Pole Dancing

Yesterday, I had a very enjoyable meeting with a headhunter, whom I shall not name in order to protect his identity!

We were discussing my interest in a real estate career, at which point he made a face, and instead of "Bah, humbug!", said, "Pole dancing!"

He's certainly not far off the mark: I've been researching this field for the past 3 months, and there are certainly quite a few revoltingly greasy specimens out there. (Surely you don't need me to provide examples.) Then again, there are some others I've met who come across as highly professional.

After I left his office, the headhunter's, that is, I thought a bit more about his pole dancing analogy and couldn't help but come to the realization that in many ways, the marketing agency business is not immune to that sub-species of slathering sycophant. You know what I'm talking about: we've all seen it and likely been sickened by it. And if you protest the analogy, maybe it's the sting of truth hitting home? Fiction, in film and in print, have dramatized this particular creature.

After all, us marketing agency account types are nothing more than sales people. Those who are not in the business or who aren't very successful in it, don't know this, of course. But the truth is, we're not too many f-bombs from Ricky Roma and the gang at Rio Rancho Realty. You're selling ideas, and once those are bought, you're selling the products engendered by those ideas. Sometimes, it feels as if you're selling your soul, or at least your dignity.

I'm not saying that you have to be Ricky Roma to be a successful marketing agency account guy (I'm using "guy" as a synonym for "man" here). I'm just saying it's a sales job; and like any sales job, you can bring a high level of discipline and professionalism to it. Or not.

As for me, the natural born geek, it's simply easier for me to be disciplined and professional. I will never be the proverbial Cool Account Guy who charms her way through the day. That's a persona I have to work hard at; and I do work at it because I think it's important to be charming, at least a little. It's a bummer as it is that we have to work; why shouldn't I do my part to make life a more pleasant journey to be on? However, at the end of the day, behind my mask, I'm still the geek who wants to make sure the i's are dotted, the t's are crossed, and the lights are switched off as I leave the office for the day.