To be in Advertising

“Advertising allows a person to consider virtually every aspect of American business, social culture, technology and many other areas.” (Sivak)

As a student at Lee University, I am studying Communications with an emphasis in Advertising in hopes that one day I will have the opportunity to work for a non-profit organization such as World Vision or Blood Water Mission. I have so many interests in life, so I like the idea of constantly working on projects for different companies and making people aware of things that I think are important to myself and other people around the world. I feel like this would add a little flavor to a job. Over the past four weeks in class we have been learning about different emphasis in the field of Communications.
I would like to work in the field of advertising. I have always thought it was interesting how you can catch a person’s attention by using certain colors and font. There are many forms of advertising but form of advertising that I want to be a part of is media advertising. Media advertising deals with television commercials, billboards, infomercials and pictures.

To be in advertising you should have a Bachelors degree and training in communication skills. You need to be able to communicate to the audience what you are trying to sell. You will also need strong people skills. Advertising requires you to work closely with a client base that can be difficult and demanding. You need to be able to communicate with your clients so you give them what they want and what you want to accomplish with their campaign. You will need to be very creative. Advertising is one of the few fields where you can use your creative flair and just to town on a project to sell it to the audience. You will also need to be able to work with a team.

To prepare you for the field of advertising you should take classes in Web Design and if your university has an advertising program classes in that and art. The more you are in touch with your creative side the better. Also, join the advertising clubs on your campus and get involved in all things advertising. This will help you develop your skills and connections with others who are also in the field of advertising.

Advertising is very competitive. You must be willing to start at the bottom and work your way up. Internships in the advertising field is a must to make connections. You must be very goal oriented and be ready to a lot for the job. It is not for the faint of heart. The stress levels in advertising are very high especially if you want to finish the presentation properly for a pressing deadline.

In the field of advertising so many jobs are open to you. You can work for corporate companies, nonprofit companies, free lance and so many other opportunities are out there. The field of nonprofit organizations would be the most rewarding because in nonprofit organizations you have the opportunity to make a difference and have a real chance to contribute to society and grow while you are at it. You will probably earn more money if you work freelance but it probably won’t be as rewarding. It really just depends on your personal convictions and what you feel lead to do.

With advertising I believe it fits some of my strengths. My five strengths are Developer, Input, Consistency, Empathy, and Responsibility. With the Developer strength if I was project manager I could see myself encouraging the others over the small steps we have made that make us that much closer to our goal. “Choose classes with a field-studies component that involves working with people. This will provide an opportunity to see tangible growth experiences of others and observe how what you learn can be used” (Strengths). My responsibility strength will help me do things in a timely manner and allow me to turn my work in on time and done in a way that would make me proud. The definition given by Gallup Strengths Finder for Responsibility is – “Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should” (Strengths).With my consistency theme would come my hope to work for a none profit organization.

I hate seeing injustice and to be able to use this strength to the fullest would be my biggest dream come true. Especially if I can influence others to hear and see the injustice caused by what is going on and that we can change it. The strength of empathy will help me voice the emotions of the people I am trying to reach. By advertising I am trying to make their lives that much better by using my commercials or flyers to make them aware and help them with their everyday life. The input theme would be very useful. I can use the random tidbits of information that I have stored up and put them on a broacher and use the cutting edge knowledge effectively and not letting it go to waste. I will give my customers exactly the information that they want and need because of my ability to gather it.

Advertising has always interested me. I find it interesting that a field that is not really paid attention to can be so important. You do not really realize how much advertising has changed our lives. I want to be part of this. That is why I am a Communications Major with an Emphasis in Advertising. I want to change the world and to do so you need to get out there and get people’s attention. That is what I plan to do.

Works Cited
“Advertising & Public Relations: Skills & Talents.” Careers-in-marketing. 21 Apr. 2009.
Sivak, Cathy. “Feature Article Advertising Everything from Soup to Nuts…Literally! With so many choices, here’s help on to choosing an advertising career.” 21 Apr. 2009.
Strengths Quest. https://www.strengthsquest.com