Big Agency Life
Hi! My name is Danielle Geis and I am a first semester Senior at Temple University. This is my second time doing this internship class, once junior year for a mid-sized company called AB&C, and one now with Merkle. Merkle is a much bigger agency than AB&C. There are about 12,000 employees at Merkle, we also get our own laptops as well as a mentor and career advocate. There are definitely some perks of working at a Big Agency but there also some other things to consider that might not be everyones cup of tea. In this post, I am going to run through the biggest difference between Big Agency Life and Mid-sized or start up businesses. Big Agencies most likely have very cool clients. At a mid-sized agency, its common to work with local companies or companies where they have relationships for a long time. At Merkle, I have the privilege to work with a L.L.Bean as my client. It is so interesting analyzing and writing ads for L.L.Bean. I have shopped there multiple times and my Dad is a huge fan! Get ready for a broader array of clients at a big agency.
1. Get ready to train! A huge part of starting at a big agency is the mandatory corporate trainings that go on. Usually about sexual harassment, privacy, and data breaching. They are usually quick but it was a big part of my onboarding at Merkle. With such a big company, it is important to be aware of how everything runs!
2. Communicating with the team > communicating with just a mentor. After I realized how close our team is, it was much more beneficial to send to the entire team for feedback. That way, I am able to work with and meet more members on the team while being virtual as well as getting different opinions. It is also nice to keep the entire team in the loop when you are making changes on platforms like Google UI, Editor and Bing UI, Editor.
3. Get ready for hundreds of emails a day! When you work at a big agency, there are so many emails every day about anything. They can not pertain to me at all or be exactly what I am looking for. The biggest tip I have to give is to make folder for your emails!!! I have a folder for my team, my regular inbox, and my training emails. It is super helpful to have everything organized it is 10x easier to find what you are looking for.
4. You will probably never communicate with the CEO and very rarely your Director. They are so busy and there is not really a need to talk to them because what an intern deals with is not at all on their mindset during the day. It is a totally different operation up there, almost a different world! At my last internship at AB&C, I was able to meet the CEO on zoom for a chat which was pretty cool!
I hope all of these little points are helpful when debating being a part of a big agency or more of a mid sized agency. Both are amazing options! It is just more personal preference and people weigh out the pros and cons. I am so happy to be given the opportunity to work at Merkle and I am pleased to say that I have decided to work with them throughout the Spring! I can’t wait to learn more and grow as a professional. It has been the best experience, I am lucky to continue it!
