Career conversation with Amy Carton, Associate Director of Early Talent Development at Ogilvy

We often talk about TLC being a big family, but it's extra special when a TLC family member is also your actual family member! Having known my cousin Amy since she was born, made this interview about her rise at Ogilvy all the more special.

BACKGROUND AND COLLEGE

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?

I grew up in Westchester NY (in Harrison), and now live on the Upper East Side in NYC.

Where did you go to college and what led you to choose it?

I attended WashU in St. Louis.? I was looking for the quintessential college campus, and while I knew that I didn't want a very big city, I knew I wanted an environment that felt approachable with small class sizes.? WashU takes such pride in fostering nice relationships between classmates, professors and students, and it was a nice blend of smaller class sizes where everyone could play an active role. Obviously, there are bigger lectures too, but in general, I was drawn to the overall vibe of the campus. I spent a weekend there and fell in love with it.

Did you study abroad?

I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, and having the opportunity to study art there was so immersive.? We traveled all over the country to see historical sites and got to see paintings and sculptures live instead of in a book.? As someone who didn’t love sitting in a classroom and listening to lectures, that made the experience even more special.

Were there any courses you took in college that you found to be particularly helpful in your current role or leading you to your current role?

Introductory writing classes are valuable in any field.? Learning how to respond to different prompts, and to practice how to tailor your writing style is underrated in terms of how that translates to the art of email writing and corresponding in a corporate setting.

My art history classes were the perfect blend of lectures and hands-on learning.? There is a huge emphasis on public speaking as an art history major, because in a field as subjective as art, the ability to articulate your thoughts well, tell a compelling story and explain as to why you feel a certain way, are extremely valuable.

CURRENT JOB

Was your decision to go into advertising related to your art history major?

I found art history almost by accident after taking an introductory class and falling in love with it.? I hadn’t always been the best traditional student—taking tests was not my strength.? But art history gave me the opportunity to analyze, give oral presentations, and write papers, all areas in which I excelled. I never planned to go into art in the traditional sense (at a museum, or buying or selling art), but rather, I thought I would utilize the creative aspect – the visual side of art history – and apply that to a role in entertainment or media which led my searching out a summer internship at NBCUniversal.

What was the focus of your internship at NBCUniversal and how did that lead to joining Ogilvy?

During the summer between my junior and senior year I interned in ad sales at NBCUniversal.? I enjoyed my experience, and wanting to return after I graduated, I maintained my relationship with my HR manager, who, coincidentally, started her career at Ogilvy. In guiding me in my quest to gain more experience, she connected me with a very small media team at Ogilvy that was based in St. Louis (as a result of Nestle being one of its largest clients). My internship with this group, in which I shadowed the media team, was my first introduction to Ogilvy, and where I learned about their amazing entry-level rotational program. The Associates Program was really appealing to me, because at that point in my life, I couldn't have told you the difference between account management strategy and advertising.

By starting in the Associates Program (which after a 20+ year run I had the opportunity to relaunch this month), I was able to sample different parts of the agency.? Each associate selects a track: account management or strategy, and then spends two of three rotations in the selected track (which for me was account management), and the third rotation in the other track.? I ended up enjoying the time I spent working in strategy and chose to start my career there.? My role was hybrid; focused on sales enablement and working with a brand’s employees to ensure they are strong representatives and effective ambassadors of the brand itself. In this role I worked with several clients, the largest of which was American Express. I worked with them for four years, traveling around the country to visit their call centers and train their employees. It was, for a strategist role in particular, very people focused. The more time that I spent leading training initiatives and working directly with employees, the more I realized my passion lies in interacting with people.? Having an impact on their roles and in their lives was really fulfilling for me.

Just before COVID hit, our team was going through some changes, and I began thinking about what came next for me.? Feeling like I had plateaued, I was pursuing external opportunities to leave Ogilvy, when my mentor, who had led my Associates Program, presented me the opportunity to take over the program and lead the talent development team.

What were the biggest changes in your role since moving to talent development?

I'd say the biggest difference is now that I’m in an enablement function, my definition of “client” has changed—my primary client is now the internal Ogilvy community (though I also partner externally from a recruitment standpoint). I oversee the early talent development team across the US and spearhead our two marquee programs, our Summer Internship Program (40-50 interns), and our Associates Program (15-20 associates). I look to find avenues to recruit creative talent, and to then create an entire development plan for these hires to ensure they’re engaged and retained.

What does a typical week look like for you?

While I almost never have a typical week, my job in general is pretty cyclical in the sense that fall is heavy recruitment season, and the summer is busy with our Summer Internship Program.? Throughout the year I continually focus on program management for our associates, and on any given week, I could be having one-on-one check-ins with associates, communicating with their managers, working with our leadership teams to understand staffing needs and how we piece together the puzzle of resourcing. It really is variable and can change by the moment.

