Dear Jancy: Hi from Australia. Firstly, I love your book, Pick Me. It made me enthused and creatively petrified at the same time.

I recently finished an undergrad degree in Advertising. And yes, after reading your book, I still want to be a copywriter. However, I'm in my early 30s. "Egad!", I hear you gasp (dont worry I've already picked out my zimmerframe).

Despite my age I still believe there's a place for me, my quirks, and my zimmerframe.

So my question is, if most people leave the Ad Industry by 40, and it's left to the Y-Gen's to solve the world's advertising problems, isn't there going to be a massive lack of insight and connection to the baby boomers and even us X-gens consumers? I mean collectively us semi-old farts have massive spending power. Shouldn't agencies be worried losing the kind of quirky insights that only decades of living life's up and downs (not to mention surviving the Madonna "I've got to wear my bra on the outside" years) can bring?

Secondly, if it takes a 20-something til her 40's to get burned out, wouldn't that mean that a semi-fresh faced 30-something still has til her 50s to build her advertising career?
  

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Dear Jancy: I've been a copywriter at a good agency in Cape Town for a year. Is there any chance for me to work in at an ad agency in Canada (i.e. Ogilvy)? What are the requirements that an agency needs from an applicant from South Africa?

  

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Dear Jancy: I've been working for 2 years as a copywriter, and I'm getting my book together to hunt for a new job for the first time. For the past 14 months, I spent most of my workdays executing a large global campaign for a high-profile client. Unfortunately, thanks to all the global client red tape, the campaign turned out to be something I'm not particularly proud of. It's better than what they've done in the past, but not something I feel represents what I can do creatively.
My question is: should I put this campaign in my book? On the one hand I'm proud of the fact that I handled a huge global campaign (with TV) as a rookie-- but I know it's not my best work.   

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Dear Jancy: I'm finally in the industry as a copywriter and have the necessary background and experience to stay in. All good. I've been gradually moving forward from pure interactive over the last 3 years or so, getting some TV and print experience, and taking on a more senior role at a smaller agency. Big fish, small pond kind of thing.

Here's the problem - I don't mind the place I work at, but there isn't anything very creative going on and I feel I'm stagnating. There's no one for me to learn from and, to be frank, some of the people I work with are absolutely clueless and shouldn't even be in the industry. Harsh, I know, but true. I could stun you with some stories of ineptitude.

There seems to be a lot of jobs around the city I work in and I'm wondering if its time to move on. My stay at my current agency is under a year, and I always thought I'd stick it out almost anywhere for at least one full year, but I'm wavering. It's comfortable, it's easy, but I'm not growing and my eye is on the future.

However, there have been some very recent changes that might result in some promising new work , new leadership, and new direction. I'd hate to leave just as things got great....I know you can't see the future, but given how I've described the situation, should I stick it out and see, or take a chance at one of the other opportunities before they get snatched up and I'm stuck with no option at all?

  

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