Ogilvy London 360 Degree Fellowship Programme Application

Ok, applications have open today. The deadline is November 12th so I have some time to do my application.
First round of interviews will be on November 22nd 2004;
2nd round interview week on December 6th, 2004;
and they would let people know who have a place on the 2005 programme by week December 13th.

This is extremely long! Anyway, the 500 words essay I have to write is to answer the following question:

"Allegra Versace is the niece of Gianni Versace. On her 18th birthday, she inherited the fashion empire left to her by her uncle. However, since he died, sales have dropped, fashionistas have switched to alternative labels, and some tough decisions are needed to make a return to profit. So if you were Allegra, what would you do to reinvigorate the brand? Think about why people are switching and who your competitors are. What objectives would you set and how you would go about achieving them? Who would you be aiming to attract, how would you communicate with them and secure your place back on fashion's 'A' list?"

If anyone has any bright ideas or tips on how to answer this question, feel free to email me. I could also send you my draft and we could discuss it together. Advertising is a team effort, isn't it? That's what I read in David Ogilvy's book...

Adverting vs Marketing jobs

After looking more deeply into the advertising industry, I realised there are major issues out there. First of all, entry level jobs are very badly paid. Sometimes much less than a secretary. This is because so many people want to break into that industry.
The second issue is that the average working hours are about 50 to 70 hours a week for account executive type jobs and you may be asked to worked on WE wo catch up with work to meet deadlines, etc.
If earning not too much while learning the job isn't a big issue for me. The addition of working like a dog for long hours and not be rewarded financially may be a problem. I need to figure out how quickly people get promoted and how is the workload at later stage.
I reaally love advertising and I think account management is something I'd really enjoy doing but not earning enough and not have enough free time to enjoy life outside work is not very appealing.

Marketing jobs are more like typical office jobs in the workload and salary range. I could hope being hired and earned the same or above what I earned prior my MBA and have a nice between work and leisure. Also, I like Marketing as well. However, most marketing required a few years of experience to start.

So maybe, I should just start in advertising as an account executive, learned all about it and see if I like the job, the pay and the workload. If I don't, then I could always switch to Marketing jobs because I would have some valuable advertising experience with me. The key now is to start in one of the leading Advertising agencies so this will be very valuable for my references as well as the training I'll get and the opportunities to move abroad if needed.

Today, I'm preparing my application for Ogilvy in London.

Back to Europe for sure

Due to personal trouble & love drama, I now know for sure I want to leave Canada. I decided today to stop looking for jobs here and I'm definitely going back to Europe end of October.

OGILVY: the way to go

Well, I was wondering how to start a career at Ogilvy since it is one of the top advertising agencies in the world. So far, two great options I found:

- First and the best: Enter the Graduate Fellowship Programme at Olgilvy London. Application re-opens in 2 weeks so I'm right on time.

"Succesfull fellowship candidates will initially undergo an intensive 6 weeks of training from the very best practitioners from across the breadth of the marketing communication disciplines within the Ogilvy group of companies. The training programme is modelled on the actual process we go through to develop 360 solutions for our clients and so the emphasis is on understanding clients' problems, generating powerful ideas to solve these problems and the skills you will need to make those ideas happen. The 6 weeks will be as varied and challenging as Agency life itself, from strategy development to TV production, from understanding brands to building websites, from managing client relationships to understanding design cues, from planning PR to marketing products instore.
Following the 6 weeks training, you will join as an Account Executive and will begin the first of three 6 month placements in Ogilvy and Mather, OgilvyOne, Ogilvy Interactive, or one of the Ogilvy Group Companies. By then, you will not only have a good insight into the business we are in but also the skill sets you will need to make a hands on, meaningful contribution to one of the Ogilvy Group Companies as an Account Manager."

- Second and great too: Apply for the position of 'Account Executive' at Ogilvy Brussels. The great thing is that the profile is exactly matching my skills and what I want. It requires to be trilingual in: french, English and Dutch. Typically Belgian! It's in Brussels so maybe it would be a way to be back home and maybe live for a bit with my amazing brother that I miss a lot.

