CareerCast is a company whose services we have not used and may never use, given that we work in media and nobody in this industry ever really does the traditional job listing thing unless they have to because of laws.
We are going to post on their dumb marketing listicle thing anyway, because today is weird and this post will maybe give our readers a chance to share their thoughts on account executives and human resources managers, or the number one and two most important positions in any creative ad agency.
The CareerCast post itself is kind of amusing if only for gems like this: “The idea of schmoozing clients over bourbons and steaks seems exciting, but [Marilyn] Paige – who worked in the advertising industry’s mecca of New York – said this romanticized idea of the industry has past.”
So what does “overrated” even mean in this case? It’s a job you may think you want, but perhaps you should maybe reconsider due to “the stress, competition, industry volatility and high job turnover associated with these jobs.”
Basically, Paige thinks that working in accounts is harder and less rewarding now than it was in the past: “The internet has made things easier, but it has not made them simpler. It’s easier to reach 3,000 people with an email list, with a social media campaign. The research, strategy and technical know-how has changed quite a bit. You have to keep up on the tactical know-how, and it never stops changing.”
This sounds very familiar to us, but we’re still not quite sure why account manager would be so severely overrated, given the numbers associated:
OK, so you have to put up with crap from clients to earn that fairly generous salary. How is this new?!
Now get ready to take this whole exercise even less seriously:
So why is HR manager on this list of “underrated” jobs along with dietitian and, of course, programmer? Probably because they are both overpaid and necessary. And based on a few select posts we’ve written over the past 9 months or so, we’d say the relatively small but influential world of agency HR could possibly use a quick review or a swift kick in the ass.
We also liked the top stock image, complete with this killer copy: “Half length portrait of young confident man manager standing with crossed arms in hall of his corporation, prosperous male leadership dressed in elegant luxury clothes relaxing after business meeting”
Prosperous male leadership indeed. We will call him Account Bro.