How you know it is time to move in-house...

Working in a PR Agency is one of the best ways to get diverse sector experience and it certainly teaches you how to juggle conflicting priorities and work to tight deadlines. However, there comes a time when most consultants feel the need to specialise and go in-house. Here are a few signs that now is the time for you to jump ship...

1. Your wedding invite list has more client names then family names on it.
2. Even worse, the wedding list is made up of "potential" clients you have been courting longer than your new spouse.
3. Your day is totally ruined if a rival agency gets good coverage for their client and you decide to vent on the new account executive. They are now crying in the toilets - good job!
4. You have referred to yourself as a guru at any point in a pitch.
5. You have used the term synergy more than five times today.
6. You obsessively add up your clients' monthly retainer fees and wonder why you haven't  gone freelance or started your own agency.
7. You stopped having a favourite client six months ago.
8. You regularly say to colleagues "this job would be great if it wasn't for the clients getting in the way".

If this sounds like you don't despair - take a look at VMA's latest roles...and apologise to the account executive!

By Julie Mazzei, Managing Consultant, VMAGROUP North and Midlands