As MCG’s 21st birthday approaches, our creative director Kate Gray wonders if she would have applied for her job if she’d seen it advertised.

“Wanted: Hard working, creative individual for foolhardy journey into the unknown – salary variable.”

Would you look twice at this job? If you would, then maybe you should think about setting up your own business.

Twenty-one years ago, I was a PR Account Director in a successful full-service agency in Leeds, I felt like I was bashing my head against a wall trying to get the recognition our work deserved. I wanted something that felt more meaningful, a job I could explain to my grandma, something I could be proud of.

How Christine, Sarah and I set up MCG is a story for another day, but the result was exactly the job I was hoping for. A role that would give me purpose when everything seemed a bit pointless. A chance to create a culture that does its best to support and encourage kindness, smart thinking and risk taking as much as profitability and bottom-line growth. A job that allows me to be both creative and practical and where I get to take my dog.

Would I have applied for my job if I’d seen this ad in PR Week? Hell yes – it was made for me.

Wanted: Hard working, creative individual for foolhardy journey into the unknown – salary variable

This start-up PR company is looking for an experienced Account Director to manage some clients if they win any.

In the future your role might include making content for media platforms that currently don’t exist.

You will quickly need to learn about running a limited company and being an employer. You will need to develop an instinct for who to trust and be able to acknowledge when you got it wrong.

Painting and decorating, furniture removal and basic IT cabling and troubleshooting skills are a must-have.
We’re looking for a curious generalist with a mid-range attention span and an eye for detail. Interests will include mattresses, gas pipelines, fresh produce, beekeeping, basketball, fashion and textiles, commercial property, rail transport, higher education, call centres and glass manufacture. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about any of these things – you will in 2022.

You will also need to drive a minibus, hide inside a cardboard box, eat dog food, cook in a tent and paddle board down the Thames.

Please send your CV and proof of your ability to think on your feet to your two long-suffering and brilliant fellow directors.