CW + AD)
You practice your computer skills
You hone your presentation skills
You get guidance, criticism and direction

Cons:
Expensive
Two Years

Go It Alone
Pros:
Cheaper
Quicker
More creative control and independence 

Cons: 
You either have to find your own partner or art director/ copywrite all your own work
You won't have the same guidance, network and placement opportunities

There is a 3rd option if you haven't gone to college yet, you can go to a four-year university with an Advertising creative or design program.

Whatever you decide is best for you, do it and put in 100%. There are 500 other people out there who want a job as bad as you do. So work harder, be smarter, push further and do your absolute best - then do a little bit more.