What's your job about?
My job is to arrange the marketing material required to reach the end-user across Australia and New Zealand for a number of different brands. This covers a range of media, whether it be press advertising, product brochures, signage for events, social media, or even retail-based catalogues and ensuring they all meet deadlines, as we always need to be prepared!
Day-to-day, I’ll communicate with product managers to discuss the implementation of their marketing plans, or an area sales manager to handle marketing material for events or for our network of around 120 dealers across the ANZ region.
No two days are the same, really, but I like to ensure my week is planned out so I can be prepared for anything that gets thrown at me. I generally measure a successful day or week by the ease of communication and tasks getting done in a timely manner!
What's your background?
I have lived in Melbourne all my life, and finishing school, I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do the following year. So I commenced my Bachelor of International Studies at Deakin University. About halfway through, I realized that it wasn’t for me (though looking back, I wish I stuck with it). I took six months off to work and save up to go overseas before I started my Bachelor of Media and Communications at LaTrobe University. Part of my study requirements was to complete an internship, so I did mine at a VFL football club which was a great opportunity to apply the skills I had acquired at university.
I think it was a total fluke getting my current job in that it happened quite quickly. While at uni, I was lucky enough to land a casual role that was flexible around my university timetable and all the mid-year holidays I’d take to keep me sane whilst at uni. Though, it got to the point once I had graduated from university and also returned from a two month holiday that I decided that taking advantage of a casual contract and disappearing for a couple of months every year or two is not a sustainable long term plan for me. Six weeks later, I started my role at AGCO and have matured, further developed my skills and challenged myself in a role I was finally suited to!
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Absolutely! A large part of my role is fulfilling tasks required of me by other people, so this role would be suited to anyone who is good with being delegated to. It does help to have a marketing background, but it’s not essential. The key requirement for this role, however, would be organisation, time management and scheduling as most tasks I complete have a deadline attached – if you can organise yourself day-to-day or even week-to-week and stick to it as much as possible, you’d be sorted!
What's the coolest thing about your job?
It’s quite rare, but seeing a project you’ve managed from planning to execution is extremely rewarding. Sitting behind the desk and arranging everything is all part of the job, but for example, attending an event and seeing a concept you’ve worked on come to life, is pretty cool.
There are little perks here and there as well which allows me to leave the office on the odd occasion, whether it be to travel or attend events – it’s always nice having a change of scenery!
What are the limitations of your job?
There aren’t quite limitations, more challenges. One of the challenges is bearing responsibility for deadlines. You have to make sure you meet almost every deadline as it’s usually someone else waiting on you to meet their request.
Another challenge is not particular to the role but the industry is quite male-dominated. Breaking down peoples’ perceptions of you is something that I can only hope will get easier in the future and we see more women not only in the industry itself but in positions of power!
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
The first piece of advice I can offer is you should always have something to look forward to. Take complete advantage of uni holidays, travel and unwind, it’s the best way to feel refreshed going into a new semester!
The second is to not worry about your grades so much. While it looks great on paper, it’s about how you apply yourself in the workforce and using anything you’ve learned throughout your education is a bonus.
Finally (and this one is something you should carry with you after your studies), DO NOT stress about the stuff you can’t control!