Check out the work of Ryan Gerber.

What do you look for in a student or junior book?

In simple terms, I’m most interested in who you are as a person. Maybe you’re a bit crazy, but you see things that others don’t. Or you hate advertising but you feel like you can somehow fix it by working from inside the machine. Or maybe you’re neither of those things, but you’ve got impeccable taste and you’re a bit of an asshole. At the end of the day, I’m not hiring your book; I’m hiring the brain and the guts that crafted that thing. That’s what I’m after.

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I once had a guy come in and show me a bunch of work I could tell he hated, but it had gotten produced and was shiny, so he thought I wanted to see that shit. After talking to him for a bit, I got the sense that there was more to this kid than this shiny turd he had just shown me, so I asked him to show me the stuff he didn’t put in his book. And there it was. The spark that he had snuffed out at his last shitty job, which earned him a nice paycheck and a bronze pencil. I hired him off of three sketches and a personal project that he had made while he was still in school. His personality gave me a reason to probe, but had I just looked at his website beforehand, I would never have met with him in the first place. Be confident in the work you love. Then take your lumps.

In regard to the actual work, I tend to be more interested in the types of things that catch me off guard or surprise me. It’s not an easy task, but you’ll get a lot further with me if I see some insane thought that changes a business or a project that challenges culture in some weirdly interesting way. It’s not that I might not like that funny video you made or smirk at the clever one-off print ad that you spent all semester crafting, but you need to be honest with yourself when you’re putting this body of work forward. Ask yourself, “Is this a good representation of who I am and the type of work I want to be doing?” and “Is it any good?” Be honest.

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How important is the level of finish? Could sketches be enough?

Really depends on the gig you’re going after. I’ve hired people off of sketches. Mostly writers. But I’ve also passed on people because of them. It really depends on the person and the magic imbued in those crude little drawings. If it’s an amazing idea told in two scribbles and a line of copy, that may be enough. But don’t bank on it.

Some CDs might say that they don’t care and then go on about how ideas are what actually matters or some bullshit like that, but that’s probably not true. It’s really hard not to expect some level of polish these days. I had a team send me a video demo of a fake digital app that they came up with for Nike and it blew me away. The idea was sharp, but they packaged it in a way that not only communicated the thought concisely, but it fucking looked better than a lot of the real case studies I’ve seen of late. The production quality was really top shelf. Now, was all of that necessary for me to get the idea? Not really. But I watched the video all the way through and replied to them almost immediately. So the polish did help.

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Do you like to see “non-ads,” such as art, hobbies, personal work, etc.?

Yes and no. Mostly, it’s fantastic. It’s a shortcut into your being, which is the thing I’m after. “Who the hell are you, and why are you here?”

On the other hand, it can be terribly annoying if it has no point.

[ … ]

You want to leave us with a lasting impression of who you are and how your brain works. So everything you show, whether it’s an ad or some random side project, make sure it’s geared toward what you ultimately want that lasting impression to be. If the impression you want to leave is “Terrible creative, but excellent use of gouache on that papaya,” then bring in the still lifes.

Do you have any other advice?

Good luck. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now. This is a tough gig, and it gets harder by the day. This career, like any, has its perks and its pitfalls. Figure out what you want to get out of this thing and go after it.

Getting your foot through that first door can feel insurmountable, but don’t be afraid of rejection. Embrace it and move forward. Consider the places you want to work and the people you want to report to. These people will have a profound effect on how you end up doing things—don’t take that for granted. You may not want to work for a guy like me, or maybe you do. You have choices. It’s not as simple as all that, but in a way it is.

You’re at the start of your career, so don’t be afraid to experiment and explore. Try some shit out, make stuff, go play in a medium you don’t fully understand, challenge yourself, travel. Be brave. Chances are that the people you meet at this stage of your career will be the ones who get you work later. So don’t be an asshole. You have a lot to be grateful for and a lot more yet to still learn. Soak it up, and never be comfortable. This industry will change again and again, and you may or may not want to change with it. That’s cool, it’s your career; just be prepared for it. This job can be full of uncertainty, but it can also be one hell of a ride. So have fun. There are far worse jobs to be had.

Ryan Gerber