Careers blog written by Hilary Neary, Information Assistant, Careers

If you are considering advertising, media and marketing communications as a career, then a useful website to have a read of is the AdMISSION website

The website was created by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) which is the professional body for advertising, media and marketing communications agencies in the UK.

AdMISSION is aimed at people wanting to find out more about this career path and includes lots of helpful information on:

• Types of employers
• How to find a job
• Types of job roles
• Advice and tips on applying for jobs, interviews and assessment days.

AdMISSION is divided into sections and each section enables you to find out more about the industry, typical entry routes for graduates and how to start building up experience to help you better understand and prepare for a role in advertising. Here are some key things to explore to get you started with your career research:

Overview of the industry

The industry guide on the AdMISSION website is a great starting place for career research.  It lists the main types of agency working within the industry and summarises the type of work they do. There is also a detailed explanation of the advertising process from brief to execution of a campaign on the IPA’s main website. 

Research the role and make sure it is a good fit and you have the right expectations

Make sure you research the job roles available within the industry. This will help you find the role or roles that might best fit you but will also give you a crucial overview of how the role you apply for interconnects with other members of the team. The Job Roles section on AdMISSION is really good because it lists all the different roles that you could go into in Advertising, it explains what the job involves, the skills and personal qualities needed and how to get into it. There are a selection of links to profiles and videos of people actually doing the roles and what a day doing their job is like plus links to articles specific to that role. In each section there is a comments bit at the bottom of the page where you can post any further questions you have.

Take the free diagonal thinking test – a test that measures your ability to think creatively as well as logically/rationally.  A skill especially suited to advertising and communications careers.

Get involved

The Routes into the Industry section lists the advertising agencies that run a graduate scheme and links through to their webpages. Similarly they also list the agencies who offer work experience and internships. The IPA also have their own ‘AD school’ and AD Academy (applications open in February) which are aimed at penultimate and final years respectively. These schemes allow students to try out agency life across a variety of disciplines. The website also advertises a selection of current entry level jobs in IPA member agencies which are also tweeted via the IPA Jobs twitter feed @IPA_Jobs 

Get hired

The Career Advice section looks at applying for jobs and the different methods you might employ. It is broken down into a section on applying for jobs in advertising and impressing at interviews (including assessment centres). Each section contains useful links to relevant articles and tips from people currently working in the industry, with their advice on what will help you to stand out.

And if you want to find out more

When researching and applying for jobs this is but one research tool, albeit a very useful one. Don’t forget to broaden the scope of your research, read relevant journals such as Campaign and Media Week, sign up to their twitter feeds as well as the AdMISSION twitter feed, @theadmission and follow agencies themselves. Another good way to get an insight into an agency is to follow their blogs. As well as containing industry news there are also often blogs from graduate trainees or placement students that will give you their perspective on what it is like to work for a particular agency. Finally don’t forget our own job sector webpage for careers in advertising, marketing and PR. These really comprehensive webpages will help you understand the sector and provide lots of information on the steps to take to develop relevant skills, research the sector and get experience.