You can be an introvert in advertising, I promise

Or, how to show up energetically online

When I started my writing career, I imagined myself living in a small cabin by a moonlit lakeshore, scribbling out Pulitzer-worthy novels by hand, surrounded with the sounds of nature and human silence — all in all, an introvert’s dream. This was before I realized writing prize-winning work was actually pretty hard, and that the sounds of nature, toads especially, were actually pretty horrible.

Even then, I didn’t imagine myself becoming a copywriter, or working in a high-energy, highly-collaborative world where I’m constantly convincing people my idea is The One. For someone who relishes the company of me, myself, and I, how did I end up in this network-driven field?

The answer is, inevitably, the work. Advertising is fun. It’s weird and challenging and makes you tilt your head to the side and say “huh” while looking at it. It’s chock-full of creativity, bursting at the seams with possibilities, and comes with pretty good health insurance.

As a newcomer to the field, I’ve come up with a few low-lift strategies that help me show up energetically, compassionately, and authentically, all without depleting my social batteries. And while most of these are applicable to working remotely and working in-house, hopefully there’s something in here that can help any introvert out, wherever they may be.

Shine bright in small bursts

Working from home comes with its pros and cons. On one hand, I don’t have to be on all the time in a remote-first world. On the other, it’s easy to fade into oblivion when you exist mostly within the confines of a grainy Zoom screen.

To solve for the cons, I leverage the pros. I take advantage of the times I’m on screen to make my mark. After all, being social is about energy conservation. Think of the main character in a horror movie, fumbling through a deep, dark cave with only their phone to light the way — I know for sure that battery won’t last, and need to be strategic about when to power on. And when I do, I can shine very bright for short amounts of time, without flickering out at just the wrong moment.

I reserve most of this energy for presentations. While coming up with the work is important, convincing people of the work is where the true challenge lies. So I treat presentations like a stage, where I can champion my ideas with the sort of passion I usually reserve for defending Gilmore Girls, and then, once the camera cuts out, I can take a deep breath and plug in to pure, sweet silence — time to recharge.

Approach conversations with curiosity

Curiosity isn’t always the best trait to have, like when you decide to research how gummy bears are made, or when you walk off the well-lit path to see what made that weird noise in the woods.

But curiosity is really handy for other things, like talking to people. As an introvert, initiating conversation can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. When that happens, I like to use curiosity to change my perspective and approach the situation with a sense of adventure, rather than obligation.

What does this look like? Basically, having an open mind. Both towards the project itself and my coworkers. Asking lots of questions and listening for answers. What are their ideas? How do they see this coming to life? What are unique possibilities we can unearth together? When it starts to feel more like a treasure hunt and less like a task, the pressure falls away and really cool work takes its place.

Nine times out of ten, my coworkers will think of something I never could have. Nine times out of ten, I’ll think of something they never could have. And when we meld them together like a perfect little Frankenidea, we’ll have something special on our hands, something none of us could have made on our own. That’s the power of collaboration, of curiosity, and the beauty of this work. It might be challenging, but it’s worth it.

Don’t underestimate an emoji

In a world where we’re communicating mostly through messages and comments, there are way too many opportunities for misunderstandings. Tone is such a fleeting, elusive thing — was that sarcasm, was that a passive-aggressive request, was that meant to sound like you think Gilmore Girls is just trash TV with unfunny dialogue? We can only hope not.

To keep the vibes positive, I try to shake off the shackles of corporate lingo where I can. An easy way to do that? Emojis. The cutest emojis I can find. I throw them shamelessly into any sentence anywhere, and suddenly it’s much harder to read comments as insulting or insensitive. If my comment has a dancing rainbow cat at the end, we know this is not serious stuff.

Maybe emojis aren’t you, though. Fair enough. Not everyone is a dancing rainbow cat. But there’s something unique about you, something playful, something honest, that you can bring to the table. Those little sprinkles of genuine expression allow others to also be genuine, which in turn cultivates a space of ease and belonging.

My motto is: A little whimsy goes a long way. And it hasn’t let me down yet.

Become a prepper

Not an end-of-the-world prepper, but a weekly workload prepper.

We talked above about prioritizing our energy. And the best way to prioritize is to plan ahead. This might seem obvious to people who are innate planners, but I am not a planner, and I wince at even the thought of thinking ahead. But some things are just smart and this is one of them. So grab your favorite calendar — whether that’s your digital go-to or a printed one with cute cat photos — and get ready to organize.

Every week, take a good long look at your calendar. Got back to back to back meetings one day? Block off time the next day to recover. Going to present your heart out in front of stakeholders? Focus there, and don’t be too worried about bringing the razzle-dazzle into more casual settings. Plan for your work, for your meetings, for your moments of silence — and, when all the work is done, for a nap.

Sometimes meetings will sneak up on you, like an unplanned bill. And in that case, like an unplanned bill, you’ll need to suck it up and do your best anyway. It’s not very fun, but nothing is fun 100% of the time, except maybe popping bubble wrap. As long as impromptu meetings aren’t the norm, you can weather them bravely and find your footing again in no time.

Know your limits

There are some things you can and should do, and some things you can and shouldn’t do. For example, I can and should enjoy an ice cream sandwich in the summer, but can and shouldn’t enjoy an entire box of ice cream sandwiches at one time.

Knowing yourself, your limits, and whether you’re willing to push those limits, are important parts of finding a job that suits you. This will look different for everyone, but for me it looked like taking an in-house job rather than an agency job.

While I was in advertising school, agency life was the default in conversations, in planning, in internships opportunities. But I found myself leaning away from the always-on environment described by teachers and mentors, and leaning towards a more balanced workplace. One where you work very hard, but within the confines of normal business hours. Of course, not all agencies are unbalanced — and I know introverts that are thriving in them right now — but I had to be honest with myself about what kind of environment would best help me grow. And, you know, not leave me crying in a bathroom stall after hours.

So I chose the path of least resistance, which also happened to be the one less traveled. A middle ground that, for now, I’m happy to be standing on.

The people matter

This is the last and most important thing. Whether the work you do is terribly exciting or terribly boring, what makes or breaks the experience is the people you work with. And I’m lucky to work with some seriously talented, seriously kind people. You really can’t underestimate the power an authentic, supportive, and challenging environment has on your productivity. When it’s easy to be yourself, it’s easy to show up and make great work. When you’re not in a workplace where you feel valued, exhaustion creeps up quickly.

I’d encourage anyone to be ruthless in finding an environment that fits them. You’ll be spending a lot of time — and energy — wherever you end up, and you’ll want to make sure that 1) the relationships make it worthwhile and 2) the work makes it worthwhile. If you don’t have one, it can be hard to have the other.

Go forth and create

All of this to say, for those introverts out there with a creative spark in their eye and the social battery of an old iPhone model, don’t count advertising out just yet. It might feel unnatural at first, much like choosing crunchy peanut butter over creamy, but there are plenty of ways to be yourself without burning out or breaking down. You don’t have to live in a cabin and listen to toads all night long, if that’s not your thing.

Now, you might have to tweak your process a little, stretch outside of your comfort zone, and expend more social effort than usual, but if you’ve got creativity to share with the world, and an eye for great ideas, it’s a pretty rewarding place to be.

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