Rachel speaks!
Rachel, I want a job on the client side
By Rachel
Apr 11, 2008 - 1:05:47 AM

Dear Rachel,
I work at an ad agency in media. I want to move on to the client side. I was recently turned down for a job because the other candidate had client experience. It seems like a never-ending cycle. How can I get client-side experience if no one will hire me without it? What do you suggest?-- Languishing at an Agency
  
Dear Languishing,
You've hit on one of the great workplace conundrums: How do I get experience if nobody will hire me?

There isn't an easy answer, but it’s not like you are aiming for an entirely new field. The job duties at agencies and client shops are certainly similar.

Still, the switch isn’t always the easiest to make, especially for junior folks.

Client-side media teams tend to be small and made up of more senior people.
There's less room for less experienced people, and they're not in the habit of training new arrivals. Generally, you’ll need at least seven or eight years of major agency or client experience.

But Pat Sklar, president of the Chicago recruiting firm Sklar and Associates, says making the move is far from impossible.

"As recruiters, we have moved a number of people from agency to client. In fact, most of our client searches are similar to this," Sklar says. "Perhaps the candidate selected had category experience or was a better fit in other ways."

In any case, you're getting all the right training, if that's a consolation. Working for an agency is the best preparation you can get to become a top manager on the client side. As Sklar points out, "Media managers at clients usually come from agencies."

You can prepare yourself for the move in several ways, she says. Be enthusiastic. Do your homework about the client. Look up their web site. Become familiar with their business. Learn about their acquisitions and changes within the company.

Also, work very hard to understand how your skill set would fit in with the client’s needs, then prepare to sell them on the idea that you are the perfect fit.

Too, keep in mind that the more experienced you become, the less having client side experience will matter, says Kurt O’Hare, president of the New York City recruiting firm O’Hare and Associates.

"As you gain more experience at an agency, the importance of client side experience will diminish, since as you get more senior you will be spending more and more time with the clients, developing strategies, assisting with budgets and presenting to senior management," O’Hare says.

"So keep trying to get to the ‘other side.’ But if that doesn't happen right away, don't lose hope, since the experience you get on the agency side will be helping you make the move down the road."

Meanwhile, work on broadening your experience. On the client side, you will have to deal with many different issues and types of media, traditional, online and alternative, so try to get experience in as many areas as you can.

Keep in mind, too, that the client side is less laid back than agency work. It's corporate life, and far more formal. You'll need to demonstrate that you can fit in easily to this mold, in your dress and in your manner.

Your letter doesn't go into why you want to work on the client side, but that's really the most important issue facing you, not whether you can make the switch.

Ask yourself if it's really what you want. Compare your ideas of what client-side work would be like to the reality of that work, what it's really like. Talk to people who do that work.