A New Meaning to Agency Life

A lot can change in a year... including a shift in your career. And, to my surprise, advertising agencies are not the only ones who refer to themselves as "agencies". Imagine my reaction hearing the term "agency" my first day on the job with an insurance company. It went a little something like this.

I quickly realized they weren't talking about the agency I had in mind. Who knew insurance offices we acquire are also called agencies? Well, now you do. As my journey progresses, I'm hoping to share helpful tidbits and highlights from my experience.

Out with the Old

I spent the last four and a half years at an advertising agency. It's important to note, I wouldn't change any of it and it wasn't until I took a step back did I realize how valuable all of my experience and knowledge was and is. I held a unique role and had to know a lot about a lot. And no, that's not a typo. Here are a few key takeaways I think are relevant to any job you have.

Not Every Valuable Skill is Obvious on Paper

The ability to communicate well and remain calm in a stressful situation are invaluable skills. It takes practice to learn these and they are not always easy. Assuming we communicate well because our industry falls under the communications umbrella is nonsense. I've experienced plenty of people who need to think before speaking but never do. Believe it or not, listening is a huge part of communicating. Some people listen to reply, others listen and speak when there's something valuable to contribute. I recently read an article, "Quiet People in Meetings are Incredible" and it really resonated with me.

Remaining calm in stressful situations teaches you patience, and ultimately shapes you as a professional. No one wants to work with someone who is expected to act out poorly or react in a way that puts you down. Not every day will be perfect, but you should try to remain calm and professional no matter the challenge.

Your Boss' Work Style Sets the Expectation of You

If your supervisor or boss emails you after working hours, regularly asks you to stay after hours to complete a project and/or works during their scheduled PTO, they more than likely expect the same from you. Actions speak louder than words and in their mind, this is an acceptable way to work. If you're interviewing and want to know if this is the expectation, ask them what their idea of a perfect employee is. Hopefully their response will provide you with clarity where you can make a decision if that's the type of work environment for you.

In with the New

While I'm still fairly new to this position, there are notable differences between my agency life with an insurance company vs. agency life with an ad agency. For starters, the ad agency I came from had 30 employees and the insurance company I'm with has 8,500 employees. That in itself is a major change.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

If you're coming from an ad agency background, you're used to tight deadlines, multiple projects with the same priority and never enough hours in the day to get it all done. When in house, the saying "there's always tomorrow" holds true and shows in the quality of your work.

Yes, you have to run it by the legal team and IT in addition to approval from your boss and their boss, but at the end of the day: trust the process. It's actually quite amazing to see a variety of professionals with different perspectives and input that goes into marketing. You learn a lot throughout this process and in turn become a well rounded marketer. Did you know? You legally can't consider someone an expert because technically, by definition, no one is "an expert".

Growth is Limitless

When your boss and team support you, the possibilities are endless. Your feedback is encouraged and when they understand your value, they question what your opinions, thoughts and ideas are and genuinely use them to shape their marketing strategies. The feeling of working is motivating and projects are exciting. There's always someone to learn from, there's always growth to be had. No matter how much experience you have, you should live by this because work won't feel like work. You'll never know it all, but you should try to.

Here's to a new chapter! Stay tuned.