Luke "Whipple" Sullivan on Marks in Ad Schools

Great post here on the vale of "marks" in ad schools, from the excellent Luke Sullivan.

Ad School Ain't Like School School

Student Campaign Made Me Buy Muskoka Beer!

There have been some pretty great campaigns in this term's 3rd-yr Ad Studio course, so I think I'm going to have to post a bunch of them, but this campaign for Muskoka Brewery by Emma Quiroz, John Bruce, Cristina Quatrociocchi and Becky Rudson actually made be buy the product.

And I can't thank them enough.

Here's one of the executions:

10 cool design links that inspire smart, talented design students

Here's the cool stuff that inspires my senior Graphic Design class at Humber. 

(Part One)

1. Debussy Arabesque animated

Almost works as an alternative form of musical notation; a gorgeous visual unspooling of a classic piano piece.

via Alain Pham

2. The joys of Flat Design

Enough of the phony 3-D and illogical frop-shadows!

via Keith Sample

3. Fully functional brand for sale: just add product

Really, it's all there, waiting for a product. Humber College, for example.

via Jean-Rene Legace

4. Lego Ball clock

More proof that you can build anything with Lego.

via Josh Jarrell

5. Cool use for those obsolete pennies

Now that we're really done with them as currency it's time to put them to good use.

via Keith Sample

6. Furniture Built to Look like Giant Versions of Everyday Items

A simple, awesome concept brought to life. You will want to own a few of these, guaranteed.

via Stephanie Lynn Halstead

7. Business cards that look like miniature paperbacks

If books are your business...

via Stacey Hughes

8. Sure, but can the calendar on your phone do THIS?

Gorgeous re-thinks of the traditional wall calendar.

via Adriana Mahalean

9. A cool compendium of internet creativity

All kinds of cool stuff: audio, video, HTML 5...

via Chantal Cronk

10. Motorhead's Ace of Spades played by robots

Listen carefully and you can hear, somewhere, Lemmy, crying with joy.

via Dave Woodger

How to Find Your Internship or Job (Without Freaking Out): Part 3 of 3

 If you’ve completed the majority of the items in my articles I can say you’re ready to take on the unforgiving job market in the middle of a second recession! It’s the Battle Royale for internships out there and you’ve got to be prepared to be just another résumé being crunched through the shredder.

I kid, I kid.

The reality of our situation is that yes, you have a lot of competition for every job you’ll find, but you are uniquely prepared (as a CABA student) and have our stellar professors and alumni to help you along the way.

There are two rules I ask you to stick to. The first I have wrested from Steve Jobs’ famous commencement speech to Stanford students (as well as the Whole Earth Catalog he quoted it from):

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

If you have groomed your résumé, portfolio and cover letter, the open job market can be at best be a bit of numbers game…but it can still be unforgiving. You’ll be faced with more than just relentless rejection letters; you will deal with silence and indifference. It’s very difficult not to be bogged down by this and feel miserable when looking at your empty inbox or lack of phone calls. Stay hungry for opportunity and challenges. Stay foolish enough to make those applications for positions you’re too nervous to apply to.

The second rule is something I have pulled from Winston Churchill that I see whenever I stride down the hallway in F building to greet CABA professors in the main office. A kind professor has posted it by her door.

            Never, never, never, give up.

I would wish you good luck but you don’t need it. Because you make your own luck and your own opportunities.

Janet is a freelance copywriter and social media consultant currently in her fourth year at Humber College’s Bachelor of Creative Advertising program (aka CABA). She is obsessed with rap, knitting and food.

Janet Ha | info@janetha.ca | @Janet_Ha | http://ca.linkedin.com/in/janetha2 

How to Find Your Internship or Job (Without Freaking Out): Part 2 of 3

 You’re ready to start applying! But wait…you’ve heard from many students and professionals that successful job hunting is about whom you know in the industry.

“Shit!”

This is true and false. To explain further let’s cover two concepts: the Open Job Market and the Hidden Job Market.

The Open Job Market

This is the usual way you come across job opportunities: through classifieds, job boards and other forms of communication available to the general public. While we’re discussing it, here are a few places to hunt for jobs.

Social Media:

www.linkedin.com

www.twitter.com

           

Job Boards:

www.indeed.ca

www.wowjobs.ca

www.mediajobsearchcanada.com

www.monster.ca

www.workopolis.ca

www.jobbank.gc.ca

toronto.kijiji.ca

toronto.en.craigslist.ca

Pro Tip: Make your job easier by setting up email alerts on keywords for the position you’re looking for or subscribe to newsletters that offer job opportunities.

The Hidden Job Market

This is the job market revealed only through the alien methods of networking and cold calling.  Not everyone has friends in high places but consider these steps before losing hope:

1.               Are there alumni at the agency you wish to complete your internship with that you can contact for advice and assistance?

2.              Are there networking events in your area that you can attend?

3.              Have you contacted the agencies you wish to intern with about available opportunities? (Either through their creatives or HR departments)

4.              Are you following who is moving from agency to agency through industry publications to see if there are opportunities for a new junior or intern?

