Amy Brown (History, 2002, Furness) tells of her experiences of the highs and lows of working in a raft of media agencies and her tips on how to progress when faced with difficult decisions.

When I joined Lancaster in 1999 I had the perfect career map in place. Or so I thought. I was going to study a subject I loved, do a postgrad in journalism and be the editor of a teen or entertainment magazine by the time I was 30. No problem!

Week one and I bounded into the Scan office and quickly signed up to write weekly reviews of film and music releases. This was when there were only three PC’s in the office and we would book out slots to painfully type out our pieces. I kept up with Scan throughout my three years and became Arts Editor and then Deputy Editor. It was in my third year that my passion around writing started to waiver. I had the option of running for the sabbatical position of Editor or applying for a postgrad but in the end decided it wasn’t for me – back to the drawing board.

Throughout my studies I had done numerous work placements at magazines and media agencies and decided to put that experience to good use. Work placements are such a great way to help decide what career path you want to take and to get some experience of the corporate world. After a short spell back in Solihull I joined the National Magazine Company graduate media sales scheme working in the classified sales team. We were responsible for selling advertising space across a portfolio of magazines. Everything you have heard about ad sales in the early 2000s is true. Work hard, play hard was definitely the work ethic. Whilst having to make at least 60 calls a day.

After a year I decided I wanted something a bit more strategic and moved to my first media agency position at Zenith. I was in the press buying team when marketing budgets would allow for multi million pound campaigns running across national press and magazines. My job was to plan where these budgets would go, negotiate the rates and positions and track the delivery. As I rose up the ranks as a media buyer I took all the networking opportunities I could take and built a strong foundation of industry contacts. I made use of mentoring schemes, training schemes; anything that would better me as an employee. After seven years at Zenith and another media agency (OMD) I got my real career break and got the position as Head of Press in 2010. I was the youngest person in the industry to achieve this role.

Suddenly I was thrust into the world of media trading, negotiating annual trading agreements and being responsible for £50m revenue. It was a huge leap and I was very lucky to have a fantastic teacher and boss. Every time you make a career move you expose yourself to a new boss-employee relationship and it’s important to remember this in interviews. You need to suss out how, not if you will work with this person. On the other side of the fence, in the ad sales roles there were men. And mostly men at least ten years my senior. It would have been easy to see this as a barrier, but instead I made myself look, listen, and learn, gaining from their experience and knowledge. I loved my time at Media Planning Group.

After a short career break to have my son I was ready to return to the working world. The corporate world has moved on leaps and bounds since 2014 and back then I found it hard to be seen as someone other than a mum. I decided it was time to move on and applied for the role of Head of Trading at Northern and Shell, the publisher of Daily Express, Daily Star, OK Magazine and their sister websites. I had realised I was at a dead end on the agency side and wanted a new challenge. I realised it is acceptable to say ‘this isn’t working’ and move on. N&S was owned by the prolific Richard Desmond and it was known as having a hardened sales team. Luckily there were some friendly faces on the floor, people that I had networked and socialised with over the years. Part of my role was to bring traditional newsbrands into the digital age and I’m really proud of what we achieved in my three years there.

But change was round the corner. The newsbrand industry was under consolidation and N&S was bought out by fellow publisher Reach. My role was put at risk and I spent six months proving that I should be part of the new business. It wasn’t to be and in 2018 I experienced my first taste of redundancy. It was so hard not to take it personally and I realised it was ok to lean on friends, family and my professional network for support. Every day I would try and do one ‘good thing’ towards my new job goal. Reaching out to contacts, scouring LinkedIn and keeping myself relevant. I also offered to take roles that would be more junior than my experience, just to keep me out there.

In November 2018 I was offered the opportunity to a temporary contract at Hearst. Unbelievably this is the company that once was the National Magazine Company that I started at in 2002. I’d gone full circle. I took the role and once again it was time to prove myself. I made sure that I owned the area of the business that I was responsible for and looked for ways to improve and make it more efficient. At times like this don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet and demonstrate to the company that you are helping to drive the business. I was made permanent in February 2019 and have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far. Our business has transitioned from a magazine publisher to a multi platform house of brands that offers our clients a wealth of advertising opportunities. My role has diversified and I’m often taking on new projects. I try never to say no and just ask for realistic deadlines!

As I reflect on my career so far I am immensely proud of what I have achieved and the relationships I have built. My one piece of advice would to be brave, push out of the comfort zone and go for it!