advergirl

Advertising Resume Makeovers: Part 3

John Quebec*, Canada

Before/After:

Why:

John is worried about what comes after his current gig. How does he rally the experience he's had so far into a meaningful next step? Something with a strategic flair and some flexibility.

And, I've got to say - John had the best problem of the bunch.  Turns out, he's a very savvy interactive AE. Who not only gets the development process, but also gets the consumer mindset. In short, he's the guy everyone wants. And, perfectly positioned to go into a traditional agency or client-side gig and take the place by storm. BUT, you'd never know it from his resume. So, first rule: Make sure you know what you have that The Big World wants.

Here are the changes we made:

• Kicked it off with a chatty little profile that reflects a lot of the ways John talked about himself in his email. That replaced a list called 'summary' that basically covered business skills that we would consider tablestakes - stuff like teamwork, education, etc.
  
  One extra note on this profile - In the region John lives in, being bilingual is an important differentiator for candidates. So, we left that in the profile, but  also made it relevant to his specialist skills by adding a little something Webby: "Fluent communicator in English, French and social media." If he's applying to a traditional agency, that could also be "Bilingual: English/French, Traditional/Interactive."


• Simplified his career narrative and made the descriptions more parallel. That change added a lot of voice and confidence. From "Development of creative briefs and briefing the creative team" to "Writer of meaningful creative briefs."


• Again, removed a lot of the college jobs. Same reasons as Kate's.


• Moved the education down. Unless it's Harvard or the New School, I think most people want to know - what have you done lately?


• Turned his "other experience" section into a new element aimed at building relevance. One of the toughest things in online marketing is keeping up-to-date on what's changing. Armano's written a few good posts on the horrors of interviewing someone for an interactive role and finding out they never interact. So, in this section, we brought together some of his online and offline passions - things that keep him fresh in his role at the agency. (And, heck, frankly add a ton of interest and affinity for the reader)

This resume is my absolute favorite makeover. Both from the strategy of positioning John and the visual impact of the change. So, I'm choosing this post to share a few savvy resume design tips from Adverboyfriend (Lance Dooley, Creative Director, SBC Advertising).

How to perform a Resume Facelift:

• Don't over do it. Visually, keep it relatively simple. I could have taken this 8.5 x 11 real estate and created poster art. That would be a mistake of galactic (I just wanted to use that word) proportions. If you have the luxury of knowing a designer that will help you, make sure they know that this is still a business communication tool. It can not overwhelm or confuse it's audience. It still has to resemble a resume.


• Hierarchy. You have ONE THING you want to say about yourself. And then you have 12 things to support that point. Make sure that that ONE THING is clear and visible.


• Break through. Your audience looks at dozens of these a day. Traditional resumes are just Word docs that are all prosaic, all the same point size, and all of the content ends up having the same presence. The same resume that would get you in the door to be a Barista at Starbucks is sometimes used for your dream job at Crispin. There's no customization to the audience - to the creative people you're really talking to. If you are starting a conversation with a person in a creative environment (account service or creative) make sure your resume is not antithetical to their culture or state of mind.
  
  Be different. Be unique. Be relevant. Do it visually. Do it with content.
  
  Or do it with the follow-up. I interview intriguing candidates all the time. Whether I'm hiring or not. A candidate I was interested in, but not sold on, made it her mission to stay in front of me (and be my first choice) from the day I met her until I had approval to hire. To get my attention, she sent me a Joke Of The Day every day for 64 days. She is now one of my most valuable employees.

More Getting Started Content:

If you're trying out an interactive AE role for the first time, check out these two great worksheets for diving in and exceeding expectations:

And, look for our last resume makeover on Wednesday.

*Not his real name, in case you didn't guess!

Advertising Resume Makeovers: Part 2

Kate Lindsay, Seattle

Before/After:

Why:

Katie wants to eventually make the move from a marketing generalist to an agency-side planner or strategist. No small feat. The first logical step was to re-organize her packed two-page resume to focus on the best stuff. Here are the changes we made:

• Replaced "objective" with an orienting blurb about her career: "Account planner with roots in marketing strategy and a passion for great work." It starts to rationalize her experience with the gig she's applying for and creates a great filter for reading the resume.


• Changed up the employment section to do two things - (1) let her talk about her role in more conversational, relevant ways - not just in lists of job titles and (2) set up her job description as accomplishments - not here's what I was asked to do, but here's how I delivered.


• Deleted the college jobs. Not because they weren't valuable, just because they created confusion. Not only was the list long (why is a person who's had eight jobs applying for this entry level gig?) but the roles were all over the place (not bad, but confusing for someone who wants to categorize you and figure out where you fit in).


• Removed the list of design programs. When you're applying for a specialist role that doesn't require them, it sends a conflicted message - is this really what she wants to do? Or does she want to be a designer?


