The Results-Oriented Advertising Workplace

Advertising jobs, whether writing copy, buying media or writing multimedia scripts, are involved in a lot of detail. When advertising people are so engrossed in the details of their jobs, it's easy for them, for anyone actually, to lose sight of the job's major contribution.

A Results-Oriented Advertising Job Description is different from a traditional job description because it focuses an employee on the several job results that answer the question: What results must this advertising job accomplish for the organization?

Advertising Job Standards added to job expectations tighten management controls by clarifying how well and when results must be accomplished.

Advertising Job Objectives establish management and employee plans by highlighting important current and future results needed.

Job-specific Advertising Employee Management Forms maintain consistent and legally sound management actions by basing manager-employee interactions on job results.

The Purpose of Advertising Jobs

Stated in a results-oriented, three-line style, advertising jobs--

PROMOTE PRODUCTS/SERVICES by

identifying product/service characteristics and attributes; researching consumer requirements; conceiving, designing, producing advertising programs; preparing copy and graphics; analyzing and selecting media and methods; tracking campaign effectiveness.

Types of Advertising Jobs

Some advertising jobs study current and proposed marketing goals and programs in order to prepare advertising campaigns. Writers prepare copy. Artists design graphics. Media people identify and evaluate various media possibilities, buy media, and plan, organize and coordinate media production.

Some jobs are responsible for direct mail and magazine campaigns while others work exclusively with e-zines. Somebody needs to track advertising programs, and measure their effectiveness as well as their costs. And, of course, somebody has to manage and supervise the advertising people and processes.

Advertising Job Management Tools

Here are actual job examples of how advertising job actions can be focused on results and kept on track using each of our job management tools:

Results-Oriented Advertising Job Descriptions form the foundation of all job management tools. Our uniquely structured job descriptions focus on the result to be accomplished first and prominently, followed by the duties performed in order to accomplish the result. For example,

RECOMMENDS ADVERTISING ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Advertising Job Standards sharpen employee attention and management control by defining and communicating how well the advertising results must be accomplished and what benchmarks will be used to measure job results. For example, for the job result above, the job standards might be:

• Advertising situations are correctly understood.
• All options are identified and evaluated.
• Advertising recommendations are ready when needed.

Advertising Job Objectives point the direction for employee actions by focusing job efforts on current and future advertising issues. Job objectives are written in the three-line, results-oriented structure. For example, for the job result above, a job objective might be:

SPEED-UP DECISION MAKING by

reducing time to deliver advertising recommendations by 10% by (date).

Advertising Employee Management Forms tied specifically to each advertising job description are more helpful (and legal) than generic forms used for all different kinds of jobs. Job-specific forms are used to state job qualifications, guide job interview questions, orient new employees, plan job training, and appraise job performance.

Advertising Job Qualifications are stated in the same terms used in the job description. They are not translated into generic (typically behavioral) terms. For example:

RECOMMENDS ADVERTISING ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Advertising Job Interview guide questions are inserted directly below each job result in the job description: For example:

• "What specific job responsibilities have you had in this area?"
• "Where did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "When did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "How did you go about accomplishing these responsibilities?"
• "What accomplishment in this area gave you the most pride?"
• "In this area, what were some of your biggest challenges?"
• "How did you overcome the challenges?"

The Advertising Job Orientation guide reformats the job description sequence so that job explanations, policies, protocols, processes, and procedures are logical and complete and can easily be checked off. For example:

RECOMMENDS ADVERTISING ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Here's the procedure and format we use to analyze and present advertising recommendations."

The Advertising Job Training plan guides a thorough examination of actual job knowledge, skills, and abilities as described in the job description that need improvement or that might be enhanced. For example:

RECOMMENDS ADVERTISING ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Analytical skills would be improved by enrolling in a statistical analysis class."

The Advertising Job Performance Appraisal guide is a job-specific form. It is not a universal form used for all jobs. The guide adds an appraisal scale below each job result in the job description so that attention can be drawn to each job requirement and expectation. For example:

RECOMMENDS ADVERTISING ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

__ Great! Just want we wanted.
__ We have a problem.
__ Improvement is needed.
__ Much, much more than we asked for.

Comments: _________________

Advertising Résumé Template

Potential employers want to know what a job applicant has accomplished in his/her advertising work career. They don't want to be bored with minor details. Our Résumé Template provides:

• an outline to help assemble personal background information.
• a Results-Oriented Job Description to provide the advertising job language-focused on results-needed to write an effective résumé.
• Advertising Job Objectives to orient thinking in terms of accomplishments.
• instructions on how to use a Results-Oriented Advertising Job Description and Advertising Job Objectives to express job accomplishments.

Use the advertising job description responsibility statement as a base:

RECOMMENDS ADVERTISING ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Select the advertising job objective that fits your experience:

REDUCE COSTS 10% by

improving advertising processes.

Combine the two into a résumé statement:

Reduced costs 10% by analyzing, identifying, and recommending new advertising system controls.

Advertising Career Links

Worldwidelearn.com - Advertising Managers

Advertising manager career planning job outlook, related occupations, working conditions, education, training, qualifications, salary expectations, associations, accreditation and other resources.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Training and education needed for advertising manager jobs, expected earnings, job prospects, what managers do on the job, and working conditions.

University of North Carolina - Wilmington The Career Center

Career counseling providing information on skills required for the advertising profession, related career titles, and links for career planning, resources, job and internship searches, and professional associations.

Vault.com

Articles on careers in advertising.

University of California - Berkeley, Career Center

Find information regarding advertising professional associations, career paths, occupational information and other resources.

FabJob.com

"Dream career" information and guide for an advertising copywriter.

American Advertising Federation, Southern Illinois University

Inside scoop on advertising careers, advertising agencies, résumés, The Portfolio, networking, job hunting and more advice.

Findacareercollege.com

Advertising colleges and schools, career information, outlook & salary information, career traits, how to become and advertising professional.

Northern Illinois University, Marketing Careers

Information on jobs in advertising.