What does your job involve?
My job is pretty varied, including dealing with clients, managing operational issues, fighting with the technical development queue, getting contracts sorted, attending pitches and forecasting next month's revenue.
What's it like working at The Search Works?
The Search Works has always been able to attract the best talent in the business so, whoever you talk to, you know you are speaking to an expert.
What qualifications and experience do you need?
Who ever heard of anyone being qualified in search? At entry level, we are looking for numerate graduates with an open mind and good communication skills. After you've gone through our training programme, we can usually tell who will be passionate about search and who won't. At my level, you need to have a good grounding in digital marketing generally, be able to pick up industry knowledge quickly and have some reasonable commercial experience. If you ask everyone from account director level up what they studied at university, you will get
20 different answers. Mine was Law and Sociology.
How do you spend a typical day?
I start by looking over City AM while eating my Prêt à Manger croissant. There is often an early internal meeting, meaning I don't get to tackle my e-mails until about 11am, by which time there are a number to deal with. Lunch is invariably spent at my desk and this is when I try to catch up on industry news. Most days there is usually a commercial problem to solve around a contract, forecast or head office request and I often get involved with client issues. But I wish I could spend more time with the new business team.
What's the worst thing about your job?
Procurement-led pitches.
What keeps you awake at night?
Google's next big announcement.
Who helped you get where you are?
Abid Ansari for employing me in the search industry in the first place when I didn't even know the difference between a creative agency and a media agency.
Who do you aspire to be like?
David Attenborough. He shares my loves of nature and travel.
Feature
This Is What I Do: Gavin Ailes, The Search Works
Gavin Ailes is deputy managing director of The Search Works
