Hi, I’m Tracy Chin. Today is my birthday and also the beginning for my blog.  Welcome to Agency Addicts!

I’ve worked at various agencies since 2007, and each new experience has been so different from the last. I’ve been a project manager, traffic manager and account executive.

Agency life is such a world of its own.  No matter how much schedule-padding and planning-ahead you do, your day is never deprived of a majorly hot request from the client or even a majorly hot financial explanation from your COO. Work days are a 7am to 7pm journey for weeks at a time. Your calendar is booked with back to back meetings and conference calls. In between the emails, surprise tasks and fires, there never seems to be time to complete the responsibilities you’re supposed to be doing regularly, so you do them at night or on the weekends.

And even with all the extra hours you put in, you never seem to be finished.  There’s always something left to do… How you know in the back of your mind that you reviewed those creative rounds and sent them to the client, but they’re not saved in their proper little folders on the server.  How it’d be really nice if one day you organized your emails in Outlook by job number so they’re easier to go back to when someone pulls an “I didn’t tell you to change that.”  How you should really fill those holes in the process documents so your team knows what to do when you decide to QUIT and proceed to drive directly to your nearest ice cream counter, then apply for a job at Crate & Barrel.  Kidding.

Agency life, despite everything I just mentioned, is still undoubtedly awesome. I’ve never felt so fulfilled and abused at the same time. You get to work with big brands, there always seems to be food around, you develop invaluable experience rapidly, you make amazing friends while working in the trenches and you have endless, unforgettable conversation starters.

I want to share all of it, not only my day-to-day experiences, but my experience as a whole.  This is a collection of truths, smarts and interviews you can either relate to if you already work at an agency, or look to for insight if you’re thinking about jumping in.

Agency Addicts is your safe haven for agency-related advice, venting, curiosities and old stories. Let’s bitch and commiserate.