• Removed all the long-form copy about skills and related experience. It's the fodder of (not words for) a cover letter.

The result: It's really easy for me to see that Kate has provided real value for other companies, thinks & talks like an agency person, and has experience at a place like this.

Need a cover letter for your resume? Check out these Advergirl tips

Tomorrow on Advergirl: Another resume makeover and resume design tips

 

Advertising Resume Makeovers: Part 1

Not long ago I issued a call for resumes from advertising newbies. Agency types with fewer than three years experience who knew their resumes weren't working as hard as they should be, but just didn't know how to fix them.

Over 100 resumes from 8 countries were submitted. And, once I dug out the printer, three emerged as great examples of the challenges most submitters were struggling with.

I worked on the makeovers with "Adverboyfriend" - also known as Lance Dooley, Creative Director at SBC Advertising.

We'll start off with a few general tips on fixing common problems and then the before / after / and why of three makeovers.

Common Goofs: General Resume Advice

• Your resume is a package, not a laundry list. It's that meaningful, relevant way you want employers to know you. You have to know what's important. And, that's not necessarily every job, award, and task you've ever had.


• It's harder to write short than long. Most of the resumes we received were 2 - 3 pages long. That's a page for every year of your agency lives. And, it's too much. Simplify your story to the good parts. Clarify your goals and profiles. You want us to read it, not be impressed by its weight.


• Pick a job and go for it. Don't expect the harried manager or unfamiliar HR rep to determine how you could fit into the agency. Tell them how. Explicitly. Name a role and focus all your content on it. (You can always have a couple of versions if you're still undecided)


• Your skills are things you can do incredibly well, not programs you can operate. Before reading any further, please solemnly swear that you will never again type the heading "Skills" and list next to it every computer program you've ever launched. If you must list skills, they're facilitation, synthesis, making cookies for the brainstorming meeting, even. Just not Photoshop.


• Have a voice. The ideal reaction that a manager will have when meeting you is - wow, she's exactly what I expected from her resume. Bring your personality to the page. It shows (not tells) that you know how to communicate.

Ok, onto the resumes with these two small caveats:

1. These recommendations are expressly for people who want to work in creative industries. Candidates applying to large corporations that leverage key word scanning software should think as much about the relevant key words and the ease of import as some of the advice we're sharing here.


2. We picked these people because they appear to be great candidates. Smart, savvy, creative. So, when the criticism starts flying, remember that it's not about them - it's about a piece of paper.(Thick skins, people! You can insult us in the comments!)

Watch for the resumes this week:

• Monday: Kate Lindsay for Seattle
• Tuesday: "John" an anonymous ad guy for Quebec
• Wednesday: Danielle Hueston from Rochester

Advice for Newbies: The Week

As a special thanks to all the students and young professionals who take the time to write me with questions and ideas, this week I'm dedicating Advergirl.com to advice on starting out in advertising.

Today, we'll kick-off a four-part resume makeover series. And later in the week, look for advice on interviewing, networking and staying fresh.

New to advertising? Send me your questions or memorable (great/horrible) experiences.

Experienced in advertising? This is a great week to share your advice. Send comments to lhouseholder at gmail. If I can quote you, please include your name and home agency.

Ok, let's jump in...

Interactive Toolkit for Account Executives

Sometimes the most difficult part of the process is knowing where to start and how to add value.

Today's worksheet for AEs getting started in the interactive space details each of the major steps in the development process and easy ways to over-deliver and add real value at every step of the way.

Want more? Download yesterday's worksheet on the key components of a Web site with smart questions to ask even your toughest clients.

Interactive for AEs

As traditional agencies stretch farther and farther into the interactive space, long-time print, branding and broadcast AEs are being inundated with demands to basically speak a new language. They're at once floundering for the right answers -- heck, even the right question -- with clients and trying to deliver on the been-there-done-that demands of designers and programmers back at the agency.

Since I haven't yet run into a boot camp for teaching interactive to AEs, I thought I'd gather my notes and try to help:

Today: Overview of the key components of a basic site and smart questions to ask along the way

Tomorrow: Topline development process and ways for an AE to add value at each step

If you're just getting started selling & managing online (or remember when you were) and have questions or horror stories, please share them in the comments - together we can build other content and tools that might be needed ...

Advertising resume makeover?

Call for resumes: If you have fewer than three years experience in advertising or marketing and are concerned your resume isn't working as hard for you as it could be, please submit it for an Advergirl.com makeover.

Selected resumes will be re-written (by a fabulous strategist) and re-designed (by an award-winning creative director) free of cost. And, will be featured in a before / after post highlighting changes and giving tips on resume writing to job searchers like you.

