A grad’s guide to Australia’s top ad agencies

Awesome post Lou – especially as I have been chasing my tail over the whole working in Advertising thing. Although I’m still wondering what the merits are of doing a course at say, AWARD School (http://www.awardschool.com.au/) – as opposed to the Comms Council Grad Program?

You should give McCann’s a call. They love the ‘younger’ workers! – Sorry Tim I just couldn’t resist 🙂 Feel free to not post my comment. But ya got to admit I am as funny as hell. 🙂

Great work Lou.

Did the article writer mention to each of the people she spoke to that she was researching an article or that the conversation was going to be paraphrased in a trade publication?

Just a question, not an accusation.

Doing this = great way to get your name out there. Kudos.

Also, which agency did she gain employment at?

Of course all the agencies were going to be super helpful and informative, knowing that an article was being written about this. They work in communications, they know whta good PR is. And surprise surprise, not a bad word was said about any of them.

I think it’d be a totally, entirely different story for a standard student calling up trying to find this information. And that’s speaking from experience.

This is a great post, great job, makes me want to be a graduate all over again…. What it also does is make me wish that the Market Research industry and AMSRS put more collective thought and effort into the recruitment and training of graduates into the industry. I know AMSRS offer the graduate certificate programme but together we should be doing more.

Lou maybe you could repeat this exercise among the key MR agencies….

Hey Robin, can you please answer my earlier question,

Thanks

Interesting read. Thanks for sharing this, Lou. Good to learn what the other agencies do / don’t do. Good luck with your current placement. And thanks for helping us out here too.

On another note, this article might give all of us (agencies) the impetus to formalise and expand the graduate training and intern programs through the Comms Council and/or as individual agencies.

the story should have been done as Lou just as a normal person (not someone who could carry the mumbrella badge), wonder if she’d get past the receptionist …

Thanks for the feedback everyone, really appreciate your comments. I found the whole exercise really interesting and a great way to learn more about different agency cultures.

@Johnny: I think both are fantastic opportunities, but it might depend on which track you’re looking to go down- From my understanding the Comms Council scheme is geared towards account management, strategic planning, etc; Award School is for those with a creative bent. Either one will give you a great headstart.

@Ok oK OK Yup, I told people I was writing for mUmbrella- maybe that made some more open to comment, although as per Robin’s comment, the name wasn’t enough for some people to get back to me.

@Chris: Cheers! It’s a work in progress- I still have another semester to go at UNSW.

@JD: The same thought crossed my mind and maybe you’re right- but then not everyone elected to reply to my calls and emails. To paraphrase your comment, perhaps some agencies know what good PR is/are more helpful and informative more than others? As for the lack of bad words… Again, you make a good point, but I wanted to ‘name and fame’ more than ‘name and shame’- as a graduate I’m more interested in what opportunities there actually are out there than what is lacking.

Thanks again!

Thanks

Interesting read. Just a note of warning to prospective graduates, it’s pretty poor money at the start (you would be surprised how many grads think they’ll start on $50k plus… trust me lovelies, you’re looking at the $30k mark and sometimes a little lower… I speak from experience having been in a grad program in one of the top 30 a few years back). If you are aware of this from the start, it’s a good way to plan what you want to get out of the grad programs and weigh things up. If you are in the industry for the money, don’t bother going for the grad programs. In fact, don’t bother going into advertising at all if you want to make the big bucks young – I don’t say this to be nasty, advertising today is not Mad Men. If you are in it for the advertising itself, then go for it, you’ll find all the things you wanted to see and more. GOOD LUCK!

Nice post.

As others have noted, it might have been more revealing to not announce your publishing intentions. That said, many apparently didn’t reply anyway.

Good luck in your studies.

@sarak Cudos for putting that in writing, no one wants to talk entry level renumeration out loud. I remember having to quietly harass a fellow Award School student who was already working as a creative to give me a benchmark.