"Account Executive Function
- You follow the campaigns collaborating with an account manager under the management of an account director.
- You participate to the briefings and give priority to your tasks.
- You contribute to the discussions and collect brand information
- You act as the client's day to day contact for all logistical issues
- You build a strong and constructive relationship with key client and agency personnel
- You understand the key elements and are familiar to Ogilvy 360 degree and Brand Stewardship toolbox

Profile
- A first experience in marketing is a plus
- Implicated, enthusiast, innovative
- Preferring to work in team
- Trilingual Dutch, French and English"

This one is less impressive than the other one but keep in mind that I have a very limited experience in marketing (the one I gained during the mba only) and I need to learn a lot so this would be an excellent position to learn from other people. Also a great way to practice my Dutch that I risk to forget if I don't practice soon.

I'll try both and see which one go through, if none then I can always try the Amsterdam office or other advertising agencies. Exciting!

Back in Europe on the 30th of October at the latest

I'm starting to make new plans to get organized and setting some deadlines and travel arrangements.

These may change slightly (or dramatically) depending on the outcome of my jobsearch and the eventual interviews I may have to do or if I get a great job opportunity here in Montreal that I can't refuse.;-)

Regardless of this, the actual plans are to head back to Europe on the 30th of October. I would fly to Brussels and stay at my brother's appartment to continue searching for jobs and organize interviews in Europe (mainly in Brussels, Amsterdam and London).

Trisa kindly offered me to stay at her place in London so I may stay there for a while if I have interviews scheduled there.
Life being way cheaper in Brussels, I will restrict my stay in London to the minimum until I find a job. You know how much I like bars and clubs so that wouldn't be a sound idea spending hips of money without a job.;-)

I may come back earlier in case I have interviews already lined up in Europe but no earlier than October 10th because I still have one class to finish here before I can leave.

Do you know anyone working at Ogilvy?

Jobhunting is going well and I spotted a company I'd really like to work for. This is the company right for me and what I would like to do. The name is Ogilvy and they have offices all over the world.
The good news is application reopens next week in London. The bad news is, I don't have any contact working for Ogilvy and EVERYBODY wants to work for Ogilvy as it is one of the best advertising company offering the best training programmes so I will be one in the many applicants.

To have better chance to get in and send a good application, I would like to get in touch with someone from Ogilvy to whom I could ask a few questions concerning Ogilvy and its culture and the type of jobs there.

So if you know anyone working or who has worked for Ogilvy wherever in the world (it doesn't need to be in London, any other location would be great too) then it would be nice to let me know so I could contact that person and ask a few questions.

Thanks a bunch!

I want to be trend tracker!

The coolest job in the world! I'm going to track that Richard Welch to give me a job. Me, psychologist with a MBA in Marketing and loving cool stuff and trends. That's for me baby! Trend-tracking gets big, and trickier.

More career switching tips

"For 75 percent of B-school students, the MBA is a new start—the first step in a journey from one field to another. And more often than not, that new field is consulting, banking, or marketing.

To compete, career switchers need to think strategically. They need to position themselves exactly right. They need, among other things, to highlight the key similarities between their previous jobs and the ones they're gunning for. This goes for resumés, cover letters, and especially interviews.

Switching to marketing: While bankers dress to display power and consultants dress to fit the client, marketers need to look like they just flew in from the coast. That's because marketing requires a visionary sense, a personal style to match the panache you'll lend to new product lines. And yet, behind all that vision and flair, you've got to have the numbers to back up your decisions. "You have to be someone who is comfortable with numbers—analyzing numbers, speaking with numbers, presenting numbers," says Ellen Gilbert, director of recruitment marketing for Johnson & Johnson. Marketers also have to play well with others. "You'll need to look for input from finance, sales, market research, and product supply departments. The challenge is going to be to leverage the opinions of everyone," says Camille Pierce, senior recruiting manager for Procter & Gamble."

