The Interview

Hey everyone!

I'm posting this morning from Sault Ste. Marie, my hometown, and it is blowing snow. I really shouldn't have expected much less. Why am I not in Oakville? It's reading week at Sheridan College and finally time for a little bit of a break. We've had such a busy week with assignments, tests and meetings that we all will enjoy the time off to catch up and take a breath. For some great advice about time management, check out another student, Alexandra Marinaccio's, blog post this week!

What I forgot to mention about this busy week is that I had my first big interview with an advertising agency! I had been looking forward to that day ever since they asked me to come in after a phone interview. Built up with nerves and excitement I finally met with two account supervisors (both of which were extremely genuine and easy to talk to) at the agency and began the interview. What I was really happy about was that it was much less formal than the interviews that I had previously experienced. It felt more like a pleasant conversation than a structured interview.

What questions were asked? Well, at an interview it is not unlikely that they will ask "So, tell us a little bit about yourself". This does not necessarily mean that you are professing your admirable qualities one after the other. They want to know a little bit about you as a person, perhaps where you're from, how you got there, where you went to school, etc. Your background is part of what builds character, and interviewers want to make sure that you would be a good fit for their company. Perhaps they will even make a connection or have similarities to where you grew up or where you did your undergrad! This will always spark a little extra conversation, and that is always a plus. You will also be asked about how you got interested in advertising. Always have a detailed and enthusiastic answer to this question. This shouldn't be too hard if you love the Sheridan Advertising Account Management program like I do. However, I explained how my interest came straight from high school (I mention this in my first blog post!). It gives the interview more substance and believe it or not, will set you apart from every other applicant.

The other piece of advice that I will give you is to always have done your research about whatever company you are being interviewed by. No matter what type of interview it is, formal or not, the question that will always come up is, "So what got you interested in our company? What is your favourite ad that we've done?". Nothing would be more embarrassing if you couldn't answer either question. I am assuming that this advice will come to you as common sense, and that's what is so great about interviews. We all get so nervous and sometimes even unable to speak, but the reality is whoever is interviewing us are just PEOPLE. They are not monsters who are out to make you feel embarrassed or hurt you. They simply want to get to know you regarding things that may not be on your resume. If you are genuine, interested, passionate and an overall good person, that will shine through to your potential employers and you will have an equal, if not better, chance at landing the job. What I will say, is to not get discouraged if you do not get the job. A lot of the times, each and every applicant will have done just as well as you, and it all comes down to who is a better fit for the company. You will never know what exactly made them pick someone else over you, and you cannot feel down about yourself for this. I am currently waiting on that email or phone call stating whether or not I got the internship, and although I believe it went really well, there is the same chance that someone else made a better connection.

I didn't want to use this post to tell you every single question an ad agency will ask you, because I would assume that all of you have heard them all. The hypothetical conflict question, the "weaknesses" question (which they did not ask me), and the simple question asking you to outline your strengths. The truth is, every interview will be different. All you can do is go to the interview enthusiastic, kind, and extremely interested in the job position. Be prepared to be confident in who you are and to show your skill levels in an interesting way. Communication skills is key, and remember that they are just people, nothing different than speaking to say, your parents friends or a teacher/colleague. It will require professionalism of course, but like I said, they aren't aliens from another planet and only want to find a suitable person for the job position. Oh, and never mention interest in another company directly, only interest in the whole field in general.

I was lucky enough, to like I said, have a slightly informal interview. It was of longer length, say 45-50 minutes, but it felt more of like a deep and detailed conversation with some very smart and experienced individuals. It was extremely informative and only increased my interest in this fast paced industry! My last piece of advice is to ASK QUESTIONS. There is nothing that shows your interest in the company and position quite like asking questions does. It tells the interviewers that you want to know more. Ask them about what the job position entails, what will your duties be, etc. Ask them what makes a successful intern. In general, anything you are curious about in regards to the company and its work environment will not only give you a feel for what the company will be like to work for, it will show that you are truly invested and serious about working there.

So, when it comes to the time were you have some interviews lined up, keep these few points in mind (from my perspective!)

1. Do your research
2. Tell them about yourself (where you're from, your education, interests etc).
3. Be confident, INTERESTED, professional, genuine and enthusiastic.
4. Ask questions

I hope this helps everyone! I will also tell you that attending Sheridan College has allowed me to gain essential interview and communication skills in a way that increased my confidence immensely. So don't worry too much, and always think of an interview as a (professional)conversation more or less :)

Thanks for reading this week.

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

The Elevator Pitch

Good morning future post grads!

Today I’d like to talk about something that you are going to experience coming into the Advertising Account Management program at Sheridan College. Have you ever heard of an “elevator pitch”? Well neither did I, until one of our very first career workshops at the beginning of the year.

