I am staring at an email sent to the entire office on the morning of 8th Jan. The mail was about welcoming a new employee to the agency. He was joining at a Junior Account Executive position, which, in industry parlance means Lower than Doormat; a guy who could, on average, expect to - be mercilessly badgered by his boss, be belittled by any creative teams he worked with and face a complete disruption of his eating and sleeping schedules.
Of course, he need not expect this degrading experience at every agency he sends the resume to. The intensity of this treatment also differs between places. However, largely, starting out in a junior AE role is a thankless existence, something I feel all of Client Servicing is anyway.
I pulled up that particular email because I have just been told that he has quit. After a horror of a Monday, he didn't come into work yesterday and the rumour is that he was extremely stressed out, which caused his BP to plummet and him to faint. I am not surprised, either about him falling ill or him tendering his resignation. This agency has a pretty high turnover. Of employees, not revenue.
He was a nice guy. Earnest, eager to learn & please and anxious to not step on anyone's toes. He liked reading Manga. Given time, he could have become a success here. Who knows?
However, the 18 days that he worked here were probably the worst of his fledgling professional life. I can say with some confidence that it would require a jinx of enormous proportions for him to face this situation again. And yes, most agencies are structured to pressurise juniors - think of sugarcane being pressed for juice and you'll know what I mean. This place, in particular, certainly requires you to raise your game to stratospheric levels or strike it lucky and have a kind and understanding boss. Certainly, at his level, kindness and consideration would have helped.
But he was not a lucky guy.
So here's wishing him well.
Song for the moment: Whiplash - Metallica
Of course, he need not expect this degrading experience at every agency he sends the resume to. The intensity of this treatment also differs between places. However, largely, starting out in a junior AE role is a thankless existence, something I feel all of Client Servicing is anyway.
I pulled up that particular email because I have just been told that he has quit. After a horror of a Monday, he didn't come into work yesterday and the rumour is that he was extremely stressed out, which caused his BP to plummet and him to faint. I am not surprised, either about him falling ill or him tendering his resignation. This agency has a pretty high turnover. Of employees, not revenue.
He was a nice guy. Earnest, eager to learn & please and anxious to not step on anyone's toes. He liked reading Manga. Given time, he could have become a success here. Who knows?
However, the 18 days that he worked here were probably the worst of his fledgling professional life. I can say with some confidence that it would require a jinx of enormous proportions for him to face this situation again. And yes, most agencies are structured to pressurise juniors - think of sugarcane being pressed for juice and you'll know what I mean. This place, in particular, certainly requires you to raise your game to stratospheric levels or strike it lucky and have a kind and understanding boss. Certainly, at his level, kindness and consideration would have helped.
But he was not a lucky guy.
So here's wishing him well.
Song for the moment: Whiplash - Metallica
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