Getting to know the many sides of Wilko
In this edition of “Getting To Know The Goliath Grads”, our interviewer Wilko sits down with new recruit James Wilkinson to get to the bottom of who he is, how he got here and why he chose to interview himself for this blog post.
Wilko: Hey mate, pleasure to finally meet you. All fine getting here?
James Wilkinson: Great to be honest, though it was probably the same in your case I imagine.
W: Well, let’s get right to the thick of it then. What are you doing here?
JW: Doing good work for the KFC Account Management team I hope. I’ve been here since the Goliath team started in January and it’s been a pretty wild ride since then.
W: What type of wild are we talking here? Are you finding it difficult working under the Colonel?
JW: The best type of wild I’d say Wilko. It’s a super fast-moving business with multiple campaigns in market almost every month. Not to mention an almost unimaginable amount in development as far as 8 months out from their live date. And the Colonel…well he’s tough, but fair.
W: Can I ask where you’ve come from? What got James Wilkinson to this interview today?
JW: I’ve come from a pretty crazy background. I was meant to study Journalism but by some crazy chance Hamish McLennan convinced me to study advertising up at Charles Sturt Uni in Bathurst. From there I’ve done multiple media agency internships, been a marketing consultant for APN, worked for FBi Radio, and worked client side for a brand connecting tradies to consumers. Then somehow ended up here at Ogilvy in a wonderful creative environment and crazy good team.
W: And anything to say about the team? Are they treating you nicely?
JW: Well I imagine they’re going to read this, so yes they are an awesome team. It’s 11 talented women (plus project superstar Steve Barron) all above me in the KFC team hierarchy, so you can imagine how terrible my attempts at multi-tasking look compared to this tight-knit fried-chicken-family.
W: And where do you think the Goliath program has helped you out here?
JW: Well it got my foot in the door of an agency as awesome as Ogilvy to be honest. And not just a foot, but a proper role where I can work permanently on the same client work and build relationships in a great team. Some grad programs I applied for didn’t offer an experience at all like this. It’s also a great opportunity to be starting at the same time as a bunch of other bright-eyed newbies, rather than ridin’ solo as a graduate for some time in the agency.
W: Anything else it has been providing you?
JW: The program has also given us a side project where our grad team tackles a brief in the way the greater Ogilvy agency would. We experience all the highs and lows, the meetings and multiple coffees that our colleagues go through on a regular basis. It’s an important trial-and-error that teaches us that no good work comes easy. And it just simply gives you people on your level that you can rely upon, which is a welcome change.
W: And outside the workplace? Any hobbies, interests or extra-curricular on your agenda?
JW: I go to the gym a bit.
W: I can tell.
JW: Thanks. Same for you I must say.
W: Thanks. But what do you think you bring to the team, the office or the conglomerate?
JW: I think I bring a sense of fun to any team that accidentally takes me under their wing. I get a bit apprehensive about how serious the ad industry has got, and think that great, hard work comes when you know the times when you can make a joke between studio briefs, or just say hello to each another in the morning. Be it your team or not. But know your place, and your status! Sometimes the CEO doesn’t need to hear your knock-knock joke as he leaves a quarterly P&L debrief.
W: Anything that gets you through the day?
JW: Aside from my motivational Kanye West poster, I think it’s a desire to make a good team reach greatness and be known not just for jokes and smiles, but reliability and efficiency in work.
W: Do you have a favourite item on the KFC menu yet?
JW: I like to think I love all my KFC equally, but you can’t go past an Original Recipe Tender with a side of Supercharged Sauce. Mmm, that’s finger lickin’ good.
W: Ok one last query then, why did you choose to be interviewed by, well, yourself?
JW: Just like doing things differently I suppose, plus I didn’t have to vet any questions I didn’t want asked and all in all, who knows me better than myself?
James is an Account Co-ordinator in the Account Management department overseeing KFC’s business within Ogilvy. He plays on the wing in rugby but never touches the ball, reads books too quickly and forgets what he read, buys the Big Issue regularly and is currently 1 month into a plan to post an original joke on Facebook everyday for a year. Find him on Twitter if you can, or look him up on LinkedIn. Just don’t endorse him for Social Media. He doesn’t understand why people keep doing that.
