Alumni Spotlight

  • Kyle Burkbybile ADV, Starcom

    Dec 7, 2015 3:45 pm by ennes2@illinois.edu

    Images

    1. Name (First and Last)
      Kyle Burkybile

      2.Twitter

      3. LinkedIn

      Employment Info


      4. Employer
      Starcom

      5. Title/Occupation
      Deliver Associate

      Academic Info


      6. Graduation Year (list as "Month Year")
      May 2011

      7. Major
      Advertising

      8. Minor and/or Certificates
      Sociology

      Other Stuff


      9. Hometown
      Casey, Illinois

      10. Hobbies

      Career Information & Advice
      Please answer each of the following questions with as much detail as possible while keeping your answers succinct (aim for 2 - 4 sentences per question).

      11. What are your job responsibilities/duties?
      I work across all Kraft brands that are currently active in print/publishing. Once my team is briefed by strategy on a specific product that wants be in market, we research the best candidates for the plan. After our initial research and negotiations, we recommend scenarios to the client for approval. If approved, we carry out the execution of the plan with the vendors and make sure that we optimize the impact of our presence.

      12. What does a typical day look like?
      There really is no typical day, other than being really busy. I jumped in right at the beginning of planning season, so it was a trial by fire situation. Now that we're wrapping up planning, it is usually balancing emails and meetings, and somehow finding time in between to do actual work.

      13. What do you most enjoy about your job?
      I like the fact that my building/company is very young and there is always something going on if you're looking for it. You don't have many excuses to be bored, and you get to interact with a lot of people.

      14. What is the most difficult aspect of the job?
      The work/home balance of the job is not always there. This business dictates what your schedule will be like, and it you're in a difficult stretch, you kind of just have to strap in and weather the storm. Also, the pay here does not reflect the amount of work you are going to be asked to do.

      15. What on-campus activities were you involved with? Where did you gain relevant experience?
      I was in Phi Sigma Pi Honor Fraternity, intramurals through ARC and CRCE, I worked in the dining halls and Illini Media, AAF & NSAC.

      16. How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your professional life? For this specific position?
      I actually think that most of my ADV classes focused on the planning side of the business, and my latest role here is the first strategy/planning job that I have had. A lot of my previous jobs were much heavier on the operations side of the business, so I would say that making sure you have a strong quantitative background would be very helpful, even if you know you want to work on campaign creation.

      17. What advice do you have for students interested in this field?
      Try to say yes to as many opportunities as you can without stretching yourself too thin. It's easy to get caught in the shuffle of corporate life and let the 9-5 take over your work week, but try to do interesting things during the week and don't just Netflix all your hours away.

      18. What is one thing that you know now that you wish you had known when you started in the field? When you graduated from the College?
      You can do all the activities you want in college, be an involved student, and have good grades. That is not a bad idea, but in reality the way you interview, your confidence, and the way you present your past work will have a much larger impact on how people that are in hiring positions will perceive you and how you will fit in at their companies.
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