So you all wanna know what my job is right?
Today I tell you.
(this is a long post so go grab a coffee wtf. I’m squeezing four years of what I’ve been wanting to say about work into one post hahaha.)
For four years, I’ve refused to talk about my job for a couple of reasons:
1) we’re made to sign a social media non disclosure agreement lolol. Actually I’m not sure if we actually signed anything la wtf but we’ve been warned repeatedly to not talk about (this includes complaining) about work on social media. I think they specially meant disclosing client information or anything that could be sensitive/confidential la. But I made the decision on my own to just not talk about anything specific that happens at work which could identify what company I’m working at
2) I worry about conflict of interest – I also get income from blogging so it’s also a job
3) I like keeping my work life and blogging personality separate. Although this doesn’t happen all the time FML. I don’t like being judged on being a blogger by a client because let’s face it – public perception of bloggers in Malaysia isn’t very nice – freeloaders, vain, attention-seeking, etc. Clients might not take me seriously.
Ok so… *drumroll
I work in advertising.
I think some people already guessed based on the pictures I’ve posted at work which have me wearing extremely casual clothing. I don’t dress like this all the time ok! If I have a meeting I’ll put on some heels wtf.
How it all began
I majored in Asian Studies which isn’t really a viable option if you work and live in Asia and are Asian wtf. So during two of my summers at college, Fat Her (probably dying to get me out of the house) suggested I try for internships in advertising agencies, which he thought I might like. I ended up doing two. One in a media agency called Zenith, another in a creative agency called Dentsu. Dentsu (a Japanese ad agency) was right after I got back from Japan so I thought it was quite suitable wtf.
Then I headed back to the States for my senior year where I wrote and researched my honors thesis. I quite liked that too!
So when it was time for me to think of my career, I narrowed it down to two major options – advertising and research. Vastly different right!? I think I applied for an oil and gas company to do research some more wtf.
Anyway, I wrote cover letters and went for interviews and everything. I considered other jobs but in the end I took up my position with my agency because I liked the people who interviewed me and also they hired me on the spot. Years later my boss was saying some people have to interview a couple of times or wait a while before they get an offer, so I was quite smug about it and asked “wah so then why did you give me a job on the spot?” She said they were desperate WTF.
I started as a media planner. In advertising, it’s not all just about designing ads, but someone’s gotta figure out where to place these ads so to best reach the target audience. For example, if you’re selling cooking oil, you might want to consider putting your ads during say, HK dramas when the housewives are watching lolol. Basically identifying the right medium (TV, newspaper, internet, etc) and when to hit them (during which program, what page of the paper, what website etc)
So I was a digital media planner. Which means I planned ad campaigns for digital media, including the ads you see on Yahoo, MSN, Facebook.
This was when I experienced the most discrimination because of my size and appearance wtf. Okay maybe discrimination is a harsh word, but as a young inexperienced planner, I faced a lot of trouble getting people to take what I said seriously.
After a while I got sick of planning. It’s a lot of numbers and details and being organized (none of which I’m very good at). But because of my blog (and my addiction to the Internet) I knew one thing very well – social media.
That was when social media marketing really came in a big way so most marketing companies were starting social media divisions. My boss started it for our company and I was the first member lolol.
It was fun! Because I was so familiar with how people acted on social media (really, it’s no different than how they act in real life, just on social platforms) that it was easy for me to tell if an idea would work on social or not. In media planning I struggled to remember how many people read Star Online every day wtf but I knew exactly how many people were on Facebook in Malaysia, which blogger had the highest traffic, what their readers were like, and so on.
Because it was something that really interested me, I think I blossomed *big shiny eyes. Before I was hesitant, worrying that I’d answer wrongly if the client asked me something. But now I was confident that no other media planner or client knew as much as I did about social media, especially when it came to bloggers and other online influencers. Even if I wasn’t sure about something I knew I could bullshit and nobody would know.
KIDDING LA KIDDING OF COURSE I DIDN’T BLUFF ANYONE HAHAHA. But knowing that I could if I wanted to really gave me confidence and lent me authority.
So knowing your stuff and being confident is very important wtf.