5.              Are there associations or clubs you’re a part of which may have connections to the ad agencies or marketing firms you want to meet?

6.             Do you know anyone in marketing or in a company that has a marketing department seeking interns?

There are many ways for you to find your way into the hidden job market, but to be perfectly honest, companies hire based on personality, enthusiasm for the position and skill (among several other attributes completely unrelated to who you know). 

Ultimately, do not assume the world of advertising is out of your grasp because you don’t have the right connections. There is a lot more to the hiring process than thinly veiled nepotism. We’re here to get shit done people, not scratch each other’s backs.

Janet is a freelance copywriter and social media consultant currently in her fourth year at Humber College’s Bachelor of Creative Advertising program (aka CABA). She is obsessed with rap, knitting and food.

Janet Ha | info@janetha.ca | @Janet_Ha | http://ca.linkedin.com/in/janetha2 

How to Find Your Internship or Job (Without Freaking Out): Part 1 of 3

For you to fully benefit from this article series I need you to have the following (ignore the paragraphs after each item if you have them):

1.      A fully-functional online or offline portfolio

No portfolio is ever complete. It will always be a work in progress. What I mean by a portfolio is you should have something together (without typos please!) and ready to present at a moment’s notice. You never know when you’ll encounter a CD who wants to have a high tea with you the next day. Don’t rush off to the printer the day before. Leave the day before for prepping questions you want to use to impress the CD.

2.     A professional email and business card

This was covered in first year but I am aware this has been an issue for a few people. I switch between ha.janet@gmail.com and info@janetha.ca and most industry professionals do the same. I’m not saying this is best practice, but it certainly makes remembering your email easier when they want to offer you an internship.

3.     A résumé which has been reviewed by Humber’s Career Center Résumé Review service or some other form of screening

Get your résumé screened for typos and irrelevant content prior to sending it out, and triple check your contact information (well, duh but you never know what happens in the middle of the night right before you’ve been invited to meet with a CD when you’re scraping something together from your old retail résumés). If you have questions for what counts as irrelevant content, feel free to ask. I can write up an article on that if there is interest. Usually it’s just common sense.

4.     An updated LinkedIn Account

Your email applications will most definitely be screened via LinkedIn. Make sure it’s updated with the correct information. (Again if there is interest, I can cover LinkedIn and how you should maintain it)

5.     A good sense of what an eye-catching cover letter should cover

I will devote a good portion of an article to cover letters but here are some basics if you’re getting ahead of me:

A.    Read the job listing

B.    Google is your friend. Use it and abuse it.

C.    Being concise is beneficial to you AND the poor person reading through thousands of cover letters.

D.    Read the job listing

E.     Summarize your relevant experience/education and explain how it makes you a great candidate in a few sentences (or less)

F.     Read the FREAKING job listing

G.    Read your cover letter aloud, to yourself, to your mom, to your siblings and to your grandparents if necessary (goodness knows they’d love to talk to you about something other than doing your laundry and why you need to get a job soon to pay back your student loans…*ahem*)

Before I sign off I must say this: I’m quite serious about reviewing your résumé. You may think it’s good but you don’t want it to be good, you want it to be stellar.

“But Janet!” you cry at your screen “No one ever hires based on your résumé in advertising!”

Let me say this: I was hired in my internships and agency job with my résumé alone. Creative jobs require portfolios, but an inconsistent résumé clearly indicates lack of professionalism, attention to detail and respect for the position being applied for. I’m not asking you to obsess over every word, I’m asking you to demonstrate professionalism and respect.

I will come back tomorrow with another portion of this series as you busy yourselves with these items. Make sure to leave a comment if you disagree, or feel free to email me and I’ll cover your questions in the articles to follow.

Janet is a freelance copywriter and social media consultant currently in her fourth year at Humber College’s Bachelor of Creative Advertising program (aka CABA). She is obsessed with rap, knitting and food.

Janet Ha | info@janetha.ca | @Janet_Ha | http://ca.linkedin.com/in/janetha2 

CABA sweeps National Advertising Awards

Last Thursday the ad community gathered at The Brant House in Toronto to announce the winners of The National Advertising Awards. Gold, silver and bronze went to CABA students. It was a very proud moment.

GOLD: Jesse-Hornstein-Goldberg & Eric Neal

Silver: Rachel Kennedy & Shauna Roe

BRONZE: Lindsay Eady & Rodrigo Diaz Mercado

The World’s First Invisible Ad

Best use of QR codes, in a very long time

This retail store wanted to increase sales during lunch time. So they created a QR code that was only usable during the noon hour - it was created using the sun and shade.

Free event: Malcolm Gladwell

Later this month Malcolm Gladwell is doing a talk at the Toronto Reference Library. Typically people pay big bucks to see him talk, but this event is free.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Malcolm Gladwell is a best selling author. His books include The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Outliers: The Story of Success and What the Dog Saw.

These are by no means advertising books, but there is no shortage of lessons in them that can be applied to what we do every day.

We're in the business of persuasion right? Well, Gladwell's books will give you an inside look about how the mind works and how else will you persuade people if you don't understand them?

Tickets are free, but you must reserve to attend. Full details here.