In today’s competitive business and advertising world, a bachelor’s degree is fast becoming the first step to a successful career, not the only step. Those at helm in top advertising firms have raised the bar and a bachelor’s degree is no longer a guarantee that you will land the position you feel you are qualified for. Scroll through any job board and you will find the following letters over and over again “MBA.” Most employers prefer candidates with an advance degree for top positions, preferably an MBA with a specialization in advertising or marketing. In their eyes, this is but one of the characteristics of a good advertising professional.
The advanced degree takes upper level undergraduate courses a step further. Graduate students can expect to learn advanced versions of sales and marketing courses, economics and accounting, communications and media, customer and personal service English, and transportation. At 20.3 percent, earnings growth potential for advertising professionals overall is high. However, advanced degree holders earn, on average, 27.9 percent more than bachelor’s degree holders do. Top earners can make anywhere from $91,280 to more than $145,600 for management positions.
In addition to having an advanced degree, successful advertising professionals have a number of other common characteristics. For starters, a good advertising professional is enterprising. Because top advertising positions involve starting up and carrying out projects, leading teams, and making decisions, top advertising professionals are natural leaders and they are always willing to take on new projects. This enterprising personality also works well in advertising because of the large amount of risk taking that is involved in this industry.
Good advertising professionals are also excellent at:
• Managing Financial Resources – determining how money will be spent to get the job done and being accountable for these expenditures
• Negotiating – having the ability to bring others together and reconcile differences
• Public Speaking – having the ability to convey messages in a clear and concise manner
• Complex Problem Solving – having the ability to pinpoint problems, review options, and implement solutions
• Writing – communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience
• Sales – having superior ability to show, promote, and sell products or services
Social perceptiveness and service orientation are also characteristics of good advertising professionals. These individuals are aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react the way they do and they are always actively looking for ways to help people. They have a strong grasp of the English language, meaning, they understand the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, grammar, and rules of composition.
One last characteristic of good advertising professionals is experience. Most employers prefer to hire management professionals with 6-8 years of experience, mid-level professionals should have 3-5 hears of experience and entry-level advertising professionals should have at least 1 year of experience.
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