Growing up in the forests of Pennsylvania, I
spent most of my time lost in my imagination.
I always assumed that when I ‘grew up' I
would bounce from one thrilling career to
another. I could dabble in dragon slaying,
maybe train as an astronaut, or perhaps be
a state police officer like my dad. It wasn't
until I was halfway through my graduate
degree in London that it dawned on me -
most people don't get a lot of variety in
their day job. Every school brochure sought
bankers, consultants, or - horror of horrors
- accountants. The other road seemed to be
that of a starving artist - all well and good if I
could pick one discipline to starve over. With
my only work experience being a summer as
a graveyard attendant and another summer as
a copywriting intern, I feared I was destined
to begin my career working the assembly line
at a button factory.
Thank goodness for WPP. I knew after my
first interview, where we discussed everything
from boxed cereal to tribal art, that a career of
variety and excitement did in fact exist. And
now, working in London as a strategist at the
communications agency Mindshare, I feel
like my dreams are coming true. Just today
I've spent time pitching for a multi-million
dollar business, redecorating a brainstorming
area, and doing audience profiles for one of
the world's biggest soft drink companies. It
turns out variety does exist! I am trying to
decide which discipline to try next year (and
don't even get me started on location!) and
know that wherever I end up will be similarly
amazing.
There are indeed careers at agencies where
a person can use their imagination all day
long, have a variety of tasks to accomplish,
and have the freedom to say - "I want to try
something different". WPP holds a plethora
of such agencies. And the people that make
up these companies are truly inspiring. People
of every background work in this field and all
contribute unique and marvellous things. I
keep thinking I should pinch myself to see if
this is a dream. But then again, dreaming is
exactly what I want to be doing.
Anna Vogt
One of the best parts of the Fellowship is
being allowed to decide what to do and where
to do it. A tailor-made excursion that caters to
your curiosity, intellect and imagination all at
the same time. And at the end of it, there will
be no two people with the same experience,
because there are no two people who are ever
exactly alike.
When I started to look at graduate jobs
some three years back, I noticed that many
companies like to adopt a cookie cutter
approach in recruiting graduates as well
as training them. Everyone does the same
rotations, in the same places with the same
mentors. And this often holds true for banks,
law firms and creative agencies alike. So it
was a real surprise when I came across WPP's
Fellowship. Why should a batch of graduates
with different degrees, strengths, interests and
aspirations be put through identical paces?
Well, the answer is, they shouldn't.
I spent my first year with a market research
company in London. It was a great
introduction to consumer insights and brand
strategy developments, because you get
involved before advertising agencies, PR
companies or even brand consultants do. It
is a first opportunity at shaping a brand. In
my second year, I chose to work for Ogilvy
Advertising, also in London, as a planner.
This meant helping and being given real
responsibilities for planning campaigns from
WWF, DHL and Zovirax, to new business
pitches and getting to work alongside some
amazing creative teams and other gurus.
Now, in my final year, I am sitting in Dubai
working for Landor, a brand consultancy.
I am the first Fellow to come to the Middle
East. I wanted to come to experience the
local market boom and to work in an entirely
different culture. I can't think of any other
graduate program that would have let me
do this. I am a little sad that my three years
will soon be up. But I can't wait to meet the
newcomers and see what they get up to.
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