Chris Davies
Head Coach & Founder at Graduate CoachMy first job after leaving university was at J Walter Thompson, the world’s number one advertising agency at that time. I was a junior account handler. I failed six times before I landed this job. And I was lousy at it. Not because I wasn’t willing to learn, but because nobody taught me how to do it.
Looking back, I was lucky not to be fired. Not only did I have no idea what I was doing, I didn’t fit in and I wasn’t progressing. Then something happened. I drew inspiration from the reason I had applied to work at JWT in the first place.
I’d been impressed by a book I’d read called ‘What is a Brand?’, by Stephen King. I had discovered that Stephen was head of planning at JVVT. But the job I’d landed was in account handling, not account planning. So, I began to spend more time with the account planners. Immediately, I felt more at home. Like them, I could interpret figures and statistics.
This was something my peers in account handling didn’t seem able to do. Eventually, I was transferred onto the Persil business under a sympathetic account director who appreciated my talent as an account manager. Rather than a failure I now felt like a success. I was promoted several times in my new role. Over the course of time I hired over 5000 graduates and taught them how to pitch. Which is why l am telling this story.
Today, I really enjoy helping graduates kick-start their careers and find their dream jobs at companies and organisations that have included some of the top employers in the UK.
I do that by teaching them how to pitch to win the job, because winning at interviews is no different to winning a pitch. I also show them what I learnt all those years ago: it’s always possible to pluck victory from the jaws of seeming defeat.
I have pursued two other successful careers in advertising and marketing and magazine publishing before Graduate Coach, but this is by far the best job I’ve ever had.
