New Grad’s Guide on How to Transition to the Real World
Everyone is going to give you “advice” and “tips” on how to get the perfect job out of college. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to tell you my story about how I had absolutely no plan after college and eventually ended up finding my passion and working in a job I love. No advice, just experience.
Graduation
The day I graduated was an exciting day! It was also a scary one. With peers getting jobs from their internships, I’d be lying to you if I didn't tell you I felt a little behind the curve. I spent 4 years with professors giving me “advice” that the competition is high today, and you need to be the best of the best in order to stand a chance in the real world. There was a lot of pressure to be employed quickly.
After Graduation
My story doesn’t start out with countless interviews and finding the perfect navy blue suit, (because statistically, you have a higher chance to be hired in a navy blue suit.) The truth is, I was at a party. I was talking with my fellow new grads about their new internships and jobs, which I mainly just listened to due to the fact that I hated the question “Hey PJ what are you doing now?” I met one of my friend’s older brother, who by chance was looking for a copywriter for his web development company. I said “I can do that!” By Monday, I had a job!! Part-time, but hey, I had an answer to the dreaded question.
The Copywriting Days
I worked on writing blogs, social media content, copy, and SEO meta descriptions for a small web development company. It was a team of four of us and I worked about 15 hours per week. The best part about it was the creative freedom I could apply to the work.
Eventually though, I found that I really needed something more full-time. I applied for a copywriter position at a big corporate web development company, and got it after the 2nd interview. This had me excited at first, my first “big boy” job was a huge national company. I saw myself climbing the ladder to CEO status, hopefully by the time I was 30. A long shot? Yes, but hey you got to dream big, right? Well that dream slowly diminished as I learned the difference between a small company and corporate. Simply put, I found my skills to be a lot more valuable outside of the corporate world.
I quit. Everyone told me I was being foolish to quit a steady job without another job lined up. I didn’t care. People also told me “your twenties are a time to screw up and bounce back”. So that’s exactly what I did. It felt like the right thing to do, so I took some time and re-evaluated what I really wanted out of a career. The bills never stopped however, and I was eating Easy Mac and ramen for a while.
Discovering Accounts
Sometime later, I got a call from the first small web company about W2 information. It ended with, “Oh, so we were picked up by an ad agency, there’s a sales position open if you’re interested”. It just so happens that I just finished watching the movie “Yes Man” and I was all about opening myself up to new possibilities. I got the interview, made it past the second interview, and got hired.
My first day, I felt completely overwhelmed, but I surprisingly picked up the pace pretty quickly. This experience was different. I didn’t feel like I was doing meaningless tasks that no one else wanted to do. I was thrown into important meetings, large deals, and big clients all at once. After a while, you become comfortable in this realm. Before I knew it, I was the one hosting the important meetings.
I learned how to speak to potential clients, how to negotiate a quote, how to close deals, how to manage projects, how to work with a budget, how to produce results, and most importantly how to love what you do for a living. Working in accounts has been challenging and exciting all at the same time, and I feel like I have something that a lot of people don’t find in life, career passion.
So I didn’t get a prestigious internship that led to the perfect job. I made mistakes, opened the wrong doors, and fell into the right place. My only advice to someone stressed about graduation is to never be afraid to fail, because you will. You ARE going to make mistakes, so it’s better to learn to roll with the punches than to avoid the inevitable. Life throws curveballs and you can only plan so far, so make sure to never lose the courage to change, it could be the best change you ever made.
Jacksonville Running Company Prepares MMM for 5K
If you have ever been athletic in any capacity whatsoever, running is more than likely the hallmark of your sport. If it's not, it's undoubtedly the cornerstone of any kind of conditioning program you may have been a part of. I, myself (along with JD and Justin), have backrounds as athletes in our collective pasts, but any athlete invariably encounters their fair share of injuries. Today's focus was on how to run safely, efficiently, and get the most out of your run. As someone with an exercise science backround, I found revisiting these principles helpful, and Chris was able to explain difficult movements and body mechanics in such a way that anyone would be capable of grasping them. Any athlete knows that dedication and a solid work ethic along with proper technique is vital to achieving the desired result, but it's equally important to utilize the best equipment at your disposal. For runners, it doesn't get more important than the shoes you put on your feet. That being said, I encourage everyone to check out Jacksonville Running Company at either the Tapestry Park or Bartram Park location and get a shoe that specifically suits you at no additional cost than the retail price. The fit process is comprehensive and includes video analysis of your stride, foot pressure scanning, and much more. I am the proud owner of a pair of Asics Gel Cumulus, and I will put them to good use tomorrow as I stride through the streets of Fernandina Beach. Happy 4th of July to all!!!!
Maximum Warp…ENGAGE!
