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Anonymous User
I'm looking to find a job like the Forward Deployed Engineer role Palantir Technologies in the UK.
I have become hooked on finding a job that involves solving the kinds of problems they presented during their interviews. Although I got to the final round my performance anxiety got the better of me (I think I wanted the job a bit too much...). I will reapply after working in a similar company.
Is it "deep tech" / "data science" or "smart enterprise" that they're doing? Any advice welcome.
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Chief
This shouldn’t be news to people but it is.
Rising Star
What do you do when you have down time at work?
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I went to portfolio school and worked full time. My classes started at 6pm and I worked 8am to 5pm, Monday through Wednesday. It’s tough but definitely doable. I work at a top shop now and definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without portfolio school personally.
Went to Brainco in Minneapolis! It was less than $15k for a year and a half program so I didn’t have to take out any loans to go which was nice. (Set up a payment plan directly with the school).
You need to learn how to concept, and have a portfolio of concepts. The type of writing you did helps, but it was a different type of writing.
You can learn concepting yourself. Get the book *Hey Whipple Squeeze This* by Luke Sullivan. That book will be your bible.
Learn a bit about strategy, read the book *Truth Lies & Advertising* by Jon Steel. Also learn a little about branding, read the book *Positioning* by Trout & Ries. For traditional rules, read *Ogilvy on Advertising* but with the caveat that half the tactics are outdated. The other half still works.
And a take a night class. They are cheap, usually $600 for a few months of weekly classes. You’ll need the critical eye of an expert to help guide your progress.
For your portfolio: Choose 5 brands. Make an ad campaign for each of them, 3 ads per campaign. Don’t choose brands that already have good work. Choose middle-of-the-road, boring brands that have a potential to be interesting.
Don’t think you can get away with not having a conceptual portfolio. All of your competition has one.
I think ACD2 is referring to Make Ads With Me. Check it out.
Try some night classes at Adhouse or SVA to build a portfolio
Knowing how to write is only half the job, you need to know how to think conceptually.
I went to Portfolio school at 29
Don’t worry about getting a late start. Your career growth is on a faster trajectory than say a 21 year old.
Having previous work and life experience count for something.
Honestly, in a better economical climate someone would bring you on as is given your interesting writing background. I actually wrote for Bleacher Report for a few years before transitioning into advertising.
I think you totally could get hired by an agency. You just need to 1. Prepare to be patient 2. Start assembling an advertising portfolio. You don't need to pay for an ad school, but you will need to show that you understand how to think of an idea and how you can deliver that messaging in a clear, interesting way. 3. Identify the skills you have already that overlap with copywriting. You have to write concisely and clearly. You often work on deadline, etc. Make sure to emphasize those things to any recruiter/prospective agency.
You’re never too old for portfolio school if thats what you mean. 5 people in my class of 30 are over 30 years old:) Go you!
Rising Star
I went to portfolio school and still struggle with social campaigns. Maybe hate it more than struggle.
Hi, I got my first copywriting job at 33, so it can be done. I’d be happy to speak with you about it; DM me if you’d like.
Rising Star
You in a major market? Ever worry about agism? Just got laid off from my first job at 31. Worried about my expiration date
I’m 32 and just finished MAS portfolio school, hard work and good ideas never aged, good luck
I finished ad school at 34. Never too late, you can easily make up for lost time
I built my own portfolio while working in another industry at 35. Just make time to do it and network.
Wanted to mention that if you are a POC, the One Club is offering a free online portfolio program.
https://instagram.com/oneschoolny?igshid=olujror53ou0
@AD2 it does seem extensive
If you can spare a grand or so, hire a freelance designer to create spec work with you. You can create a portfolio w your long form stuff and that new spec ad stuff, to reassure hiring CDs that you can really do this kind of writing. It’s money well spent (get an ad person to give you feedback on your lines first). That’s how I pivoted to copywriting in my 30s after years in publishing.
Send me a DM! Might be able to help yah out.
It’s a diff muscle. Learn to flex it.
Google “Suzanne Pope headline writing.” Buy Hey Whipple, Squeeze This and the Advertising Concept book. Study the shit out of them and make some spec work. Tell the story of your transition to advertising in your book. Maybe you rewrote journo headlines from your work at SI as if they were for a campaign for that article. I know, headlines for an article are for that article—but they’re not the same kind of headline.
Plan how you’re going to tell your story.
CD3 more or less already said this, but I have a similar background to you and made it work.
Came from an auto editorial background. Needed a job and found my way into an agency that handled a major car account at 32. Wasn’t a creative job, but that specific experience got my foot in the door.
Was able to build a bit of a reputation based on my past, found a CD that needed someone and was willing to take a chance on me, and switched over to Creative at 35. Started taking night classes as, to everyone’s point, ad writing is entirely different from editorial.
So at your age, it’s all doable. I’d leverage that SI background to get your foot in any door, and then try and pivot to the work you want to do from there.
And as to why that CD took a chance on me: that first project was terrible and mind-numbing, and no creative wanted to do it. There was nothing book-worthy about it, but it officially turned me into a major ad agency copywriter.
I spent 13 years in daily journalism before I transitioned into marketing. When I applied for my current job, my "portfolio" consisted of PDFs of newspaper articles saved to a Dropbox folder (because they're no longer online), a Google doc with links and screenshots from work I had done as a content strategist at another agency, and my personal blog. It wasn't pretty, but it showed I had a wide range of both short- and long-form writing experience. I thought I had no chance, but they brought me in to interview and I managed to convince them that I could write about pretty much anything. It turned out that my non-traditional background was one of the main reasons I got the job. Maybe I just got lucky, but I don't think you need to go to portfolio school. Just figure out how to sell yourself and your experience.
You may try PR as an alternative. Your journalism experience would be a huge asset.
I’ve actually worked in PR before. Looking to make the switch to advertising.
A number of larger agencies have set up new content divisions that might be worth checking into. They have editors who use a lot of freelancers with editorial backgrounds. You’d have to learn to write to a brief and how to include strategy goals into your writing. Definitely do-able.
Chief
If you can write their is a spot for you. Keep trying.
It’s a saturated market for copywriters right now. But if you’re an expert in certain sports, you could get a gig on accounts that need specific sports experience. Also, other factors, outside of talent or experience, play a big part in the hiring process these days.