More of this:
Jungle

Career Switching in a Tough Economy

As I was trying to find any info on the net about MBA who also did a career switch to Marketing, I found a really interesting article written by another MBA. Like me she worked in the banking industry and she wrote: "I was a typical career switcher, like many MBA candidates. During the interviews, I faced a multitude of challenges. Instead of explaining my passion for marketing, I had to dispel banking stereotypes. Here are some tips and strategies I employed to make myself a successful career switcher: Career Switching in a Tough Economy? Not Impossible. "

What do I have to sell? (part one - The school)

Ok, so first step. What do I have to sell to these employers? I got a MBA from this HEC school in Montreal. Excellent and tough school but way underrated and unknown internationally so here is a mention that the Career center sent us to add to our CV to imprest the employers and reassure them I come from a good school eventhough it ain't Harvard or Ivey, what do you think? A bit weird to add that in a CV? Should I rather use the space to talk about me than my school?;-) Well, I'll add it and we'll see.

"HEC Montreal at a glance: The business school of the University of Montreal. First North American school to hold the three accreditations: AACSB international, EQUIS and AMBA. MBA offered in English and French, with over 55% international students. Rated as one of the top 100 in the world by the Wall Street Journal in the 2004 edition of the Guide to the Top Business Schools and one of the 18 best MBA programs outside the United States, according to the MBA 2002 classification by BusinessWeek. http://www.hec.ca/ "


HEC Montreal

Dilemna and life choices that are on my mind right now

(This is a post I posted a few days ago on my other blog but should belong here so I moved it and updated a little the percentages below to reflect my mindset)

After the Prom Ball, the graduation ceremony, the MBA is reaching its end. Everyone is leaving Canada or starting looking for jobs. I still have to finish that one course and then will be done by October 10, which is a month from now. In the meantime, I'm still finishing assignments from the previous period, hosting my family visiting me, partying to celebrate the return and leaving of friends. This is a very intense period in emotions and stress too. It's running fast, too fast. I spent an intensive year with people that were new to me but then became really close friends and now they are leaving in a matter of days and it is hard to realise that I won't see them for a long time or maybe never for some of them.

On my side, i need to organize my life as well and make some choices. Choices that I must take within the next few days or weeks and that will shape the next few years of my life and what I want to do with it. This MBA was so intense that I didn't have time to think of it yet and now the deadline is coming up. The questions that are on my mind now are: Do I want to stay in Montreal and stay with my 'new' close friends here and stay another year working in Canada? Or do I want to go back to Europe or elsewhere and discover a new place and new people? Or do I want to go back where I already been like London and see my many dear friends there and live in that city that I love? Another type of choice is the career wise one. I know I want to switch career from IT/HR and go into Marketing where I have almost no relevant experience and start from scratch but where? Back to ING working for the banking industry that I don't really like but where I have many helpful contacts or do I want to make my own way in a new company where they've never heard of me?

So many questions that I asked myself and that people are asking me. I decided I posted this so you know what's on my mind and what I don't know but where are the options. In a month of time, hopefully I'll know where I'll work and will be able to give you at least a location and an employer name.Locations wise, my cristal ball is a bit fuzzy but I think I can see either: Montreal (15% chance); London (20%); Amsterdam (20%);Brussels (20%) or any random location (25%) if I'm lucky that would sounds like Sydney, NYC, Milan, Madrid or Berlin. The wind of change is blowing on me so watch this space to know what will happen.

A new blog is born

As one can never have too many blogs, here is a new blog to add to the long list. As a follow up of the MBA blog and the personal one, i thought I wouldn't mixed stuff and rather start a brand new blog for a brand new adventure: finding a job now that I have a MBA (which stands for Master of Business Administration...for the ones who were wondering...).

It's a very specific adventure since I don't just want a job but I want to use my MBA to switch career from IT/HR to Marketing. It may be long winded so I thought I better start a blog to record this long process and also to keep you all updated. I know that many of you cares and ask me questions of how it goes and stuff so this will the place to know exactly what's going with Dreeny. Ups and downs are to be expected but that's part of the game and don't hesitate to use the comments button to cheer me up or tell me off if I'm too much of myself. That's what friends are for, aren't they? Ok, back to my jobhunt then. Ciao!