This concept derives from a story about a job seeker, let’s call her Jessica. As Jessica enters the elevator. Who is standing inside? Let’s call him Joe, the President of a top ad agency in Toronto. Joe is recognized for his extraordinary success in his role and contribution to the agency. Jessica is slightly intimidated but heard about an internship opportunity being available at his agency. She knows she has all the skills, the personality and drive for it. Oh how she wishes she could just sit down and chat with him for even 20 minutes to win him over! Joe is going up to the 28^th floor, Jessica the 20^th. She only has about 30 seconds or less! Before Jessica knows it she has her hand out ready to shake his hand. “Hi, I’m Jessica! Nice to meet you” …. Jessica went on for about 30 seconds about how she is passionate about advertising, a quick recap of her background and skills, and to top it all off, mentioned some big news she heard about the company receiving an award. “Wow, it was really nice meeting you, I’m impressed by your communication skills. Would you want to meet for coffee this afternoon?” Turns out, Jessica got exactly what she wanted, and a couple weeks later received a job offer.

Do you see the point of this story? You may be thinking, okay what are the chances that I am going to run into some big time account manager at an ad agency who would be willing to listen to me. Well, what we’ve learned these past months at Sheridan College is that you never know WHO you will run into, and how it will effect you in the long run.

An elevator pitch is basically a 30 second “rant”, lets call it, about you. You are selling yourself as an eager individual who deserves a job, or even just wants connections. The point is to make this rant unique to your own personality, skill level and achievements. Not cocky, but not modest either. It is a genuine greeting letting someone know that you’ve got what it takes to fit in with an employer’s company.

So, in our Professional Advertising Sales class this week, what did we have to do? No, we were not shoved in an elevator with a president of an ad agency, but we did have to prepare ourselves if we were ever put into this situation. We were asked to write a 60 (not 30) second blurb about ourselves in response to any media/advertising sales position posted online. In this class, it was termed a “unique value proposition”. We had to spend 60 seconds proving ourselves to the rest of the class as if they were employers, based on our individual positions we chose. So I thought, okay, kind of awkward, but no big deal, I’ve done this before. A week goes by, and it was time for us to present our pitches in front of the class. No notes, not prompts, just our memory. I wasn’t too nervous, as I’ve known the people in my class and have been presenting in front of them for months now. This will be fine. And I know it off by heart!  Well. I get up there, start my first sentence, “Hi, I’m Ashleigh Mulholland. I’m an advertising account management student at Sheridan College. Holding a degree in sociology and psychology, I have the post secondary experience that allowed me to develop key organizational and written skills”-----pause--pause-–pause….staring at everyone looking at me… realizing that I’m not speaking…. What’s my next paragraph.... what am I doing… is this happening.. looking out the window.. now at the teacher.. oh god I’m sweating. I'm Lizze McGuire at graduation.

 “AHHH oh my gosh can I please start over”. It happened. After all of the practicing and even confidence in my speech, I did not realize that standing up in front of my friendly classmates would make me so nervous. Perhaps it was because that for the most part, our presentations throughout the year were in groups, and we had someone there to support us if we forgot something important to say. Well this was just great. Anyways, my teacher Maureen kindly allowed me to start over, but just before I started again, she wanted to point out to the class that what I did while realizing I forgot my pitch, was the right thing. She said that taking a step back from your nerves, slowing down and taking a deep breathe can help you pick up from where you left off. Unfortunately my deep breathing didn’t help at first, but I eventually made it out alive and finished my pitch successfully. It helps to have such a supportive group of classmates that have your back.

What I realized is that before this presentation it would have really helped to present the pitch to someone else, or a small group of people that I knew. There is a huge difference between standing alone and memorizing a speech, and standing in front of actual people, just staring at you absorbing your rant. But, like my teacher said. Take a deep breathe, and try to keep going.  Until you actually are required to present an elevator pitch,  take some time to write down some of the best qualities about yourself. If that’s a little odd or difficult for you, ask one of your great friends or teachers to do it for you! You never know what good things someone else has to say :) And hey, if you ever find yourself in an elevator with a potential employer by your side, but don’t have a pitch prepared, just introduce yourself, be genuine and express your interest. Don’t call it an elevator pitch, just call it a pleasant conversation. First impressions are everything, and I believe that this is the heart of what an elevator pitch, or unique value propositions really mean. Throughout your experience at Sheridan College you are going to realize your strengths, weaknesses and quirks. But you will begin to realize that this is what makes you unique, and your classmates as well as teachers are with you every step of the way. And when you do, you'll have the confidence to nail your first elevator pitch.

Have a great week everyone. 

Sincerely, 

Ashleigh

From University to College

Hey guys, Happy Valentines Day!

I hope everyone has a special day with loved ones! Unfortunately I've come down with a brutal cold over the weekend, so I've been pretty under the weather. I think all I'll need today is some good ol' milk chocolate and all should be well.

Aside from that, I wanted to post today about the transition from university to college. As you know, I attended Western University for my undergrad with a major in sociology and a minor in psychology. I had such an amazing experience that I would never take back, and I am proud of that achievement. But believe it or not, there was a lot of uncertainty throughout my experience in regards to what I wanted to do, and how I would get there. Most, if not all of my classes were theory-based. All classes were focused on lectures and multiple choice exams or essays. While the content in my courses were quite interesting, there were limitations as to how students could learn and grasp information. All studying (for the most part) was based on memorization. We all have those classes that we are "required" to take in order to graduate, such as math or statistics, and if you're like me, they aren't the most enjoyable ones. Aside from lectures, it's up to us students to study the best way we can with the textbook. I'll be honest, I struggled throughout those courses. But with a little perseverance, I achieved my goals. What I am trying to say is that university can be challenging in that the way you learn best is truly put to the test. If that's by attending a lecture for 3 hours straight and typing out content, I give you a huge amount of credit. If not, please don't worry. There is hope for you.

