Rosemary Fotheringham

Rosemary honed project management and creative problem-solving skills from her Tourism Management studies for media roles and her work as an entrepreneur.

I was always drawn to and worked in hospitality roles in cafés and restaurants, and originally looked at jobs such as hotel management or culinary work. I loved business and the tourism industry seemed exciting. I figured that a career in tourism would always have jobs and be interesting, and it would allow me to meet all kinds of people from all over the world. I also realised that there was a lot of overlap between Tourism Management (in those days a separate degree) and Marketing. With a few more classes I could also get a Marketing degree, which I figured would be useful for any business I would work in. Later on, I also completed a nutrition certification since I was interested in health and wellness.

My degree studies were great to learn basic principles and laid a solid groundwork for further learning. I also enjoyed that the Tourism Management cohort was relatively small, so we got to know our lecturers and the other students well.  I've gone on to read books, do a ton of online courses and listen to podcasts on marketing, especially online entrepreneurship. After completing my nutrition studies, I was able to use my marketing knowledge to get people to sign up for my classes and one-on-one client work, and buy my guides.

While I was doing my studies, I worked in the café and the restaurant at Wellington's Bolton Hotel. My first job after university was in customer support for a start-up in Wellington that made software used by hotels, motels and campsites across the country. I made a point to learn as much about the company as I could before the interview. That gave me a leg-up on the other candidates because the hiring panel saw that I was prepared.

One of the most important skills I learned while studying was project management: how to undertake multiple responsibilities and projects and stay on top of things. Between multiple classes, working part time, and taking care of life stuff, it was kind of a crash course in being a grown-up. Every role, you're going to be juggling multiple projects and you need a system to make sure everything is captured so you aren't dropping any balls. I've found David Allen's book Getting Things Done incredibly helpful to implement a system so that at any time, I have a general idea of all the projects I'm working on, what's coming down the pipeline, and what I need to follow up on.

My current role is Director of Operations for a local lifestyle magazine called Taylored Living. My job involves a lot of project management: making sure things happen on time and creating systems and processes that can be replicated so we aren't duplicating effort each time we put out a quarterly magazine. I also do some consulting for business owners. Luckily, the industry I'm working in wasn't too directly impacted by COVID-19, but we definitely need to stay on top of trends and maintain a strong online presence.

I think some of the most important skills for graduates are being proactive and coming up with creative solutions to problems. In my experience, employers don't expect you to know everything, but they do love the attitude of "I don't know how to do that yet, but I can figure it out”. Also understanding your personality type and your strengths and weaknesses is crucial. For example, if you plan to work in a new industry or you're working for a start-up, you need to have a high degree of comfort for ambiguity, and that's not for everyone. Also, be the type of person that doesn't need to be micromanaged: your employer needs to know they can give you a task and you'll run with it.