How to Begin a Career in Advertising
Working in advertising is a popular option because the job allows you to work both in a creative department and a practical business setting, developing a range of skills as you progress. To find out how to get started, keep reading our guide!
What Qualifications Do You Need to Work in Advertising?
Technically, there are a variety of ways to achieve an advertising career without doing a formal qualification – but it’s difficult. Some form of qualification is highly advised. There are a number of courses that could help you get started down an advertising career path. These include:
Advertising professionals are expected to cover a wide range of areas, so understanding any of the above areas and having a formal qualification is one of the best ways to get started, especially as it’s likely to give you relevant work experience and important soft skills, such as communication skills.
As a Beginner, Where Should I Start in Advertising?
If you’re not sure where to start, consider where your skill set lies. If you’re fantastic at problem-solving and project management, a course in the business element of advertising like sales or marketing may be the place to start. Alternatively, if you’re more interested in the creative department, then graphic design may be more helpful.
Also consider where you want to end up – if you want to be one of the top art directors in your field, then a fine arts course may be better for you than a business course, as opposed to an account executive. For a full list of courses, click the button below.
Skill Set Required for an Advertising Career
Working in advertising requires you to be quite versatile with the skill set that you boast. Depending on what task you’re assigned within your role, you’ll require some or all of the skills listed below.
Communication skills
Teamwork
Creativity
Time-management skills
Knowledge of marketing concepts
Project management
What Does a Career in Advertising Involve?
While the scope of different roles and responsibilities within advertising is broad, fundamentally, advertising professionals create, market and gauge the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
What attracts lots of people to advertising is the creative element that makes up a large part of this industry. Creating effective advertising campaigns requires original thinking, awareness of trends and, to some extent, human psychology.
Typical Duties for an Advertising Manager
Advertising professionals may need to undertake a range of tasks, including:
Popular Career Pathways in Advertising
Before you start your job search, consider some of the possible career pathways for you when you’re looking at entry-level jobs or courses for some inspiration! These include:
Working in advertising can be a fulfilling full-time career that lets you travel from London to New York and beyond, and with so many different level positions and entry points, it’s a new job that lets you focus on your own strengths. So get started today by browsing courses and beginning your future!
