Pursuing my Advertising Career
Are you currently a Pathway Member?: Yes
What was on your manifestation list?: A dream job.
What workshops did you use and what blocks did you discover during the DIs & workshops?: Following a recent comment of mine on a post about manifesting a dream job in advertising without being truly qualified for it, several members of this lovely community reached out to me and wanted to know the whole story and my mindset behind it so here it is.
I also want to mention that all of this happened *before* I was even familiar with Lacy’s work, and this is important because in hindsight, I can now see how all the steps and stages in her manifestation work played out exactly as she lays it out. Which is wild.
In 2007, I was living in Montreal, Canada and working for the Quebec branch of a well known US public relations company. I was 34 and bored out of my mind. I had an MA in English and Creating Writing and had ended up in that job because of my writing skills and bilingualism. But all the while, I felt I wasn’t using my real, more artistic talents on a daily basis and I felt stifled. Since the age of 12, I had kept gigantic notebooks (see below) that combined writing, collages, notes on books and personal research, photography and travel mementos. Deep down, I knew that a stronger calling and vocation lay at the heart of that practice.
That summer, my brother who worked in marketing at Cirque du Soleil, told me about a job posting at his company for “creative scout”. I had no idea what a creative scout was and my brother explained that they were a small team of people who spent their time researching artistic trends around the world in order to gather inspiration for all the artists and creative directors at Cirque. I was bewitched. Looking back, this was me being wildly expanded by a career description that I did not even know was a possibility in the world. Armed with my notebooks, I applied and got to the last round of interviews where two of us were asked to do a visual research in 48 hours around the theme “orange”. All we were told was that it had to include two art shows and the rest was up to us.
During those two days, I got into a total trance. I dove deeper than I had ever done into one subject and found myself in what is often called that elusive state of *flow*. I was doing intensive research, being laser focused, using my eye for striking and original photographs, gathering knowledge and putting all that inspiration into one massive PowerPoint.
After a week or so of me literally begging the universe every night to be given the job, I got the call that unfortunately, I had not been chosen for the position.
I was devastated. Completely gutted.
But something in me had shifted. I could no longer stay in PR. I had to find another similar position. After brainstorming where else these positions could exist, I immediately thought of advertising. They had creative directors. They worked on pitches. They probably needed inspiration and research. I had no idea but I was going to approach them.
I sent my resume, a copy of the presentation I had done for Cirque and images of my personal notebooks to the top 10 advertising agencies in Montreal.
And then crickets. For two weeks. Nothing. The magic dark.
Then one morning, I got an email from one of the most famous art directors in town, who was the head of the creative department at a well known agency, asking to meet with me.
I went to the meeting eager and nervous, yet completely in my worth and grounded in myself. I explained what had happened to me at Cirque, the skills I knew I possessed and what I thought I could bring to his team. He sat there, looking at me, smiling, and said that he had been thinking about creating such a position at the agency. He looked at me and said “Would you like to be my Creative Researcher?”
What followed was the most magical 6 years of my work experience to date. I lost track of time every day, collaborating with the most incredible group of designers, copywriters, strategists and art directors. I was in charge of sending out a daily burst of inspiration to the team, researching music, photography, illustration and filmmaking, trends, artists and themes. To my knowledge, no other agency in Montreal had such a resource.
So what I would say to any of you beautiful seekers who are looking for expansion in finding such a job for yourselves:
*You know in your gut what your talents and skills are. If you are in doubt, there are many personality tests that can help you narrow it down. But I think that deep down you know. Own it.*
*You have nothing to lose by going after positions where you have no experience as such. No-thing. I had no experience in visual arts, I had no background in advertising or art direction. I had no experience as a researcher. Yet I knew that I would thrive in that environment.*
*People in hiring positions are drawn to passion, guts and ballsyness. They are drawn to the willingness to learn, the vision, the enthusiasm. Qualifications are one thing but excitement and confidence in your talents also play a huge role. People will be seduced by it. It’s contagious.*
*What is the worst thing that can happen? You don’t get a call back. You don’t get an interview. You don’t get the job. That’s ok. You move on. You move forward. It was not your place or time. Looking back, I think the universe knew that the advertising job would be incredibly more fulfilling for me than the job at Cirque. Trust the process. Surrender. Even when it sucks.*
In 2011, I fell in love with a man living in the US and eventually had to leave my dream job for my next big adventure that was marriage and motherhood. But that’s a whole other story.
So go on, feel those skills and innate talents in your bones, gather your strength and apply for jobs wherever you think they might be of use and flourish.
That’s your most precious qualification.
-Melanie Frances (email testimonial form)
