A letter to my post-graduated self — Bree Johnson.
Careers don’t go in a straight line, and neither do businesses. Bree Johnson, Co-Founder of Willow & Blake and frank body, pens a piece to her younger self on how to lean into the ride.
Dear Past Bree,
You’ve just finished uni with a degree in Journalism. You are about to go overseas for a modelling contract. And will realise modelling is not for you.
You’ll come home and life will be hard. Getting your first job will not be as easy as you thought. You will question your decisions, your intelligence and what you want to do and be. You’ll go to interviews and be rejected. You’ll apply for jobs and not hear back.
You won’t get a job at any of the shiny Sydney-based beauty and fashion magazines you interned at. You will stay in Melbourne and start an unpaid internship at a new publication called Broadsheet. This might be the best decision you ever make.
There you will meet the founder Nick Shelton and he will become your mentor. You see what he is building and you want to be a part of it. You read ‘How To Make Friends and Influence People’. It tells you to make a small hole for yourself in the business so on the days you aren’t there, your lack of presence is felt.
You ask to do extra days (still unpaid), take on extra responsibilities, upskill yourself with an editing course. Eventually you build up the courage to ask for a job. “Doing what?” asks Nick. “Editorial Assistant,” you pitch. He says yes.
The pay is low so you work at a cafe on the weekends and negotiate to have ad-hoc days off to take modelling jobs to subsidise your income.
You learn your first important life lesson: If you never ask the question, the answer will always be no.
Things you learn at your first job:
When to listen and when to talk.
The importance of hard work and hustle.
Where the best eggs are in Melbourne.
That you don’t want to work for an entrepreneur, you want to be an entrepreneur.
Enter Willow & Blake and frank body.
At 23 you start your first business, a branding agency called Willow & Blake with two of your best friends, and a year later a skincare brand called frank body with two other co-founders.
Your 20s will not be normal. Your friends will be partying and you will be working.
You will hire employees, learn how to set up companies, read a profit and loss statement, have to fire employees, experience co-founder breakups. You will manage more career stress in a ten-year period than many will in their whole career. But it will be worth it.
Business never goes in a straight line. Some days you will fly and some days will feel like being punched in the face. But you will genuinely love what you do. And you will be great at it. You will live by your values and find purpose in your work. You’ll also build some pretty cool stuff.
Being a new grad is hard. You have no money, no experience and have to fight to prove your worth.
Trust yourself. Be bold. Ask questions. Do things differently.
Remember: risk it for the biscuit. It will all work out.
Oh and also FYI that boy you met at the bar will become your co-founder, husband and the father to your two beautiful boys.
Three top tips for new grads:
“When a door closes, look for a window.”
I learnt this from a very smart colleague and it became one of frank body’s mottos. It’s very relevant for my story and for those early on in their career. Maybe you didn’t get the grad role you wanted, you’re struggling to find a job or you don’t know what job you want. Everyone’s path will be different. And it might feel like you have to go backwards to go forwards. If you don’t feel like you fit anywhere maybe you need to build the business you want to work in.
“Show, don’t tell.”
Find a way to demonstrate your skills. For me that was creating a blog to showcase my writing. That blog got me a lot of my internships including the one that eventually led to a job. Internships are so valuable for learning what you want to do and proving what you can do. Suppose you are starting your own business or freelancing. Do work for free or for cheap until you build up a folio. A strong folio will get you jobs.
“Try, try; you may see.”
The quickest way to learn is by trying and failing. We encourage our team to take leaps knowing we’ll be there to catch them if they fall. Problem-solving is a great skill for grads to learn. Ideally in your first workplace, your mentors will guide you but always try to come with ideas, not just problems.
Linked-Into more?
Try one of these unlocked LinkedIn Learning courses.
Job Interview Tips with Madeline Mann
Tips for Nailing Your Job Interview with Sho Dewan
Career Essentials in Generative AI by Microsoft and LinkedIn
Tips for Advancing Your Career with Sho Dewan
For more of Bree’s frank advice to help female grads get into the industry, like resume-building and nailing an interview, watch the Off(ice) Script video series in partnership with LinkedIn . And for reading this blog and leaning into the upskilling spirit, use LINKEDIN15 for 15% off your next frank purchase.
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