This is a true story as told to JustJobs Academy which houses career interviews and job search advice for professionals in any industry. Visit to read about how to advance your career and how to take ownership for yourself on the job.
I was the production manager for a Kansas City based business journal. I have over ten years of advertising and media relations experience.
My primary responsibility was to generate revenue through advertising sales and to create high quality ads through various mediums. My specialty was advertorials – paid interview/review/informational style articles written about a specific client as a featured special interest piece. In my opinion, the biggest misconception about print advertising is that it isn't worth the cost. Print advertising allows clients to target a specific market without wasting resources in an area not likely to be receptive to the product or service being offered.
I would give my job satisfaction a solid 10. There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when a client calls to thank you for helping increase their business. What’s even more satisfying is when that client recommends you to a new client and your own business grows as a result. The one thing I would like to see change is the economy. With so many out of work and small businesses failing all around us, people have less and less money to spend on goods and services. The job itself had so many rewards. So many times I would get a call or card from one of my clients thanking me for the work I did, telling me their business had increased significantly since their ad came out.
This job has been incredibly fulfilling for me. I have had the opportunity to work with many wonderful members of my community, pool our resources and come up with new ways to promote local businesses. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to see a client’s business have customers lined up outside the door because of an ad I created. I have always had a passion for creative writing and just sort of stumbled onto this position by accident. Whether it was my true calling or fate, I can’t say, but I do know it has been one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences of my life.
As people lost their jobs and houses, businesses began loosing business. It wasn't long before those businesses started closing their doors. As more and more of our advertisers were going out of business, we were left scrambling to make operating costs, and in the end, had to close our doors as well. That is perhaps the most unique aspect of working as an advertising executive. You are only as strong as your economy.
One day I picked up a news journal and scanned the pages. There was only one regular writer on staff, so I sent in my resume. A day later, I was being interviewed and the following week moving into my new office. My new editor had this idea that if he combined my creative writing skills with his ability to sell advertising space, we could come up with a more effective ad campaign for our clients. It was a roaring success. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have taken a few marketing classes in college so that I had a better understanding of markets and the role economy plays on spending.
When my business is good, it’s really good, but it goes the other way, too. I think the best way to gauge a local economy is by flipping through a newspaper. If there are lots of ads, things are going well. A vast majority of our advertisers were small, local businesses and because our journal relied primarily on revenue generated from ad space, when those businesses went under, so did we. I think the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of supporting local businesses first.
Something strange I learned from on the job was that we’d recently hired a new sales executive who inadvertently sold ad space for the family section to a clinic that offered abortion services. I had also sold an advertorial to an adoption agency for that same section. I titled the article “Choose Life.” Going through the proofs, we all missed the error. A few days later, our phones were ringing off the hook and we even had several people come into the office telling us how appalled they were that we would run an abortion ad under a “Right to Life” article. Needless to say, it was a lesson to us all. People really DO look at the ads.
The most challenging aspect of selling advertising space is convincing clients they should buy ad space. More often than not, I had to give out free space just to prove it could be effective. Problem clients had me tugging on my hair a few times. Clients have a tendency to want to nitpick about every little detail. They leave little room for true creativity and limit your ability to convey the message you know from experience, works the best.
Stress levels depend entirely on deadlines. There were a few times we had to work through the night to get ads ready on time. This is, however, by no means a complaint, because that simply meant we were making more money, but it can get stressful.
My base salary was $46,000 a year with bonuses ranging from $10,000-$20,000 a year depending on ad sales. For the area that I live, my base salary provided for a comfortable living and I typically took one week of vacation every six months which was more than enough for me.
JustJobs.com is ajob search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Advertising job image from Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
This is a true story as told to JustJobs Academy which houses career interviews and job search advice for professionals in any industry. Visit to read about how to advance your career and how to take ownership for yourself on the job.
I was the production manager for a Kansas City based business journal. I have over ten years of advertising and media relations experience.
My primary responsibility was to generate revenue through advertising sales and to create high quality ads through various mediums. My specialty was advertorials – paid interview/review/informational style articles written about a specific client as a featured special interest piece. In my opinion, the biggest misconception about print advertising is that it isn't worth the cost. Print advertising allows clients to target a specific market without wasting resources in an area not likely to be receptive to the product or service being offered.
I would give my job satisfaction a solid 10. There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when a client calls to thank you for helping increase their business. What’s even more satisfying is when that client recommends you to a new client and your own business grows as a result. The one thing I would like to see change is the economy. With so many out of work and small businesses failing all around us, people have less and less money to spend on goods and services. The job itself had so many rewards. So many times I would get a call or card from one of my clients thanking me for the work I did, telling me their business had increased significantly since their ad came out.
This job has been incredibly fulfilling for me. I have had the opportunity to work with many wonderful members of my community, pool our resources and come up with new ways to promote local businesses. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to see a client’s business have customers lined up outside the door because of an ad I created. I have always had a passion for creative writing and just sort of stumbled onto this position by accident. Whether it was my true calling or fate, I can’t say, but I do know it has been one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences of my life.
As people lost their jobs and houses, businesses began loosing business. It wasn't long before those businesses started closing their doors. As more and more of our advertisers were going out of business, we were left scrambling to make operating costs, and in the end, had to close our doors as well. That is perhaps the most unique aspect of working as an advertising executive. You are only as strong as your economy.
One day I picked up a news journal and scanned the pages. There was only one regular writer on staff, so I sent in my resume. A day later, I was being interviewed and the following week moving into my new office. My new editor had this idea that if he combined my creative writing skills with his ability to sell advertising space, we could come up with a more effective ad campaign for our clients. It was a roaring success. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have taken a few marketing classes in college so that I had a better understanding of markets and the role economy plays on spending.
When my business is good, it’s really good, but it goes the other way, too. I think the best way to gauge a local economy is by flipping through a newspaper. If there are lots of ads, things are going well. A vast majority of our advertisers were small, local businesses and because our journal relied primarily on revenue generated from ad space, when those businesses went under, so did we. I think the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of supporting local businesses first.
Something strange I learned from on the job was that we’d recently hired a new sales executive who inadvertently sold ad space for the family section to a clinic that offered abortion services. I had also sold an advertorial to an adoption agency for that same section. I titled the article “Choose Life.” Going through the proofs, we all missed the error. A few days later, our phones were ringing off the hook and we even had several people come into the office telling us how appalled they were that we would run an abortion ad under a “Right to Life” article. Needless to say, it was a lesson to us all. People really DO look at the ads.
The most challenging aspect of selling advertising space is convincing clients they should buy ad space. More often than not, I had to give out free space just to prove it could be effective. Problem clients had me tugging on my hair a few times. Clients have a tendency to want to nitpick about every little detail. They leave little room for true creativity and limit your ability to convey the message you know from experience, works the best.
Stress levels depend entirely on deadlines. There were a few times we had to work through the night to get ads ready on time. This is, however, by no means a complaint, because that simply meant we were making more money, but it can get stressful.
My base salary was $46,000 a year with bonuses ranging from $10,000-$20,000 a year depending on ad sales. For the area that I live, my base salary provided for a comfortable living and I typically took one week of vacation every six months which was more than enough for me.
JustJobs.com is ajob search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Advertising job image from Shutterstock
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