Grad salaries (From my experience)

First year Account Management $35-40k (hours worked per week 50-60)
Second year Account Management $40-45k (same hours as above)

Entry Level Account Management (Receptionist/Mail people) $33k (hours worked 40)

From what I know

Account Co-ord $40k
Account Executive $45k -$50
Account Manager $60k – $80k
Account Director $85k to $130k
GAD >$130k to a lot more

There you go the secret is out! 🙂

obviously this is not an exact science, but these numbers will be close. Not even going to bother with Strategy/Planners/Creatives while I know them it would take more than a Mumbrella post to explain.

Hi Lou

Good on you for having a go!

I have had a number of graduates contact me after my recent campaign to lock down a senior role. Each of them received a less than gracious reception from some of the agencies you’ve contacted. Revealing that you were writing a piece for Mumbrella will certainly have made the path smother as none of them wants a bad rap.

I would suggest talking to a number of people at different stages within agencies to find out the reality beyond the gloss.

Talk to people who have been in an agency 6 -12 months, in the industry 5 years,
10 years or more (the latter are becoming harder and harder to find!) Ask about the sensational, good, bad and indifferent so that you gain a real picture of what lies ahead of you.

It’s a great industry with a stack of work to do if it wants to continue to attract great people and actually give them a career path with longevity.

C’mon everyone…who’s willing to help Lou and give her some direction?

Good luck with your hunt. Don’t expect agencies to fall over themselves with enthusiasm unless you’re sensational. It’s demand and supply. They get a bazillion calls and only have a few places. Many Gen Ys expect to instantly walk into an agency, be promoted within three days then CEO by the time they’re 22. It takes time. Don’t give up and be prepared to work your arse off. That’s advertising circa 2011.

Hi Lou,

This is the first article I’ve read about grads trying to get into the advertising industry – how refreshing, thank you!

Firstly, I’d like to say ‘good on you!’. Even though you were doing it on behalf of Mumbrella, it still takes serious guts to ‘cold call’ and a thick skin, as after a few polite refusals, it’s pretty easy to think ‘what’s wrong with me?’ and ‘I am obviously not good enough’. (speaking from experience)

I have done two courses at Ad School and made some really good contacts (one of whom is now my referee). I was also lucky enough to get selected for the Com Council’s Melbourne grad program…but unfortunately didn’t get a position. I did however make some really good contacts and now have some ‘meetings’ with two agencies in January next year (when i say ‘meetings’ I definitely don’t mean ‘job interviews’, just a friendly chat….that will hopefully lead to some where). Anyway, hope that helps some of you hopefuls out there 🙂

Oh yeah, and for those of you interested, pedestrian.tv has a really helpful ‘Jobs’ page. They have listings for everything media and creative and also have intern/graduate positions.

Awesome article. It took me ages to learn all of this so finally, here it is in one place.

BTW Mumbrella… whats with the snub to Google+ ?! Lemme share.

Hi again, so great to read comments- glad you like the piece. I definitely agree that this would have been harder had I not mentioned that it would be published on mUmbrella… and it wasn’t a walk in the park getting answers from some of the agencies I DID get to! For me the whole process really emphasises how important it is for grads to find an ‘in’.

@SaraK, @From My View – Interesting stuff re the salaries and thanks for the benchmark figures! I think at the start of a career, most people are eager just to find a way in and worry about the $ later, but it’s so important to have realistic expectations… That being said, I used to work in law and switched because I didn’t find it fulfilling- I think I’d have stuck with it if money was my main motivation!

@Tony Simms – Thanks so much for the advice and words of encouragement. I’m following your quest with interest and really hope you lock down something (paid!) soon.

@Wild Oscar – Very true! Everyone I spoke to emphasised the need for applicants to ‘stand out from the crowd’ and with so much competition- extremely talented competition- it can seem rather daunting. That being said, I’m already 26 so perhaps appear a slow developer to some of my Gen Y peers…

@Lara Banks – Agree with the thick skin comment- I think a couple of people thought I was just using the mUmbrella name to access the right people and not writing anything at all. Congratulations on all your achievements so far- being selected for the Comms Council Scheme is really impressive and I hope your meetings in January go well (Oh, and also a pedestrian.tv fan!)

