Talkin' Ad Agencies with Lindsey Helfman, Ross BBA '19

Talkin' is a bi-weekly(ish) blog series that speeds up the career exploration process for curious early- and mid-career business professionals seeking work that absolutely lights them up. We skip the lame "brochure speak" and get to the authentic and unfiltered career journeys of business-minded professionals in a variety of functions, roles, and industries...with a special focus on marketing, advertising, digital, entertainment, media, and sports. Want to see a specific type of work featured? Shoot me a note!

Welcome University of Michigan Ross BBA students...and the rest of the curious LinkedIn world that was brave enough to click. Ha, it's probably just my mom popping into my "post views." (Hi, mom!)

You might be wondering...

"Erin, you haven't written an article in a minute. What is this bold call-to-attention of the Ross BBA alum community all about? What are you up to now?"

About This [potential] Series

This is the first post in hopefully a series (hit that like/share/comment button if you dig this to keep 'em coming!) of posts that give Ross BBA students (and anyone else interested and finds value here) a glimpse into the lives and professional experiences of recent Ross BBA alumni out there killin' the game in areas such as - but certainly not limited to - marketing/digital function and/or in industries such as advertising, art, education, entertainment, fashion, media, non-profit, retail, and sports.

Not the stuffy version that you see in recruiting publications and brochures that sounds more like robot talk than a person's honest lived experiences. We're doing real talk here.

Help Spread the Word

Btw, if you or someone you know is a 2015-2019 (roughly) University of Michigan Ross BBA alum and have a career story to tell that would benefit current students - please hit. me. up. Comment on this post. Message me. Email me.

Hint, hint, nudge, nudge - yes, this is the completely shameless plug to spread this puppy around your circles.

Marketing. Advertising. Sales.

Okay, enough promo and shoutouts to my momma. Let's get to why we're here...

Marketing. Sales. Advertising. Synonyms? Ehhhhhhh...not exactly.

The world of marketing, advertising, and sales is so incredibly diverse...and confusing - particularly if you're interested in exploring roles and opportunities at this wonderful intersection of functions and industries.

Let's be real though. I'm a career coach with numerous years of experience in marketing and promotions who specializes in working with folks in these areas, and yet sometimes I still can't quite see the differences between marketing, advertising, and sales.

What I've come to find out is that, while they are distinctly separate functions, there is certainly massive overlap in how they play together to bring about perceived value and revenue flowing in - cha-ching!

All of the Misconceptions

When most of us hear the word "marketing" we automatically think commercials, ads, slogans, campaigns...the things that, for better or worse, make us buy [all the] stuff.

Anyone else creeped out by how well the Instagram and interweb algorithms know your behavior and preferences? Yeeahhhhh, a topic for another day.

We might even think creative content, color, energy, fast-paced, current trends, bustling work environments with super funky office decor. And Mad Men. Definitely Mad Men.

And while pieces of this description can certainly describe the function of "marketing" within specific industries or settings, this mental snapshot is likely a much better description for "advertising" and the realm of advertising agencies, aka "ad agencies."

We're Talking Advertising...

Advertising.

What the heck is it?

What isn't it?

What is it like to work in this function at the entry-level?

How do you build experiences and skills to break into the ad agency industry?

Yep, I'm curious, too. So I'm bringing in an expert to give us the lowdown.

Introducing Lindsey Helfman, BBA '19

Lindsey Helfman, a recent Ross BBA Class of 2019 grad, graciously offered to kick-off this series and share her experience breaking into advertising (or, as a former Ross Career Development Office Peer Career Coach I suckered her into it. Just kidding she's here on her own free will Or is she? We'll never know).

Lindsey is one of the most persistent, optimistic, and determined folks I've met - traits that have served her very well on her career journey thus far.

Lindsey is 3 months fresh into her experience as an Analytics & Insights Associate at Kelly Scott Madison (KSM), an ad agency located in downtown Chicago.

She's no rookie to the ad agency scene though, having recently pivoted from a Marketing Science Internship at R/GA in Chicago.

The Transcript: Talking Ad Agencies with Lindsey

Okay, that's boss, right? Without further adieu, check out my informational interview with Lindsey, Helfman!

Lindsey, break it down for us and give the scoop on what it's like to bust into and hustle within the advertising space as a recent Ross grad...

Q: Tell me a little about your current role. What are some of the things you get to work on?

Lindsey: I currently work at a media agency as an Analytics and Insights Associate, so being in Media, a lot of what I work on is reporting. Whether that be reporting on how clients are performing on Facebook, Instagram, Google or across other search and social platforms, I work with client teams to present this data through visualization tools such as Excel or Tableau.

That's my overall day-to-day and month-to-month focus, as we typically do weekly or monthly reporting for a lot of our clients.