It was exciting! We tried to outdo ourselves with new ideas for every new project and client. We submitted ad campaigns for awards and though I hated the process of crafting awards submissions, when we won it made everything worth it. And the people I worked with – I couldn’t have a better bunch of colleagues and bosses. I didn’t expect to stay as long as I did but I think a big part of the reason was the people I saw everyday at work. Most of us are young so everyone was friends and there were no office politics. None that I felt anyway wtf.
I learned so much from work ethics to organization skills to selling to presentation to managing people and clients. I learned so much about marketing and advertising. My company is the biggest in the industry so our clients were mostly huge multinational corporations which were a (good) challenge to work for, and a dream to learn from. I also got to hone my negotiation and convince-people-on-the-spot skills big time. They say that working in an ad agency will give you the steepest learning curve because you have to pick up the most things in the shortest amount of time. I’ve never worked in other industries but I feel like it’s true!
But they also say that working in advertising, especially in ad agencies is crazy. The hours got to me. I started to resent having very little work-life balance and free time. On weekends I worried about what else I had to do. And the pace of work kills. We’ve had people from other industries join us for a change and most of them leave after a while because they’re not used to the pace we work.
And I grew older. Crazy working hours are fine when you’re young but was this the life I wanted in ten years? I started falling sick more frequently. My astigmatism and myopia shot up and I developed pains in my shoulder and arms from always working at the computer.
And maybe I had a quarter life crisis wtf. I started wondering, was this all there was to life? I love what I do but I also want to explore so many other things but I never had the time to because I was juggling work and blogging. I want to do things when I’m young and not wait until my kids are grown! wtf.
Then wedding planning hit. And I had a meltdown wtf.
I really sat down and thought about it. For 1-2 months. And it was a very tough decision 🙁 But I was exhausted and burnt out… it stopped being fun.
So here I am today.
Right now I don’t know what I want to do yet after this. Actually I have some ideas wtf but nothing set. I just know I’m going to take a break, plan the wedding and survive on blogging for now. Then after the wedding only think about what to do next. But for sure not gonna be housewife ok!!! I don’t think I can do that.
I don’t regret the last four years though. In fact, I’m so so so glad I joined this industry and this company. This company made me awesome friends, taught me so much (seriously before this I used to be quite terrible at life, only know how to study, now become more street smart). gave me amazing mentors to learn from, and gave me invaluable skills which I will carry throughout the rest of my life and career. To you know who you are, thank you 🙂
Not gonna mention company name but some of you know already anyway. If you’re considering joining, DO IT. Especially the digital team cos it’s even more awesome hahahaha. *stops laughing and bawls* What have I done wtf.
Some pictures from my last day!
The place I had to clean up 🙁
Yea Guinness was one of my clients.
Robb tweeted this picture of my workstation with the caption: ‘I feel less guilty for having a messy table when@fourfeetnine‘s table looks like this’
Asshole lolol.
Under the table -____- The social media team (which was us) had a tendency incredibly messy (and careless and disorganized) We all sat together and this is the view under our table wtf. *shifty eyed
Really lo they’re all very smart and creative. But super careless. When training my team members, it got so that I forced them to pay money every time they made careless mistakes or typos. We even had a collection cup *reminisces
Four years packed up.
Me giving a speech at my farewell lunch -____-
Farewell present <3 They know me so well *sobs
With Izzah, the person who donated the most money wtf. Actually no, that was Bobo. Yes Bobo was my colleague hahaha which is how we got close.
And Naddy who cried when I told her I was leaving T_____T Totally different reaction from Izzah who called me a bitch WTF. But lovingly of course lolol.
With Mookie wtf.
Here I was actually tearing from reading the card they got for me T______T They predicted I’d cry reading it and they were right wtf.
It’s been an amazing four year journey!!!
But hello new era of life! And hello temporary joblessness!!! Quite scary also :X
P/S: every time I see the word ‘jobless’ I think of my friend Masato whom I once asked who are the men who act in porn, specifically Japanese porn wtf since he’s Japanese. He said ‘jobless men’ LOLOL make them sound very loser-ish. But loser-ish also get to have sex with pretty Japanese girls very #winning to be jobless like that!
Okbai.
