Hello, my name is Hadrien and in this podcast I tell you about my career path after my years at EM Normandie and the difficulties I faced during the Covid-19 period to find a first job. This pandemic allowed me to understand that it is up to us to create opportunities. Today I work at La Fourmi, an advertising agency specialised in the sports industry and I support Puma Football.
Entering the job market in the middle of Covid
It's a very new situation and you have to know how to adapt to it. The most important thing is not to sit around doing nothing and try to find an internship or a job as much as possible.
After my work-study programme, I asked myself whether I should absolutely find a permanent position, even if it meant being in a job that did not suit me, or whether I should find another alternative. For a few months, I looked for a job without really finding what I wanted. I finally decided to do an internship in an advertising agency, a sector that interested me a lot. This choice has been beneficial in my career and especially for the position I currently hold.
During this complicated period of the pandemic, I had to learn resilience and patience. I realise that this has helped me and 'educated' me, because you never know what professional situation you might end up in. Nothing can be taken for granted and you have to give yourself the means to succeed by creating your own opportunities.
From internship to first permanent contract
I was delighted to arrive at The Source, but I had to work on issues related to Covid, such as communication campaigns for the WHO. After a period of confinement, it was quite special! But I worked with a great team and took a lot of positives from the experience. I also worked with other clients and covered other topics.
I didn't know if my internship would lead to a contract, so I decided to go ahead and look for a job. I got the opportunity of a job at La Fourmi where I am currently working. These two agencies are very similar in terms of missions but quite different in their organisation. In the first, everyone manages their projects from A to Z in project mode. The other agency is more structured, with a creative team, sales people, etc. The tasks are more divided. If I was able to join La Fourmi today, it's mainly because of my experience at The Source.
Working for an international brand
On a day-to-day basis, my work consists of assisting the Puma Football brand with the design of campaigns, from their conception to their execution. To shoot with the football players, I travel a lot to the cities where the players' clubs are located. I love this aspect of my job!
For example, last week I was in Munich for a shoot with Kingsley Coman. It's a crazy experience because you get to be with your idols! But you have to keep a professional attitude and a certain distance, because as an agency, we provide a service to our client.
As for the post-production part, we edit the video content. We accompany our clients through the entire production process. In this way, Puma can then roll out all its campaigns in local markets. The campaigns we develop at La Fourmi are shown worldwide. It's very interesting because you see how they are used in different countries.
Team life in an advertising agency
In advertising, everyone has their own way of thinking and working. The challenge is to be able to understand how everyone else works. If we start off on a very sound basis with each other, things go well because communication is good.
In each of the trades, you have to know how to 'stay in your place' so that things go well. It's a real challenge to create an osmosis between all the departments.
The human aspect is essential because you have to work every day with people who think differently. It's very rewarding, because sometimes I go in the wrong direction and other people make me aware of this. I'm happy to be able to work with a wide variety of people.
Living your job intensely
La Fourmi has 60 people, of which about 15 work for Puma. There are four of us in the sales team. In the end, many people work on the same projects.
It's quite impressive how well we can get together. When we arrive on the day of the shoot, we have a document that lists everything we're going to shoot. This way, we make sure that the result of the shoot will be satisfactory for all of us, as we will have established a common list.
It's always impressive for me to work with football players. They are idols for me, like the stars you see on TV. I realise that they are also very simple and often very cooperative people. When they come out of training, they are very tired but they make the effort to be there, not only because they have a contract with the brands, but for the human aspect because a whole team is mobilised for the shoot. They force themselves to be exemplary.
