Internationals! Get into the ring!

Once I got my bachelor, it was time to know which way my life would follow. So scary! How can you ask someone who just turned 18 what job he would like to do for the rest of his life? I felt too young and not experienced enough to answer this question and I envied people who did know. As I thought communication was everywhere, I decided to study it. 

Four years later and after doing internships in many different communication fields (journalism, multimedia, internal communication…) it finally hit me and it was such a relief. Now I know. I want to be an advertising copywriter in an advertising agency. So I did an internship in an important advertising agency in France and it worked pretty well for me. Generating ideas for advertising campaigns, writing editorial and radio spots, finding name products and slogans, assisting graphic designers, that is what I was good at and more important what I was deeply passionate about.

Currently studying at NYIT and because I don’t want to go back to France, I am trying to find a job here in NYC. Unfortunately, there is a big problem I have to deal with if I want to purchase my dreams and I didn’t really think about it before coming to the USA. Even if I speak English fluently, I am not and will never be a native. Language is so important if you want to be an advertising copywriter and here is the point : even if I understand and speak English, I will never be as good as a native American can be. Ideas are internationals, they don’t belong to a nation or a specific place but language does.

As I really wanted to stay in the USA, I decided not to give up. I needed to know more about internationals students who have already tried to get into this field. So I created a Meetup account and joined the A.D agency group which commit to encouraging, teaching and equipping those working in advertising, commercial design, and public relations. The members are art directors, copywriters, designers, animators and photographers. Chatting with them and asking for advices, I finally realized my situation was not doomed. Some of them did it so why couldn’t I? 

If you are an international student, you have to fight twice more than a native but this is the price I am willing to pay to reach my dreams.

Alexia Barat