Can I just say that Nick was an absolute pleasure to work with at Think HQ. I was so lucky to have such a supportive community at Think HQ when I interned there this past trimester at Deakin.
Nick was the light and energy in the office, someone I looked up to for his optimism and commitment to his job. Being only just older than myself but strides and strides ahead of me in his career, I knew I wanted to talk to him about his career: past, present and future.
I asked Nick some questions and he was nice enough to give me some great answers and wisdom.
- What are you doing for a job at the moment? (Job title and responsibilities)
I’m a Senior Account Executive at Think HQ, a full-service communications agency in South Melbourne. My responsibilities include the development of social media strategies, content creation and publishing. I also am responsible for social media advertising, community management, copywriting, stakeholder engagement and media relations.
- What did you want to do for a career when you were in high school?
I think I went through all the motions that most people do – doctor, lawyer, business person (whatever that means). At the close of high school and my first year at uni, I thought I wanted to be an Accountant – what a farce!
- What did you study after high school?
I entered the Bachelor of Business (Accounting)/Bachelor of Arts at Monash and after a year and a half dropped the Bachelor of Business as I found my love for Accounting wasn’t that great, and I had failed both first year economics and statistics. So that didn’t bode well. I continued Arts majoring in Journalism, and somewhere between there and several years later discovered Public Relations – I actually think it was Ab Fab that did it. It took my 7 years to eventually graduate, as I changed degrees, went part-time and deferred. I’m a big believer that life doesn’t run to plan, and in truth, I’m grateful I spent so long lost in my degree, as the majority of my learning happened outside Monash – paying bills, (flirting with being broke several times), navigating relationships and travelling.
- What do you really like and dislike about your job?
I really like my colleagues. We have all had jobs where we didn’t get along with everyone, or where we felt we spent much of our time and energy tip-toeing around managers or peers. Think HQ is fantastic in that everyone is very genuine, friendly and approachable. There is a really great level of trust in everyone to do their work, and this allows for initiative and innovative thinking. I also find that everyone is experienced and passionate about their profession, which means I can turn to peers and managers for advice and opinions, satisfied that their feedback is considered and valuable.
What do I dislike? I suppose I dislike pitching to media the most, this has always been my weak point, but is one of the reasons I chose to work at Think HQ. The agency is now award winning for its media relations work, and I know that this is the right place to challenge myself to overcome this anxiety and build my experience and skill.
- What else could you see yourself doing for a career?
I’m really interested in broader organisational strategy and governance. I would love to go back to university and pick up business again as I find I’m really interested in understanding the bigger picture of what makes organisations tick, and how they fit into the economy. Later in life I would be interested in taking my communications experience and applying this in business or organisational governance.
- Any tips for university students?
Throw yourself into uni. When I began uni in 2010 I thought I was in Year 13 of school – commute to uni, attend lectures and tutes, then go home and study. It wasn’t until I was graduating in 2017 and looked back on my time that I realised that the real learning happened outside the classroom. Juggling several jobs while studying, stressing about money problems while in Hong Kong, navigating the breakdown of a long-term relationship,, or interning in India – these are just some things that come to mind. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, so long as you are taking risks, embarking on adventures and making opportunity for quiet reflection to learn from these things.
- Is there anything you would have done differently over your career so far?
I could name a number of things, but I don’t know if I should have done things differently so far. In the ideal world I would have graduated in 2012 and would today have 5 years of agency experience under my belt. However, I don’t think I’d have the same appreciation of my job if I didn’t spend 6 years working in sales, and if I hadn’t tried so many subjects at uni and changed course a few times, I don’t think I would have discovered PR – nor would I have appreciated that careers aren’t a linear path.
I want to thank Nick for being so accommodating and answering all of my questions and for giving me to much great advice. I hope that he and everyone at Think HQ continue to succeed and I’m truly honoured I got to be a part of that team for the time I did.
You can find Nick on LinkedIn here.
And you can learn more about Think HQ here.
pippa.macey. 