The Ad Tech Industry is Not Only for Unicorns
Anyone who has ever participated in the recruitment process knows that in order to land a dream Ad Tech job you need to stand out from the competition. But what steps do you have to take? What do you need to say and do during the interview process? How do such ideas apply to forging a career in the Ad Tech industry? Looking for highly specialized employees is a real challenge for a company like Yieldbird. Specialization is not everything, so let’s take a look at the different aspects of your CV. If you are dreaming about working in the world of digital advertising, then this is your “must read” article of the day!
Are you a Unicorn?
It doesn’t matter if you’re starting out in the advertising industry, or if programmatic is something that you’re not familiar with. You can always join this industry and master the optimization of the advertising space as long as you have a predisposition to do so. There is still a tendency in the labor market to create a strong division between sales competences and analytical competences. Both worlds are placed in separate categories as if salespeople should be only responsible for negotiating, whereas analysts are supposed to busy themselves with Excel sheets. Old school rules which divide people into humanists and applied minds still apply in today’s reality. This way of thinking about our own competences is both limiting and outdated. Real life teaches us that people have a lot of practical skills that remain untapped, and this is because they focus only on developing specific areas related to their knowledge and experience. Fulfilling all potentialities is one of the most important things when determining our career path. In the Ad Tech business it’s common to possess a range of skills; as an Analyst or Adops you need to have strong communication skills in order to enthusiastically explain to publishers how complex tools work. Yieldbird’s Analyst / AdOptimisation Specialist are people who will be dedicated to strictly technical tasks, but who also have well-developed social competences, which means that they are able to cooperate with different people, at different levels, and that they can call on different competences.
There are a lot of people on sales teams who manage complex analysis, and yet their extroverted work style does not exclude the ability of working in silence and with deep focus. This means that the modern labor market somehow requires us to be competent “hybrids”. When I talk about the kind of candidate that we are looking for: someone who will be great in both analysis and teamwork, it may seem that my job entails the search for a unicorn. However, you would be surprised how many unicorns there are to be found in our industry! If you feel you are an introverted analyst and want to use your full potential in many fields, then a job in Ad Tech industry is the perfect fit for you!
Potential is not everything when you apply for a job in Ad Tech
If you have strong analytical and relationship-building skills, the Adops position is worth considering. Additional competences that will make you a good candidate for this role are industry knowledge and the ability to use this knowledge in practice. The programmatic landscape is not all smooth sailing, but being diligent and systematic will allow you to master the desired skills within a few months. Initially, the most useful ability in the area of Ad Optimization will be analysing and interpreting data in Excel. Also, a basic understanding of html / css / javascript; as well as being familiar with Google Ad Manager will prove to be important foundational skills. Over time, you will develop a knowledge of Appnexus, Rubicon, OpenX and sell-side platforms, which are foundational platforms for building inventory in a reliable and independent way.
Furthermore, this profession will give you a broad knowledge of setups that ensure the monetization of publisher advertising space. The further we journey, the more we discover. For analysts with a strong product-developmental interest, there are also several options. One of them is learning programming in R, which leads us in the direction of data science – a flourishing area both in our company as well as in the entire industry. Being in the Optimization department, there will be no time for standing still. This job will require you to constantly develop and adapt. This exerience will be hugely advantageous to your career, but it will challenge you every day.
Changes, changes, changes…
Working at Ad Tech is like throwing yourself into a constant whirlwind of change and challenges. There is always a risk of disruptions that might have a bearing on the direction which the industry takes; so change and flux are the operative words. A good candidate for a job in Ad Tech should be aware of all factors that shape the industry; and as such, they should be prepared to contribute to successful solutions, characterized by detailed analysis, great setup and preparation, and strenuous effort.
As an Adops, you must understand that your area of influence has its limits. Publishers also need to be conscious about this fact, so that we can quickly and efficiently fix errors and act immediately to remedy situations, and reset. Defeats are a part of life, and they also come with the Ad Tech territory. Not every defeat will be your fault, but your duty and responsibility as an Adops will be to do your best to counteract the decline in results and to repair, redress and reorganize. Troubleshooting can be stressful, but it can also be a satisfying aspect of this job. If you are good at changing, introducing and initiating new solutions, your life within the Ad Tech industry will be an endless source of satisfaction and fulfilment.
The Adops role is challenging, but its developmental paths are both real and exciting. During the recruitment process, remember that the Adops Specialist position does not just involve analyzing data in Excel while drinking one coffee after another. When optimizing and maximizing publisher revenue, you need to be vigilant and always ready to solve even the most complex of problems. In the long run, by solving more and more difficult problems, you will achieve an expertise; and fewer curveballs will catch you unawares. For Yieldbird, such experts are as precious as gold. So if I have just described your traits and characteristics, feel free to check out the Career section on our website and apply. New horizons with Yieldbird await!
HR & Employer Branding Manager
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