?As you noted, in recruiting and talent management there are parts of the job that are cyclical; what do you find to be the values and/or frustrations of this?

I'm very type A and crave structure and routine, so it’s comforting to able to predict that summer will be heavy on personal interactions as compared to the fall, which will be more intensely focused on the operational logistics of recruitment. The hard part for me is how to keep it from becoming stale.? As I'm now almost four years into this role, I find myself constantly pushing the envelope so that I am doing something new—creating an innovative element or refreshing it, so that the role and the output don’t become stagnant.?

What also helps to keep it exciting is that our business is constantly growing and evolving. We now have influencer marketing and we're growing our discipline to include a better understanding of data strategy and the rise of AI. We adjust what we're offering to better fit our candidates’ and our needs within the growing industry, as well as our clients' needs.

What about your current role invigorates you the most?

In my role, my team and I can really make an impact. Dealing with people is both an intense responsibility and an exciting one, especially with such a junior group of individuals.? We get to be people’s first introduction to experiencing and navigating the corporate world, which can often be overwhelming. I was lucky to have great mentors early on but not everybody does, so I take this role seriously and it's very exciting.

Are there any expectations you had about working in advertising (or more specifically talent development) that you found differed from your expectation, in either a good or bad way?

Within advertising, I didn't realize the massive size of the field, and how many different roles exist within it. On the talent side, I had a misconception about how diverse a human resources role could be.? While my role sits within the people capacity, I never would have thought that I would still get be creative and do design work.? Moreover, HR has a very large interactive and counseling components that I hadn’t fully appreciated.

MORE GENERAL CAREER QUESTIONS

Who inspires you in terms of your career?

I am very lucky in that my current manager, who led my Associates Program, has been both a mentor and a sponsor for me. She's someone to whom I look for all sorts of advice and inspiration. Also, my parents, individually and together have shown me that by working really hard you position yourself to succeed. They have also been a constant guiding light showing how to strike a nice balance between work and life.

What was the first job you ever held?

My first job was a photography counselor at Takajo.? I taught classes for the younger boys, and took the website photos for the older boys.

What are your hobbies, and do they relate to your career?

I love to read – especially psychological thrillers (my most recent favorite was If you Tell a Lie, by Lucinda Berry, which coincidentally was based on a summer camp experience!). I like anything visual, so I am currently taking a certification course on some of the Adobe tools. I enjoy doing online design, having learned Photoshop early on, and more recently, Illustrator.

Did you have a career setback you faced that you later realized was an advantage?

After I had been at Ogilvy for some time, my team was going through significant changes, my growth had leveled off, and I wasn’t getting the development opportunities I needed to advance my career.? I began to interview for jobs outside of Ogilvy and made it to a couple of final rounds around the 2nd week of March 2020.? And then, of course, the world shut down and those companies were no longer filling those roles.? So, I was stuck in my role, but it ended up being a strong advantage because I started having conversations internally to see what other opportunities might exist outside of the team that I was on, and it opened the door for me to step into this role. ?

Are there any books, blogs, etc., that you recommend to someone who is interested in advertising and/or talent development?

David Ogilvy wrote multiple books on advertising, and I’d recommend learning about his work and ideologies.? It’s phenomenal how much has changed, but also how much has stayed the same since he started in the industry.? Surrounding yourself with the work is really important—watch and listen to commercials.? It’s so tempting to skip them, but that’s where you can learn so much.? What we consider to be an ad is every-changing—your favorite influencers are advertisers from whom you can learn, too.? Publications like Adweek that cover the industry are also good resources.

What have you found to be the characteristics that makes someone successful in talent development?

Empathy and patience are crucial.? ?In an HR role, you’re dealing intimately with people’s lives and careers, so leading with humanity is paramount.? And transparency—if I don’t have an update, I’m going to tell you, and not hide out from you. And you need patience…a lot of patience.

Do you have advice on how best to find a sponsor?

Seek out individuals whose careers are genuinely interesting to you—be intentional. I think the biggest mistake people can make is scheduling multiple coffee chats for the sake of checking a box. I believe that it is easier to seek out mentors, whereas sponsors often come as a result of organic relationships. Over the years I built relationships, and therefore became top of mind for those individuals as opportunities came up.

TLC HISTORY / QUESTIONS

What years did you go to TLC?

I started as an AJ in 2005 and was Giant Manager in 1AB in 2011.

How has your camp experience impacted your career?

Camp has impacted my career immensely.? The people and communication skills I learned from being around so many different types of people at camp have made my role in people leadership all the more successful.? Working as a camp counselor was beneficial in fostering my people management skills and working with people of varied backgrounds.

What was your:

Favorite activity: Black and white photography (there was no digi-pho back then)

Favorite selection at Candy Canteen: Sour Patch Fruit

Favorite memory: Singing in OTW

Georgia Sussman

Tripp Lake Camp

Head of Alumnae Relations