If it isn’t broken…

Many advertising agencies, from the smallest of boutique styles in the smallest midwest town you can think of all the way to the big guns on Madison Ave, position themselves as the “cool guys”. Some are even as daring to say, “We don’t hire sh*t heads,” but there’s no way to really know that until you step into the office and experience it first hand.

This past semester I interned at Brian Communications, a strategic communications firm sitting high on Broad Street. Brian was that standard for the culture I was looking for. Since my first day, I realized what they said on their website and what I’ve heard through the grapevine was real and thriving. Straight from the Brian Communications careers page: “Smart people who work hard. Who have empathy for clients and each other, And they’re nice to be around”. 

That sounds great, but how do they do it? First, they hire good people who are genuinely nice to be around—cool people who want to provide their team and clients with the best work. Once they find the right people, it’s about creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable. An empathetic and empowering leadership team brings a lot of this comfort. Having good people at the top allows everyone below them to thrive. Lastly, Brian has committees that promote inclusivity, wellness, and growth. 

As my internship quickly approached its final weeks, I was in a frenzy, sending in application after application to agencies across the country searching for a full-time position. Brian stood as the gold standard for the type of culture I was looking for. Working with good people is a priority of mine. The problem? A company can say it has the best culture in the world, but you’ll never really know until you’re in it. 

As the stress weighed down on my job hunt, I saw a glimmer of hope for a company that fostered the type of culture I was looking for, and I knew it was legit. A job opened up at Brian. Immediately, I knew this was exactly what I wanted. I went through a few rounds of interviews and was offered the position of assistant account executive. I’m so excited to be staying where I am, in a culture that I know and love.