APPLICATION ADVICE FROM A QMAC REJECT
Application Advice from a QMAC Reject
Now I’ve been rejected many times in the past 20 years – academically, career wise, and low and behold even from QMAC in my first year.
From being rejected into 2017, accepted in 2018 and then reviewing applications as an exec in 2019, I’ve managed to rationalize, quite easily, why I was not accepted back in first year. Luckily for those reading, I will now break down what I learned from being rejected from QMAC way way way back.
General advice:
Don’t wait too long to start… to say that I procrastinated this application was an understatement. The night before I scrambled to put together a creative piece and answer all the questions, mainly because I had to talk myself into applying for the entire week. After reviewing dozens of applications last year, it is very clear which ones are completed at the last minute. Even if you are an amazing candidate with great ideas, a race to finish the job sticks out like a sore thumb.
Take things seriously… now I love a good laugh, and I definitely did back in 2016 when I applied to QMAC. But treating this application as a joke is not necessarily the ideal strategy when trying to get facetime with some of the top marketing firms in Canada at the top undergraduate marketing conference in Canada. Respond to questions seriously, but also in an engaging manner, and if you do want to use humour use a dash rather than the whole bag.
Identify what separates you from others… reading last year’s applications, I have literally heard it all, over and over again. To stick out in a crowd, it is important to show what makes you unique, rather than being a “big team player”, “communicator” or “creative thinker”. Narrow in on the unique value you can bring to the conference, and write about that. This doesn’t necessarily have to be for you, but also how you can have an impact on sponsors or other delegates. Maybe you have knowledge of a totally unique industry, or can bring a cool skill set to the table, we want to see that!
Creative advice:
Although I chose to do a creative, this is only one of the options for the final question. Writing an article is equally weighted, and in these, we are looking for original thought and ability to analyze current trends, ideas, campaigns or concepts.
My *unique* application video for context – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrVKR-7i1Vw
Make it relevant to QMAC (seriously)… this is one aspect that I totally grazed over during my creative process. I came up with an idea that I thought would sell me to QMAC in a “funny” (I guess that one is relative) and unique way. That being said, I totally abandoned the fact that I was applying to QMAC.
Focus on execution rather than ideas… I had my idea and it was 10pm the night it was due, my first of many mistakes. You can have a great idea, or a really crazy unique concept, but at the end of the day all that matters is what those reviewing it interpret it as. So if it is poorly made (check), fails to get your point across (check) and confusing (check), a good or even great idea won’t hold up.
Don’t limit yourself to videos… this application is a creative, so try thinking outside of the box. Videos, posters, we’ve seen a lot of them before. Not saying don’t do a video because they typically give me a good chuckle, but don’t hesitate to go for something totally insane or far out – articles are also a really awesome way to stand out!
Using my learnings from my rejection, I did manage to redeem myself and make the conference in 2018 and even the executive team in 2019.
Best of luck to all those applying! Wish you all a lot better than my luck in 2017…
– Megan Knight