Career Advice

Clichés Are Cliché For A Reason

During the course of my internship this semester I’ve learned that although cliches are annoying – some are true.

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“Confidence Is Key”

Confidence is a weird thing, sometimes you might not realize you’ve lost it until you are called to do something or are being relied on. During my internship I had to regain confidence in my work and ability to present it. Everyday whether it was my best work or my worst the process of producing actual work really helped me build my confidence back up to what it once was.

I.N.T.E.R.N.

The way that you picture an intern before you have an internship yourself is pretty different than what it’s actually like.

I remember hearing upperclassmen friends stress the importance of punctuality, always asking what more you can do to help, and being outgoing, and so on. It’s clear that they were onto something, because many of these friends are now recent graduates and happily working in the advertising industry.

The Total Flop

I recently attended the event that was intended to be my main project for the length of my internship with the event planning shop, Station Avenue Productions. Many hours went into organizing this women’s wellness retreat held at Borgata’s Water Club in Atlantic City last Sunday. The program was complete with a yoga session, energetic motivational speakers, massages, and a luncheon. It was all about “unleashing your inner goddess” and self improvement.

Make Things Happen

For all underclassmen who still haven’t found an internship, do not fret. It will all fall into place.

As a freshman, one of the first things I did was join TAC (Temple Ad Club). It was enlightening, getting to hear from all the industry professionals who came in to speak to us about the cool things they’ve done. It also made me nervous about the future. All of these awesome, creative people got their first internships during their sophomore or junior years of college. As a freshman, it seemed so far off. Nothing to worry about just yet.

Overcoming Obstacles and Making Use of Your Time

VS.

I have been interning with the Philadelphia Virtual Academy since January. The goal was to bring in students from competitors and increase enrollment and awareness. I went into the interview with a lot of ideas about what could be done to meet these goals, and was really excited to put them into action once I was hired. However, I hadn’t realized how often you come across obstacles in the process that seem to limit what you can do. As a part of the School District of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Virtual Academy is sometimes limited in what we can do and there are many roadblocks along the way when it comes to starting something new, such as marketing. At first, we were somewhat put off by the slow-moving process of many tasks, such as gaining approval to create a blog, and then again to upgrade it. We would meet in person once a week, and there were some meetings early on where we felt like we had not accomplished much in the past weeks. However, as the weeks flew by, we realized that though some processes may be slow, we should fill the time with smaller tasks, such as focusing on our Facebook presence, creating an AdWords campaign or designing Direct Mail brochures. While some things may move slowly, we learned that we could still make a lot of progress as these seemingly small tasks added up. Before we knew it, we had not only a list of accomplished tasks, but a whole new inspired list of more things that we could do. From these first couple of slow-moving weeks, we learned the importance of keeping things moving even when they seem to be at a stand-still. This is often what you need in order to get your juices flowing and produce more creative ideas, and it helps pass the time while you wait for the original projects to fall into place!

Getting Involved, Getting Excited

I used to be an education major so when I switched to advertising, although I love it, I missed having the chance to work with kids. For this reason, I was really excited when I saw an email come through last semester about a marketing internship with the Philadelphia Virtual Academy, a part of the School District of Philadelphia. This passion came through in my interview and I got the position. Once the new year rolled around and I got started, I was disappointed to find that as the marketing intern, there wasn’t really much of a chance to interact with the students. I could post daily on social media and our new blog, and sometimes they would even respond to these, but never in a way that made me feel as if they were excited about my posts. There was a disconnect, and I was determined to lessen this in order to get the kids as excited as I was. But how do you get a group of middle and high schoolers excited about anything school-related? Regardless of how relevant my blog posts were to their lives, they didn’t feel like any of it could be “cool” because it came from their school. So I talked to Dave, the PVA administrator and my internship coordinator, about this problem, and we agreed that it might be beneficial for me to get involved outside of the realm of advertising so I could get to know the students and they could put a face to the anonymous “PhillyVirtual” posts. Kevin, another marketing intern, had the opportunity to sit in on a Writing Club meeting in the Virtual Office, where the students’ classes are held. Through this, he learned a little about the process and the daily activities of the students, but not much about the students themselves. We had more success when we had the opportunity to meet them in person by chaperoning a field trip to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. This was a trip that a lot of the kids were really excited about, so it was great to meet them in person and share in their enthusiasm for the trip. Later on I did a blog post with details and pictures from the trip and I found that the kids were much more active in response to the corresponding tweets and Facebook posts. The students that I met on this trip are now more active on the blog as well. I will be continuing with PVA for another couple of weeks and I hope to have the chance to go on more field trips and interact with more students so that by the time I leave, the students are more interested in the blog and social media.

