How To Get Ahead As A New Ad Creative.

At least you're not a young journalist.

You recently graduated — or are about to — from a fancy (and completely pointless, but more on that later) Miami Ad School or Portfolio Center, and you’re told you have a kickass portfolio. Now what the hell do you do?

Are your parents rich? Then go back to school and get a tech degree, dummy. No? Well, at least you don’t have a journalism degree.

Here’s your problem, if you care at all about doing good work: American ad agencies, across the board, are all markedly crappier, creatively, from what they were just 10 years ago. I know this because I have viewed/sat through more ads in the last decade than any other person in the entire world (probably true story).

I’ve also viewed several hundred portfolios in my career as an ACD at a small NYC ad agency. I know what agencies are looking for, and what they want.

Buy a subscription here to get 800+ words of real world advice on how to get into this dying, morally-repulsive industry.

RELATED: 10 Pro Tips For Young Copywriters. PREVIOUSLY: Young Creatives—Help Getting Your First, Second, Or Third Job. Both articles, like this one, for paid subscribers only.