[stomachmonkey]

Congratulations.

When you get your first gig listen to your AD/CD and forget everything your professors taught you.

Don't use terms like, "it's gonna POP", "edgy" or "super stylized" unless you wanna get slapped upside the head.

If you are around Account Directors that use those terms in a client meeting feel free to slap them upside the head.

Don't take feedback/critique personally.

Learn to listen, many clients will have a difficult time expressing what they want, a good listener can recognize it and can ask the right questions to resolve ambiguity.

You will never be 100% correct. When the marketers get everything they want it'll be wrong, when creative gets everything they want, it'll be wrong. When everyone leaves something on the table it has a better chance of being right.

Never present "your" idea without also giving the client what they want to see.

Never go to anyone with a problem that you don't have a suggested solution for.

There are ALWAYS at least two ways to do something.

When the **** hits the fan and something goes wrong resist the urge to join in the blame game, put your energy towards fixing it.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes, we all make them. Learn from them, don't repeat them. You won't get a pass the second time.

If you f'up, man up.

Share the glory. Many people think they are "the one that made it happen". Recognize the contributions of others.

If you end up freelancing, don't lowball or work for peanuts. Charge the going rate. People value your work in direct relation to what they pay for it.

Never do a freelance gig without a singed work agreement from the client. All work is deliverable subject to final payment in hand unless you like working for free or like to renegotiate your pay after you are done.