Get a Job As an Advertising Copywriter

Do you think you can do better than those atrocious commercials you see on TV? Get a job writing ads!

Steps

Go to the public library (or online) and get a directory of all the advertising agencies in your town/state/province/country.
Make a list of all the Creative Directors (CD's) of the agencies, their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. If the CD's aren't listed, phone the agency and ask for his/her name.
Write some ads. Make a short list of products and do some research on them. Write a "Creative Strategy" for each of the products. (A Creative Strategy is an explanation of how you would sell the product and why.) Write campaigns (print, radio, online and TV) for each product.
Call each CD and book an appointment. You'll get blown off about a million times but don't give up. Offer to do lunch. Ad guys love lunch. Dinner too.
Get out your ads and sell them to the CD. She'll be watching you to see how you'd sell to a client.
Leave something behind with your name on it. Your best ad with your biz card is ideal.
Be persistent, but don't be a pest. A follow-up phone call or two can be helpful.
If you're offered a job and have no experience, simply take the job. However, if you are an exceptional creative marketing writer with professional copywriting experience, negotiate your salary. There may be 100 people who will do the job for little or no money, but only a handful are actually smart enough to do it WELL.

Proofread your work meticulously. Typos and other mistakes cost agencies lots of money.
Don't bother e-mailing ad execs. They want to see how you sell concepts and they can't do that online.
Don't give up. If you've got talent you'll get a job.
Take freelance work if it's offered. Do anything to show CD's you can perform.
Forget about showing CD's your poetry or high school essays. They want to know you can write ads.