Starting a new chapter

Evany van Wyk





A new job marks a fresh start to your life. This is the time to chin up and mentally prepare yourself for new people and new challenges, and most of all, a new setting. Richard Parkhouse recently started his journey at Weathermen & Co as an account director and is excited about what lies ahead.

When starting any new job the most challenging part is getting used to the new processes in place.

“Once you have wrapped your head around the software, processes and new people, life becomes a lot easier,” Parkhouse advised.

Having heard about Weathermen & Co and the wonderful work they do from several friends and business acquaintances, he knew he wanted to be part of this agency, when he saw the vacancy.

“Not only is the work they produce amazing and boundary-breaking, but also the work environment is like a family that fuels creativity,” he says.

Relationships are what he deems most important in his current position.

“The key role of an account director is being able to forge and maintain good business relationships with the clients. This means that I am the mediator between client communication and the creative side of agency,” he explained.

Dealing with people is not in everyone’s comfort zone and adapting to it can be a very tough change to make. Being a natural introvert, Parkhouse had to really push himself to be able to stand out.

“Once the pushing is done, you are able to really see all the great things that you are capable of,” he said.

In Parkhouse’s first couple of days at Weathermen & Co he has enjoyed the work culture and environment the most.

“From day one, I felt at home and this is something very special to have.”

He had the opportunity to tackle challenges which made him excited to start this new chapter of his life. Rewriting client briefs into creative briefs, having client meetings and updates, brainstorming sessions with the studio on new work and challenges is what his day looks like.

At Weathermen & Co they strive to not only answer client briefs but also solve the business challenges of the client; this means doing research and producing real consumer insights in order to deliver the answer to the problem at hand.

Parkhouse completed his matric at Delta Secondary School in Windhoek and ended up working as a bartender in Germany.

After that, he was led to start his dream course - marketing and advertising - in Cape Town.

He successfully completed his bachelor of commerce in management marketing with a distinction, and his career path was paved.

It’s no secret that graduates struggle to find work after university. Parkhouse’s career so far has been built on internships and part-time work that I did during his studies.

“My view on tertiary education is that your degree will get you the interview, but your experience will get you the job,” he said. According to him the best advice he can give to any student or young graduate is to do internships. “Sacrifice that four-week holiday for an internship; even if it is an unpaid internship, it will pay off at a later stage,” Parkhouse said.

His best advice for starting a new job is to always be willing to learn, because it doesn’t matter how many degrees or years of experience you have, you can always learn more.