By way of full disclosure (and in answer to those who have asked what I’m doing now), Host contacted me again after I spoke to them and asked me in for a chat. I’m delighted (and lucky) to say I started an internship with their project management team this week and am absolutely loving it. I should also add that I’d already finished writing up their agency when they made me the offer and that it in no way influenced what I wrote!!!

I am the gatekeeper at a Sydney agency. It is very true that if (and I have had) someone called from Mumbrella I would be more likely to winch open the gates as apposed to just a random caller wanting something from us.

This article would be better suited to what different agencies offer as apposed to comparing each of their merits and downfalls.

Taking on an intern or work exp shouldn’t be seen as an expectation – should it? We are doing you a favour by offering the opportunity.

This article bugged me to be honest – and OF COURSE our email addresses are not listed on our sites – cut throat recruiters being the reason for this one

Hi Lou,

Amazing piece (it’s a keeper) – thanks for sharing!

@Tony Simms and @Lara Banks – I concur: ‘Good on you for having a go’ chatting to top creative agencies. As current Marketing & Finance student talking from experience…it takes initiative, guts and sometimes thick skin and a deep breath to try approaching people in the industry you’ve never met before. However, only people with such initiative may impress or ‘wins’ valuable insights (or even …opportunities – I luckily got my first Marketing internship through a similar experience).

Congratulations on your internship breakthrough to Host.! That’s an amazing and oh so exciting opportunity…I’m truly happy for you and keep us updated =)

@gate keeper – has your HR department ever hinged about having difficulty filling a role due to the lack of talent (junior or senior)? If not, then there is no expectation on you to take a grad or intern and mentor them.

If however you (like many agencies) complain about this moderately frequently, then you should see that lack of grad/intern placements and an entry-level salaries that barely keep a roof over ones head are creating this issue.

The salary thing really is a pretty shocking side. I had about 9 years experience as a graphic designer when I thought I’d take a ‘holiday’ and work as a ‘senior designer’ in a large ad agency rather than a design firm. It was clear early on that I had good ideas and I was asked to consider moving across as “Art Director”. But since I hadn’t had the title before, it would be ‘junior’ art director.
Then, they told me that that would mean my salary was going to drop by 50%!!! Just for the privilege of having the Art Director title.
Needless to say, I remained as designer until I could quickly get outta there to a more suitable design role.

For me the key thing has been getting as much practical work exp or doing an internship before graduating. I found agencies were generally pretty happy to talk to me on the basis of this.

It also does seem that the industry has a real issue with how the access and nurture talent. DDB and Clemenger Group stand out as exceptions.

Hi Lou,

You might find our Makeover Night helpful.
It’s on 1 December, 6.30pm at Publicis Mojo.
http://shesaysmakeover.eventbrite.com/

It’s an informal night to get one on one feedback and advice from some of the leading ladies in the industry.

Great article!

It truly is a struggle to get into the creative advertising industry.

Would also be very interesting if LOU compared the Media agencies policies for recruitment too, and also the PR agencies.

But once you’ve cut through, it gets much easier, and keep on reading Mumbrella, AdNews, B&T, Campaign Brief etc as your bible! It keeps you informed on who and what is out there in the industry. Which agency is doing great, who works on what, etc!

Lou – don’t do it

Unless you want a creative position, stay away from agencies – its much better working on the client side.

@ Yasmin

I really believe Makeover Night is a great initiative as women have it tougher than men but is this adding to a wider industry problem?

It is well known that less and less men are being attracted to the industry. Take a look at any agency staff photo and we guys are becoming a minority group. Given the number of women, it is not surprising that events like Makeover Night are occuring as women look for more guidance from other women with their careers.

It is a sensational idea as it is simply practical help where it is needed. Unfortunately there are not similar opportunities for those all too rare young guys considering the same career paths.

With the number of women entering the industry, you’d think there would be an increased number of women in senior roles. As we all know, this is not the case and this as an issue has been discussed with some passion in the last few months.

It appears that there is a serious blockage between these two scenarios.

In the last few weeks I have been running a campaign to secure a job and create discussion in the industry about the lack of senior roles in the industry. Along the way I have had the opportunity and priviledge of talking to many women in different roles in agencies along with recruiters who have shared their experience that are more than a little disturbing.

