How I became an in-house copywriter, plus 7 lessons I learned from working client-side
Regina M. P.
Filipino Copywriter with 8 Years' Experience | Environmental Advocate | Growing Big Ideas and a Balcony Garden
There are a lot of things we say we’ll do — or never do — when we’re nineteen and naive.
Back then, I thought: I’m going to become an advertising copywriter. And I’m always going to work on the agency side. Client side? One brand all day everyday? BoRING! And I don’t want to be a mean old client giving out orders and nitpicking!
So from the time I graduated up until I turned twenty-five, I took ad agency jobs only. Never mind if Mommy or my peers would talk about working brand-side in some of the top companies in the country. I felt I didn’t want to get “stuck” and “bored”. Plus, from what I saw agency-side, some of the client-side copywriters were also expected to be graphic designers, videographers, social media managers, etc. etc. Hell no, I said.
That is, until the world turned upside down in 2020.
I started 2020 with plans to take my Masters in Communication. I was going to quit my job at the time, then look for an employer who would be okay with me studying while working full-time.
In 2020, my family was still reeling from the loss of my maternal grandmother, my father was sick with cancer, and my mom was already showing signs of what would turn out to be ovarian cancer (that she’s still battling to this day). My younger sister was in med school. And there was a global pandemic.
Shift happens: new opportunities amidst the pandemic
After a semester of grad studies, I decided to go on leave from school and focus on our family’s survival. My career options thinned, and I had already resigned from my job.