Are You Desperate?

So you've finished Ad School. 

You've got your book.

You've got great feedback from your instructors, the people (most of) you think are the smartest advertising minds in the world.

And you have a list of your dream agencies, your fall-back agencies and you "gag" agencies.

You send out your book with a snazzy e-mail introducing yourself.

I once sent an ECD in Memphis an e-mail explaining how despite the fact I grew up an hour and a half away, that I had never been to Memphis due to a promise my father made to a judge after a run-in with the law.

He thought it was funny and then never got back to me.

In fact I had a lot of people think my book was good, that my writing was excellent, my thinking was smart that never offered me a job.

At first I brushed it off. For the most part these people were at agencies in hiring freezes, but told me I was great.

A few people told me that I wouldn't fit in at their agency.

I started to get desperate.

Animals can smell fear.

Creative Directors can smell desperation.

And it affects their brain.

A great book, seems weaker if the creative behind it seems desperate for a job.

Your funny work history that doesn't include any actual advertising work becomes a tell-tale sign of your undesirability.

You're quirky sense of humor, your refreshing optimism, your unwavering honesty? 

Becomes weird, annoying, and cocky.

And instead of positive feedback, you start getting the "polite" brush-off where no one returns your calls.

The desperation becomes so odious that even you, a mere junior, can begin to smell it and you try to compensate.

You start adding concept statements to your book. You start explaining the idea behind ads that really need no explanation.  You start begging, you start behaving like you were applying for a banking position. You do your best to not appear odd or weird or unusual.

And then you quit being called into interviews all together.

Until you finally say, "fuck it."

You send out your book to every possible lead. You craft cover e-mails that express who you really are, instead of your bull-shit, "I'm too cool to work here attitude." that you had right out of school.

And somewhere along the line a CD sees something that seems genuine about you and your work, and they call you.

They interview you. 

They interview again.

If you're lucky they offer you a job later that day.

If you're like me, you get offered a job 3 weeks later five minutes after telling your friend that the agency is blowing you off.

And you say yes, start your job and go on to be the greatest creative in advertising history.

So why am I telling  you this?

Because, I want you to skip the whole "desperation" period of the job hunt.

I want you to know that its going to take a little while, that you aren't too cool for the places you're applying to, and to just be as real as possible.

Because the last thing you want is to get a job at an agency where you don't "really" fit in.

PJL