Turning a hobby into a career

Contributed by Alison Wood - Kaisercraft

Throughout my course, Bachelor of Arts (Public Relations) I was unsure of the direction I was headed. From initially wanting to be a journalist, to working in Government or agricultural PR, I wasn't sure. So to help me find the right career path I undertook a number of volunteer and paid work experience, attended networking events and studied hard!

After graduating I worked at PR consultancy for 10 months, I knew it wasn't quite right for me. I was still unsure of where I wanted to be, but knew I had a passion for paper crafts and scrapbooking; so I decided to approach Kaisercraft, an Australian scrapbooking manufacturer.

Next thing I knew I'd landed a job at Kaisercraft as their Marketing Manager. Today I look after the company's communications including media relations, event management (trade and consumer shows), advertising, magazine editorial and a range of communication collateral including our website, facebook and twitter accounts, blog, external newsletter and quarterly magazine. I also coordinate our communication campaigns, help develop marketing materials and advise on company communications to stakeholders.

I've found that keeping up with trends in marketing and PR is vital for you to continue to grow as a communications practitioner, so I'm constantly checking industry websites and blogs, reading new books and attending events and seminars.

Right now social media has become a big part of my day-to-day job and I'm constantly reading up on latest practices, case studies and tools that I can use in my day to day job. Although every day is different, some I’m dealing with more traditional media like newspapers and magazines.

A typical day at my desk usually involves undertaking some kind of research, and I’m constantly checking out websites, forums and blogs for craft industry news. I also write blog posts a few times a week, keep our website up to date, liaise with craft magazines to ensure new editorial content, coordinate our design team, work with our graphic designers and write and plan some more.

Although my best days at work include 'scrapbooking days' where I get to use our products and 'research' trends, news and information in the scrapbooking world - something I used to do for fun anyway!

Advice for students

• If you're passionate about a hobby/cause or industry find a company or organisation that does similar thing/produces that product and go for it! Write a letter like I did or pick up the phone and offer your expertise – you never know they just might have a position available!
• If you're unsure of where you want to be working take on as much work experience and volunteer work, in a range of industries as you can. The sooner you start working in an industry the quicker you can start to network and find out what's right for you!
• Develop a portfolio, volunteer for the student magazine or local newspaper and keep studying, make sure you stay up-to-date on marketing/PR trends by visiting industry websites, blogs and forums.