FIELDS OF ADVERTISING THE CHOICE OF A FIELD 1. The selection of the field, or division, of advertising that is best suited to the tastes and ability of the beginner is a subject that usually gives him much concern. It is an important question and yet not usually so consequential as the beginner in advertising supposes it to be. Few people are fortunate enough to be able to pick just the positions that they desire unless they happen to have studied for one of the professions. It is safe to say that most of those who are in advertising work drifted into advertising through circumstances rather than through design. They began as newspaper reporters, solicitors, or editors, as printers, salesmen, stenographers, bookkeepers, or in some other such way. Their contact with advertising practice made the work seem attractive, and the change was made gradually as a rule. The simple truth is that it is rather difficult for the beginner advertising to be sure just what field would be best for him. or which he would enjoy most. If he has a decided conviction that a certain division is much more attractive to him than others, he will likely do well to hold to that vision and endeavor to secure such a job. Most beginners will, however, do well to take the first opportunity that offers constructive work. If the first opening is not just what is wanted, the experience will be valuable even though it is hard. No advertising manager who, early in his experience, tried his hand at the selling of advertising space regrets that he had that experience. He in COPYRIGHTED BY INTERNATIONAL TEXTBOOK COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED $40 ILT 162-2 can appreciate the work of the representative of magazines, newspapers, and other mediums in a way that is impossible to the advertising manager who has never sold space or anything else. Furthermore, the advertising manager who has had experience in selling advertising space or some other commodity is able to work with the salesmen of his own company more understandingly. On the other hand, the man who feels sure that his place in advertising is in the work of selling space, can hardly go wrong in serving for a while as an assistant to an advertising manager or as a copy-writer. Such experience will later on enable him to talk more understandingly to the people whose advertising he may solicit. The advertising work of a large dry-goods or department store, with all its bustle and hurry, will do a young man or young woman a great amount of good, no matter if some other position is sought eventually. In other words, variety of experience is a good thing in advertising, though one may finally specialize. The different experiences will go far toward enabling the young advertising man to be sure of the field for which his talents are particularly adapted. The object of this Section is to present concisely the requirements of the different fields of advertising work and thus to aid the beginner to decide which department of advertising he should enter first, provided a choice is afforded. Another Section deals with methods of securing employment. 2. Writing Ability Compared With Soliciting Ability. One of the first things that the beginner in advertising should consider is whether his ability lies more in the direction of writing or in the direction of personal salesmanship. There are men who write indifferently and who would probably never become highly paid writers of advertising, who nevertheless have good advertising judgment, all-around ability, and strong personal qualities so far as face-to-face selling is concerned. Such men would likely be far greater successes as solicitors of advertising than as writers of advertising copy. No man should feel that he is less an advertising man because he is connected with a national magazine, a newspaper, a technical publication, a street-car-space controller, or some other medium. In such work he has a great opportunity for constructive effort and also a fine chance to make a comfortable income if he becomes a good producer. On the other hand, there are men who shrink from face-toface selling methods. Possibly they lack courage or some other requisite. Yet such men may be possessed of unusual ability as writers and planners of advertising, and there is plenty of room for them in the advertising field, just as there is ample room for the man of good address and good soliciting ability. Whether one can do good work in limited time or has a temperament that requires him to proceed deliberately in order to do himself justice, also has a bearing on the case. Advertising work in a dry-goods or department store requires the ability to investigate on short notice and to write well in limited time. If such conditions are oppressive to a beginner in advertising, he will do well to seek a place in which the advertising plans and copy are prepared with more deliberation. KINDS OF POSITIONS 3. There are three principal kinds of advertising positions: those of the advertisement writer, the advertising manager, and the advertising solicitor. The beginner should consider the advantages of each branch of work and his aptitude for each branch before undertaking to market his service. ADVERTISEMENT WRITER 4. In seeking a position as advertisement writer, the beginner may choose between two plans: (1) He may start in a small way and build up a business of his own in his home town or a neighboring city, finally opening an advertisement-writing office; or (2) he may apply for a salaried position on the staff of a large store where the advertising |