Careers
If you bring out-of-the-box thinking with a dash of hustle and a pinch of agency pedigree, but you’re looking for a new agency home that thinks differently, then we should connect.
We are always looking to expand our team with marketing leadership minds and kind, good souls. Come join our spool of marketing leaders.
Open Positions
Graphic Design Internship CLOSED
Graphic Design Intern
Spool is seeking candidates for a part-time, paid Graphic Design internship to assist our creative team in the daily execution of design materials, client work and presentations, and internal creative initiatives. Our ideal candidate is either currently pursuing or has completed a degree in Graphic Design or a related field and has 1-2 years of design experience (professional or academic).
We’re in search of a design enthusiast who loves all facets of design, but also thrives on generating creative ideas rooted in strategy and with an eye towards current trends and cultural insights. Spool isn’t your average Public Relations (PR) agency (and we know a lot of agencies say that, but we really mean it). We're big thinkers who value the power of visual storytelling as equally as crafting compelling written stories and national headlines. We are a tightly-knit crew of entrepreneurial dreamers, change-makers, and innovative PR professionals.
Some words that might describe you:
- Creative
- Design-wiz
- Curious
- Open-minded
- Digitally-savvy
- Big-picture thinker
- Diligent
- Team player
- Authentic
- Confident
- Autonomous
- Witty
- Ambitious
What you’ll be working on:
- Providing day-to-day design support of digital and print materials, including but not limited to presentation design, photoshop and illustrator mockups, social media graphics, event collateral, signage, invites, newsletters, magazines, social impact materials, and campaign identity.
- Setting up, leading, and participating in creative brainstorms.
- Collaborating with an art director, copywriter, account lead, and integrated teams to assist with projects from idea to activation.
- Clearly articulating ideas in internal reviews and helping craft compelling creative presentation decks for clients.
- Brainstorming and cultivating creative ideas that can break through in pop culture, and be compelling enough that a journalist would consider them newsworthy.
- Helping own the execution of Spool’s social media and brand materials.
- Being proactive and lending your creativity to improving processes or initiatives at Spool.
What you’ll need to succeed:
- Great grasp of the design fundamentals
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (especially Photoshop and Illustrator)
- Impeccable time management and prioritization skills
- Ability to coordinate projects from inception to completion and meet demanding deadlines
- Excellent communication skills - verbal, written, & interpersonal
- Growth mindset - the fun (and scary part) of creative work is that if all goes well, you sometimes venture into entirely uncharted territory. It’s essential that you can work creatively to problem solve and adapt.
- Ability to work both collaboratively and independently
- Low on ego and big on laughs
- Social media savvy - Understanding social trends and what designs work well on socials
- Passion and respect for all types of creative - traditional, PR, experiential, street art, fine art, fashion, film, typography, puppetry - heck, all of it.
- The ability to follow a process and to suggest how we can improve a process
- Problem solver, not a problem creator
- A breadth of cultural reference points
- Avid curiosity for the world around you and ability to ask great questions
Education & Minimum Qualifications
- Currently pursuing or have a degree in graphic design or related field
- 1-2 years experience - professional or academic
- A portfolio that features excellent design across digital, print, and social
*Please include a portfolio link in your application*
Brownie points if you have any of these skills:
- Animation
- Illustration
- Photography
- Videography/ Video-editing
- Copywriting/ Creative writing capabilities
- $18/hour
- This is a part-time role (24 hrs a week)
- Start date is flexible (As soon as mid-late May)
PR Internship CLOSED
PR Internship
Spool Marketing and Communications is looking for candidates available for a part-time, paid internship to assist our teams in the execution of programs, tactics, planning and the objective of raising awareness for our client’s. We are looking for interns with a good work ethic, strong intellectual curiosity and a desire to work hard and have fun.
What you'll be working on:
- Creating media lists
- Drafting, disseminating and pitching media alerts and press releases
- Identifying and reaching out to social influencers
- Participating in brainstorms and project meetings
- Creation of publicity materials and media kits
- Conducting research
- Media monitoring
- Compiling news summaries and providing general office support
What you’ll need to succeed:
- Impeccable time management and prioritization skills
- Ability to coordinate projects from inception to completion and meet demanding deadlines
- Excellent verbal and written skills
- Strong interpersonal and customer service skills
Education & Minimum Qualifications:
- Working towards, or nearing completion of, a university/college Bachelor's degree in public relations, mass communications, journalism or a related field
- Public Relations experience preferred
- Previous agency experience, including internships, desired
Compensation & Details:
- $18/hour
- This is a part-time role (24 hrs a week)
- Start date is flexible (As soon as mid-late May)
- We currently offer a flexible hybrid approach. We ask that all employees be in the office (205 W. Wacker Dr. Chicago, IL 60606) on Wednesdays, with the option to flex the second in-office day on Tuesday or Thursday.
