CareerCast recently published their annual list of the most stressful jobs in America. While the study appears to be unscientific, the results are surprising. It appears that you stressed-out ad folks are in good company. The position of Advertising Account Executive made the top 10 as the number 6 most stressful job. I have been an account executive in a previous life and can remember the stress of endless cold calls, pitches in front of prospects that were splitting their time between me and a game of Bubbles on their Blackberries, and the monthly grind to make my numbers. But that was radio, which is a tough sale because it’s so hard to prove ROI.

I don’t want to take anything away from my colleagues in the advertising industry, but I do question the accuracy of the list. For example, the number one most stressful job on the list is an airline pilot. I get it – they have hundreds of lives in their hands on any given day, but what about the flight attendants? They have to deal with people who like to carry on three large bags then get an attitude when there is no overhead space. They’re on the frontlines when they have to enforce the airline’s ridiculous policies. That’s got to be stressful, yet they don’t appear on the list. Just in front of ad execs they gave newscasters the number five spot. The stress there is competing for the news story in a highly competitive field. But tell an ER nurse in a city hospital about being a newscaster and your likely to get an earful. Just like flight attendants, nurses didn’t make the list.

I suppose the reality is that all stress is relative. For me, I’d love to sit in the corner office instead of the center cubical, but according to the list, a corporate executive is the third most stressful job. That being said, I don’t like to judge other people’s stresses because I find most of the time they are self-inflicted.

So what is a stressed out account executive to do? You have clients that expect creativity from you and your firm. You have deadlines to meet, ROI targets to hit. Well, I don’t like to talk about problems without having solutions. Let me tell you how Structural Graphics helps to relieve some of the stress.

If you have ever worked with Structural Graphics, you know that we offer a complete turnkey solution. We take your direct marketing project from conception to delivery and even campaign reporting after that. Though we often work directly with companies, we also have many great relationships with agencies. We’ll make you look like a hero to your clients by offering high-impact print solutions, as well as digital assets like personalized landing pages, QR codes and real time campaign reporting.

Give us a call to find out how we can make your job a little less stressful. Your number one goal as account executive should be to prove a positive ROI for your clients. Let us help.