5 Things I Learned During My First Week in an Agency

5 Things I Learned During My First Week in an Agency

As the long title suggests, I just started a new job working in an agency! I spent the last few years working for a university and I’m very excited about the big shake up in my career. The first week is pretty much like the old saying—sipping water from a fire hose. So, I’ll do my best to recall the top 5 things I learned.

1. Know the difference between playtime and work time.

Everyone knows that agencies are fun, contemporary places to work with all the modern furniture, college interns and unique personalities. All of that is true, but aside from a few minutes of goofing around in the morning and right after lunch, it’s headphones in and getting work DONE. You’re either focused or you’re on break, there is no middle ground.

2. Project Management Software

Remember the first time you opened Microsoft Excel and you were like, “Yeah! I get this! You’ve got the little boxes where you put the numbers, etc. Easy peasy.” Then someone that actually knows Excel shows you a couple of shortcuts and you’re like, “Oh, never mind, I don’t even know what language this is in.” Well, that’s pretty much how I felt last week. Much like Ikea furniture, I probably should have read the instructions before putting things together.

3. The Fountain of Youth

Yes, everyone is young around here, which might not be fair to say since I’m coming from a university where the median age was 100. Youth is more in the culture, and I’m not used to being shown up on what’s new and hip. One of my coworkers just told me that Snapchat is about to hit it’s “mom stage.” Seriously? I just started getting good at Snapchat!

4. Every meeting needs two things: Agenda and a timer.

Get a bunch of creatives in one room and you’ll be there until someone forces you out. Meetings start with an agenda and a timer to wrap up the conversation. This is essential. You’ll even hear stories of that one meeting that supposedly led to the creation of the agenda/timer rule and it sounds a lot like “The Labyrinth.”

5. Everyone is learning something.

During my first week I did my best to meet with the various members of my team. Everyone introduced themselves with their name, their job and what they want to learn more about. I felt like I was back in undergrad deciding on whether or not I should pick up a minor. An agency is as much a community of learning as it is your place of work.

Overall, this experience has been fantastic. I look forward to learning and growing a bit more everyday!