Alumni stories

Rosie Chong

Account Manager and Digital Strategist; CODI Agency

Commerce is definitely not for me

I’ll start my story with complete transparency: I still don’t know how to define a career in marketing. Think of marketing as the Loch Ness monster, you have a strong concept of what it looks like, how it should be, but when it comes down to it no two people have the same exact understanding of what nessy looks like. That’s how I see the world of marketing.

I began my degree at Monash University Caulfield campus, studying a Double Bachelor of Arts/Business, the thought of a commerce degree seemed too daunting as an 18 year old. I knew I did not want to become an accountant or financial analyst, I never considered myself someone who could fulfil or enjoy a role that I considered overly ‘commercey’. My first semester of university was a complete mess, graduating high school with decent grades I thought university would be a breeze, so I focused more on my social life, attending events, bar crawls and completely changing my persona to fit in with the cool friend group. Oh, how wrong I was. I barely pulled together a passing grade in Semester 1 and I was not enjoying my experience at all.

In my second semester, I started studying part time at Monash Clayton campus, to see if I enjoyed the university experience any better and be surrounded by a different group of people. And I loved it. I spent the second half of my first year applying for a transfer, and ironically, switching to a Bachelor of Arts and you guessed it, Commerce. It was over the course of my first year I found my love for marketing. As part of my degree, I had to complete 6 core compulsory units like every other Business and Commerce student such as Business Stats, Economics, Accounting, and then I lucked upon the Marketing unit. Something in this lit a fire in me – I loved to understand how businesses made decisions, or how to analyse purchasing behaviours of customers or even how to speak to a consumer. This is the moment I knew what I was meant to do for a career.

Monash, MMSS and everything in between

At the end of my first year I had heard of an upcoming General Meeting run by the Monash Marketing Students’ Society (MMSS), and something about being involved further in the marketing student life peaked my interest. So, I prepared a speech as my application as to why I would be a fitting Social Coordinator and hyped myself up as I walked into the meeting room.

I was involved with the MMSS for the remainder of my degree, scaling to the position of President by the end of my second year and holding this role for the better part of 2 years. I was fascinated by learning and connecting with industry professionals, and getting a taste of the adult corporate world, mingling with fresh graduates and esteemed professionals at networking events. My time at MMSS was pivotal in developing my love for marketing, as well as teaching me invaluable skills that would be required of a marketing professional. Being so heavily involved with the society helped me secure internships I completed during my studies including with Unilever and Ogilvy, that provided me with a greater understanding of what area of marketing I wanted to specialise in from PR to Brand to Digital Marketing.

Helping organise events, interview incoming committee members and lead team meetings was an enlightening experience through my years with MMSS, it even introduced me to some of my closest friends I have today, all thanks to my involvement with marketing at Monash. Here I was, thriving as a young 20 something, studying a degree I was passionate about and making a very small difference in the university world of marketing, and I had the rest of my time at Monash all mapped out – where I would work as a graduate, how I could fit in studying a semester abroad and even factoring in time off between graduating and entering the corporate bubble.

Things did not quite go to plan

But then what? My journey after graduating was not the detailed step-by-step plan I had expected, I spent hours and hours applying and interviewing for Marketing Graduate roles in my last year at university, resulting in no job offers. I continued applying for entry-level full-time roles, upwards of 50 to no avail. Even with the internships I had under my belt, I could not understand why no one would hire me. I was defeated, and disappointed in myself. Was I a failure? Why was my plan not going how it should? So, like any other overwhelmed 22-year-old I booked a 6-week trip to Europe, and hit pause on the job hunt.

Returning after travelling I picked up the job hunt with all guns blazing, knowing I could not stand working as a casual in retail much longer. Within 3 weeks of landing back on home soil I had done it, I had secured an interview at a major publishing corporation in the media world. From there I started my journey in media, steering away from the traditional marketing job titles I had always strived for in university and began a career trajectory I had not planned for.

Stumbling upon a career I did not expect

Today I work as an Account Manager and Digital Strategist at CODI Agency, specialising in digital marketing and social media strategy. What I absolutely love about my job is that no two days are the same, I get to work with clients from a variety of different industries from around the world. I get to combine my unhealthy obsession with social media, passion for content creation and people all into one role, designing and presenting marketing strategies for all kinds of clients.

If I had one piece of advice for current students or fresh graduates who might be feeling as lost as I was, it would be that things don’t always go to plan. But sometimes, that is the way things are meant to go. I didn’t land that Marketing Grad role like I always dreamt of since my first year, but I found something much better. I stumbled upon a career in an industry I had not even considered, now working a job I absolutely love where I can build the career I always wanted.