In a race to the finish where there is no end in sight, I have to believe that Mad Men Marketing is the front-runner in our industry. The interaction between clients, customers, and ourselves is the engine that drives this company, and if the first quarter of 2013 is any indication, our young company will be taking not just Jacksonville, not just the southeast region, but the WORLD by storm. We are constantly thinking of ways to expand our brand of consumer-driven business to the masses all over the world. These places include, but are not limited to: Spain, Australia, England, India, and China. That being said, we are still very hometown proud. Jacksonville is where I've called my home for the last 4 years. It's a vibrant city on the verge of some very positive things, and we are pleased to spread the word about our fine city throughout the global business community. Nothing is ever static at Mad Men, and I expect new and exciting things for the next 3 quarters. What will that mean? More personnel, refined procedures, increased qualifications and comepetencies, more global outreach, more improvements here at the office both aesthetic and practical, and a more fluid, more transparent agency to suit the needs of our customer base. The most exciting thing is that I don't know what to expect, but we're certainly a company that's exploding in terms of size and capabilities.
Mad Men Marketing Looking to Hire
An Account Strategist is responsible for the initiation and execution of the company’s business development strategy. He or she will be responsible for identifying new business opportunities, generating new leads, learning about a potential client’s needs, educating prospects about the agency, closing sales, and taking care of the day-to-day workings of accounts – including estimating and project management.
Our ideal candidate must be self motivated – with a positive attitude, and have the desire and ability to focus on growing new and current business. The position is suited to an individual who is “sales driven” and who can utilize his or her exceptional skills to produce effective and successful results.
Main Duties:
– Lead generation, cold calling, and getting appointments
– Develop new business relationships and grow current accounts to generate income for the company
– Present to potential clients through: direct communication in face-to-face meetings, telephone calls, and e-mails
– Actively and successfully manage the sales process: lead generation, credentials pitch, asking questions, solution pitch, negotiation, close, and delegate further tasks to internal departments
– Self-management of time and individual responsibility for new business. Support by management and staff is available for pitches and strategies
– Managing and maintaining a pipeline and ensuring all sales administration is current
– Effectively interact with other departments
Key Accountabilities:
– Establish contact with Company Directors/Marketing Managers utilizing existing or self-generated leads
– Develop and promote sound working relationships with all external customers in order to promote the company and enhance business awareness
– Develop and maintain positive relationships with agency account and creative teams
Requirements:
– 4 year degree from an accredited university
– 1-2 years of sales experience
– A positive and determined approach to researching and analyzing new business opportunities (with new and current business)
– Travel. You will be expected to spend 80% of your time out of the office in meetings.
– Valid drivers license
Desired Attributes:
– Ability to use initiative and pay close attention to detail
– Capable of hands-on problem solving, with the ability to generate ideas and solutions
– Ability to cope with competing demands and to prioritize tasks
– Strong communication skills in all forms, including written, oral, e-mail, telephone and presentation
– Excellent organizational and time management skills
– Capable of working independently with individual responsibility
EXPERTISE
Mad Men is a B2B and Business to Consumer marketing agency with expertise in consumer driven campaigns for all types of media.
ESSENCE
We empower consumer driven brands. It’s simple. We take a company’s mission statement. Strip it down to its essence. Make it speak to the consumer. And sell. You take credit for the smashing results.
NEW
Since 2008, we have the advantage of being new to the market, contributing fresh ideas to a dried up industry, with a small efficient team to produce excellent results.
ACCESSIBILITY
Mad Men headquarters is in Jacksonville, FL – In the heart of the downtown district.
Jacksonville-based Mad Men Marketing, is a privately held company servicing Jacksonville, the St. Louis area, Nashville and NYC. The company is a Full-Service marketing firm providing a variety of specialties based on client needs locally, regionally, nationally and internationally; offering interactive creative ideas, with consumer-driven branding; all incorporated through the three types of media services using our specific capabilities to get the job done. Additional information about Mad Men Marketing may be found on the Internet at www.madmenmarketinginc.com.
Contact:
J.D. Blair
President/Client Services
904-355-1766
jdblair@madmenmarketinginc.com
MMM Helps Beach Bash Create a Splash!
This year, Mad Men Marketing was given the opportunity to team up with the highly respected community of Beaches Habitat for Humanity. This partnership began just in time to help Beaches Habitat more than double their net proceeds at their 9th Annual Beach Bash.
The team at Mad Men helped Beaches Habitat by designing the logo for the event, create and print the invitations, design and place advertising for the event, and help with various other promotional efforts around town. The event was even more special this year, as Beaches Habitat announced their partnership with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), providing housing for veterans who were injured during their service in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
This year’s family, the first family from WWP to receive a house from any Habitat for Humanity affiliation, was Sgt. Ryan and Gena Smith, along with their son Aiden. To recognize this new partnership and honor the Smith family, Mad Men Marketing also created a seven minute video announcing this partnership – detailing Beaches Habitat as an organization that helps thousands of families in our community – concluding with an interview of the Smith family, chronicling their strengths through immeasurable hardships faced during their young marriage.
The success of the full-scale marketing campaign enabled Beaches Habitat for Humanity to nearly double their attendance at the Beach Bash event from 250 guests in 2011 to an estimated 400 in 2012. In addition to record attendance, net proceeds of the event came to just shy of $100,000 – which is also the record for Habitat for Humanity since beginning the Beach Bash event nine years ago.
Mad Men Marketing is very pleased to have the opportunity to help raise awareness for such a generous and heartfelt organization. We look forward to continued success for their upcoming events in 2013.