san diego Archives - Ryan Lum
Interviewing with San Diego Advertising Agencies
On 29, Apr 2010 | No Comments | In Career Development | By Ryan Lum
I’ve been going on interviews with several advertising agencies, each one being unique and different. I’d like to share my process with you and explain some of the DO’s and DONT’s of interviewing with agencies.
DO
- Do Your Research. What makes this agency unique? Why do you want to work with them? In researching each agency, I found each one to be unique and exciting in their own way.
- Look Presentable. It is funny only because all the agencies I have visited have a more business casual/casual workplace; however, this is not a time to skimp on the details. Everyone else will be in suit/tie, so don’t give them a reason to doubt you and be professional.
- Question? All these interview websites say this is the most important question an interviewer will ask. In advertising, it’s probably the most important aspect; however, don’t fake it. Take an interview how you would take a meeting with a client. It is important to understand the people behind the desk and understand what they are looking for.
- Be Prepared. Have your resume, portfolio, maybe even a laptop. Have everything in order.
DONT
- Don’t go off-topic. You only have a short amount of time to meet with these individuals. Ask what is important and relevant. Portray the message.
- Dont Stress Out! These are people. Unless there is a bright white lamp shining in your eyes and you are bound to a chair…there is no need to worry. They have been in the same place as you. Speak with confidence and be proud of your work!
Outrunning the Bear
On 16, Apr 2010 | No Comments | In Everyday Words | By Ryan Lum
Two men are hiking in a forest when they disturb a bear. It is the time of year when bears are easily upset and, true to form, the bear comes after them. The men run for their lives. They have a good start on the animal but four legs are better than two and the bear gets closer and closer. Suddenly one of the men stops, takes off his backpack and sits down on a log.
“What the hell are you doing?” his friend asks, not wanting to stop. He can see the bear’s teeth bared.
“I’m changing my shoes,” he replies calmly, removing his heavy hiking boots and slipping on a pair of fancy running shoes.
“You’re crazy!” his friend shrieks, running to a spot behind a large tree. “You’ll never outrun a bear, even in those.”
“I don’t have to outrun the bear,” the man says, standing up and jogging alongside his friend. “I only have to outrun you.”
It was funny because one of the individuals on the Agency tour told this story…although a little skewed. I couldn’t help but laugh in the inside because I never thought I’d hear this story in person, but I was wrong.
I remember reading this old story in a book, “The Perfect Pitch” by Jon Steel. As I wind down for the night, I can’t help but feel a little giddy inside. I’m excited. There are so many great San Diego Advertising Agencies out there, and I was lucky enough to be able to take a tour of three of them. I wish Ad2SD did more of these.. shucks.
On the agenda tomorrow? Meeting…and then I’m going bowling with an old friend. Anyways, sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite! Hey, it’s spring.. I heard they are out in numbers! ;)
Lava Sport and Fitness Featuring The Boxing Club Review
On 12, Apr 2010 | 5 Comments | In Health & Fitness | By Ryan Lum
Recently, Kellyne and I bought a Lava Sport & Fitness Featuring The Boxing Club membership from thedailysave.com for $18. We thought it would be a great activity we could do together. The $18 included 1 month all inclusive membership with 1 free personal training session. We called in a couple weeks ago to schedule our personal training session and first time going to this boxing club in San Diego.
How To Get A Job In Advertising
On 07, Apr 2010 | No Comments | In Career Development | By Ryan Lum
Day 1 of my journey. If you are just joining me, the plan is to get a job in advertising in about a month and a half.
As you may notice I’m up at 7am. I couldn’t get much sleep nor did I want to. I have a large task ahead of me, and I don’t want these opportunities to pass by.
On the agenda today? I have to go meet at the San Diego State University EMC to discuss a website project that I am currently working on. I’m currently working on 3 big website projects (which I NEED) and I can’t wait to place them in my portfolio. I’m going to try to design on in HTML5 (the latest web technology).
Then I go to work for about 5-6 hours to work on various web/graphic projects. It keeps me busy, but unfortunately, it ties me up so I can’t focus on my business/job hunt.
Below is my resource list for getting ideas and learning on how I can get a job in advertising before it is too late. It will be updated along the way.
My plans for tonight: Brush through my website www.RyanLum.com to refine the code, research how to traverse the DOM ( seems like every web developer needs to know this), refine resume and add my most recent award.
Well, it’s time to make some breakfast of ..eggs? ( Well hey, it was JUST Easter)
My Arsenal:
Social Media – I probably am on a majority of the sites, Google Buzz, Delicious, Digg, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
My Seeds – I tried to get my name indexed (used slideshare to get more pages on the webs indexed on different sites).
My website – I took a lot of time designing this site, and will put time in the blog.
My Resume – Cleaned it up so its short and sweet. Before I had a lot of things listed..who wants to see that? job history dating back to 2001? no thanks.
My brain – Lets do it.
My Resource list:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/ – Great website full of tutorials, articles, and everything design.
http://workawesome.com/ – Great network of sites, useful articles relating work.
http://zenhabits.net/ – to keep me sane.
