How to make advertising an attractive career option to graduates

May 11, 2022

Advertising agencies have an issue with class. As we reported back in March, the industry is over-reliant on recruiting middle-class talent from a select group of universities. One potential solution to ameliorate that problem is to recruit outside of the typical graduate pool. So, how can companies ensure that a career in the industry is as appealing as it can be?

How do you solve a problem like... making advertising an attractive career option to school-age students?

Lori Bring, vice-president, talent acquisition, RAPP

’Fiercely individual’ is a phrase we use a lot at Rapp, a motto that really resonates with young talent. Not only do we drive personalized advertising, but we hire young talent from all walks of life who add to our culture v simply fitting in to a certain mold. We can’t market to the world if we don’t represent the world. In addition to partnering with several HBCUs to get young, diverse students excited about advertising and the work we do here, we have also moved away from mandating a college degree.

Further, we initiated a new program called ’Emerging Leaders,’ where we train and mentor high school graduates who don’t have the luxury of attending college. They learn about the advertising industry and the work we do over the course of one year. Then, if they chose, they become a full-fledged RAPP employee. We can always do more, but are excited by making some real progress in attracting and retaining diverse talent.

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