Career coach: What are the career options for older creatives?
The need for continuous new ideas and boundless energy means advertising is often seen by many as a young person’s game. This week a senior creative asks what does their future hold if they don’t make the top ranks in agencyland?
“I have been working in agency land for 18 years, I’m now in my early forties and am a senior creative in a very nice agency, doing work I like with a good team. All is good. Or is it? I look ahead and I don’t see any 50 something perm employed senior creatives who aren’t CD or ECD. And I look around and in fact there’s no-one over that that age in the entire agency except the CEO, and he is more often seen on his yacht than at his desk.
My question is “where do old creatives go to die?”, or more importantly carry on living and earning? It seems to me that the funnel for employable agency people gets narrower and narrower from mid 40s onwards. Unless you make it to the top jobs, what jobs are there? And even if you make it to the top jobs, unless it’s your agency, well you can still get the flick at any moment – especially in creative where experience begins to look more like old fogey when compared to that Titanium Lion Gen Y ECD they are trying to lure in … Help!”
Hi @Help!
I hear you. It’s a topic that often comes up when I’m at speaking events, particularly around women and senior creative women.
The conversation often comes back to the lack of women who are traditional creative (this is changing with the new generations), women having the usual family/work dilemma, but also often because our industry is really bloody hard work.
I’d love to know how many people left agency life and:
a) went client side (I’d guess usually around 30 years old)
b) started their own agency (I’d guess usually around 40 years old)
c) changed industry altogether (mainly female?)
Don’t quote me on that, but what I’m trying to figure out is who is leaving, when, and why. There are two types of turnover – those you want to leave, those you don’t and who go of their own accord.
Senior people can find it hard to change their ways, they want to be their own boss, they price themselves out of the market, or they just simply burnout.
In a recent Mumbrella article Adam Benson said data analysed by PRIA showed that:
… There are people who outgrow their roles or outgrow their productivity and you are paying them more every year, but they are not actually billing more, adding more value or bringing more money into your agency. So they are essentially earning themselves out of a job.”
On the flip side there are people you who “absolutely want to keep in the business”, he added, including “seniors who have quite good delegated authority”.
There’s a massive push on retaining staff, but the focus almost always goes to the upcoming younger talent.
Much like I say about the gender diversity, it can be applied to generational too. Take the name off the CV and look at the character, strengths and transferable skills.
Forget about age, look at it black & white.
If you were in a recruitment race with you need to match Gen X on enthusiasm, ambition, and then beat them on commercial savvy, insights and experience.
But exactly as a I say with women, this isn’t just the responsibility of the individuals, it’s the responsibly of the industry too to realise that baby boomer staff need training too, but in different ways and often on different subjects.
Can I ask why you’re asking this question?
Do you want to chage your situation, or the industry? Either way is totally fine, looking after yourself first isn’t selfish, it makes sense.
So do you want to stay or leave? Are you willing to change, be open minded and learn new skills?
It’s never too late to make changes – either where you are, or to where you want to be.
Plan your own path, and run your own race. Did you know Vera Wang was a figure skater and journalist before entering the fashion industry at age 40?
One simple question: Is your current career path what you want to be doing for the next 30 years?
And if you’re early 40’s then I’m not kidding. You’ve probably got as long left as you’ve already done. Make it tick your Fun, Fame, Fortune boxes.
You know the other thing, I think you see what you’re looking for. Plus agency people often look younger than they are because us old-fart agency folk have been embalmed from the inside with all the ‘networking’ we did.
But if you’re looking for the lack of senior talent that’s what you’ll see.
You’re career’s not over, you’ve got loads of goals left to achieve and keep driving you.
But in terms of stability and scope, I’m afraid that’s the nature of the beast. No roles are guaranteed anymore. Unless you work for government or behemoth corporate, you’ll need to keep proving yourself at work.
There are 534 ‘senior creative’ jobs on LinkedIn, not all suitable, but they’re just the ones on LinkedIn and the ones that aren’t word of mouth.
How’s your personal brand? If people are looking for someone senior, what do they see on your LinkedIn profile and (if you’re visually creative) your website portfolio?