Comments (37)
be a full time blogger at the mean time 🙂 you’ll have a better work-life balance in future, no worries! support audrey always
all the best for your new season aud! hope you’ll enjoy the break and wedding planning 😀 and i’m naturally curious as to what your next career move is. perhaps we’ll only know about it after you say goodbye to that job wtf.
It sounds like you had a great time at your job. It’s not easy to find a job that you love. I am still searching for mine and some even told me to give up on that 🙁 But your post inspired me to keep believing that it is out there and we will be able to find it!
I’ve just decided to quit my job recently as well. Last day on this Thursday. (Yay to jobless us! wtf) Then I am taking a sabbatical too. Too bad I don’t have a wedding to plan so I’m gonna travel around #foreveralone. Hopefully I will be able to find a job that I love and enjoy like you did when I am back *fingers crossed* 🙂
Anyway, good luck and all the best to you! and congratulations on the wedding! 😀
WELCOME!
JOBLESS FTW!
Babies soon anyway right? LOL
now you’ll have time to change your blog layout cough cough cough
Hope you have an interesting new path of life 😀
is it BBDO / PROXIMITY???
slightly excited when got to know you are going to be full blogger for a period.
whooray~~ more frequent blog update!
would definitely support, increase your blog traffic.
Have fun being full time in preparing your wedding. =D
Wow! That’s a step! Hope, no, I’m sure your new life will be even better! no metter what!
I would never believe myself if smd told high-school-me that I’ll be a housewife but I came to dream of being one eager to be and eventually became 🙂 I left my office job and was free for about 6 months or so and then started smth totally new, became a groop fitness instructor. I was always very much into sports, it was my all time passion and that housewife period and my husbands support of course let me try to make my dream come true! 🙂
A new chapter of life! Happy planning wedding and you deserve a really good break!
great. i just started intern at dentsu 🙁
Ahem, so where is all my money now? Hahahhahaha
I usually don’t comment on blogs, but this post really resonated with me. I’ve been feeling like I need a change in my career but haven’t had the courage to make the leap. This post has really inspired me, to have more confidence and take that risk. It is such a difficult choice to make the leap from comfort into the unknown even if you know it is for the best.
All the best in this next chapter of your life:)
*touched* i’m sure theres lot of company want to hire you because of your experiences in ad world 😀 Good luck Aud! 😀
Love reading about this. You are wonderful~
Yes, advertising firm is crazy. I know what u mean, i understand why u stopped. Have fun with a new lyffee, audrey:)
you’re like the only lifestyle blogger i know/read that has (i guess had is more apt now lol) a day job and for that reason alone, i had so much more respect for you. not because i think “full-time bloggers” are a waste of space (please don’t quote me on that) but because the way you juggle both lives is so impressive to me. not the least bit surprised you were in advertising. the lifestyle totally suits you and i wish you still had a day job (conventional or otherwise) but at least now you’re happy(ier) and at the end of it all, that’s really the only thing that matters.
you still have my respect, fourfeet! you’re really awesome! so funny and so humble. can’t wait to see your new/improved site and the pics of your wedding! :O
Good luck, Audrey!! It’s time to take a rest and think of what to do later. Sleep more, eat more, shop more. Hehehe :p .. I understand your tiredness on advertising cos I used to work in agencies as well. Phew~
Hello,
I’m from the other part of advertising of yours which is media owner :). Working in advertising is fun but also super duper stressful.
How come I never see you when I’m at the agency eh haha
haha. i’m guessing u’re from one of groupm’s agencies? since it is the largest in the world.
blog more this period of time pls 🙂 heehee~
Hola Audrey!
I’ve been reading you for a while and I loveee your blog. The way you tell stories and share with us your life. For me it’s just amazing get to know another side of the world (I’m from Colombia) thanks to you, and other bloggers I met trough you too. We may not know you, but sure we know a side of Audrey and that side is one I would love to know some day. You inspired me to go out and live. The experiences in your blog always make me think about my life, my husband, my future. in a way, I’m more confident in myself thanks to you; I learn one can embrace the inner child and like pink and Hello Kitty, and still be super profesional and responsible in life. I hope you have a happy marriage, that your husband loves you every day no matter what and you 2 have beautiful kid(s). Thank you from the bottom of my heart for blogging and sharing your life. It may seem a little extreme this reaction, but I’m happy for you and this new life your about to start. I can’t wait I’m able to do something like that.
