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Unpopular opinion, but something I wish people had told me earlier: take the money.
Why?
1/ It forces you to “lock in” the level of income you’ve just reached, so your mindset shifts to focusing on not going backward.
2/ The money you make now saves you so much time compared to another, lower offer. For example, it would take 4 more months to earn that amount in another job.
3/ No one offers you more money than you deserve. You earned it. Enjoy it.
4/ You’re responsible for your work. Do the best job you can. The rest will follow. But doing your best while earning as much as possible? That’s a great start for the future.
Hey as CD at 2 agncies Leo and McCann l will tell you…you will produce better work at the smaller agencies and be happier in the long run.
Avoid FCB / any IPG agencies right now. You would most likely end up laid off when they merge this year.
Yes FCB alum here. I’d avoid especially with the merger. Definitely take the money, better choice imo is to do work that you enjoy and make an impact at a smaller agency than end up a tiny cog in a huge unrelenting corporate machine!
Chief
pay. always. it’s a job.
Go where you have the best chance to do good work.
Np. Good luck and DM me if you’d like to chat about anything!!
It’s an indie AND you’re getting paid more. Option B looks good! Holding Co land is not a fun place to be
Make your own decision than
I vote small indie
As someone who went from top 10 agencies to somewhere that didn’t even hit the top 50 for more money, I’d recommend against it. It’s hard to move back into that ‘top tier’ space unless you can help boost that agency’s reputation with awards. And it’s even harder working with people who are happy with the bare minimum as they coast.
lol
Curious about the indie shop — could you reveal the name? Also, what brands would you be working on at each agency? That does matter.
But if you already have more well known agencies on your resume, I would take the indie shop. You’ve learned how things go at a traditional agency and have the name recognition. I say go with option B.
Thank you MD1, just did!
B, immediately B
ANSWER: if you have pedigree agencies already, definitely take the money and go Indie. No question.
Holding CO’s are a disaster right now and there’s no stability there anyway and salaries have dropped as a result.
When it comes time to jump ship back to more well known agencies, simply say that you had wanted to explore an indie agency experience for a change given the current upheaval in the ad industry and that indies have been growing and seemed much more appealing… which they are.
It’s an honest answer and your work history already proves you can succeed at top global agencies.
You’re good to go 👍
CONGRATS!
You’re good OP! Wishing you luck!
Thank you all for your inputs!
I did like the ECD at FCB more. But I agree with most of you that it would be silly to not take the better pay in this economy. Plus hoping small indie means more opportunity + IPG merger means no real stability at FCB.
It’s impossible to tell where the work will be better, neither is stellar neither is hopeless. So I’ll pick the indie and try to make it the right choice.
Take the hire pay at your age
higher*
Hold out for wk
For context, I’ve worked in both indie shops, holding company agencies, and in-house.
Indie shops are usually more productive, and have more room for creativity. More opportunities to grow and learn by constantly doing stuff. Indie shops don’t have money to put 20 teams on one project.
In-house offers more stability, and higher pay. But it’s a terrible place to learn the ropes.
Holding company agencies loses on all ends.
Option B every day.
Thanks, good to know! I hope to have a lucrative exit to somewhere like Meta in the second half of my career haha
Always chase the creative opportunity not the agency name or title or pay. It takes about 6 months of no opportunity to look like you suck or 6 months of amazing opportunities to look like a genius.
This is exactly my cause for concern, I don’t wanna go to either and have nothing to show for it. But I think I’ll pick the indie for the chance at more opportunity
Indie. 100%.
I’ve been in HR for several years, and my advice is to prioritize a job where you can see yourself learning from and being supported by your manager. Your manager will have the most significant impact on your career growth at a company. After that, I’d prioritize a company with a good work-life balance. It can be challenging to determine these factors during an interview, but I can assure you that no amount of money is worth compromising your mental health for. While money is undoubtedly a factor in any job, after a while, it becomes less important, and your mental well-being becomes a top priority.
Thank you! Good advice about talking to ex employees. I did and, while both are far from perfect i do feel better knowing what to expect now. I’ve picked the indie
Does option B have momentum behind it? If so then absolutely that one. Getting into a small shop positioned for growth is one of the best/luckiest moves you can make - when it grows, often so do you.
Bro if you don’t take option b I’ll take it
If the indie’s work is good, even if they’re unknown, the indie.
If their work isn’t, leverage the indie offer to increase your fcb offer. They might not match it but they could offer you more than they currently are
Rising Star
The indie might be inflating your title and pay to get you to their smaller, no-name regional shop. Speaking from experience, since I made a similar jump at one point in my career.
In general, pharma and other lackluster agencies tend to pay more and have more title inflation because that’s their leverage against shops that have the work to back it up.
Also, for what it’s worth, FCB has won big at Cannes within the past three years and just won a major account last year. You could definitely do worse than them right now.