As I get more comfortable with reporting, I'm starting to do more of the "insights" part of my role - helping out with new business pitches, consumer journeys, and those "creative" aspects of advertising and marketing which I'm really enjoying.

Q: What drew you to advertising? How did you decide it was for you or that you had to try it?

Lindsey: My interest in advertising started with my interest in marketing - that was my gateway drug. I was passionate about psychology and math, and marketing was the perfect blend of those two. After trying out marketing over a few summer internships and in my courses at Ross, as I moved into my senior year, I knew I liked marketing. But I wanted to be able to touch a bunch of different client work and industries.

A few of my marketing courses introduced me to advertising - the first being Social Media Marketing with Marcus Collins. We talked a lot about what marketing means and how that translates to the ads we see in the world and interact with. Those conversations sparked my interest and I remember thinking, "Wow, that's so cool that they created that ad based on this particular insight about the way people think and behave. How cool it would be if I was able to help create ads from my insights and analysis for a variety of different brands?"

Wow, that's so cool that they created that ad based on this particular insight about the way people think and behave. How cool it would be if I was able to help create ads from my insights and analysis for a variety of different brands?

Advertising was the perfect next step that would allow me to work with a variety of clients in everything from healthcare to automotive to consumer goods and stay at the same company without having to hop to different places. I still want to keep a lot of my options open in terms of what I want to work on because I am trying to clarify what exactly I want to market. Advertising is perfect in that sense because I can try on a bunch of different industries.

Q: Advertising can be a tough realm to break into. What helped you to get your foot in the door?

Lindsey: A lot of advertising agencies have delayed recruiting timelines. So much of it is "just-in-time" hiring, which is much later than a lot of recruiting on-campus at Ross. Given how client-focused and responsive they need to be, agencies just can't know their hiring needs a year out.

That's why it's so common to have internships and rotational experiences. Going into recruiting, you're expecting a full-time offer at these agencies, but it's just not realistic given how they operate and how they perceive their workload.

Coming out of school, I had an internship offer to R/GA. Having an internship and not having a full-time offer immediately post-grad, I thought...

...You know what - I'm in the city I want and in the industry I want and I’m getting experience. That's all I need right now to get my feet wet in advertising.

Because of hiring and staffing needs being so fluid, two weeks before my internship it wasn't clear if I would be staying on or not. One of my stressors throughout this recruiting process has been being okay with the hiring timelines in advertising and not knowing my next move as far in advance as some of my peers.

One of my stressors throughout this recruiting process has been being okay with the hiring timelines in advertising and not knowing my next move as far in advance as some of my peers.

I have learned to always be proactive, know what my options are, and understand that it's not always about me. Often it comes down to the business need - do they have the money and work to keep me on?

An internship, while it wasn't what everyone else does after school, was the step that allowed me to be where I am. With that internship, I knew I would be in Chicago with agency experience that I could talk about in interviews. That was something I was lacking as I was seeking roles during my last semester senior year.

Q: What allowed you to be okay with going into this field that, from an outsider's perspective, has a ton of risks involved. Why did you stay on this path?

Lindsey: I knew I didn't want to do anything else. I was very set on advertising and getting that experience under my belt. So I was willing to go with its chaotic timeline. Maybe a little cliche, but I would also think...

...How cool is it that I'm in my 20s, living in a big city, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. I'm bopping around to different jobs and that's okay. Because I'm young and I can still explore and it's not this crazy weird thing. This is the time you're supposed to not know what you're going to do with your life.

I thought that was so fun and freeing. For me, experiencing this phase of life people talk about, rather than accepting an offer I wouldn’t enjoy just because it was an offer, was much more valuable to me. To be able to have that power to explore, test my options, and see what was out there...even though the timeline sucked...was everything.

Experiencing this phase of life people talk about, rather than accepting an offer I wouldn’t enjoy just because it was an offer, was much more valuable to me. To be able to have that power to explore, test my options, and see what was out there...even though the timeline sucked...was everything.

Q: While at Ross, what other functions/industries did you consider pursuing? What functions/industries are you curious about exploring as you continue to build your career?

Lindsey: Before Ross, I was either going to do Psych or Econ. I was still a freshman and I didn't know what I was doing with anything. I had this preconceived notion that Ross was only for finance and accounting people because my older brother went to Ross and emphasized in finance. And I immediately thought "that's not for me."

That first year, I happened to go to a Women in Business presentation and learned how the speakers were able to blend interests in psychology and math through marketing. It changed my perception of Ross, that you don't have to just do all numbers all of the time. That got me thinking about marketing coming into Ross in my sophomore year.

I feel consulting is a lot of what we do in advertising agencies. Consulting is a general term. Everyone is a consultant in their own way in their own work. At the highest level, simply what we do is give advice to our clients.

