Meet 5 Hatch Alumni who are now kicking career goals at companies like Loop and the United Nations.
Team update: A lot has happened since this blog - all great things! We’re now in the United States and our new product launched in November 2021, helping teams in fast-growing organizations find and hire their best-fit junior and mid-level talent in Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Customer Success. Try it here for free.This means some of our articles before this date may have product shots that look a little different. That’s all from us, enjoy the blog.
In every new role and every new workplace, you meet plenty of fascinating, zany characters. Working at THE ICONIC was no different, most of them were just better dressed. Perhaps with the exception of the engineering department. Nonetheless, I loved learning from many of the people there - to the point of which I learnt that in my career, it doesn’t matter what work I’m doing, as long as I enjoy the company of the people I see everyday. You MUST be on the same vibe! Stay winning.
On that note, I loved working with my mentor Nate and the other engineers in our team, Carlos and Felipe. They were A1, top-tier, cream of the crop colleagues and I’d happily work with them again. I think mates are the coolest thing to come from a job, and luckily for me, I got a few of them.
Despite all of that, nowadays I spend most of my workdays alone. I do have a dog that I’m fostering though; he keeps me grounded. Working on my own startup means that I get to call my own shots when it comes to product decisions - the lack of bureaucracy and meaningless meetings is refreshing. If you’re ever fortunate enough to be in such a position, I’d 10/10 recommend you give it a shot. Who cares if it goes awry? I love the freedom and the control...waiting for that to come back and bite me!
Hannah Blencowe
Hatch role: Communications & Social Media Assistant working with Rachel Botsman
Now: Senior Business Development Associate at Loop
My role with Hatch, working as a communications intern for thought leader and writer, Rachel Bostman, helped me recognise my desire to work in a role that allowed me to be creative and think about complex ideas in a different and visual way. I came from an accounting background and in all honesty, I didn’t ever think of myself as a creative person. The role made me realise that everyone has their own creative expression (genuinely) and this is a real strength to bring into the workforce.
It also opened my eyes to the sheer number of jobs and workplaces out there. You don’t just have to go down the path of getting a grad job at the Big Four to kickstart your career. I did that and ended up coming back to a job that looked a lot more like the one I had with Hatch!
A highlight for me was working on visualising a lot of Rachel’s detailed frameworks around trust and technology and turning that into digital assets that could be shared with attendees of her talks and lectures. I was given an entire physical wall to cut things out and move them around. It was a lot of fun!
I love my current job. For starters, I work in the area that I am most passionate about - the circular economy. It took me some time (and many long unhappy hours working in the Big Four in financial consulting) to realise what causes I believe in and how I wanted to make a different in the world. But once I did, I ran with it and found Loop (the mission driven business I now work for). I actually enjoy going to work, I feel like I’m making a difference, and I’m intrinsically motivated to be there and stay focused throughout my day.
The second part that I love is the work-life balance. We have flexible hours, I can work from home when I need, come into the office late when I need, and actually work 9-5 most days which means that I don’t get burnt out and feel like I have time in my days for other parts of my life that matter.
The most important thing I love about my role is the people and workplace culture itself. I cannot tell you how good it feels to actually feel like I can be myself at work. That is thanks to working with kind, like-minded people (who are for the most part, fellow greenies who love the planet!) and an amazing general manager who really sets the culture from the top.
Now: Digital Communication Consultant at the United Nations
My Hatch placements opened opportunities for me to get a taste of B2B marketing. Through these roles, I learned that I enjoy B2B Marketing so much that I want to build my career in this space!
A highlight from Spotify was when I was tasked with developing a tech master deck for the Business Marketing and Sales teams. Now, the desk is still being used, even beyond ANZ markets and I fell that I’ve left an impact there.
My current role at the United Nations is a dynamic one. One of the things I do in this role is COVID-19 communications, and I feel like this role has taught me so much about how to be a better communicator, especially on developing issues such as COVID-19.
My marketing background has helped me to remain agile and be more data-driven, strengthening the UN’s communication strategies in Indonesia.
Allan Leung
Hatch role: Culture and Strategy Coordinator at Australia Post
I think more than anything, my Hatch experience taught me that I'd be okay if I choose to go down any other route other than the one I'm currently on. It also taught me that when going through University, you don't know what you like until you try it.
My Hatch role was a mix of HR and analytics; the former was something I hadn't really thought I had an interest in. But I realised there is more to HR than just interviewing and managing employees - there were strategic elements like workforce planning, employee value propositions, and research-oriented work. It gave me a sense of comfort to know my career can be what I make of it, not necessarily what my degree equips me for.
A highlight from my Hatch placement was getting to experience firsthand what it’s like to work at a parcel facility, seeing all the sorting and processing take place, the mountains of mail (though considerably less these days), neatly organised into towers around each postie before setting out for the day, and go out on a parcel delivery run. Also, learning pivot tables for the first time. Powerful stuff.
In my current role at Quantium, I love the challenge and the difficulty of everyday. It’s mentally stimulating and I enjoy it. Quite often, you’ll find me sitting there, staring up at the ceiling, visualising the problem in my head, or talking it through, out loud to myself.
I also love the outcome we achieve for our clients, and the feeling that we’re often solving big problems for clients that they’ll use to drive decisions.
My Hatch role provided me with my first exposure to the advertising world, which was an industry I was interested in pursuing a career in.
I was able to see the workings of a creative agency in real life and I really loved how dynamic and interesting it was. It reassured me that I definitely did want to continue working in advertising.
I had the opportunity to work on one of the agency's biggest clients. Having that exposure and a supportive manager meant that I was able to learn so much in such little time. I had ownership over my projects and felt really proud when they were delivered successfully and got positive feedback.
I love the work and team culture of Orchard. It's an agency filled with people who are incredibly passionate, interesting and supportive. Our culture of 'Invent Better' means we do a lot of things that are both cool and purposeful.
