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Cal grad Liz Smith (`86) is a Vice President in account management for the San Francisco firm, Foote, Cone & Belding. She got in without prior ad experience, and her take on what counts is: persistence, preparation, and informational interviews.

Career Center (CC): What are your main job responsibilities?

Liz Smith (LS): Most people think accounting, but no -- I'm not in finance. As a VP in account management I oversee a couple of our major clients. I am the key client contact and work with our clients to set direction for their marketing and advertising. After determining the marketing and communications challenges they have, I work with all other teams in the agency (Planning, Creative, Media, Events, Sports Marketing, Production, etc.) to develop a series of strategies and tactics to answer their challenge. I help determine brand positioning and advertising strategies. I brief creative teams (with my planning counterparts) and evaluate the creative product once it is developed. I present the work to the client and work with them on their feedback. I oversee a team of account people who actually make the ads happen -- getting them produced, getting a media plan developed, etc. I also work with the client to evaluate the results of our advertising efforts.

CC: What experiences/training were important in getting you to where you are in your career?

LS: I graduated from Cal with a BA in English. I had had a number of summer jobs but no previous advertising experience. Starting out, ad experience is not a necessity in my opinion. What I had was a passion for advertising. I liked ads; I knew what ads I liked and didn't like and why. I was committed to a career in advertising from the start. That's key.

• Even if you don't know if you want to do advertising the rest of your life, it should seem like that's what you want in an interview.
• Dedication, intelligence, outgoing personality, maturity, organizational skills, detail orientation, team player, open minded, a self-starter --- these are all important qualities in someone starting out in advertising in any of the departments.
• If you can get experience running an organization or club in school (a sorority, fraternity, the newspaper, etc.), it will serve you well in any job you seek.
• Actual work experience is helpful (in any field) as it shows you have worked in an office environment and are aware of what that is about.
• Knowledge of what's going on in our culture (books, movies, art) and an interest in business also serves well for account management in advertising. Become a student of culture and our society!

CC: What do you like about your work?

LS: I like working in a creative business. I love the teams of people I work with to get to the right solutions for our clients. I like that the products I sell at the end of the day are creative ideas (whether it be a strategy, a :30 TV commercial or a smart sports marketing idea for a client). I love the opportunity to make presentations and the chance to build client relationships and clients' brands. I love the fact I get to learn about a client's business without having to work in their field, and that after a year or so, I can move on and learn something else new. I like to think that what I do is solve puzzles and each client brings a new puzzle to solve.

CC: What are some drawbacks?

LS: Advertising is a service business. At the end of the day, it is their brand, their budget and their decision. We work to be smart and persuasive, but sometimes the clients have different opinions that can't be swayed. So we compromise, or at worst, go back to the drawing board. There is a lot of change in this business. I have seen a number of people who can't handle it. You have to be able to roll with change on a daily basis and keep doing the best job for yourself, your agency and your client.

CC: Do you have any tips regarding what Cal undergraduates can do to prepare for a career in the field?

LS:

• Know advertising. What ads do you like? Don't like? Why? What campaigns do you think have been particularly effective on you?
• Know agencies. What are the key agencies in the city you are looking at? What clients do they have? What new business are they pitching?
• Know agency departments. What are the different departments? What do each of the departments do? Which one are you interested in starting out in?
• You can do your homework on the web -- check out agency websites, check out Adweek and AdAge. Find a book that describes advertising departments. Call agencies to find out what their current client lists are. Watch TV. Read magazines. Listen to the radio. Surf the web. What are the ads you like?
• Before an interview with an agency, run a search on their current clients to see what issues these businesses are dealing with.

CC: Any other comments or suggestions you have for Cal students?

LS: Hang in there. Advertising is going through a tough time now. Most agencies are not hiring. Get your resume out there. Try to meet people for informational interviews even if they don't have a job. Get in the door and become more than a piece of paper. Chances are if I really liked you during an information interview, I'll call you when we're hiring. Try to get an advertising internship before graduating. Again, this is just part of getting in the door and putting a face and actual skills to a resume. If someone's actually seen the way you work and liked it, chances are you'll get hired once a job comes up. And don't give up easily; ad people are very busy right now. Don't assume we'll call you back; keep calling us and leave a message letting us know when you'll call back later in the week if you don't get a hold of us that day. Good luck to all and Go Bears!