NORTHERN PLANNER

It’s my last day here. That means some proper work in the morning, pub at lunch and that’s pretty much it. I’ve a healthy dose of nerves at what’s waiting for me in Manchester, but change is good.Time to do new things, learn new stuff, find out how talentless I really am.

But it was a hard think about this. The people I met beforehand really mattered, I had to know that there was some cultural fit (sorry Marcus).

The place I’m leaving has been good to me, and I always felt I fit in. That’s rare and precious in this business. They allowed me to grow up and develop as planner in my own way, and even put up with my occasional fiesty outburst.

So when I was talking to someone who’s involved in the task of finding someone else to do my job here, it was no surprise to find that getting the right person is proving hard. Of course there is a pre-requisite of skills – but it shouldn’t be too hard to get someone as average as I – the real task is finding someone with the right attitude. Some people are right for places and some people aren’t. What I like about here is that they want people to be as diverse as possible.

It means being prepared to say what you think, and respect that others have a right to their view too. It means valuing the doers as much as the thinkers, and relishing being around people who are different to you. It also means not caring about being cool (lucky for me that).

It’s really important to find the right agency for you. Quality of work and clients is important of course, but in the end it’s the culture, the people around you that matter.

A well respected planner once told me that he wasted the first ten years of his career in the wrong places, doing the wrong job. I don’t quite agree, since my view is that all experience is good, but I know what he means. I didn’t get to focus on what I’m really good until I was 30 years old.

Yes, In the course of your career you’ll zig and zag through a number of places. You’ll change to move forward, to learn more or work on what you think is more interesting stuff. You may get fired once or twice. You’ll be lucky not to be made redundant.

But don’t forget that it’s as much them as it is you. You’ll find yourself moving around to find a place that you love working at. A culture that feels like home. If you get that in your first job, you’ll be very lucky. If you get that in your third, that’s pretty great too.

Never join a place just because you think it’s achingly cool, or they’re doing the best work in town. Find out what the place is like to work at, make sure you like your new boss (I do, she left me buzzing and fizzing, so did the others). You’ll be spending a lot of time with these people, make sure you like them. And don’t pretend you’re something you’re not.

So God bless the internet and blogging, where you can get a far better sense of what people and places might be light than you could ten years ago. And they can get a better view of you too. Bloggers can’t hide what they’re like.