Insightful and Fulfilling

Shayne Maister here. My summer internship at Agency|51 has been a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. I’ve learned so much about the advertising industry and how I can contribute to the industry by tapping into different skill sets I had not explored prior to embarking on my internship journey.

Read more on Insightful and Fulfilling…

I’m done with my internship… Now what?!

It’s a scary thought for a lot of seniors when the end of the school year finally approaches. All the credits are completed, the works handed in, the exams are graded, the internship comes to an end and now it’s time to enter the real world. A lot of graduating seniors still might not know exactly what they’re doing and it’s a scary thought. Being a transfer student my sophomore year and changing my major so late in the game, I actually will not graduate until December. So while I’m slightly sad I cannot graduate with most of friends I’m glad to know I still have time to get my plans together.

Prerequisites for Success

Back during the cold, long days of last winter, I was on a mission to acquire an internship for this semester (that is winding down, ever so quickly!) I stumbled across Skai Blue Media, a PR firm in Midtown Village, and started doing some research on the company. Before I was even interviewed for the position, I got the impression that Skai Blue Media’s successful reputation came as a result of their passion for their work. In an industry that I’ve learned demands enthusiasm, it got me thinking… what other factors contribute to the success of a company?

Read more on Prerequisites for Success…

The Top 5 Things I Learned During my Internship

I am sad to say my time here at Harmelin is coming to a close. I have really enjoyed getting to know the media buyers and planners and, of course, my fellow interns. As I am preparing to say goodbye, I have developed a short list of the top 5 most important things I’ve learned here.

The Dark Side of Unpaid Internships

Time and time again I have heard horror stories about interns being overworked and underpaid at their internships. In fields like advertising and marketing, participating in unpaid internships is virtually a necessity, both to get experience, and to get your foot in the door. But in this economy, many companies are all too willing to take advantage of the free labor that eager students have to offer.

“No” doesn’t mean “Never.” Sometimes, it just means “Later…”

This is my first semester of senior year and I have finally landed my first internship, at Harmelin Media in Bala Cynwyd, PA!

Now, if I have learned one thing about the arduous process of getting someone to hire you, it’s that you should never take no for an answer. If you want to work somewhere, and you get rejected, do not give up. I know it’s been said a million times before, but let me explain…

3 Things to Know About Interning in Advertising

I’ve learned a few valuable lessons in my internships, and I hope these three things will be helpful to anyone beginning an internship in advertising.

Ask questions

In the beginning of an internship it is often intimidating to ask questions. You might be afraid of annoying your boss or sounding stupid. Sometimes you might think the time for asking questions has passed or that you’ve already asked too many questions. Don’t worry about any of that. Asking questions is the best thing you can do as an intern. It is how you learn tasks and understand their purpose. That’s why it’s better to ask questions early and often, so that you thoroughly understand things before you are given more responsibility later. Your boss will be happy to answer your questions because it shows that you take your job seriously and want to learn. So go ahead and ask away!

The AD industry: Stress, but Great Rewards

Throughout my whole experience as an account service intern at Tag Strategies, the internship has taught me how valuable it is to apply the knowledge you learned from the classroom into the real world. It has also taught me that every branding firm and agency is different. Whether its big, small, or medium sized, each agency has a different goal. What I really like about Tag Strategies is its mission in finding the “It” factor in every client. What will make each product differentiate itself from other competitors?

