How to Crush Your first Job in a Marketing Agency
Working in a marketing or communications agency is a pretty good job. I’ve been “agency-side” for over 20 years and have no wish to return to a job within a client company. There is a lot of content on the web that tells you how to get your first role in an agency, but how do you make sure you crush that first job and power forward in your career?
The good news is that it’s simple. All you need to do is remember two phrases and make sure you avoid the most-hated question a new member of staff can ask. In this article, I’ll reveal these secrets that will ensure your agency career starts successfully.
Dealing with New Tasks
When you start at an agency, you’ll be asked to do tasks in areas where you don’t have experience. This is particularly true in a smaller agency. You want to take on this work, as it’s a chance to show what you can do. BUT you really don’t want to screw it up as that’s unlikely to be a good start to your agency journey.
So how do you deal with someone asking you to do something where you don’t feel entirely confident? Simply say:
“I’ve never done X, but I’d love to learn.”
This is a killer line. It establishes your lack of expertise yet still shows you are enthusiastic to support your more experienced colleague. There are only two ways a conversation will go after this: either you’ll be told that the colleague really needs someone who has done this type or work, or you’ll have a champion that wants to train you up on something new.
If they decide they need someone who has done the work before, don’t worry. It’s almost certainly that this project is going to be particularly difficult: you’ve helped them establish that you’re not the right person this time.
If they give you the work, they have no excuse not to train you fully on whatever the project is about. This is a win for both sides: you get something new to add to your skills list, and they get someone who they feel is enthusiastic to learn. Just make sure you thank them for the training at the end.
What if Something Goes Wrong?
You’re at your first agency job, learning lots of new things and then suddenly you find yourself stuck. You don’t know what to do. It’s a disaster!
Actually, no. This is an opportunity.
Firstly never hide problems. You’re in your first agency role. Everyone expects you to have problems and the sooner you tell people the better. Trust me, the worst thing you can do is to keep trying and failing, you need to summon up the courage to tell someone — ideally the person who delegated the work, but if not, your boss — you can’t do it.
Think of this as an opportunity, and say:
“I’m working on X. It’s the first time I’ve done it, and although I have understood Y I am struggling to know how to do Z.”
This is the best way to get someone to help you. Firstly you’ve set the scene: it’s the first time you’ve done it so they will understand that you won’t know how to do everything. Secondly you’ve told them what you have learnt so far: this shows that investing time with you will be worthwhile as you learn new things quickly. Finally you’ve been really clear about where you are struggling so they know what help to give. How could they refuse to help you?
It is super-important that you are completely open and honest at this stage. If you try to pretend that things are not a problem, or that you know things when you really don’t have that expertise, you are doomed. The only way someone is going to be able to help fully is if you tell them exactly what the problem is and where you need help.
The Problem with Openness?
I’ve heard many people tell me that they don’t feel able to be open and honest when they are struggling. They are worried that by admitting weaknesses they will be seen as a less effective team member. Let me be clear:
If you are open about challenges you might get fired, but if you hide problems you should get fired.
I wish I could sugar-coat it: there might be agencies that have a low tolerance for lack of experience. But there is nothing worse than hiding problems: they will only get bigger and more difficult to solve. You also need to understand that you are way less likely to get fired than you think: virtually no agency will fire someone for trying to make sure they do a good job, and those that do won’t last long in this industry.
The Phrase to Avoid
This will be a little controversial, but the one phrase I would strongly recommend you never say is:
I’ve finished all my work. Do you have anything else for me?
What? Completing work is a bad thing?
Absolutely not. Completing work is fantastic. But that’s not what your boss will hear when you say this. This phrase will be translated by your manager’s stressed brain into “I need you to drop everything you are doing and find me something to do. My time is more important than your time.”
Of course that interpretation is completely unfair and unreasonable. Sorry. Sometimes things aren’t fair.
The good news is that there is a magic phrase that will ensure you avoid this pitfall.
“As an update I’m getting through my work and I expect to have the tasks done by X. I just wanted to let you know so you have time to think about which projects I can help on next.”
This is an amazing phrase that you can keep re-using with updated timescales. Not only that you are making it clear you are respecting the other person’s time, and ensuring they are able to balance your needs with their other priorities. Although it won’t deliver the immediate results of the other phrases to use, it will build your credibility (and fan base among the senior team) as your career develops.
Good Luck
I hope at least one person reading this post decides to choose a career at a PR or marketing agency. It’s fun, but incredibly challenging. If you do, I’d love to hear whether these phrases work for you.
