Having been able to work in both offices of The Furnace, their main headquarters in Sydney and their smaller office in Melbourne, I was able to receive two very different perceptions of agency life. The bigger office in Sydney is a great creative shop that prides itself on innovative thinking and smart solutions to briefs and was not a let down. I joined the creative department as an interning art director. It wasn't long before I was taken along photoshoots, talent/client meetings, given mini-briefs to test my thinking and then placed with teams to work on active briefs. Though I joined the agency at a slow time of the year, the creative department kept me busy and always learning something new. By the end of my time in Sydney, I was working on major briefs with various teams of creatives. I very recently began the second part of my internship, which takes place at the Melbourne office. Wasting no time, the agency put me to work on briefs and has welcomed me with open arms.
The experience I've gained in such a short time has been immensely helpful and I feel that I'm much more confident about starting real industry work as a junior art director than I was while at university. The connections I've made will be of great value to me as well, having trained under some very talented people who have been in the business for quite some time.
Though there were some slow times where not much work was coming my way, my overall feeling about this internship is that it has been immensely helpful and a great experience.
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The best way to land this is to build up your resume and portfolio to a high standard, have the best work you can do ready to send via email or have your own website, and use your network connections to get in contact with the agency. Just sending an email to an address found on the agency's website probably won't get you far, but a contact will help give you credibility. Also, don't be a jerk. The Furnace doesn't hire assholes.
The work environment was very open. There were no cubicles, no doors, everyone was accessible to everyone else and all was equal. The CEO of the agency had the same desk and chair that I did. Though the atmosphere was pretty laid back, the entire agency was always on the move, getting things done. It was also very playful, in the way that people interacted and went about their jobs. It also helped to have a ping-pong table to relieve the stresses of the day.
My coworkers were great and very helpful. They were available most of the time and didn't seem to mind my asking some of the most inane questions. At first, it took the agency time to get used to me and to figure out how I fit into the agency workflow, but once that initial period of awkwardness passed, everyone was very friendly and cooperative. My superiors were busy almost all of the time, but would make sure to check in on me to see if I was working on anything and if I had any questions. Though the creative director was blunt, he was very supportive and constructive in his criticisms whenever I presented ideas to him. If an idea I liked didn't work, he was willing to talk it over until I understood why.
The interview was pretty low-key. It took place on the phone, as I was in Austin, Tx at the time of the interview and the agency contact was in Australia. The questions ranged from what I had done at school, why I wanted to come to Australia, how did I find out about the agency, what exactly was I looking for in an internship, how long I planned to stay, would I work unpaid, to questions about ad campaigns that I liked, my favorite food, and whether or not I could play cricket.
No. What with me being an international student and requiring yet another visa to remain in the country, as well as their recent new hires in the creative department, it'd be quite difficult to get a job at the agency. They did offer to help me get in contact with agencies in America that they are affiliated or connected with.
Spring 0
for Credit
Sydney and Melbourne Australia, TX
Reviewed on 03/26/2008