Everyone knows that college is a place for more hands on learning. I've known this for years, however I never knew the true meaning until I actually got to experience it. To put this idea into perspective, here's a short video of a young student and his theory of this kind of understanding.

It helps to know what you are interested in when thinking about a career (that's obvious) and attending a college. Once you can get a feel for that (which takes time), you will get the most benefit out of going. For me, advertising was always in the back of my mind, and after some post-grad research, Sheridan College was the perfect place to help launch my creative potential. Throughout the year, group work, engagement, participation and conversing were among the many key aspects of our learning. I can't tell you how beneficial this is in a classroom setting. Learning should be about understanding, not memorizing. It has to be meaningful, and this is what college is all about. In Advertising Account Management, we are completing and presenting projects that relate directly to our field, such as marketing & advertising plans, researching consumer insights, media planning and much more. It's not about being able to repeat information given to us, but about applying that information to the real world by engaging and actually living it. This is what Sheridan College does best, and from my experience, the transition from university to college has been more than easy, it was the best decision I ever made.

That's all for today guys! Thanks for reading <3

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

Thinking Outside of the Box

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe that we've already hit February. It's actually crazy how fast this school year has been going by. And there has barely been a winter yet! This is definitely not what I'm used to, being from Northern Ontario, but I am not complaining. It's nice to see some green grass at this time of year!

Sheridan College's main motto is "Get Creative". So today I wanted to talk about something we had a long discussion about in our Advertising Planning Management class last week. What's the first word you think about when advertising comes to mind? Persuading? Marketing? Commercial? Advertisement? These are all definitely related to advertising, however the concept of creativity is what this industry is all about. Creativity is defined as:

"the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination"

My favourite part of this definition is "to create meaningful new ideas". Creative thinking is exactly that, where someone is thinking outside the box and is open to finding something unexpected or "meaningful". What I find to be interesting is that we all limit this definition of creativity to the arts. In a society that is for the most part based on conformity, it is often hard to go out of our comfort zone when it comes to thinking.

In our lecture, we were asked to share all words that came to mind when we thought of creativity, just like I did above. Words like artist, musician, dancer, teacher, writer, colourful and flexible all came to mind. What our teacher, Peggy, pointed out to us was that none of us actually associated creativity with ourselves. Being creative doesn't always have to mean being an amazing drawer or knowing how to play an instrument, but rather to be able to think in innovative ways and problem solve. Creativity is something that everyone possesses in their own way, and we should all call ourselves creative. Some of the words that came out in regards to limitations on our inner creativity were; self doubt, standardized tests, science, formality, stereotypes, school, and sadly more. What this means is that the way a lot of us postgrads think is based on how we were raised throughout our education. "No talking in class", "Stop fidgeting", or the classic "Raise your hand before speaking". Additionally, in university, having sometimes over 100 hundred people in 1 lecture, we were constricted when it came to expressing our creative ideas. We were more than likely afraid to raise our hand in fear of being wrong or embarrassed. Measuring intelligence in today's society is done through tests and rules as to how we express our knowledge. Even if we are told to be creative, we are to do so within certain guidelines. This is how we may lose our insight in regards to realizing our own creative potential. College is great for expressing yourself, engaging in classrooms and being given the opportunity to think outside the box. But that is a whole other topic that I will talk to you about!

After the word association exercise, Peggy asked us to take some time out of our week to just let ourselves be creative. She wanted us to dedicate 1 full hour without technology to doing something that we do not often do. Whether it be reading, taking a walk, or meditation, she wanted us to travel to that state of mind where we are not limited to anything. Now, this seemed kind of impossible to me as I thought of what I could do, but then once I actually did it, it was really nice. I got an adult
colouring book for Christmas, so I decided to colour for 30 minutes. I also received a new novel called "Wake Up Happy" written by Michael Strahan (another celebrity crush), and spent the other 30 minutes reading that. I was surprised how relaxed I was by the end of the hour, and didn't realize how long it had actually been. It thought me how much technology really can limit our creativity and imagination. Inspiration comes from a variety of different places outside the digital realm. Sometimes we have to stop thinking in a way that constantly looks for patterns or ways to be "right". The reality is that most of the time, and especially in advertising, there is a combination of answers for problems, and these are the kind of problems that require creative, or "out of the box" thinking.

So, my advice to you is to do exactly what our teacher asked of us, at least once a week. Not only will it prepare you for the industry you are about to dive into, but it will also make you feel open to new experiences, relaxed and in tune with your own imagination. Don't be afraid to be creative!
I hope you enjoyed reading :)

Until next week future post grads!

Ashleigh