Is your attitude:
“isn’t this an exciting awesome industry that I’m lucky to be in and don’t mind working really hard and learning new things to keep up with the whipper snappers”
or
“I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve had hot dinners matey. I don’t want people critiquing my work, I know what works. I’ve won awards for x,y,z and this kid thinks he’s the bees knees cos he’s just finished AdSchool?”
Just make sure your pride isn’t hurting your opportunities, flexibility and desirability to others. I’m afraid we’re (yes, I’m in that age category too) going to have to adapt, not the generation coming in if we want to stay relevant.
But back to your point (I have been working in agency land for 18 years, I’m now in my early forties and am a senior creative in a very nice agency, doing work I like with a good team. All is good. Or is it?)
The answer is, today, yes all is good by the sounds of things. Spend your worry time figuring out how you will be indispensable to your agency, don’t worry about everyone else.
- Kate Savage is a career coach and mentor at Elbow Room Group
If you have a question you’d like answered, just email kate.savage@elbowroomcoaching.com – named or anonymous, on any career topic.
Wise words to a endemic problem. It’s not only creatives but also the ancillary creative roles that support agencies.
Directors, producers, designers and editors to name but a few. Creatives in agencies are partially part of the problem. They are most often looking for ‘Australia’s Next Top Model’ director and often discard the David Lean’s and Martin Scorcese’s of our the directorial world. Obviously an analogy only but you get my drift.
For the record I’m not a director but the discussion also requires we recognise other ‘creative’ roles: TV journos, composers, session musicians, TV talent, casting directors etc etc.
A few of the aforementioned can arrange an osmotic adjustment to related industries. But the opportunity is low.
It’s not a new problem, and one I welcome more discussion on, and not on the back page of Mumbrella.
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Kate, if ad agencies were smart they’d keep (and employ) older creatives.
Sixty-year-olds have untapped buying power. In fact, they’re more cashed up than gens X, Y and Z put together.
Most 60-year-olds have no mortgage or kids to support. Rather they have money and the leisure time to spend it.
Most ad people in their 20s and 30s create ads that either ignore cashed-up 60-year-olds. Or create ads that fail to persuade 60-year-olds to change their spending habits.
Ad agencies ignore cashed-up 60-year-olds at its peril (and cost).
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The ad industry is soul destroying once you’re over 45. If you’re truly creative, get out and write novels, filmscripts, tv series. You will be judged only by what’s on the page.
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I’m 56 and have plenty left in the tank. I’m looking forward to new dynamic and challenging times ahead. I identify with all generations and thrive to understand each and every label place upon them. I just took the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment to determine where I’m at and what I need to improve upon. To this day I can’t find many Gen x,v,z who can keep up with me.
My Strengths results, spot on…
#1 Activator – People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
#2 Futuristic – People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.
#3 Responsibility – People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
#4 Achiever – People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.
#5 Ideation – People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
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I’m in my early 40’s, I don’t have kids but my partner is a Advertising professional as well (we’re both senior Finished Artists of now 17 years in the Industry). About 5 years ago I felt burnt out by the ‘full-service’ Agency model, particularly the work harder rather than smarter mentality, so I moved sideways and took on a training, proof reading and workflow management role. That fizzled out and I have returned to a purely Finished Art role again which is a nice change – hand holding a secession of new graphic design graduates can be weary work, especially when they have been employed to do finished art when they really just want a foot in the door, anywhere. But I’ve learned so much from younger people and that always has to be a condition of any new job I take on. I have to learn new skills, communication must be clear and unambiguious, my role and responsibilities must be clearly defined. I’m not really the management type either, I’m very much the backstage hand, keeping things running smoothly.
As for my other career – I’m very much the boss.
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Savage.
Being the spouse of a creative past 50 this question or thought is valid.
Plan. Plan. Plan.
My advise – being creative is amazing – the field is amazing g – but…..from what I can tell it is smoke and mirrors and all Hollywood.
Have a back up plan – most especially after 32
Hugs!
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