Spool's Team Pledge
We work each day to ensure we’re not like the last place you may have worked. Part of that entails signing the Spool Pledge, which each and every member of our team accountable. If this sounds like you, we’d love to talk!
As you take a look at open positions, if you see any that you may not meet 100% of the qualifications for but believe you could be successful within, please apply anyway.
Data shows men will apply for jobs when they meet approximately 60% of a position’s criteria, yet women and other people systematically marginalized tend to apply only if they meet every requirement. At Spool, we want builders, dreamers, workers and doers (we’re not big fans of box-checkers and mover-on’ers). If you believe you can thrive in this role, even if you don’t check every box of the position’s criteria, please apply. We are committed to considering all candidates including those with diverse employment backgrounds and experiences (and tell you what, we’d hire someone who worked retail or hospitality over a fancy schmancy internship any day).
Whether you’re new to PR and marketing or returning to the workplace after a gap, or you’re ready for the next chapter in your career, we would love to consider you as part of our team at Spool.
Please send us a note to tell us about your passions and skills; tell us how working at a nonprofit would fit perfectly in the role we’re hiring for. Again, we’re out-of-the-box thinkers here at Spool and we’d be fools to not consider people who bring out-of-the-box experiences to the agency.
Expectations
- We live our values every single day and we will always strive to live and work ‘above the line’ (i.e. to uphold this pledge and all it entails).
- Authenticity
- Curiosity
- Agility
- Impact
- Ego and gossip has no home at Spool and won’t be tolerated. Both create hostility, negativity and are a waste of time and energy.
- We always assume people are doing their best (colleagues and clients alike).
- As a learning culture, we receive feedback with openness, not defensiveness; share feedback with empathy and purpose.
- We embrace the “I have my way, you have your way, there’s not a right way or a wrong way” of working and learn from one another. So long as the work is getting done, people are able to work through their styles.
- We are respectful of everyone’s time and ask questions after we’ve already done work in trying to find the solution.
- We’re not box-checkers and hard workers, but rather, we are thinkers, curious and *smart* workers who do everything in our power to deliver exceptional work each and every time.
- We have our teams’ backs 110% of the time.
- We are accountable for our work and the role we play at Spool.
- Flexibility in our work styles ultimately derives from the accountability of our work and support for our teams.
- We commit to doing our best, every day, both in work and throughout our communities to make it a better place for all.
About Spool
In 2021, Spool was named the fastest-growing agency among over 250 global agencies. Spool was founded on the belief that the world doesn’t need another agency, but perhaps it could use a new type of agency. We embrace a startup mindset that pushes our work and its impact for our clients’ growth. We also have a lot of fun along the way. If you’re ambitious and eager to grow your career, there’s no better time or place than at Spool. We have always offered lots of flexibility (well before Covid), lots of time off, paid holidays (20 in 2023), Summer Fridays, benefits and access to profit sharing.
- Office closures:
- We have both summer and winter breaks in which Spool closes. In 2023 they are the week of July 4th and the week between Christmas and New Years’.
Why Spool?
We put our people before profits. Seriously. We’ve resigned toxic clients and expect as much from them to be partners as we do from every employee at Spool. We also believe in being a positive force in this world and strive to do that through our work, our ideas and how we as an agency run.
We strongly encourage people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, veterans, parents, and individuals with disabilities to apply. As an equal-opportunity employer, Spool is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and welcomes everyone to our team. We welcome you to note which pronouns you use (For example – she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc). Should you require reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.
- Our benefits:
- Generous paid time off
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- Competitive 401k
- Options for Life Insurance, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, Critical Illness , Hospital Indemnity Accident and Pet Insurance
- Generous paid time-off
- Hybrid work environment
- Our hybrid approach:
- We believe being together in person drives connection, collaboration and community, while being remote creates flexibility and balance that supports our wellbeing. Our hybrid approach allows Chicago area-based employees to work remotely three days a week, with everyone in the office on Wednesdays and the option to flex the second in-office day on Tuesday or Thursday.