6 Ways To Convince Your Parents To Allow You To Work In Advertising – Especially If You Are A Woman!
Congratulations! You’ve made the all-important choice of getting on the advertising adventure boat. But you know, the struggle may not be over. In fact, it’s just started. You may have to deal with the toughest pair of customers you’ll ever face, especially if you’re a woman. Your parents!
Think of this as your rite of passage. What will work? A subtle suggestion? A well-thought-out campaign? Or will you need a blitzkrieg of information? Think well and make your choice.
First, identify their concern(s). What are they worried about? Your safety? Your keeping late hours? Too much ‘glamour’?
Here are a few tips that could help:
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Exaggerate: Elaborate on the virtues of advertising. Accentuate the fact that the numerous brands populating the market make advertising a necessity, thus ensuring that you’ll always have a job. Getting a good job these days is tough – you’ve read all about the layoffs in the IT sector, right?
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Make It Interactive: Customers are more likely to buy your product if they have an interactive, inclusive experience. If you ignore the buzzwords and the jargon in the previous sentence, you’ll realize that it simply means, keep your parents in the discussion loop – let them know how long commuting to work will take, what the transport options are, how late you may have to work (on an average)… Check your company’s policies related to female employees and make sure you communicate these clearly to your parents.
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Play On Emotions: Make an emotional plea about how advertising has always been your dream. Wax eloquent about how it is the only thing that will make you happy and that they, your parents, have it in their hands to let you experience it. Convince them that following your heart is the truest way to success because that’s where your passion is.
And yes, this is the true test of your creativity and advertising aptitude: If you can’t convince your parents – whom you know so well all your life – how are you going to convince the millions of consumers out there in the world?! -
Offer Proof: Show them your portfolio (you do have a creative portfolio, right?) and offer them proof that you are indeed capable of succeeding in this field. If you have job offers already in hand, these will go a long way in convincing your parents of your ability.
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Celebrity Power: Mention famous, well-respected names in advertising and tell them how you can actually be one of them, earning well and bringing glory to the family name.
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Use the Logic Hammer: In this case, your competition is other career possibilities. Use your judgment, and pick a few traditional careers that women usually get into (yes, that’s stereotyping, but right now, it’s a tactic you’re using). Show your parents how so many of these erstwhile popular and traditional careers have less remuneration today – it’s simple economics – there’s more supply than demand! It makes more sense therefore, to choose a field that’s actually getting more and more relevant as more brands want to make their presence felt in the market! This is irrefutable logic, isn’t it?
All the best! We hope these 6 ideas aid you in your quest! We would love to hear your own ‘convince the parents’ stories in the comments.
And we also hope your parents aren’t reading this Blog post 😉
