9. Maria Scileppi Leads us Towards 'Ownable Moments'

Maria Scileppi, the current Director of the Chicago Portfolio School (take an e-visit and view the school through the eyes of a snake, that's a new one), spoke to my #UOCreativeStrategist class about getting our dream job, making 366 friends (during a leap year), how to make our lives sound exciting, and why we need to write witty email subject lines. 


How I interpreted her words:

Here are the key points, just in case your reading glasses are more then a foot away:

Spelling I now know how to spell her name. Maria Scileppi. Maria Scileppi. Maria Scileppi. Won't happen again!

The Big 20 Have 20 face-to-face meetings with midlevel creatives, account people, planners, producers, everyone, before you apply for a job. You'll be better informed, know more about agency cultures and learn about the gatekeepers in the process. A great list of agencies can be found at agencycompile.com.

During the Big 20 Use these interviews and meetings to create a list of agencies you want to work for, excel style, with addresses, recruiter info, accounts, and people in the area you want to work in (ex: producers). Organize by city.

Easy Access Make it easy for people to find you. Make an e-signature with linked blog name, twitter feed, and phone number. Don't forget to title your resume with your name, instead of 'resume' so a recruiter can find you quickly. You want a job right?

The Small 5 The five most thought provoking things about you should be written at the bottom of your resume. They should provoke a story or questions. WHY NOT? This is why I love advertising. The fact that I collect vintage German toy trains could land me an interview. WIN. When being yourself gets you in the door, you have to love the industry. 

Drink Not a lot and not on a regular basis, but perhaps when you sit down to write your cover email, it would be a good time to have a glass of wine, loosen up and get funny. (Not drunk, just funny and creative).

Maria mentioned that we should be working to create 'ownable moments.' The phrase lasted only a second and I think she was interrupted by another question after she said it. I wrote it down. That is exactly what we are trying to do; make work that we want to own up to, that we want people to associate with us. We want to create a generosity moment that we can be remembered by and a creative moment that will make us sought after. Every moment should be ownable. (This could either be thought of as an inspirational moment or a branding moment for Oprah's new network, OWN. It is the former, but it feels like I am writing one of her TV spots.)

Follow her: @mscileppi

She's interesting and friendly and wears bright pink well.