Scheduling classes. The usual plan is to register for all afternoon classes so you can sleep in. Did you make any plans for a possible internship? If you don't have one lined up now, you'll want to schedule your classes, so you can fit the job in during your day. Your availability is crucial to getting the internship and making it a successful one.

If you don't make the time, the company won't make the time. There is no internship that will accommodate that two hour gap in between your classes. If there's no time to do anything or learn anything, don't expect anything. At the minimum, clear a half day. But it would be better to stack your classes on the same days to free up your working days (Ex: Monday & Wednesday classes. Tuesday, Thursday and possibly Friday for working).

Many internships ask for a 20-hour work week. Your availability gives you opportunity to interact and learn more. And once you've proven yourself, it may open doors to work on bigger projects. If your time is limited, you're going to be stuck with grunt work — work that takes minimal time to complete (and work no one else wants to do). By working more hours, you may be given more responsibility with projects that take more thought and effort (like an actual ad, web site, campaign ideas). Those are the internships that lead to produced samples for your book and even a job. So schedule time to prove yourself.

Photo courtesy of photographer Fred Kuipers and stock.xchng.

        

The Marketing Store Worldwide  is looking to fill a copywriter spot on its creative team. Here is the official job description:

We seek a Bilingual Spanish Copywriter to generate highly creative,strategic & workable solutions for client’s marketing needs throughout all stages of copy development. You will work on exciting Hispanic Consumer business across major fortune 100 brands.  Candidate must be fluent in writing in both English and Spanish Copy.
 
Requirements:
•Native Spanish Speaker, must be fluent in both Spanish and English and be able write copy in both.
•Experience doing Hispanic Work (from an ad agency in Miami, LA, NYC, Chicago, Houston)
•Creates fresh ideas/concepts while maintaining brand integrity.
•Able to generate strong, strategy-based concepts
•Partner with Studio to meet timelines & maintain quality in the production of verbal elements.
•Strong ability to write for a wide variety of mediums.
•Competent proofing & self-editing capability.
•Strong knowledge of grammar & styles.
•1-4 years experience
•Stays current with culture and trends
•Strong work ethic

Interested? Send your resume and portfolio link to:

Gigi Curran, HR Generalist
gigi.curran@tmsw.com

If you're interested but unsure about your work, send your portfolio link to me and I'll give you my two cents.
clifton@professoradman.com

        

Step away from the flamethrower...

Put down the gasoline...

Refrain from burning bridges...

I know flight attendant Steven Slater is the hero of the day. He stuck it to "the man," quit his dead end job and made his grand exit. But if you leave your job willingly or unwillingly, we all aren't going to have a couple beers, a giant slide and movie and book offers waiting for us. If you gotta go, try not to burn the bridge behind you (and try hard).

Reasons to keep your cool:

We're all connected in this business. I've said this often. If you don't believe me, search some random names on Linkedin. You may find yourself just one connection away from that person. So if you quit or are laid off from your job, don't curse out everyone as you walk out of the door. I'm not much of a jumper, but people in advertising move around a lot. So that person you told to "kiss your ass" at your last job, may be the ass you have to kiss to get your next job.

You may be able to come back. Years ago, I left an agency on good terms and came back to take another job. I've been laid off from another agency, only to return has a freelancer. That was a bitter pill to swallow, but I also liked eating three meals a day.

Resources and references. Don't beat up on HR. They are just the messengers. You want them on your side, because they may be your only access to things you may need in the future (401K information, job leads, references). Plus, the co-workers you didn't curse out may also be able to help you find your way to a new position.

Fortunately, I've never been the disgruntled employee, even when I was laid off back in the day. Sure, I went through all of the phases — sadness to frustration to anger.  Still, I've always left on a positive note. There's nothing to gain by making enemies. Even if the job treats you like crap right up until you exit, try to take the high road. Lowering yourself to their standards will only hurt you in the end. Every job has its good and bad points. By keeping your mind focused on the good, you may end up taking your finger off of the flamethrower trigger and maintaining good contacts and references for the future.

Image courtesy of stock.xchng.

        

As you can tell from the header, I've have some big changes going on in my life. I've been a metro Detroiter for almost 30 years. I've been in the Detroit ad business for over 20 years. Now everything has changed. I'm giving up the Motor City for the Windy City.

I'm leaving with a lot of good memories.

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Friday the 13th is a good day for me, because some major changes coming up. So I won't be updating my posts for about a week. Please come back to Professor Ad Man the week of August 23 for my announcement. I hope to see you back here.
... << MORE >>

Fall is coming up and another internship season is upon us. If you managed to get one over the summer, I hope it was a good experience. If not, there's always your next internship. And there should be another internship. In fact, internships are like potato chips — you can't stop with one. Get as much experience as you can. I had seven myself.

I recently came across someone ... << MORE >>

I follow Paula Pollock of Pollock Marketing Group on Twitter. She recently posted another quote that was very relevant to what is going on in my life and those around me:

"You cannot push someone up the ladder when he himself doesn't want to climb."
— Author Unknown

In other words, you can't help people ... << MORE >>

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Do you have a personal brand?

What is it? What are you doing to build it?

If you don't have a personal brand, why?

A young woman asked about the benefits of personal branding in relationship to her job search. I said one result is the job may come looking for you, instead of the reverse. If they see you ... << MORE >>

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