The best career advice comes from those doing the job. The people with insider knowledge on what someone in the role does on a day-to-day basis, how to get started, what the workplace and people are like, how it compares to other jobs, and the honest highs and lows.
Insidery is a free platform designed to help people find the job, industry, or career path that is right for them, by connecting them with passionate people working across jobs and industries. Insiders come from across the advertising, media, marketing, communications & design industry.
Most of us pick a career based on the jobs of people we happen to know. And most hiring happens through existing connections.
Insidery’s Purpose:
Our goal is to revolutionise career exploration, empowering individuals with access to insider knowledge and industry connections. We strive to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to discover their potential job, industry or career path, making informed decisions and unlocking potential.
Insidery was started by Robbie Allen, formerly a Senior Strategist at advertising agency Clemenger BBDO Wellington, launching the platform publicly in July 2021. The mission remains: to connect and empower individuals with passionate insiders from diverse jobs within the creative industries, facilitating the exchange of invaluable career insights and insider knowledge. Through our free platform, we aim to break down barriers and give everyone access to industry connections and unbiased career guidance that they may not otherwise have. Together, we want to reshape the way people explore, choose and thrive in their careers.
If you’d like to support Insidery or find out more, email us at careers@commscouncil.nz
Info & Advice on Insidery Calls
How do Insidery calls work?
Insidery calls are a form of what is called informational interviewing: finding out specific information about a particular industry or role you're interested in from someone who's already established in that field.
Some of the benefits are:
Get firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field, industry or position.
Find out about career paths you did not know existed.
Get tips and insider knowledge about how to prepare for and land your first career position.
Learn what it’s like to work at a specific organisation.
Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network of contacts in a specific career field.
The Insiders may have significant projects happening, and may not be able to connect as quickly as you need. Provide a number of alternative times that the insider can be in touch with you so that they can work it into their schedules. If you’re still struggling to find appropriate meeting times please get in touch with us at careers@commscouncil.nz
How to prepare for your Insider call?
Here’s a quick checklist to help you get the most out of your Insidery call:
Do some research: Look into the Insider’s profile on Insidery, and any links provided to their LinkedIn pages, company websites, or portfolios. This will give you some context, and help get some of the questions you might have about them out of the way.
Prepare a list of specific open-ended questions: Before you’re connected with your Insider, we’ll ask you to prepare a short list of questions. This is so they can prepare ahead of time too. See more on the kinds of questions to ask below.
Be your authentic self: Your Insiders are here to help you, and because this isn’t a job interview you don’t need to worry about coming across a certain way. Try to be relaxed and yourself, and you’ll both get more out of the session.
Other tips for making the most of your Insider call:
Be on time: Your time and your Insider’s time is precious. Insidery calls are 30 minutes, so make sure you can use as much of the time as possible.
Be professional, but be yourself: This is not a job interview, so you don’t need to worry about coming across a certain way. Be authentic, but keep the conversation professional.
Confirm the amount of time you both have: At the start of your conversation, check if your Insider only has the agreed upon time. It will show that you are considerate of their time, and will remind you both that you need to make the most of it. They might also offer to chat for longer if they can spare more time.
Pay attention to the clock: When you have 5 minutes left in your call/meeting, start to more consciously ask your final questions. This is also a good time to leave space for your Insider to share anything else on their mind that could be helpful to you.
Follow up: If you’ve been connected to your Insider via email, a follow-up thank you email is a great way to wrap up the connection. If your Insider is open to it, you may be able to connect with them on LinkedIn and stay in touch further.
For the best informational interviews that help you get the most out of the call/meeting as you can, focus on questions that are:
Specific: Try to get into the more insightful conversations that will help you figure out if your Insider’s job is right for you, or the pathway you could take to get into it. Avoid things that are too general and surface level, or could be answered with a Google search or looking at the Insider’s LinkedIn.
Open-ended: Get your Insider talking and sharing their experiences, perspectives, and insights. Asking yes/no questions won’t give you a great depth of answers.
