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What agencies in Boston should I check out?
The Ask a Recruiter bowl is ghosting already.
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Rising Star
I’m already dreading Monday.
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What agency did the Absolut campaign?
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This has been the standard at every agency I’ve been at. If it’s not PTO and the company is paying you as a work day, it’s a fair expectation. Also why wouldn’t you want to help your entire team/department also learn what you learned?
I'm with you on this one.... I've had a broader (and deeper) career than the one I currently have at the moment and I thought this was the strangest thing.
Mostly because we're more on the entry/lower level (in experience and knowledge) of people who are barley just getting lucky enough to get the last minute opportunity to an industry event..... with little time to prep and less time to plan for getting the most out of attendance. I did the same thing, and all the good presentations had been filled with early RSVPs so I got stuck in the left over filler presentations...
So I totally feel you. It's a nice thing exciting to finally get a learning event or the opportunity to network with industry colleagues that it feels like the right thing to do to develop your CAREER aspirations, instead of just doing more of the task of your JOB quicker, for example.
So I didn't know much going into the conference as a low level attendee and and didn't gain much in the left over room of people who didn't RSVP in time to get into enough content to make me feel like it was even worth the effort, in hindsight.
My expectations were prob too high going in.... but back to your original point, I was caught off guard by the expectation for me to "present" learnings or somewhat expected to low key train back my boss or others on the "skills" that I learned.
I know that the higher ups just need to be able to justify the cost of sending employees to development opportunities to finance / budget allocations, so I think that's the root of the "expectations of what an employee brings back"... but in terms of quality and depth of material being worth putting into a slide deck and then taking up other people's time to look at just didn't resonate with me as being a valuable use of the time and resources for whomever would be looking at my slide deck.
I get the intent. I also get asked by my boss to come back and train and educate them on the things I learned and I just think that counting on the entry level person to provide quality material back into the company as if they could all learn what I learned in a few bullet points if a slide just feels meh.
I get you.
I’d reframe that request. It’s a great opportunity to show your leadership potential and build a reputation at your agency as a go-getter and someone who likes to stay informed. It’s great that you went to an industry conference on your own. Now you can share what you learned with your team and prove yourself as promotion material.
Pro
What a strange moral hill to die on.
Sure the conference was for you, but they just want you to share some of your insights with your team so you can help everyone improve.
I don't think there is any malice on the part of your boss.
Senior vice president 1, I’m not sure why you read into that, but I was clearly referring to trying to pay attention to speakers and trying to take notes for my team. It’s only natural I’d then miss important things that were said. I’m really curious about why you have such hostility towards me, a stranger, who wanted to enjoy and be present for the conference. It’s clear I cared about being there. Yet, you took time out of your day to try to make me feel bad about not being perfect and not having the ability to multitask (which has been proven through research to be something that brains are incapable of actually doing). I’m sorry you aren’t getting the opportunities to grow and learn outside of your office. I hope you feel better about yourself and your job soon!
It’s very much a thing at most agencies I’ve been . Why are you reluctant to share what you learned at a professional event? I can see not wanting to share if you went to a furry convention, but this seems like it’s 100% an industry thing. As someone above said, it’s a strange hill to die on. If you wanted it to be *your* experience, you should’ve called in sick and went.
Did you use your own PTO day or was it a work day that your boss said you can use those day’s hours to go to the conference?
I always ask people to share if they’re taking a work day to attend and getting paid for it. Even if it’s 1-2 minutes of things that were talked about.
Did you play hooky and go to the movies?
You found me out. 🙄
Rising Star
Last night I watched a movie, and a friend had the audacity to ask if it was good! Like, pay the 3 bucks to stream it yourself! Byyyeeee
False equivalence, but okay.
If your boss “allowed” you to go then I’m assuming you didn’t book PTO or use a sneaky sick day. Every agency I’ve ever worked at has expected me to share learnings from award shows, workshops or conferences that I attended on their dime.
Did you use a personal PTO day for this or did the company let you go “on the clock?”
Don’t be be an idiot. Just do up some slides with highlights. It takes an hour 🤨
Wow, okay. Thanks for the name calling, although completely unnecessary.
Such a weird take on helping your colleagues
I shared, and not one colleague seemed vaguely interested. They wanted to get back to work.
Wow, I stand corrected. I have never ever been asked to share my experiences with the team, and I’ve been in this industry for eight years. I honestly didn’t know this was a thing until now. This team has always been a little off in other ways (e.g. calling themselves a family), so I thought this was just another way they were being strange and trying to blur boundaries.
Rising Star
My bosses made it clear when I was going to a conference like Adobe Max or Cannes Lions that the company was paying for my flights and hotel and ticket to the event.
And that I needed to take notes of every presentation I attended and share the knowledge with the team when I got back.
They also made it clear during the event by texting me to make sure I was on top of things. Posting a photo out to dinner or having a drink and I’d get reamed out.
Rising Star
That said, I rarely had the opportunity to go to anything. Where I’d see other people constantly attend conferences and events in the middle of the work day. So often in fact, that I found it hard to believe they actually even had a day job. Like how do you have the time???
Yes have had bosses want to do that but I just ask them to share some takeaways or highlights with the team and not turn it into homework
Sharing what you learned at a conference is standard practice for me too and I’ve been at 3 of the huge hold cos and about 6 brands within them. What’s you hold up? And why the “ “ around allowed?
I’ve gone to many conferences and trainings throughout my career, and this is the first company where I’m told to come back and share with the team at large. Is this really a thing? I’m willing to risk my reputation to tell her I’m not doing it.
Pro
Yes sharing can be a thing because not everyone can attend and some people feel left out. I’ve been asked to share before but usually it’s for bigger conferences that my company had to pay for me to fly out and attend. I would do it if you want to have more opportunities to participate in these things. You don’t have to execute a whole song and dance for it though. Just keep it simple.
I’m not quite sure why so many on here felt the need to drag me for feeling overworked and not wanting to do more work that would just be ignored by my team. One reason I like to attend events in person is because I work mostly remotely, and this app gives me such a bad view of creatives. People in person tend to restore my faith in ad people, acting way more empathetic, kind, and helpful. Posting this only made me want to go to more events, as a digital connection to others doesn’t seem to exist on here. I’m 45 years old and an acd, and yet, I find most people on here to be just mean and bitter. I’m unsubscribing from this post and maybe will even delete the damn app. It’s not worth it when I can’t even post a question without being met with name calling and unnecessary unkindness.