Advertising Discussions
Interviews

Is the hiring process for an Advertising Agency different from other companies?

I interviewed for one today and by the end of the zoom interview she already asked me to send 3 references. She told me she would like me to meet the team by the end of month. I’m asking because I’ve been interviewing for different companies and their process seems to involve a few interviews rounds before asking for references. I’m not from the US so this is new for me.

Im supposed to interview for an Account Director position with Samsung. I’ve heard multiple horror stories that they are the worst client to work with. Does anyone have any insight or personal experiences?

What are some ad agency interview red flags?

Hey guys! have an interview coming up for a Project Management role at an Advertising Agency. I really want this job. Any tips on how to make myself stand out during the interview? I know this is a general question, but I am really trying to do the best I can.

When you're looking for a remote job, do you consider salaries in your area, the closest big metro, or the area of the company you're interviewing? Asking this as someone who lives in the middle of nowhere but works remote at a holding company agency lol

Fall Internship at Vayner (that would likely lead to full time later) or Full time role at MRM?

Am interviewing for both and not sure how I feel. Pros and cons to both for sure. For reference I just graduated in the spring and this would be my first role postgrad.

I’m a young copywriter who would like to gain more experience. I recently interviewed with FKA.
Do you have any advice on working at FKA agency and working on the Verizon account?

Do you think award judges sometimes hold grudges against your submitted campaign/case study if you rejected a job offer from them or quit their agency? Obviously I’d hope not but I do wonder given how big/fragile some egos might be…

Big interview this week. Wish me luck! (Plus: can’t wait to score another gig and say bye to my terrible ECD)

I have an interview scheduled with a company today I don’t wanna move forward with after the first meeting. Ami allowed to reach out and cancel the remaining interviews.

Why do most people (recruiters) assume employees are at fault when they get laid off? What’s up with the interrogations in the interview? Why not think employers may be at fault? Or neither in some cases.
If the employee did something wrong, they would get fired. In all cases I know and witnessed, employer's and upper management were at fault, even in business losses case.

Interviewing for an ACD position in a few days. What are some good questions to ask the team (cd and acd partner) during my interview?

I think job hunting and interviews are like dating. When you get introduced through friends you have more success. You have to go through so many to find the right one. You either click right away, everything goes smooth and you book the second date or everything goes wrong and you get ghosted. After the first date you meet the friends. But you have to win them over to continue. No matter how careful you are choosing, most people end up breaking up after 1-2 years to have different experience.

Need an honest advice folks!

I’m not having much success applying for jobs online and I’ve been thinking about reaching out agencies and give it a try. Would that make me look too desperate?! I have a huge gap on my career so at this point I am just considering any entry-level opportunity. I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. ☹️

A recruiter from my DREAM JOB called me last Wednesday at 6pm when I was unavailable. Left me a voicemail asking for me to return her call. I did on Thursday at 3pm. It’s Tuesday and I haven’t heard anything. I’m planning on calling again tomorrow (one full week after).

What happened?? Did they meet their quota of scheduling X amount of interviews and stopped?

Y’all are great. Posting this in a few bowls but a few questions all in a bunch. Answer one or answer all. Much appreciated. I’m a strat team lead. Currently LA

-Insight into bohan in Nashville?
-Insight into BBDO Minneapolis?
-I just grew an experimental beard three weeks ago but have been interviewing a bunch. Should I shave so they can get the “real me” first impression? Beard makes me look a little older for better or worse.
-Might go client side for the first time to run a brand. Thoughts?

I’m interviewing at Twitter (they just put up a bunch of Account Manager jobs), but am slightly nervous with all the uncertainty going on with Elon. Is it worth pursuing at this time? Or wait it out?

Except for my first copywriting job, I’ve always worked in-house at tech companies or Fortune 500s. I want to go agency side but I’m afraid I’ll be perceived as less-than. Are there ways to overcome that stigma in advance when applying?

I'm a charismatic person in real life, but I sometimes have trouble being charismatic when I'm sitting at a table talking to a webcam. I just sort of feel compressed. I had a couple blah interviews recently that I just feel would've gone better if they were in person. Any tips on how to be more charismatic during webcam calls? Do I just drink a Red Bull or something?