I remember during recruiting, I talked to my mom about what I should recruit for and she brought up Consulting. I had heard a lot about it but it was this vague thing, I didn't understand what consultants do. I took it lightly at the time and didn't dig that much into it. I would hear about friend's experiences with cases and it didn’t sound appealing.

It's funny because now in the "real world," I feel consulting is a lot of what we do in advertising agencies. Consulting is a general term. Everyone is a consultant in their own way in their work. At the highest level, simply what we do is advise our clients. In the future, I could see maybe exploring consulting as a possible path. There's a lot of parallels with a variety of clients and industries.

Q: You mentioned "creativity" a few times. What's your definition of creativity?

Lindsey: A lot of creativity comes from curiosity and being able to apply your perspective and lived experiences to how you would solve a problem. In classes when going over business cases, that curiosity to think, "How could this have gone differently? What would I have done differently in hindsight?" That's ultimately how problems are solved - from this intersection of someone's life experiences and what they've been training to do.

Q: What is your office like - the culture/vibe? What is it like working in your office?

Lindsey: Being in a new city and being thrown into the real world of being an adult, having a full-time job, making a salary, and paying bills can be very stressful. Being able to enjoy the people you work with every day, is such a great thing to have and gives you one less thing to worry about in your life. You're going to see these people every day so finding a work environment that fits is important.

It's very young, which I like. It's fun to meet people here and go to work with them every day. A lot of us are learning and just starting in our careers which creates this cool shared bond. One of the main reasons I chose to be at KSM is its sense of community. That's something I want in a company as I am starting my career.

Being able to enjoy the people you work with every day, is such a great thing to have and gives you one less thing to worry about in your life. You're going to see these people every day so finding a work environment that fits is important.

Q: I have these images in my mind of what an ad agency looks like on the inside and the pace of work. What does your office look like physically? How does that notion of "community" play out in the pace of work and how people work together?

Lindsey: Physically, our office is very open, as a lot of offices tend to be now. There are open cubicles and then offices for managers. We have a nice lunchroom, pool table, foosball table, and a meditation and yoga area. We do company-hosted yoga every Tuesday, so I make it a part of my schedule to do yoga after work on those days. There's meditation on Thursdays and a running club, too.

Going with that community aspect, I've made it a point to involve myself in office-related activities that have to do with mental health and wellness. Putting myself out there to try things once to see if I like it.

A lot of our work revolves around monthly reporting. The first few weeks of the month can be very hectic. After my portion of our reports is complete, things are more relaxed. It's nice to breathe a little and have that time to sort through emails, organize things, work on side projects and get ready for the upcoming round of reporting for the next month.

Q: Do you find that you work mostly solo or in teams?

Lindsey: Both. Since I'm pretty new, often I'm calling over a coworker to walk me through how to do a new report. By myself, I'm pulling and running reports. Then we'll work in teams to go over discrepancies, do reviews, and make edits.

I work most closely with the other five people in Analytics. One of my team members started at the same time as me, so we’re constantly using each other as resources when we need to validate if we both don't know how to do something before going to a manager.

Other times, I reference the people that have been on my team just 3 months longer than I have or people that have been at KSM 5-8 years. It's nice to have that variety of knowledge - someone who recently went through this and how they figured it out in combination with someone who knows the backends of everything at the company and can explain larger concepts.

Q: What are the skills that you use the most in your role and/or on your team?

Lindsey: The first one is absolutely problem-solving. Figuring out why a Tableau dashboard isn't loading or why numbers look weird, I always try to figure it out myself before asking for help. Problem-solving is something I do every day.

Communication is huge. I send a lot of emails, talk to people, and set up meetings. It's key to make sure your tone comes across friendly. Just being a nice human is so important. Everyone is working hard. You don't want to come across the wrong way in emails or phrase something incorrectly.

Data visualization is a big one. I'm constantly working with a lot of numbers and pulling data. It's super important for me to be able to then think...

...What do these numbers mean?

...What can we do with this?

...What is this showing about how the company is performing and how can we help them improve next month or next week?

...What needs to change?

Q: What are some of the experiences you had at Ross and after Ross to help you develop those skills?

Lindsey: When I say problem-solving - the ability to technically problem solve - a lot of that skill came from the TO 411 course "Intro to Excel." That was one of the best classes I've ever taken. Honestly, it should be required because it's just so important. That class gave me familiarity with Excel, and now I'm working in it every day. With marketing, I feel that a big misconception is that it’s just slogans and drawings. It's a lot of analyzing numbers and performance of fads....and you do all of that analysis in Excel.

With marketing, I feel that a big misconception is that it’s just slogans and drawings. It's a lot of analyzing numbers and performance of fads....and you do all of that analysis in Excel.

