Welcome back to another Events Space blog post! This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Holmesglen alum Jade Johnson. After graduating in 2016, Jade went on to work at some of Australia’s biggest events, including the Australian Open, Melbourne Cup, the Melbourne Show and the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, just to name a few! During our chat, we reflected on her time studying and Jade’s vast career in events thus far. Before we get started, I just want to say a huge thank you to Jade for so kindly taking the time out of her busy schedule to have a chat, and provide current and future event students support.
Jade’s event journey started when she began working for Delaware North in the Food and Beverage areas of Rod Laver Arena at 16 years old. Jade recalled that there was just something in her that was gravitating towards events. She wanted to get backstage at almost any event she went to including the Commonwealth Games, little did she know then that that dream,would become a reality! More on that later. At this point, events were practically calling her name!
Think back to what you were doing at the tender age of 16...bet you weren’t working at the Melbourne show - going to it, sure - but Jade was already on her events career path. During her school holidays, Jade worked at the Melbourne Show and Melbourne cup, and till this day, continues to work and grow in her position at the Show.
When I asked Jade to reflect on her most memorable event, it was a tie between the Australian Open and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games - and yes, I am also jealous! The position she scored for the Commonwealth Games was bus systems leader - what is that you ask? Well, I think Jade put it best ‘...it involved a lot of crazy spreadsheets’. Her role led her to move to Queensland for 3 months and became a massive springboard for her next deep dive into the events industry. Not to mention, it looked fantastic on her resume!
Jade has worked for some of Australia’s biggest events, in fact, she is currently working on the Australian Open 2021 (fingers crossed, we stay out of lockdown until then!), so when I asked her where it all started, her answer was surprisingly simple.
‘Every day I googled event jobs, and applied for everything!’.
It seems obvious right?! But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Jade’s dedication to working in the industry and inspirational work ethic to apply day in and out for any and every event job had gotten her foot in the door. She became the master of interviews, demonstrated that she had a positive attitude, and worked on getting people to like her. I think Jade summed it up perfectly,
‘...if you are open to learning with a positive attitude and can show a company you are eager to work on the event, it’s easier for a company to train and mold you to fit their criteria, than it would be to train someone with a negative attitude. You want the company to remember you for a positive attitude, not a negative one!
Jade is a part of the lucky few who get to work in an industry that doesn’t feel like work, because it’s so enjoyable...mostly! It’s no wonder why it can be challenging for event professionals to balance their working and normal life duties. I asked Jade what has been the biggest lesson she’s learned while working, she had this to say,
‘I definitely love to work because I enjoy it so much but you have to say no sometimes and put yourself first as well...take time for yourself, after every event, I get a pedi and a massage because you have to take that time, otherwise you burn out and that’s worse’
While we were chatting, Jade dropped heaps of useful tips for event students trying to break into the industry. And, lucky for you I compiled some of them below:
- Be persistent and proactive - this means reaching out to people, research companies and events, find out who is doing the catering/hiring of staff for events you are interested in and ask them if there are any opportunities
- Stay back and work hard in the early days
‘Stay back, it’s so important in those early days - yeah you might have somewhere else to go - but you staying back those extra 10 minutes might make someone's life 10 x easier and they’ll remember that you made their life easier, so if you can, then do it’.
- Be self-sufficient - time is money and that saying could not be truer to the events industry. Your managers and co-workers have a thousand other things going on in their mind, if you can find out the answer yourself, then do it.
- Be precise and clear about what kind of roles you want - if an opportunity was to arise, make sure you know what you want to do, and even if a future employer doesn’t have that particular role available, they might offer you a similar role that you could be suited to
As usual, I asked our guest Jade to leave us with some final advice for students who are entering an industry that has faced some of the hardest challenges in 2020, but is recovering.
‘Keep your head up and events are still going to go ahead and they’re going to be needed 10 x so keep looking for opportunities and don’t give up!’
Thank you again to Jade for sharing her story and giving us some food for thought!
Leave a comment below and let me hear your thoughts