Unemployment

Every day when I walk from the trainstation to the agency I walk past the jobcentre, the place where unemployed people have to apply for welfare. It won't be a surprise that lately there are more people than usual standing in front of the door, sitting on the pavement. With a depressed look on their face, probably still thinking of the moment when their boss told them they were made redundant. The people sitting at the jobcentre outnumber the prostitutes in the same street and that says a lot.

These are hard times and anybody who feels confident enough to think he/she can get an advertising job in no time, should be more realistic than that. Even really good, award winning creatives are on the street right now and soon they will apply for a job at agencies that are below their standards because the really creative agencies are not hiring. Some creatives become postmen, work in a supermarket or become freelancers (which, in 90% of the cases, means they just can't find work).

My teampartner Hannah did an internship at Ogilvy in Paris. She told me that there was a guy who waited in front of the agency with his portfolio every day - for 2 months! Just to get a job. And when Hannah left he was still there. If that's what people are willing to do to get a job in a creative agency, it makes one wonder what you have to do to get a creative job nowadays. One thing is for sure: no matter how good you are, just sending an e-mail or a USB-stick with your work isn't going to do the trick. Anyway, tough times like these make me realize that still having a job is a privilege.