How to submit:

• Send your resume or career notes via email to lhouseholder (at) gmail.com
• If you're looking to make a major change in job title / level of responsibility / type of employer, please include those details
• And, if you would prefer that your name not be used, flag that, too

Women: what to do when an agency offers you a job

Dear Readers: Thanks for your questions about why this post changed. Some readers in my local market read something into the illustrative case (now deleted) that simply was not there. I don't say that to insult them - once any of us thinks we know what someone really meant, right or wrong, it's hard to shake it. Nonetheless, I didn't feel the illustration was worth the controversy. So, I took it down. The take away from the data below is this: by not correctly gaging what we're worth and not negotiating salaries, women are more likely than men to depress their salaries over a lifetime. So, when we see the national statistics about women making an average of 76% of what men in the same jobs earn, there is a certain amount of behavioral culpability we have to take in changing that equation. The balance of the post is below:

Something to consider:

Men initiate negotiations about four times more often than women. The reason is simple: women are more likely (2.5x) to be uncomfortable negotiating. Many don't even know where to begin. In a recent study, when asked to pick metaphors for negotiations, men picked "winning a ballgame" and a "wrestling match," while women picked "going to the dentist."

The impact of our discomfort is ... in a word ... disastrous.

By not negotiating a first salary, women stands to lose more than $500,000 by age 60.

We often don't recognize what we're losing even in the moment. Women tend to be more grateful - to be happy to have received the job offer. One reason is we don't know our market value: women reported salary expectations between 3 and 32 percent lower than those of men for the same job. Men expect to earn 13 percent more during their first year of full-time work and 32 percent more at their career peak.

So, what to do?

• Build your value: Emphasize the benefits of your skills and experience in the interview
• Do your research: Know what you're worth in your market with your experience and find out what you can about how the agency rewards its employees
  
• Let the agency bring up salary first: Avoid being the first one to throw out a number and avoid filling out salary history questions
• Know what you want: Is it 10% more in salary? Is it an extra week of vacation? Be ready to ask for the compensation that you really desire
• Be quiet: When the new boss first makes an offer, nod as if you are considering it and keep quiet. Resist the natural urge to basically gush with effusive thanks
• Take the night to think about: Come back with a reasonable counter offer clearly stated
• Don't be emotional: Or take it personally. At this point, business is business

Advice for starting out at an advertising agency

I find that I don't have a lot of general advice for the world. Sure, I go on here with my critiques and proclamations. All in good fun. But, when it comes to one-size-fits-all advice, I have a mere three tenets:

1. When planning a wedding reception, always ask the caterer to include a doggie-bag for the bride and groom. 95%* of newlyweds leave the reception smeared with lipstick kiss marks and starving (*actual made-up statistic)


2. If you're buying a house in the Columbus, OH area, call Ric DeVore. He and Molly will take care of everything


3. When gossiping (come on, we all do it), try not to

But, as those of you who are following the series may have noticed, I do have seemingly endless advice for young ad folks. These are my top two that agency newbies seem to universally miss on:

1. Find a mentor. Seriously, it makes all the difference in the world. You need someone who can share advice, encouragement and a good example. You need an advocate. And, in the fast-paced world of agency life, you can't assume that you're going to be taken under a wing by chance. A good mentor is the difference between frustrations eating at you and improving you.
   


2. It does matter what you wear. Sure, it's exciting to hear that there's no dress code. You can keep schlepping about in the same duds you donned in college. The unspoken caveat is: you'll be thought of like someone wandering about campus instead of like the ladder climber you might really be. You've heard the cliche dress for the job you want. How about just leaving the shredded jeans and stretched-out sweaters at home and dressing like you have a job. Any job.
3. And one to grow on: Read this fantastic post called 'What I Wish My New Employee Knew' by Todd Defren over at PR-squared.

Four Rules for Career Success

I'm of that age. I'm a boss. A friend of other bosses.

I hear both sides now. The employees (like me) who are struggling for direction, recognition, growth. And, the bosses (also like me) wanting to feel confident in their staff, hoping for always-improving performance.

But, somehow, the two sides rarely seem to clearly communicate. To define, mentor, move forward.

So, for all you fellow white-collar employees out there, I share with you four lessons - learned on both sides of the fence - that represent the traits of an indispensable employee:

• Never be silent in a meeting. You're there for a reason. Participate. Add value. Take notes.
• Always build trust. Demonstrate that you understand the business - the entire business, not just your department - and your boss's painpoints. Take actions that show you're a responsive steward of the business, the brand and your boss's sanity.
• Keep generating ideas. New ideas. Fresh perspectives. Not just words/pictures/projects/research or whatever the details of your job description mandate.
• Learn to read a room. Nothing will get you farther in business than empathy. Stop talking when eyes glaze. Offer solutions when brows crease. Pay attention to all the nonverbal feedback coming your way and act on it.