Rachel speaks!
Rachel, help me get into online media
By Rachel
May 9, 2008 - 1:05:25 AM

Dear Rachel, 
I am attempting to return to work after taking eight years off to raise a family.  I did freelance buying/planning for small businesses/agencies during those years, but not consistently. I wanted to keep myself out there but never really found a job that lasted longer than a few months and paid enough to make it profitable.  
 
I currently work for a small media company that purchases direct-response radio for a number of clients. I work with a number of media staffing placement agencies that haven't been able to position me in the way I had hoped.  My highest held position was associate media director at a mid-size agency.  I have management experience as well as strong negotiating, presentation and client relation skills.
 
I'm interested in pursuing a career in online media but have no background in it. Most positions list "must have at least two to three years of online experience.” I would consider taking a lesser-paying position in order to get the experience needed but keep getting feedback that I'm overqualified and would be bored or unsatisfied as a buyer/planner. Also, associates in the industry say I'm selling myself short and it would hurt my career. I've investigated taking courses or classes/seminars and have found a couple of really good ones, but the expense is too high with no guarantee that it would prove helpful enough to make a difference. I'm at a loss for what to do next.-- Bewildered in Boston
    
Dear Bewildered,
If online is your thing, don’t be put off by experience requirements. Lacking a strong online background shouldn’t be an insurmountable obstacle.

Ten years ago few people had experience in online media. Everyone had to learn from the ground up, and it was a much crazier world then.

All these years later, people are still jumping into online as if it were still new. You can too. Though you'll be facing a steep learning curve, you've already learned lots about traditional media, and so you've shown you can master learning curves. 

And you may well be able to find a supervisory role in online.
   
Play off your management experience and aim for that supervisory position, where you can oversee staff as you steep yourself in the nuts and bolts of online.

Will it be a struggle? Sure, but so much of life and work is a struggle if you're doing it right. Better that than being in a lower-level position where you are bored and under-challenged.

My friends in online media tell me that some interactive agencies would jump at your experience and would consider you for a supervisory position.

As for the experience requirement, keep in mind that agencies will use experience as a filtering device to discourage people who are clearly unqualified. Ultimately they'll pick the person who most fits the profile of the position they are filling. That person may have less experience, or more. It's often what else they bring to the table.

Besides, they haven’t heard of you yet. So write anyway, and tell them why you are perfect for the job.
  
Don’t be discouraged if some agencies don’t give proper weight to your supervisory experience or insist that you'd have to start in a low-level position to prove yourself.

You don't want to work there. Go on to the next place, then the next and the next, until you find the agency that will give proper weight to all you have done.

Stick with it until you find the shop that will put you in a supervisor's chair.

You need to be well prepared though, and learn as much as you can to prove that you really are interested.
   
Everyone says they are interested in new media these days, but not so many can come through with the goods. 
  
“You have strong abilities and a good background in media,” one online media manager tells me.

“All you have to do is parlay these into online. Truthfully, it is more a matter of being convincing than of having specific skills. Still, don’t pass up any opportunities to increase your education, even if you have to pay out of pocket. Classes, seminars, conferences -- all will show you are serious, as well as teaching you the lingo and making you more confident.”
  
One last thing, about the years you were off raising a family. Lots of women in media have done the same thing, so they know where you've been and where you want to go. You'll find lots of people who will want you to succeed.