My Career Journey

Hello world! With my move to my first full time job position recently I’ve become increasingly active on LinkedIn. I find myself on the platform daily for my clients along with my personal account so I thought I should properly introduce myself and my story.

The other day I caught myself pondering the  journey that led me here. If you’d asked me even 6 months ago I could not have seen myself ending up where I am now!

One of the first things I discovered after starting my first professional job in marketing was the power of the individual’s personal story, values and passion and how that impacts their journey. So here’s a bit about mine.

I grew up being home schooled; this choice of education came with a bucketload of prejudice from others; I distinctly remember being asked regularly, ‘goodness, how do you socialise?’ (so much so it became a running joke in my family). Looking back on my experience with the benefit of hindsight I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I had the freedom to learn in a way that worked for me and because of this, from a young age, I thoroughly enjoyed learning. Questioning was encouraged in my household for as long as I can remember and I distinctly recall asking my very patient mother lots of random questions which together with my younger sister we would research and find the answers to.

That love of learning and discovery has never left me, I approach everything and anything with this attitude and it’s served me well. Being homeschooled afforded me the opportunity to try my hand at anything that took my fancy, be that public speaking, robotics, art, science, and business to name a few.

…And no, I did not turn out to be socially inept, surprisingly! I had lots of opportunity to socialise, not only with kids my age but with all ages and walks of life.

Fast forward to the latter years of high school; my family was in a difficult living situation in the peak of Covid. I fell into a job at a farm gate where my mother worked and so I juggled what quickly turned into a full time role as well as my yr 11 & 12 studies.

I quickly learnt many skills whilst working; customer service holds so much opportunity to learn and connect with people. That’s where I really discovered my love of connecting with people. Being homeschooled I’d had the opportunity to socialise with a diverse range of people and I found these communication skills served me well. I quickly created deep relationships with the community that surrounded the farm and before I knew it I was managing most of the business.

When I look back on the years I spent there they are full of laughter, colour and the joy of discovering myself and how I could overcome the challenges that came my way.

Covid was not so much a time of quiet and seclusion for me but a time where I grew out of my shell.

A few years later I applied for a Diploma of Business with eagerness to be in an environment of learning and networking. Truthfully I was somewhat disappointed when I found my excitement for learning, reading and study was unusual in my cohort. I made the most of the course and took every opportunity possible to go beyond the required learnings.

My unique self motivation and passion for learning meant I had lots of opportunities; I led the class in the organisation and execution of a business conference (where I met my now-boss) and I also had the opportunity to teach half a semester of my Emotional Intelligence unit. It was one of the most interesting units to me and when I expressed this to my teacher he was eager to provide me with the chance to learn the best way… by teaching!

Before I knew it, the year (and the course) had come to a close and I found myself wondering… what next? I recalled having met Andrew at the conference and his presentation had sparked my interest. I began to research his business and was interested in what I found.

I had always perceived marketing to be ‘convincing people to buy what they don’t need’ and I didn’t care for it. But when I saw Andrew’s philosophy of working closely with people to help them develop a brand that attracts their perfect client I thought it matched my personal values exactly.

After some discussion on LinkedIn he pointed me towards CampusLife; a business he founded to train students for work and I was keen to apply. I asked friends and family to help me create a video for my application by demonstrating my ‘personal branding’ by getting them to talk about me instead of myself. It was partly a ploy to decrease my time on camera more than anything.

A month later, after a remarkably empty zoom call (I was happy for the lack of competition) Andrew asked me to meet him. Naturally, I was a little anxious but I also felt well prepared; our conversation was easier than I had imagined. The nerves flew away after a few minutes and by the end of the conversation he had offered me a job! I’m sure you’d believe me when I say I was over the moon. I didn’t have to go through endless applications, interviews and let downs. Simply through the connections I made I was able to find the perfect fit!

I’ve learnt so much in this new position and had the opportunity to connect with the amazing people my clients are, learn about their industries and how to best support them. The team has been so supportive and happy to help me learn, I am so grateful.

As I continue to learn and grow in this role, I’m excited for what the future holds. If you’d like to hear more about my story shoot me a message and I’d love to chat!