ConfessionS Of A SleePlesS MinD

花好月圆

十五的月亮哪有十六的圆。

好美的月， 好美的夜。

posted by KERMIT @ 10:06 PM 0 Comments

What's a "good" career option?

Over the weekend, the "career" issue popped up again. Again, I had people questioning my decision to join this local ,"unknown" advertising firm, located at the other end of the island, which pays me peanuts, no OT pay, requires long hours of work (includes working one Saturday every month) and have close to zero employee welfare/ benefits. I had convinced myself in the beginning that advertising was where my passion lies, and that my current job would equip me with the right tools for a successful career in advertising and eventually a jump to the big boys - leading to international exposure etc - and eventually leading to the big bucks. I was willing to forsake all practicalities for now, for the pursuit of passion. I thought it was a very brave and "unSingaporean" thing to do. I felt so gungho, felt like a rebel that's so lacking in Singapore nowadays.

But suddenly, a part of me feels otherwise now. I feel drained. A point where passion no longer suffice, where practicality and the need to make a practical career choice sets in. Where am I heading in this? I want to be somewhere where I hit 35. I need to know where I'm heading. Why did I study so many years for? I am having doubts about my so-called "creativity" when my ideas don't seem to sit well with my boss - "Your idea is not bad, but it won't sell..." Maybe I ain't as "creative" as I think I am and maybe I just don't cut it in this business. Maybe I have all these crazy ideas that just won't work. Or maybe, this is just the wrong company to work for. Suddenly, it doesn't seem that worth it to pursue this passion when my idea of creative advertising just doesn't seem to apply locally.

It isn't the first time that the boss asks for our opinions but end up doing what he had intended to in the first place. You give him 101 million suggestions and he ends up deciding on his own initial idea. He is a marketing person more than an advertising person. And that's the way he runs his business. No marketing angle? - then the creative idea is useless. And he always thinks he knows better - which can be sickeningly true most of the time. Creativity is side-stepped if it means too much time, too much effort, too little profit. The preferred mode is cut-and-paste techniques that saves time, reduces effort and churns out results. It's not to say that there's no creative freedom at all. But it's always an uphill task convincing the boss about the idea behind the concept and why it will work - most of the time it gets thrown out of the window. That's the truth about local advertising - copy & paste, safe, or simply just doing layout for ideas conceptualized overseas. Or maybe I just need more exposure to know if it's like this everywhere...

But still, there are aspects of the job that keeps me going. I love it when I come up with ideas that I think are fantastic and are eventually chosen. It always good to see your ideas become reality and seeing the end product does give you a sense of satisfaction. But a career as an account exec? -- I'm not so sure about that anymore. As I progress, I'm sure I'll be pulled out of creative conceptualisation and have more direct dealings with clients. I think I prefer the creative side of advertising.

Sometimes, I can be quite insistent but I find myself losing that determination to pitch for my ideas because it just means OT and anyway my boss ends up using his own idea at the end of the day. I also find myself losing "creativity" because I have no time for a "proper" life. How can you have creativity when you don't have a life? A vicious cycle - no life - no creativity - cut and paste advertising.

I choose to think that my command of language is way better than my boss' (not that mine very powderful, just that his is not bery good lah). It's always a struggle when he tells you that your tagline doesn't capture the essence and he ends up writing something that sounds way off and grammatically unsound. At that moment, the only thought that pops up in my head is "WTF!"

The TVC production held on Tuesday was the saving grace of the week. Really enjoyed getting involved in the production. But I was made to leave the film set halfway because my boss wanted me to go back to the office to "coordinate stuff". Felt that I was short-changed of a full TVC production experience - from conceptualisation to post-production. I was included and left-out, as and when he felt it wasn't "necessary" for me to be there at that point in time.

OK lah. See how the week goes lah. Have so much more to whine about lah. Hope this will be a better week than the last lah.

posted by KERMIT @ 12:00 AM 1 Comments