Name: Stephen Coomber
Company: TAXI
Stephen graduated from Sheridan in 2005 and has already made a mark at 3 different advertising shops. He moved from Organic to Young and Rubicam and is now working at TAXI.
He gave us some advice to consider:
1. Speak upStephen touched on some other topics such as office style (closed or open), the differences between small and big advertising shops and the length of hours worked depending on the philosophy of the company (at TAXI, where creativity and teamwork is encouraged, he works much longer hours than at his previous jobs). He also gave us some freelancing advice - make sure you can prove your worth to potential clients as they may not be willing to pay a freelancer as much money as a studio.
Make your passions known to your employers. This is how Stephen was able to move from Flash animator to designer to creating the initial ideas for projects.
2. Find a mentor
They know your job better than you and can show you new things. Someone who will help you grow. Later, you'll want to return the favour.
3. Never take shotgun
Always be in control and seek out opportunities.
4. Tweet
Twitter is a powerful marketing tool. Some good accounts to follow: @mashable, @taxicanada, @theNextWeb, and @ConanOBrien.
5. Drink beer
Advertising is a social industry and connections happen after hours.
6. Don't take yourself too seriously
7. Be passionate and have fun
Overall, I really enjoyed Stephen's presentation, he was funny and seemed to give an honest description of what working in advertising is like from the time commitment to the types of people you could work with. He definitely gave me some things to think about for the future.
