Alumni Spotlight – Karly Brooks

Creative Circus Alum - Karly Brooks - Junior Copywriter at Droga5

#AlumniSpotlight The Creative Circus graduates the most sought after creatives in the industry. Take a moment to read about the lives, careers & personal stories of some of our fantastic alumni.

Karly Brooks – Junior Copywriter at Droga5
Creative Circus Alumna- Copywriting (2016)
Portfolio

Advice to the Graduating Class:

For two years, you have one goal: get a job. And then, lo and behold, you get a job. And then you settle into a routine. And then, if you’re anything like me, you start to get this overwhelming “okay…now what” feeling. Give yourself some time to relish in your achievements (YOU DID IT!!!), but don’t let yourself get complacent. It’s going to be really important to continue setting goals even after you have the job. Anything from pursuing outside projects to producing your first work or getting your first promotion. You’ve come a long way and accomplished so much, but think of how far you can go if you keep working as hard as you’ve worked to get to this point.

Advice to the Incoming Class:

Work your ass off, but don’t forget to have fun, too. My biggest regret is that I didn’t spend more time exploring Atlanta and hanging out with my quarter. Circus is obviously about the portfolio you make, but it’s also about the connections you make. And you can’t connect with people if you spend all your time in the computer lab or in your apartment. Also, get on Dan’s good side as soon as possible.

Lightbulb Moment:

My lightbulb moment at Circus was definitely my Headlines class with Josh Shelton. Up until that point, I felt like I was pretty terrible at the whole “creativity” thing. I was absolute shit at the sketchbook. I was horrible at Improv. I never really made Shelley laugh (Hi Shelly miss you!). But I knew I was a good writer, and in Headlines I was really able to find my voice, hone my craft and begin to find what my brand of creative was. Moral of the story: you might not be good at everything. You might be the worst in your class sometimes. But when you find that thing you’re freakishly good at (you will, don’t worry) really tap into it and own it.

Post-Circus – Favorite Project:

It’s taken my partner Candice and I a little while to get our hands on some great projects, as happens sometimes when you’re starting out. But we recently got the chance to work on a website for MailChimp that was a ton of fun. Website copy sounds like the worst brief ever, but when it’s for a good team and a good client, and it helps you get onto some better briefs, it’s significantly less terrible. We’re also currently working on our first production, which is really exciting and has given us a lot of super valuable experience.