{"id":117129,"date":"2015-08-18T18:45:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T23:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/six-rookie-mistakes-agency-life\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T16:40:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T21:40:18","slug":"six-rookie-mistakes-agency-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/strategy\/six-rookie-mistakes-agency-life\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid in Agency Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advertising and media agencies<\/a> have a culture all their own (No. Mad Men doesn\u2019t exactly do it justice). To mark and celebrate my sixth year in the industry, here are six things I wish someone had told me when I first started out – all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with absolutely no idea<\/em> what I was getting myself into:<\/p>\n

1. Never delete an email.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Scratch that. Never<\/em> delete ANYTHING!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I completely despise clutter. In every aspect of my life beside my shoe collection. At my previous job, I had formed the habit of de-cluttering my email and permanently deleting things I didn\u2019t need. This must have worked pretty well for me at the time since I don\u2019t recall a single instance where I deleted something only to find out that I actually needed it.<\/p>\n

In my agency life, I\u2019m pretty sure I learned this lesson by day three. Because we work with clients<\/a> and large number of internal teams, every communication is important. If you delete anything \u2013 an email, the first version of a deck that is now in version 34, the raw data you used to create those pivot tables on slide 12, the conversation in which you asked an account director for clarification on something and they responded with \u201cNo problem :)\u201d \u2013 It WILL come back and bite you in the behind. Save every version of everything. Get an archive when you reach max storage capacity. You will also find that folders will become your best friend. It is completely fine to have over 100 folders in your inbox. Easy access!<\/p>\n

2. If you screw up; tell the truth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Scratch that too. WHEN<\/em> you screw up, tell someone!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You will screw up. It\u2019s inevitable. I can only hope that, for your sake, it\u2019s not large enough to completely destroy your morale and\/or get you fired. As soon as you discover what you screwed up, tell someone. Preferably someone who can help you escalate it up the chain of command without making you look\/feel like a complete idiot. Acknowledge your mistake and make every effort to fix it. You will probably screw up multiple times. But the good news is, it will pass. You will learn and grow from every mistake. And you will make it in this industry \u2013 provided you do not commit a cardinal sin like grossly over-spending on a client\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

3. Start everything NOW. Murphy’s Law is so real it\u2019s scary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Before advertising, I used to work on educational development programming at a University, where we had a full year to plan each program or conference. Everything was impeccably laid out. We even wrote a full script per slide for each training deck along with detailed outlines for each segment. This is not the case within the advertising industry and I cannot stress that enough. You will churn out a completely ridiculous number of slide decks per week\/month on top of all your on-going projects and client deliverables. When you first start out, it will be difficult to stay on top of things simply due to the sheer volume of \u201cstuff\u201d.<\/p>\n

When you get a request for something \u2013 a deck, a report, a new campaign plan, an email that requires a one sentence response – get to it immediately. Trust me. If you don\u2019t, it will either slip through the cracks or you will do it at the last minute and kick yourself every time for not starting on it earlier. As you work through each piece, you will realize you need so much more information than you have. The only problem is you won\u2019t have enough time to gather all the data<\/a> you need and everyone else will be too busy putting out their own fires to help you. When those three deadlines approach simultaneously. Everything that can possibly go wrong will absolutely go wrong. And since you\u2019re a rookie, you won\u2019t be well equipped to handle that level of insanity. So, even when you\u2019re unable to complete something, make sure you at least get started. Rough notes, outlines, quick emails and lists of questions will ultimately become your best friend.<\/p>\n

4. You really should save your work on the network drive<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Stop saving your work on your desktop or anywhere else on your personal computer. Just stop it! One day, your computer will crash. And you WILL cry in front of the IT guy. Everyone who walks by will see you crying. Those who don\u2019t see it will hear about it \u2013 including the client whose good side you\u2019re only just starting to get on.<\/p>\n

Everyone I worked with at my first agency job remembers when my computer crashed and I lost the most important presentation of my career along with all the raw data 24 hours before we were supposed to fly out for the client presentation that would determine if we would keep the business. Save redundantly. Learn this one from my experience. Just do it.<\/p>\n

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