Transitioning from college to post grad life can be challenging indeed. From figuring out the reality of working in a professional setting to adjusting to a completely new environment, it can be overwhelming.
However, no need to fret! We have collaborated with PMG to answer some of the most common questions students have about post graduation life. Special shoutout to Omama Qureshi, Media Manager for PMG and former AMA President, who helps us in answering these questions based on her experiences.
Official Q&A with Omama Qureshi
- What do you enjoy the most / the least about working at a digital agency? – Lindsay Chu
My favorite thing about working at an agency is the wide range of opportunities. With PMG supporting many different types of clients through a variety of needs, there’s no shortage of opportunities to learn and grow as a digital marketer. What I enjoy the least about working in an agency setting is that my role is more execution based. The client brand side is more in control of content narratives and creative decisions whereas, on the agency side, our focus is mainly tweaking platform strategy and executing the campaigns. Because I am more interested in the creative aspect of marketing, it’s a future career goal of mine to go to a brand side.
2. Have there been any aspects of the transition that you did not expect/did not feel prepared for? If so, how did you adapt? – Seth Terrell
For the most part, the Graduate Leadership Program taught me a lot about all of the different types of marketing at PMG. However, once I was assigned to my client team, I had to go through a whole new training/onboarding process to understand how to deal with my specific client. The nuances with how to respond to questions on calls and emails, and overall how to balance these client relationships was definitely a journey. No amount of prep could have prepared me for that, but my team was amazing at sharing their words of wisdom. They walked me through different types of ways to handle situations and provided feedback as I increased my communication with my clients to ensure I had all the tools I needed to succeed.
3. How do you maintain work/life balance while working at an agency? – Hannah David
That’s a great question and something you should always ask in interviews to assess if a company cares about the well-being of their employees. For the most part, PMG provides a lot of relief opportunities. There are Employee Resource Groups you can join, fun and exciting slack channels, and different virtual events with your team and the wider company like charcuterie board making or yoga. The pockets of peace allow you to take a breather away from work so you’re not burning out. But, as anyone can attest while working at an agency, the client comes first. You always have to be vigilant of client needs and make sure you’re being good partners. The key is to just set boundaries with your clients to ensure that you aren’t going above and beyond to the point where it’s negatively impacting your day-to-day.
4. How have the skills you developed & learned in AMA helped you in the working world? – Madeline Muschalik
I was in Texas AMA all four years of college and held many leadership roles within it. I was Social Media Officer, Agency Director, and President. But the most beneficial aspect of AMA, was the Agency Group. I was involved with Agency for six semesters, holding four clients overall, serving as Account Manager for a year, and eventually leading the entire group as Director for a year. During my time, I gained valuable hands-on experience about how to conduct marketing projects with actual brands in the Austin area. It gave me tangible items to add to my resume and portfolio, as well as gave me client experiences to share with in my interviews. My Agency clients were the main topic of conversation when convincing PMG I was a good fit for the job. I highly recommend getting involved if you can because it really does set you up for success in the working world. Aside from Agency, my leadership positions within AMA gave me much-needed relevant experience on how to deal with people of all backgrounds. These types of soft skills are also key to leverage in job interviews and will be important to continue honing in on in the working world.
5. What recruiting tips do you have for individuals in college who are wanting to go into the marketing industry when they graduate? – Aleena Chaudhary
I have a couple of tips!
One: step outside of McCombs. As a business major, your natural instinct is to go to the McCombs Career Fair and leverage RecruitMcCombs, which are great resources! But there’s a whole world out there too! Go to Moody’s Career Fair and explore job listings outside of RecruitMcCombs and other college listings.
Two: explore LinkedIn for rotational programs. LinkedIn is a great resource for job listing and was my go-to place to search. There were qualified listings and tons of relevant opportunities. I also highly suggest applying to companies that have a rotational program. These programs are set to cater towards new grads looking to explore and try new things, which is exactly what I was focused on as a marketing student.
Three: create a visual portfolio. I have a personal website and it was really key in starting conversations and getting my foot in the door. Add absolutely anything and everything to it: Agency client work, your Capstone projects, random design projects you do on the side. Everything.
6. What’s your best piece of advice for someone who wants to apply to an agency like PMG?
Every agency is different, so you have to tailor your resume portfolio and interview for each one. Looking at PMG, just have fun! For a program like the Graduate Leadership Program, you can learn a lot of key skills throughout the rotation. It’s designed to be a funnel from college to the working world. But the thing you can’t learn is how to be a culture fit! We’re always looking for people that mesh well with the rest of the company and that is a key thing we look for in interviews. PMG is also really data focused even for media roles so I would recommend highlighting any past work you’ve had working with data.
If you are interested in learning more about PMG’s graduate leadership program or are interested in applying, click the link below!
TEXAS AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION 