Marketing/advertising jobs (Chicago, Philo, Kell: sales, job market, schools)

[downtownnola]

I have been actively looking at relocating to Chicago from Denver for a couple years now. I absolutely love the city, and everything has fallen into place that is allowing me to pursue relocation options.

With that said, how is the job market looking for marketing/advertising jobs? I would consider my experience mid level non-manager, but I would like to transition into a Marketing Management role. I have a B.S. in Marketing, along with 2 years sales experience and 4 years marketing experience. I have a well rounded background including marketing project management, tradeshow and event coordination, and light website administration.

I've seen several job listings and have been sending out resumes to companines in Chicago for a couple weeks but haven't heard anything yet. I feel that I have a great, stand out resume. Is it realistic to expect a job offer from out of state? Are many companies in Chicago open to bringing in out of state candidates? If it comes down to it, I have friends in the area that I can move out and stay with for a bit until I find a job, but I am not necessarily in a rush and would much prefer to have a job offer in hand before moving.

Has anyone else had a similar situation and have any success stories you would like to share? I know that your city offers great career opportunities if I can get my foot in the door somewhere.

[Chicagoist123]

It's very solid. I would say Chicago is probably the #2 city after NYC for Marketing and Advertising in the country. However, it's very competitive.

Two weeks? Don't worry, it might take a month or so until you hear back from a place. I would say on average (granted this is assuming you are currently employed, are a good interviewer and have solid experience) it can take anywhere from 2-4 months to start hearing back from places after you begin to apply to jobs.

The thing with Chicago is you have a lot of people that went to college in the Midwest. I work for large advertising agency here. I would say 60% are alums of Big 10 or other Midwest schools. So while there is a slight lean, I don't think being in Colorado will be the biggest deterrent. One of our team members was hired from Idaho and he moved here after he got the job.

[wideworld]

You may be a good fit, but so are 50,000 other people. That is a very tough industry to get into in Chicago, or at least to get into a role that pays what you're "worth."

Do you have any connections/networks or some big agency names on your resume? Even a third-degree connection could improve your odds, I would imagine. I truly wish you the best of luck. I left the city for the lack of opportunity in that industry.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by wideworld

You may be a good fit, but so are 50,000 other people. That is a very tough industry to get into in Chicago, or at least to get into a role that pays what you're "worth."

Do you have any connections/networks or some big agency names on your resume? Even a third-degree connection could improve your odds, I would imagine. I truly wish you the best of luck. I left the city for the lack of opportunity in that industry.

Wide world is SPOT ON!

If you ever seen how an electromagnet can pickup thousands of paper clips that is pretty much what happens with Chicago and college kids that major in marketing -- competition is beyond brutal!


Odds are that you will NEVER get any calls with an out of town resume. And I would not move here without a job lined up...

[marothisu]

If you have worked for a known ad agency or have done ad work for anything major/known before and/or have great examples, that will definitely help. At the end of the day they want the best talent, so you have to show it no matter where you're from. If you're worth it, someone may pay for your relocation, but again - it all comes down to your experience and talent....and if you have any connections, that never hurts anywhere.

I have friends who got jobs with Leo Burnett out of college, but no idea if they had connections there or not. I hope you know Leo Burnett

[Lookout Kid]

I have, let's say, very close family ties to that industry, and know several dozen people who are at various Chicago agencies, including many who are in a hiring capacity. People are hiring. But large ad agencies hire VERY FEW people who major in marketing. You'd be better off with a degree in Chinese Philosophy, but a resume full of writing, design, account, or project management experience. Or web development experience.

A top strategist I know who has worked on several high profile campaigns was an English major. A top account executive studied biology. Art directors can come from just about any background. It's one industry that has very little correlation between college major and job duties.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by marothisu

and if you have any connections, that never hurts anywhere.

HUGE. If you don't have any connections in Chicago, you may want to work with a recruiter.

[chet everett]

Take a look at the experience listed:

Originally Posted by downtownnola

I have been actively looking at relocating to Chicago from Denver for a couple years now. I absolutely love the city, and everything has fallen into place that is allowing me to pursue relocation options.

With that said, how is the job market looking for marketing/advertising jobs? I would consider my experience mid level non-manager, but I would like to transition into a Marketing Management role. I have a B.S. in Marketing, along with 2 years sales experience and 4 years marketing experience. I have a well rounded background including marketing project management, tradeshow and event coordination, and light website administration.

I've seen several job listings and have been sending out resumes to companines in Chicago for a couple weeks but haven't heard anything yet. I feel that I have a great, stand out resume. Is it realistic to expect a job offer from out of state? Are many companies in Chicago open to bringing in out of state candidates? If it comes down to it, I have friends in the area that I can move out and stay with for a bit until I find a job, but I am not necessarily in a rush and would much prefer to have a job offer in hand before moving.

Has anyone else had a similar situation and have any success stories you would like to share? I know that your city offers great career opportunities if I can get my foot in the door somewhere.

Does ANY of that sound like the kind of experience that would be desirable at an agency? Not to be harsh, but this is not a "stand out" resume. It does show solid ability to get hired and work, but unless the OP really has launched new ventures / broken the mold for unusual efforts it is not going to have anybody jumping out of their seat to arrange an interview...

I tend to agree with LK that, except for technical roles, ad agencies hire folks with college majors that are off-beat -- it is more important to have demonstrated talent in writing or even an "eye" for unique / creative ways to craft messages for everything from TV spots, to magazine ads, to billboards and the various spots that get placed on the web than to understand the textbook ways of marketing... Even folks on the "account management" side tend to have skills in using unconventional approaches to get a client's message across.

The OP might be better suited to a role helping to sell / market various goods / services / stores. That said those are exactly the kinds of jobs that HORDES of kinds spilling out of colleges with degrees in marketing come to Chicago carrying, like mayflies swarming around a lightbulb...

The thought occurs to me that if the OP has solid experience, some academic talent, and the means to pay for more education, they might make a good candidate for an MBA program. Typically grads of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business that earn MBAs with a concentration in Brand Management have similar backgrounds and are much better positioned for future employment. Of course admission to the program is highly selective and you have to be prepared to take on about six figures of debt or have some other means of paying for the tuition and living expenses... If one is admitted to a lesser program, like DePaul, it is far more questionable that makes sense for some one relocating.

The OP should not be discouraged, just needs to realize that without some unique "edge" it is going to be really hard to break out of the pack that is swarming here. The magnet-like pull that Chicago has on others with essentially the same background is likely to make it very difficult to get noticed...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

HUGE. If you don't have any connections in Chicago, you may want to work with a recruiter.

Well, I wouldn't say that's true, especially with LinkedIn now, but it's easier in any big city with connections - not just Chicago.

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I have, let's say, very close family ties to that industry, and know several dozen people who are at various Chicago agencies, including many who are in a hiring capacity. People are hiring. But large ad agencies hire VERY FEW people who major in marketing. You'd be better off with a degree in Chinese Philosophy, but a resume full of writing, design, account, or project management experience. Or web development experience.

A top strategist I know who has worked on several high profile campaigns was an English major. A top account executive studied biology. Art directors can come from just about any background. It's one industry that has very little correlation between college major and job duties.

Agreed. I work for a major ad agency, undergrad was in urban planning and masters in architecture. An it's a big agency. Let's just say Leo Burnett is our sister agency.