Here’s a direct word for word quote sent to me by a recruiter:

“Woman in this industry have it a lot harder than the men. I see it like this:
Agencies bring in the “Gorgeous” woman to be in the front line of a pitch to sway the client etc.
The gorgeous women become older and then become mothers. Agencies just don’t have the need for them and then hire an intern chick that can start that process again for them,
I see maternity leave candidates back on the market time and time again. It is appalling.”

I have spoken to two other female recruiters who have shared exactly the same experience along with a series of women in agencies in a variety of roles and experience levels.

Has the industry found itself a highly effective operational model driven naturally by life’s circumstances to keep costs down?

Is it any wonder that there are so few women in senior roles?

And imagine how difficult it is for young guys to enter the industry when they have an inate inability to adapt to the operational model?

What are your thoughts in these issues? Has it affected you or someone else you know in the industry?

Cheers

Tony Simms

Good post Lou. I teach in the RMIT Advanced Diploma of Business – Advertising and each year all of the staff leverage as many of their contacts as possible to get our graduates an interview.

They are job ready, well trained and ready to roll and still many of the best find it tough to get a foot in the door and each year we lose many to other industries, which is a waste of the fine young talent the course delivers.

In my experience, media businesses are much more likely to offer work experience and positions than creative agencies, which is great. The creative agencies need to catch up and deliver greater graduate programs and opportunities.

Hi Lou,

In one of the agency reviews you mention the necessity to hold either Australian citizenship or a PR. Did you come across any agency that’s eager to hire international graduates if they are a good match for the role ?

As you can imagine, I’m an international postgrad looking for a position in Australia, and it is quite of a challenge to find employers ready to check my resume and have a chat with me because of the visa situation.

Thanks for your article,

cheers

Great article!
I mentored a graduate this year who’s sole purpose was to be an agency ‘suit’.
The best advice I can give is don’t email your resume and assume it’s 1/ being received, 2/ opened and 3/ actually read.
If you want a job at a creative agency be creative! Let your imagination shine through when it comes to getting your CV to your desired agency.
PS: My graduate is now happily employed.

The best advice I could give to a grad is GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR.

I graduated from a creative degree last year, and like many of my classmates have aspirations of being an art director/copywriter. I decided the easiest way to do this was to get myself in an agency anyway possible, meet the important people and go from there.

I had pretty excellent grades and got myself an interview for a graduate accounts position at one of the above agencies, and convinced the interviewer that I could do just as good a job as any marketing/business grad.

I’ve slowly been getting to know the creative department, working on their old briefs and hitting up the CD for feedback whenever he has a spare moment. I may not be working in creative yet, but at least I’m working in a top 30 agency in some capacity!

I think I’m in a much better position to score that coveted creative gig than the majority of my fellow classmates who are sitting around at home eating 2 minute noodles and working part-time in retail whilst waiting for their creative opportunity to come along!!

Thanks all for more great advice 🙂

@Lisa – Apologies for the tardy response! In terms of agencies who are ‘eager to hire international graduates if they are a good match for the role’… Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think there’s a straightforward answer to that one.

I appreciate where you are coming from, as I am also an international student and sometimes get the feeling that some people don’t see beyond my visa status. That being said, given the added cost and complication, I can completely understand why an agency would be hesitant to take on a non-resident (especially for an entry-level position) just as they probably would be in our home countries… There are, after all, a great many talented and eager Aussie grads also looking for positions.

Ultimately, I think it depends on the particular agency and on the qualifications/skills/experience/personality of the individual applicant- if you’re fabulous and show a lot of potential or could bring something totally unique to the agency, maybe the visa challenges can be overcome? Again (apologies if this sounds like a broken record), I really reckon the key thing is to be dedicated, persistent, and get as much experience/as many contacts as you can… and to find a way to differentiate yourself, stand out from the crowd and prove to potential employers that you’re something special.

I have my fingers crossed for you and wish you all the best!

@Yasmin – Thanks so much for getting in touch about SheSays. Makeover Night was great and I picked up loads of useful tips. Can’t wait until the next one!

@SneakyGrad – I’d say that’s more smart than sneaky- good effort!