Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Trying To Move On Up

I'm not sure if this is accurate, but I would like to move on from being a Junior Account Planner to being just an Account Planner because I would like more focus.

Well, actually, I don't know what the typical Junior AP does - that's a lot of the reason I started this blog - and I think I've had some pretty spectacular experiences, but I'm ready for some consistency.

My job is a lot of hopping on anything and everything that needs to get done. I have touched all of the brands in my agency at least once (that's a lot of brands!) and also helped on about 4 new business pitches. But I always do a one-off project then leave the brand for a while, come back to do something new then get pulled away again - I never really get to know the consumer on any one brand and it's starting to hurt my work. I know that people think about how I have worked on a brand before so should be able to have some pretty good input, but I just get so disconnected in between times.

So I attended some focus groups about a month ago on one of our brands and then had some more this week. In between that space of time, I didn't continue to work on that one brand and really keep my mind set on it, I worked on probably 7-10 other brands. I wasn't very fresh returning to this brand and it really took some looking back to bring up what we were working on again. The fact that most of the time during the focus group I have my mind on other things because I'm running the show on the back end doesn't help this at all.

I'm supposed to be transitioning to my client but work seems sparse right now. I think it's because we're in a production cycle...this kind of worries me too because it may very well be that I start getting projects but since all of the brands seem to be on the same timeline it will all come in at once - yikes. Also, I'm so busy with all of my running projects that I can't get into learning any of my brands. This is a conundrum - I want to show that I can handle projects but my attention is much too divided.

Well, they've got me working on a few non-profit clients as the lead planner and perhaps that's a good place to get good experience and perhaps even shine.

Maybe if I could get a balanced and healthy plate rather than always visiting the buffet I would be a lean, mean, planner machine. :p

2 comments:

Katy A said...

I can't begin to express how inspiring your blog has been to me. I've started my job search in earnest since I'm going to graduate soon and sometimes I get really discouraged, but your posts always pick me back up and remind me what I'm trying so hard for.

K said...

Wow, that's really flattering Katy - thank you!! I was kind of wondering if the stuff I've been blogging about has even been worthwhile, but hopefully it has. I'm so glad that I'm inspiring you.

I know the job search is just plain yuck but it is so worth it when you land the job. I think I blogged about my job search previously, so you can look back at that if you like. Look for the right fit - you'll be spending a lot of time there and it should fit your personality.

I wish you lots of luck and keep sending me questions! :)