Online Advertising – industry, surrounded by prejudice and dozens of myths, and a profession that commonly triggers contradictory associations: from excitement about luxury lifestyle and expensive business trips to a really bad reputation as many believe online advertising to be unethical.
Well, we couldn’t find a better person to discuss these issues than an HR specialist, who is dealing with advertising professionals on a daily basis. Today, we are talking to Andrey Bloshchanevich, HR Specialist at PropellerAds, to finally find out, who are all these people, choosing a career in advertising and how they are different from us mortals.
So, Andrey, it’s great that you’ve found time to talk. I know you’ve been really busy these days.
True, we are actively expanding: our sales team just moved to a renewed office on another floor. Meanwhile, we have training and workshops going on, and a cherry on top – new people are joining the team. So, yeah, we are living a busy life!
That sounds like a lot, but we have an exciting topic to discuss. Shall we begin with the myths surrounding online advertising?
I believe I have a lot to say!
What are the most common and persistent myths you encounter as an HR specialist?
I hear all kind of stuff. Usually, candidates are not quite aware of what online advertising is. They think I’m talking about Google AdWords or similar ad networks, and this perception is very far from what I’m trying to explain them.
What else? People are usually concerned with the stability of advertising companies. It’s a common misbelief that these are fly-by-night companies, involved in fraudulent activities. When I hear something like that, I like to mention that we are working for 7 years, our audience size is comparable to the one Facebook has, and yet, what a coincidence, we are an advertising company!
You should have an example!
Once I’ve reached out to a really great specialist who already had a signed contract with a huge Telecom company, and she was supposed to start her new job in two weeks. We had a phone conversation, and she made it crystal clear that she’s not interested in any new opportunities.
Well, I convinced her that we should have a meeting. Just a meeting, no commitment at all. Believe it or not, but during the interview, she listed every myth we’ve discussed today. So what did I do? I offered her a tour around the office, so if she couldn’t believe me, maybe she would believe her own eyes.
She joined the team, and she’s already working for two years.
You’ve mentioned that people don’t understand the essence of online advertising job. How do you deal with this problem?
Actually, it’s another common myth: modern advertising models are SO sophisticated that an average person without an IT degree is not capable of understanding what’s going on. Come on! Usually, people are getting into the groove in no time! That’s why we have training sessions, so the process is smooth, and learning is easy peasy.
Personally, I’ve heard that advertising is considered to be quite a stressful job, can you agree with that? How do you help employees manage high-pressure and burnout?
Let me disagree. Unlike, let’s say Forex, we have far less stress, and we definitely don’t push our team to the limits. For sure, I can’t say that every Ad company is like that. Mostly it’s a question of corporate values and corporate culture. But overall, I would describe a job in online advertising as active rather than stressful.
As for dealing with burnout, should we see that our team member is not performing as well as he could, we are trying to adjust his job functions, help, and show our support. I like to think of the team as being a part of one big family.
How do you work on creative office culture, and well, is it all about creativity?
Certainly! You know what I strongly believe in? I do think that whatever industry you are working in, creativity is a must. And I can’t imagine a non-creative person succeeding in Advertising.
Let me give you an example. How do account managers usually work? Despite popular belief that only marketing team has to be creative, the sales team has to put as much work into that.
Basically, it’s an ever-changing job: every customer is different, the situation in the market alters all the time, new trends emerge, more and more products come out; faced with these variables, account managers have to make decisions and find the best solutions. Try to do this job mechanically, and you’ll fail.
And how do you usually understand that a person is a right fit for advertising industry? What are your criteria?
Our industry itself is so dynamic and constantly changing, that a person who can’t adapt to these conditions, simply won’t survive as a specialist.
I usually try to see how well the person will fit into the team, meaning if there’s a match between our corporate values and personal traits. You have to be really easy-going, down-to-earth, and be able to finish whatever you start doing.
I have another question. How did you join PropellerAds?
It was a long time ago; I remember I was so excited! First, I worked for our partner company, and then, finally, I moved to PropellerAds. It was actually my goal to join this team!
How can a person join the PropellerAds team?
The process is extremely easy: check out our career page and send us your CV. We are currently hiring people in Cyprus and would be very excited to meet new specialists!
