I’ve spent my career—spanning more than four decades—in advertising. One thing that consistently surprises me is how resistant agencies are to hiring untraditional talent—candidates without a portfolio school on their resumes. Considering the decline in portfolio school, graduates and the industry’s desperate need for more diverse talent, as well as interested applicants in general, that’s a problem.
It’s time for agency leaders to look beyond portfolio schools and get involved in higher education—not only to source and develop the next wave of brilliant advertisers before they’re lost to another career, but to keep the industry alive and well.
Aside from providing a great pool of talent, higher education offers ad leaders the opportunity to give back. I firmly believe that it’s my duty to share what I can from my years in the industry, whether that’s wisdom, connections or resources. So, for the past four years, I’ve taught advertising creativity and strategy classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It’s been incredibly rewarding, both for me personally and for my agency. If you’re a fellow executive in the world of advertising, here’s my advice to you:
Get out of the office and into the classroom
If you’re an ad exec, chances are you love the industry and have wisdom to share with the world. My call to you: Be generous enough to be a teacher. With fewer people graduating from portfolio schools and more people choosing to pursue careers outside of agencies, we need you to champion advertising in the classroom at universities. Treat teaching the next generation like it’s part of your job description—because it is.