Boost Your Resume with AAF

Victoria Anderson

As internship and job applications are opening up, it is important to consider boosting your resumé while you still can. Being a part of something more on campus is crucial to stand out to recruiters and companies. So what kinds of extracurriculars capture the eye of these recruiters?

No matter what major you are, there are opportunities for everyone. But let’s talk about advertising. The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign has the nation’s largest chapter of the American Advertising Federation. Within AAF, there are several subgroups that are each different in their own way. These subgroups include Pangea, On The House, Midnight Oil, CtrlV, National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), AdBuzz, AdLab, Community Outreach, and RSVP. Each committee specializes in something, whether that be advertising, graphic design, marketing, and more. But, if you are looking to find real-world advertising experience, Midnight Oil is the committee to join. As a member of Midnight Oil myself, I can assure you that everything you work on is exactly what you would expect in the advertising industry after college, should that be the path you take. Midnight Oil works with clients around the Champaign area, some of which include Cracked, Jarling’s, and even the Illini Bookstore. Members are broken up into small teams, and each member of the team performs his/her own role. These roles are also very accurate in the advertising industry. They include Account Manager, Copywriter, Strategy & Research, Social Media, and Art Director. Tasks performed are whatever the client asks of you and could be anything from a promotional video to a logo redesign to free handouts on the Quad.

Find out more about Midnight Oil and other agencies of AAF here!