Communication - how to talk to people and with what tone depending on the situation - came with my experiences during recruiting, as well as leadership roles I had in my sorority. These taught me how to be understood, but also respected - making sure that the person I’m speaking to respects what I'm saying but understands me as a human.

Engaging with recruiters and companies on the phone and in interviews taught me a lot about being formal, phrasing experiences, and ways to come across professionally which has been very helpful as an incoming young professional.

Data visualization came a lot from my internship experiences touching and using raw data and being tasked with creating something with it. A lot of my role at R/GA was taking numbers and trying to figure out what they meant. As we went into a Q2 report with a client, I grew to understand answers to questions like...

...What recommendations do I have re: optimizing performance on Facebook?

...What's the competitive landscape like?

Engaging with recruiters and companies on the phone and in interviews taught me a lot about being formal, phrasing experiences, and ways to come across professionally which has been very helpful as an incoming young professional.

Q: What was the most exciting part of your transition from Ross into the “real world?” 

Lindsey: Disposable income *laughing*. With that is freedom. Sure you have so much freedom to do what you want in college, within limits, but you have that freedom as an "adult," too. But now, you can move to a new place. Live on your own. Do what you want on the weekends or after work without worrying about homework.

But what really changes is having an income. Paying rent with that income. Buying things with that income. Learning how to manage your money and your finances. Which is scary, but it's also exciting and liberating not having to run purchases by someone. If I want to treat myself to an overpriced, over-sized coffee, or buy something pricey after a hard week, I will! It's nice to have that financial freedom and independence that I didn't have much of while I was in school.

Q: What was the most challenging or unexpected part?

Lindsey: The great thing about college is you're in close proximity to all of your friends. That changes a lot after college. It's been, not necessarily challenging, but something I miss. You move to a different place, some of your friends move somewhere else. You have to work to maintain those relationships.

I also sort of knew it was coming, but how much you have to rely on yourself for everything. For instance, my roommate works a lot of night shifts as a nurse and we're often on opposite schedules. I love living with people and being around people, I'm a very extroverted person. I love coming home and being around people and sharing stories about our days. Not always having someone around has been a change.

I rely on myself to motivate me to work out, make dinner, or instead watch a show and go to bed. I make plans for the weekend or try to plan out my time with people - it gives me something to look forward to.

I've learned to be proactive and not fully rely on other people to always be around for fun and entertainment - being much more intentional because everyone is busy. Not just being independent, but being okay and comfortable being by yourself and owning your time and schedule.

Q: If you were able to go back in time and offer a piece of advice re: career development to yourself as a student at Ross, what would it be?

Lindsey: Explore those curiosities that you have. I think that's where a lot of excitement around recruiting and what you're going to do after school comes from, is being excited about your career path. Had I not freshman year gone to the Women in Business presentation because I was curious about it, I probably would not have applied to Ross and focused on business.

Explore those curiosities that you have. I think that's where a lot of excitement around recruiting and what you're going to do after school comes from, is being excited about your career path.

Because of my curiosity in marketing and other cultures, I studied abroad in Australia and worked there and gained experience. In college, there's so much room and freedom to explore your curiosities without a lot of repercussions or risk. You can do it and not worry about major things - it might just be one summer of your life, go for it!

For instance, when I received an offer to join Bright Cellars, a start-up wine company, for a junior year internship, I remember thinking that was so cool because I was curious about CPGs, but CPG recruiting on-campus wasn't working out for me.

Wine is a packaged good, and it was a start-up, which was another area I was curious about. But something that was holding me back was that it was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had friends going to Chicago and New York, I didn’t know if I wanted to be in the middle of Wisconsin.

But then I was talking to my older brother, telling him I was excited about this company and all of the work they're doing but didn't know if I wanted to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And he said, "Who cares? When else are you going to be able for one summer, three months of your life, just live there and try it? You don't have to move there."

It made me realize, yeah, I don't have to move to Milwaukee, this is just one summer of my life, I don't have to commit. It helped me stop freaking out and refocus that this was a cool opportunity I'm curious about and can learn more about for the summer.

In college there's so much room and freedom to explore your curiosities without a lot of repercussions or risk. You can do it and not worry about major things - it might just be one summer of your life, go for it!

Erin Allett is a strengths-based Career Coach to Humble High-Performers ready to find the work that absolutely lights them up. She believes self-awareness and owning your unique strengths is the secret sauce escaping the Sunday Scaries and is the Owner & CEO of Allett Career Coaching, LLC. Erin is also the Associate Director of Career Coaching at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. On-campus, she works daily with Ross students exploring and pursuing experiences in marketing, entertainment, media, sports, and careers with impact.