Discoveries & Some Helpful Tips – Interning at Tag

It is more than halfway through my account service internship at Tag Strategies and it has been an eye-opening experience for me. I was excited on the first day yet nervous not knowing what I was getting myself into. Since the first day to now, I have learned and practiced everything from:

SHESAYS, A Global Creative Network for Women

I’ve stumbled upon an interesting website called SheSays, an award winning organization (London based), promoting free mentorship and events for women who aspire to work in the creative advertising and marketing industries.

G2 Agency in NYC

With a recent visit to one of the world’s top advertising agencies, G2 was absolutely a thrill! The main headquarters office is located right in the heart of NYC. What can get better than that?

Connect Philadelphia, A Networking Opportunity!

St. Joseph’s University is hosting an exclusive event for college students who are looking to network and look for career opportunities!

Among the list of confirmed employers/organizations, I saw that the Brownstein Group will be attending!

Philly AD Club’s Job Genius Bars, A Must Go!

Do you need an internship? Do you want a job? Or, do you want to do some exploring?

Attend Philly AD Club’s Job Genius Bars, an event that gives college students a chance to participate in interactive sessions, hear job searching tips, talk to “geniuses” in the industry, and gain more knowledge on how to be one step closer to their dream career.

Tiny Anchors

Tiny Anchors is a creative inspiration blog started by Brooke Mousitis of Brooke Courtney Photography in my hometown of Lancaster, PA.

“My goal is not to have the best blog out there, for there are tons of similar blogs, or to have a million followers. I just want to be able to look back at the end of every year and see what what projects I was working on and what was inspiring me at the time.” -Brooke

I’ll Take the Small Agency Roll Please

This past week I completed my first week of my second internship at Maiden Media. Three words: I Love It! It’s a small shop tucked away in the chic-ness of Olde City but once you step inside you quickly realize there is nothing small about Maiden Media. A creative agency that focuses on digital media (websites, social media, and creative) Maiden Media is for those who thrive on hash tags, gifs,apps, trending topics and javascript. Initially, I was worried about how I would fit, but that quickly faded after the first few days.

Campus Philly Presents: Createadelphia

You got creative. Now it’s time to get an internship.

The first ever creative industry fair, exclusively for current college students interested in various fields of design, including: Graphic Arts, Fashion, Entertainment, Environmental and Arts & Culture. Discover internship opportunities, network with regional professionals and gain valuable advice and insights from some of Philadelphia’s leading creative industry experts.

about: JESSICA HISCHE designer, letterer, and illustrator

I recently discovered this amazing designer, Jessica Hische. She is amazing at lettering (drawing her own type), design, and illustration. She is only 5 years out of college and has an absolutely amazing and very impressive portfolio. Her work has been featured in many publications like Entertainment weekly, New York Magazine, People Magazine, O Magazine, and Wired Magazine (just to name a few). She is a freelancer, living in Brooklyn, but she went to art school here in Philadelphia, at Temple’s own art school, Tyler.

MAY 19: The ADCP wants you to EXPOSE yourself.

Creative, exposed to a city filled with voyeuristic agencies.

MAY 19th :: PORTFOLIO REVIEW!!!!!

Can you handle the truth about your art? Put it on display in front of critics that will play no favorites and spare no punches? There’s a harsh reality to this industry. Not everyone “has it.” Are you willing to lay it on the line, let your work speak for itself? No back stories, no “the client wanted us to do this, so we compromised.” Nada. Just stop talking.

The little things in life.

At my current internship at Philly Magazine I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet a lot of great people (see my last blog about networking) and learn a ton of tools that will help me in the future. Because it is a magazine, I’ve learned about making media kits, tracking down leads, maintaining advertising clients with recap books, etc. You know, magazine ad sales stuff. But I’ve also learned some little things that I know I will always carry with me.

