In this guest post, RMIT advertising student Perri Kapnias (main photo) lays out some innovative plans that can help likeminded ad aspirants land the first killer job…
My name is Perri Kapnias, and I am a 20-something advertising student. Like almost everyone else on the planet, I scroll through social media every day. I am flooded with my peers’ and even peripheral acquaintances’ shiny, happy updates: their coveted jobs, their “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” start-ups, motivational and possibly hyperbolic LinkedIn fables. Not to mention – most of the apps these announcements were shared on were created by people my age (or even younger). Whilst this isn’t exactly a red-hot take, it’s apparent that this kind of voyeurism is distorting my perspective of success and leading Instagram therapists to target me with “Impostor Syndrome” themed posts. Whilst it seems counter-intuitive, I have realised the most productive way to combat this is to give back and share my knowledge, despite still being a semester away from graduating.
It’s time for us students to pay it forward – before we even step foot in an agency. My colleagues Alana Wood, Ben Caruso, Christine Nguyen, Bella Polazzon and I have taken it upon ourselves to connect students with locally and internationally renowned industry professionals: a rather challenging task during a pandemic. COVID’s obliterating effect on all our social skills has left us with an important reminder: keep it casual and fun. Oh, and it’s 70s themed, to pay homage to the early days of university level advertising education in Australia.
Introducing Hungry Talks: an RMIT student-run, online seminar series created to induct our fellow young creatives into the rapidly developing world of advertising. The guests we have been fortunate enough to feature on to the show include a range of creatives, suits, and other inspiring figures in surrounding spheres – be it advertising legislation or illustration. Sally Brownbill (creative consultant), Dan Collado (client partner at AKQA), Megan McEwin (director of policy), and Tom Curtis (creative lead at MediaCom UK) are just some of the guests serving up knowledge for hungry minds. They will share their insider expertise to help young creatives navigate their journey into the advertising industry, and to consider its shifting relationships to ethics, culture, technology, networking, the mid-pandemic work landscape, and personal growth.
For the guests, Hungry Talks will function as a pool to source new talent, and learn from us who exist simultaneously as consumers, creators, and students, with our fingers on the pulse of culture. Such topics we’ve chosen to cover, with our question-and-answer format, include working in duos, accounts, client side, unconventional avenues, social media, and an advertising bulletin (with news sourced by B&T). Think of it as a love child of The Gruen Transfer and The Front Bar – with a kitschy set to boot.
“We know that the best way to learn is by teaching others, and we wanted to go further with it than just passing on the skills we have learnt in the course,” says Alana Wood, Creative Director of Hungry Talks. “Everyone is starting from a different place, there are no silly questions. Our cohort consists of people with all different skill sets – design, psychology, production, script writers, so we decided to round it all up and encourage people to push themselves and find their niche – be it in the ad industry or elsewhere.”
At the end of every episode, the students will receive a specially crafted brief from the guest which will be assessed by their tutor. So whether you feel you’ve made it, or you’ve still got lots to learn, join us in sharing inspiration for curious minds.
Hungry Talks will premiere at 5:30PM on Wednesday 4th August, via the link provided on Hungry Talks’ Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
