I’ve worked in a few agencies now, and while they’ve all been different, there’s definitely some common threads. I was explaining agency life to a young and naive in-houser earlier today, and these were some thoughts I touched upon.
1. Whatever you think your job is going to be, that’s what it’s not
If I looked at any given agency job description for a role which I’ve accepted, and then what my responsibilities were +1 year down the line, the two will never match up. This has pros and cons. Pros – you’re probably doing something more closely aligned with your true skill set ‘oh, John’s great with Google Tag Manager’. Cons – before you know it, you’re not even doing anything closely related to your job title, you’re the Tag Manager guy. Roll with it. Learn a lot as you go, and develop the skills you need.
2. A complete lack of focus is normal
They’ll feed you the Kool Aid early on. We do this, and this is who does it. And this is how it’s done. Real world calling – it’s not going to happen like this. An offer of work for a client who doesn’t fit the ideal customer profile will waste everyone’s time (because finances dictate). Bob’s paternity leave will be covered by someone who hasn’t got a clue about what he did (because HR dictates). The MD will spend six months straight chasing a lead who has been cock teasing for years now (because ego dictates). Get used to it!
3. It’s not your agency, so you don’t decide
Look, in theory we could all run it from the top. Sam, you do this, Kev, you do this. Bosh. It’s just not that simple. Stick to what you’re good at, excel at that, and try not to get tangled up in the politics of it. It’s not your business, so intrinsically, you don’t care as much about it as the owner does. And that’s fine. Your idea was great. It’s just unrealistic at this time, Karen.
4. ‘Fair’ doesn’t even come into it
Agency environments, especially as they grow, are like microclimates, or snapshots of much larger enterprise companies. Except without the volume of staff, some things don’t scale so well. Expect to get shafted when it comes to promotions, because your co-worker was deeper in your manager’s pocket. You literally live and breath Nike Air Max, and they still didn’t give you the account? Tough, nepotism is rife, so suck it up. It’ll never seem like the gods of fortune were smiling on you, so swallow your pride and just do your best. If you wanted an easy life, you’d be in-house.
5. Don’t slag off your competitor agencies (publicly)
I know, I know. ThatAgency does shoddy work, their staff are never happy, and you heard rumours that the MD was an actual sociopath. That’s cool, just don’t go blabbing about it. Agency life (especially in the NE) is incredibly insular, so even if you don’t currently work with Sarah the SEO Exec now, you can be sure you’ll want to retract your comments when she becomes a Director at your next agency. (Try and) keep it shtum.
6. It’s on a need to know basis
Especially as a younger member of staff, it can be quite easy to become paranoid. ‘What is that meeting about?’, or ‘are they talking about me?’, or ‘where’s Sally today, has she been canned?’. The quicker you learn that 99% of the time, it’s not about you, you don’t need to know, and it most likely won’t affect your day job, the sooner you will find peace. You don’t know about that meeting because you don’t need to know. It’s nothing sinister. Get back to your timesheets, Liam.
7. You might just do your best work
The nature of agency work means that idea generation is rapid, collaboration is key, and stiff targets mean you might have to do some of your best work for That Client. It’s tough work at the time, but it might just be career defining. Put the extra work in for that campaign you just know is gonna be a hit. Even if you don’t get agency recognition, you’re gonna be living off telling people it was your idea for years to come, so get invested. But that said…
8. Know when to ditch a dud
You’ll be spinning more plates than you ever knew you had capacity to. Which means the worst thing you can be is be a “yes man”. Fail fast, and learn to spot when a client, or a campaign, or even a single article is bad, and focus your efforts on what matters the most. Agency work is centred around spent time, and if your time is spent poorly, it will only piss off the client, and leave you feeling like you’ve wasted your efforts. So be efficient, and personally streamline where you can.
9. Processes are great – when they work
Agencies love a process because in theory it puts everyone on the same page. People will spend months, years, developing ace processes. That no-one will follow. Because just like it says on your agency website, a one size approach does not fit all. Embrace the process, get involved in refining it. Champion it! It’s there for a reason, but have the flexibility to break it when needs be.
10. Employers still haven’t “got it”
Oh, so your new agency has a foosball table? Great, I’m sure that’ll make up for the dismal pay. There may well be a beer fridge, some neon lighting on the wall, and some 90s advertising books just like every other agency, but for some reason, agency owners still haven’t clocked on to what employees care about. This differs from place to place and doesn’t seem to scale well, but don’t expect to be able to pay your student loan off with the weekly ‘treats’ box of doughnuts.
11. Enjoy it before it sends you loopy
The argument for agency work vs. in-house jobs will rage on until the end of time. There’s good and bad sides to working agency side just like any other job. While you’re still in the agency honeymoon period, enjoy it! The big clients, the growth, the huge responsibilities, the sometimes phenomenal people you meet along the way. Give it another year and you’ll want to go back in-house, so make the most of it while your heart is still in it.
Agency work for me in 2020 means I’m constantly learning, it keeps me driven towards a bigger goal, and excites me in ways I just haven’t been able to tickle in-house. If you’ve got any thoughts, or cliches that desperately need to go away, let me know below.
If you don’t like what is being said, change the conversation
— Don Draper (s03e02)