For example, I can proudly say that I now know how to Fed Ex and UPS a package via their online website with no problem at all (you may think that’s lame, but hey, I didn’t know how to do it before). I’ve gotten much more comfortable at calling businesses and clients on the phone and speaking to them like a professional employee. Sometimes I get the task of cold calling leads and seeing if they are interested in advertising with our magazine and I have no problem talking with them and answering any questions that they have. I’ve also learned a handful of new computer software that I didn’t even know existed before I began my internship. One of my favorites is “Snag It”. This program allows you to take screen shots per say. It’s really useful when trying to capture an entire website page or e-mail because it automatically scrolls to the end of the page. I’ve also become much more comfortable with Microsoft excel. I know how important excel is in many aspects of “real world careers”, but I was never any good at. My supervisor, Danielle has shown me a ton of new tricks on excel that I am extremely grateful for. I really like that my internship has given me the opportunity to see the process of magazine advertising. For example, at Philly Mag an ad goes through three levels of individuals to “fact check” it and make sure all of the information on the advertisement is correct (Yes, that is one of my many assigned tasks).

Writing Your “About Me” Page

It’s a good idea to have some sort of online presence outside of Facebook. A blog is an excellent way to showcase your unique tastes and talents. Every blog has (or should have) an About Me page. This allows users to get a quick insight into you and your background. Even if you don’t create a blog, chances are you’re going to have to define yourself some time in the near future.

Temple Ad Alum Jason Grandelli Speaks on Interactive Media

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of getting some insights about interactive media and how we could make the most of our tracks. Our Creative Thinking professor, Kimberly Cassady, invited another guest speaker. Last time we had Mr. Ken Cills of Machinery Philly. This time we got to meet Mr. Jason Grandelli. Kim and Jason are both Temple alumni and classmates hailing from our very own ad program just a few years prior. Jason graduated from the art direction track and he explained how he ended up as a Senior Interactive Developer at Blue Cadet Interactive.

Fact or Myth? Paid Internships Do Not Exist

Where to look for paid agency internships in Philly and beyond.

TAC Meetings

Yesterday, TAC members got to enjoy a Q&A panel about internships from its very own members. The panel was very informative and diverse. From internships in Philly, to Chicago, and even Australia, the insights were invaluable. A few tips I picked out:

Brain Drain pt1: Does it help or hurt?

There’s nothing wrong with aiming high. A company is like a family– a marriage even. To “marry up” is great, but to refuse any other option is naive.

Advertising’s role in magazines

There are many different directions you can go with a degree in advertising. One exciting job possibility in the world of advertising is working at a magazine. To get a perspective on what this would be like, I got to interview Kayla Mayhew, 21, who is currently interning at Philadelphia Style Magazine.

Get the scoop on account management possibilities!

To get a glimpse at the account management and research aspect of advertising, I recently interviewed William Cook, 21. He is currently a student in the account management track here at Temple, and shared some great advice on this area of the industry, and what you can do with it.

DEC vs. an Internship

Recently, I’ve heard a lot of students contemplating whether to do DEC, or an internship to fulfill necessary credits. Personally, I did an internship, and I know a lot of others who went the same road as I did. I was curious though, what does DEC have to offer? To find out I interviewed Roger John Cassi, 23, who is an advertising student in both the copywriting and art direction track.

Internship Interview #1: Alex Riley & Harmelin Media

Alex

Hi everyone! My name is Devan West, and I am a senior studying advertising at Temple. We all know how important it is, especially in this major, to have an internship. After all, it is a requirement in the curriculum. Currently, many students in the advertising department hold internships at some of the most prominent companies in Philadelphia. I will be sitting down with the students in these positions weekly in order to give others a better insight of what it’s like. This week I got to sit down and talk with Alex Riley, 21, who is in the account management track of the advertising department.

DW: “Hi Alex, where are you currently interning?”

AR: “I’m interning at Harmelin Media.”