Ps. Like one of the comments said, now you’ll have time to change your blog layout haha
Take Care Audrey! and keep writting.
Cata
gosh! its interesting today happens to be the last day of work after 4 years for me too! i love my job too, and it was a really wierd feeling having to pack up the last few little things and say goodbye to my colleagues just now. though i’ll miss every part of the journey at work, i feel its the right time to leave and I’ve to follow this instinct! coincidentally i’m getting married end of e year too! enjoy your break n happy wedding planning! 😀
i’m on Summer break and jobless too! previously took up a sales promoter job but quit after 1 day coz i really can’t stand the competitive environment and long hours /loser. hope everything works well with ya!
change is not bad, for the 4 years you’ve been working, and blogging at the same time, you’ve learned a lot and experienced a lot – may it be good or the not so good. now that you will be entering a new stage in your life, which is marriage, surely you will have another adventure in life. wish you the best aud. enjoy your break and the wedding planning. 🙂
It’s great that you’re happier and good luck to you on your next endeavor! And I really enjoyed reading this post 🙂
I didn’t even know you were working there so I don’t know why I’m so sad you are leaving *emotional for no reason wtf … must be that time of the month lol
Hurray for having a messier table than me. 😀
i went and make cofi… then read this.. ^_^ take a break, Audrey. will be good for u.
Good luck Audrey. You will have great life ahead of you. Can’t wait to see your wedding dress. Best nyeeeeeeeee….
I missed something. Why did you leave?
fish: thanks!
windy: hahahaha ya maybe wtf :X i have some plans but when confirmed only will announce
wen: hello jobless woman! all the best to you too 🙂
kimcun: hahahaha you’re housewife extraordinaire cannot live up to you!
shaolintiger: no we wait for you first LOL
ash: yes!!! yesterday i contacted designer already!!!!
debbz: thanks!
justcuriuos: lol no. is bbdo the biggest in the industry!? no wor :X
lynn: hahaha imma update after this!
olga: that sounds awesome! happy for you!
jess: thanks jess!
alice: why you sad?
bobo: asked nadia and izzah to divide it between them hahahaha
amy: it is scary! but no better time to do it when we’re young and can take risks right 🙂
dylla: thank you!
pam: thank you T_T
feliciacheong: oooh were you in advertising too?
sgrmse: hahaha i love your comment! no i will not be unemployed for too long cos i think i’d be really bored at home. but thank you for your comment! i’ll announce what i plan to do next when im ready 😀
amelia: hahaha yea agencies. thanks!
fiona: hahaha means you’re not selling digital media!
starry: yes hahahaha. mindshare actually
joko: i will!
catalina: hello to colombia! thank you for your comment it means a lot to me 🙂 stay in touch!
crystal: congrats to you too and happy being jobless!
cc: hahaha enjoy your summer break once you start work you won’t have it anymore
teresa: thanks teresa 🙂 your comment super sweet!
alice-jane: thank you!
morgan: hahahaha why you so funny
robb: hate u hahaha
jan: hahaha that long ah my entry
cd: thank you!
midnight: pls re-read the post. lolol
Audrey! I didn’t know it was your last day! I would have say byebye to you at least =(
hi aud! big fan of your blog and you and cheesie are totally both my fashion inspirations really. i think is good like u knw wad you want in life… n yes it was an awesome 4yrs for sure but then life has to go on and you are moving onwards to a different path in life. so happy for you omg. 😀 im sure you and tim will be a crazy awesome couple. DA BEST! anyways im also considering leaving my job coz its… just time. i met awesome colleagues there who are now all my great friends so i totally know wad you mean. although i didnt learn as much as i would like due to the nature of the job… i’m still very happy with everything. so here’s to wishing you the best and may you continue to prosper in everything that you do. coz you’re juz THAT awesome 😀
Kepo qn* what happens to the money in the collection cup? Makan session?
Wish I could make the leap at the beat of a heart. Yet, commitments are dragging. Damn u debts!!