Honest: Insiders have all agreed to give you their honest perspectives and help you truly figure out the best pathway for you. If you’re comfortable to, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the good and bad things in their job or industry (e.g., What’s the hardest part of your job? Or the part of your job that you would change?), or about specific parts of your/their experience (e.g., What is it like in your industry for people of my gender/ethnicity?).
Example questions:
About the industry:
How do most people get into this field of work?
What qualifications would you suggest people need to get into this industry?
What are the current trends in this industry?
What has motivated you to stay in this field of work?
Do you have any recommendations for useful resources to learn more about the industry?
Is it easy to change roles within the industry?
How do most people get into this industry/navigate to specific fields once they start?
What are some common entry level jobs? where are good places to look for these?
What could I do to stand out to a potential employer/agency?
Is there anything I could do to upskill in the meantime to help me get into the industry?
It can be quite a fast-paced environment, any tips to push through blocks along the way?
The industry can be quite social, what if I'm not a big drinker/partier?
About the job:
Could you describe what you do on a day-to-day basis; what are your main tasks?
What are the things you most like about your work?
Which part of the job is most challenging for you? Why?
What are the most important skills needed to do this work well?
What personal attributes do you think are essential to succeed in your role?
What experiences have you had that you think have been valuable to your learning?
What was your career path to now?
What drew you to your organisation?
What training opportunities could I expect in an entry-level position?
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone starting up?
What is the hardest part of the job?
How does an agency work as far as departments and who works with who?/ departmental hierarchy
What is the typical client like? and what are common issues/challenges with clients?
What is expected of you in your first year in the industry?
Frequently asked questions.
If you have any other questions, email us at careers@commscouncil.nz.
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No. All Insidery chats are free. And all Insiders are volunteering their time and insight - they are not paid through Insidery.
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Most chats happen via video call, but some Insiders may offer to meet for coffee if you’re based in the same city as them.
If these methods don’t meet your access needs, reach out and we can use other ways of connecting you with your Insiders, such as via text or email conversations.
You can bring along or request a support person to be present with you however you choose to meet.
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Insidery is not a job platform. Insiders are on the platform to share their knowledge with people, and to point them in the direction of opportunities where applicable - not to hire them.
Insidery chats are about you asking your specific questions, and learning from experienced professionals who are willing to share their insight and perspectives with you. This is called ‘informational interviewing.’ (Learn more in our resources section for Students.)
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Insidery connects you to multiple people interested in hearing about your career for quick and insightful conversations, rather than a single long-term mentor-mentee relationship.
How and how often you chat to users is up to you. You can take as many or as few chats a week as you like, and can pause at any time. The scheduling is driven by your availability. And you choose how you want to meet: online or in person, for 30-mins.
If you’re interested in coming onboard or finding out more, fill in our contact form for Professionals.
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As a first check in the process, Insidery meets with all potential Insiders to discuss the platform and expectations, and review and verify them against their LinkedIn profiles and any available personal websites, before they are accepted or listed on the platform.
Before being connected to users on Insidery, all Insiders must accept our Insider’s Agreement. This covers a number of expectations and responsibilities that Insider’s must accept as part of being on the platform and meeting with users.
When booking a call or coffee meeting, all users are given the option to include a support person (e.g., teacher, parent, friend, etc.) of their choosing to join.
Every Insidery meeting is followed up with feedback forms for both sides (users and Insiders) to capture details on how the chat went.
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Collaboration, showcasing the huge value in the Insider’s knowledge and expertise, being transparent, honest and ethical, and providing equal access and opportunities.
Caretakers:
Commercial Communications Council
In 2022, The Comms Council, an industry body representing advertising, media and communications agencies, began supporting the platform, and are who will help support individuals get the right access to insider knowledge.
Existing to advance the reputation of the industry, they will continue promoting Insidery as a resource for connection, knowledge sharing and transparency.