My Visit to McCann Erickson
My internship with Avis Budget Group and my socializing and networking there led me to some great opportunities. In a previous post I talked about the importance of networking, and I also talked about how from socializing at my internship, I was given a great opportunity to visit Mccann Erickson’s headquarters in New York City and talk with one of the account planners there. I learned a lot from my visit to Mccann Erickson.
Before I met with the Account Planner, Lynn, I had prepared several questions and sent them to her so she could get an idea of where my head was at. I also sent her a separate list of questions that I thought were meant more for the creatives at the department so she could send these questions along to them for answers if she had time. She really liked that I had sent her this list in advance.
Once I arrived, I was brought up to the 25th floor, and buzzed into the Agency there. Lynn gave me a tour of the Advertising Agency. We walked around a couple floors of the building that they occupied. There were big glass doors, big conference rooms, and a library of their work. There were also some cubicles, but Lynn said that they were moving more towards a big open work area. It was very exciting to see the headquarters of a worldwide advertising agency.
Lynn was extremely friendly and helpful. She answered all of my many questions.
Here are some of the things I learned from talking with her:
- The creative department only uses Macs, and the other departments are all switching towards Macs as well. The creative department uses the Adobe creative suite. Specifically, they use Adobe Illustrator, but mainly Photoshop and Indesign.
- She advised me to learn as much as possible about new technology and think about ways you could use it in advertising. She said, if you don’t know that it exists how can you use it?
- She said the hardest part of her job is staying organized. She manages a big account and there are several things going on at once at all time. Phenomenal time management skills are a must for account planners. ( And is a great skill to have for all professions)
- She told me to Network, Network, Network! She said a lot of applications come through that may never get looked at now because of electronic filing. She found her job there and both of her internships she had before coming to Mccann by networking.
- She said that she had found her Job at Mccann because she had gotten involved with a mentoring program at her college. This mentoring program set her up with an Alumni in her field of study. Through her mentor she found the job with Mccann. I know that Philly Ad Club has a mentoring Program. I recommend joining the Philly Ad Club and attending their networking events and joining their mentoring program. Lynn also said that joining Ad clubs is a great idea. Also, if you did not already know, Temple has an Ad Club called TAC (Temple Advertising Club). TAC holds a lot of great events as well.
- For us aspiring creatives, Lynn advised having a great portfolio. She also said that if you can not find a job after graduation, going to Portfolio school is a good option. These Schools are designed specifically to work on your portfolio and place you into creative positions.
- I also asked her about her interview with Mccann. She advised me that in the future to do a lot of research about the company I had an interview with. She said they had asked her what campaign of theirs she liked the best and why, and what she thought the strategy behind it was. They had asked her who her dream client was and expected a sincere and smart explanation why.
- When they interview you, they want to see your excitement! They want you to sincerely want the position!
- They also want to see you in the interview. Lynn said, if you have gotten to the interview stage, your resume and/or portfolio has impressed them and from this point they just want to learn about you. While I was there she asked me what I liked to do for fun, and told me they also asked her that during her interview. I told her that I loved to ride my motorcycle for fun, and she was so surprised that that was something I did that she told me that would be a great thing to say in response to that question during the interview!
- She also told me, to not be afraid to ask for help.