Should you take an interview/call with an agency/company that you know you can’t work at, just to make some connections? I cannot move but my dream place just reached out so I figured I should talk?

How long does it usually take to get a decision from a hiring manager? I went through 3 rounds of interviews for an ACD role: individual team member calls, hiring manager call, and was brought in to their office to meet the entire team.

This was 3 weeks ago and still nothing. Followed up via email last week and was told “we haven’t heard anything yet.”

I was going through the 8th round of interviews next week. So far, they all have been different people within the agency. This gig could bring me back to where I was and where I want to go. I went through challenging times in my life and career during the last few years. I am grateful they are giving me a chance to even go through the interview process. I hope I get it. And my message for everyone out there looking for a job is not to give up.

The recruiter said wow, the team LOVES my book and wants to talk to me ASAP. I'm scheduled to interview with somebody a week later. I get to the interview and this person has no clue who I am and is just looking through my book for the first time. We have a very awkward interview and then the next day I get a "we're moving forward with other candidates" email. What the hell? What a ****show

I am interviewing at a NYC ad agency for a mid-level copywriter position. They asked me about desired salary and I said I would need to look into it. I want to make sure I am realistic about how much I would need to make to live a normal life in the most expensive city in the US. What are some figures I should consider? Any other insights would be helpful too!

If they loved my portfolio but I gave a terrible interview, does it cancel out?

Been interviewing with other agencies. Just found out I got offered position (Manager) with a pretty competitive salary ($90K). But I had a GREAT interview with another agency that I think I might favor more. The other agency wants to move forward with me and have me speak with another person on their team but they are OOO this week and are aware of the $90K offer. I have until this Friday to accept the $90K offer but other agency is willing to offer more pending 2nd interview. Advice please?!

As a POC, I love seeing recruiters posting about DEI hiring and not relying on traditional measures of success, such as awards or famous shops on resumes, that often gate kept many POC candidates from entering certain roles or agencies. I also love that those same recruiters didn’t give me an interview because of those reasons only a couple years ago. LinkedIn messages and emails don’t disappear.

Does anyone have experience interviewing at Condé Nast? If so, how long did it take for the recruiters to reach out after you applied?

Hey guys! Are there any art directors up for an chatting about the industry in a super casual informational interview? I’m a graduate looking for some tips and advice about breaking into the Ad world 🥹

Ogilvy UK Application Portal timelines?

I’ve been applying creative roles at Ogilvy on the portal. I applied for a senior writer and mid-weight creative role on the same day, and got rejected for one the next day and my status was “reviewed, not selected” but for the other it says “received submission”. I then realised it’s. the same status for some previous roles I’ve applied, as long ago as March. How long do they usually take to get back? Or should I just consider myself rejected?

Anyone know if VMLY&R is fully remote or hybrid at all their offices? A recruiter reached out to me about applying to jobs in KC but I’m based in NY and definitely not willing to relocate to there…

If you're a recruiter and you're interviewing a junior copywriter looking to make the jump to mid at their next role (~2 years experience). I actually have a few things made but I'm not sure what to put in my portfolio. Should I bother putting anything in if it didn't win awards?

I have some social vids/posts that got made for a big brand. There's a very local brand that I wrote a full 360 campaign that I like very much but I worry it doesn't have the name recognition for LA/NY

What’s the best interview advice you’ve gotten ?

Interviewing and the recruiter says for salary they can go up to X amount. Do I just ask for that amount? For some reason, I feel like I should be polite and ask for a lower number.

Interviewing for a advanced advertising account manager position soon. What should my salary expectations be going in?

Folks (especially CDs+): how many of you actually take the time to watch case study videos in someone’s book?

I’m currently at an internship at a well-regarded agency. I only have 2 weeks left so I’ve been interviewing elsewhere on the off chance they don’t wait to keep me after the internship (so I’m not unemployed lol). The agency I’m interning with says they won’t let me know if they can extend a job to me until the last day of the internship. But of course I just got an offer from another agency and they’re not going to want to wait 2 more weeks. What the hell am I supposed to do?