Alumni stories

Sonia Bijelic

Director Marketing & Engagement, Brotherhood of St. Laurence

When I grow up…

I want to be a marketer.

Not generally something a teenager wakes up one day thinking. And nor did I.

In fact, I’d always thought I’d grow up to be an environmentalist. But my father put an end to that idea because there was no money in being ‘green’ back in the 80s.

So instead, my father sent me off to a recruitment company to sort me out with some psychometric testing and career advice at the tender age of 16.

I was dropped off at the recruitment company office and spent the whole day there doing a bunch of aptitude and interest tests. A few weeks later, a big envelope arrives in the mail with a report about me.

I learned a lot about myself from that first psychometric report. I was quite proud of the fact that I scored at the 99^th percentile for ‘accuracy’ – perfect for a secretarial role it read.

But alas, the report continued…. and upon reading the ‘Professional Recommendation’ page, there it sat – the answer to what I should be when I grow up.

It read: “I would therefore recommend that you adopt an educational objective, the securing of a place in the Bachelor of Business (Marketing) course at Chisolm Institute of Technology.”

Whilst my father questioned why his daughter wasn’t being referred to ‘university’, we were told that Caulfield Institute of Technology was ‘the very best’ in Australia for marketing. So, that’s what I enrolled in when I finished high school, and it’s been the best decision ever.

That ‘Institute of Technology’ continues to be the ‘very best’ today under the badge of what it is now known as ‘Monash University’.

A clear steer towards marketing from an early age – extract from Sonia’s psychometric testing report

The journey begins…

I still remember my first day at Caufield campus. Alone, not knowing a soul, not knowing what to do and where to go.

So, I joined what I saw was an equally clueless queue of students waiting to speak to the information desk. As I stood there wondering if I was even in the right queue, I tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of me and asked: ‘is this the queue for marketing’ and she said ‘yes’. In an instant, Danielle was my new best friend as we stuck together to navigate the unknown ahead of us.

That first new friend quickly became two new friends, which became four new friends, which became 10 new friends….and as my friendships grew, so too did my list of life-long memories.

It is the friendships, the experiences and the memories created in the process of studying marketing that makes the experience at Monash so great.

But of course, what I learned at Monash was valuable too.

Whilst I didn’t appreciate it back then, I learned a whole bunch of stuff about marketing that I actually use in my work in real life, like applying the ‘4Ps’ – and just the other day someone asked me to do a SWOT!

And I learned the importance of finding good people you can work with. Those study groups you’re forced to join to produce group assignments mirrors what you have to do in the real world at work. And just like university study groups, to avoid getting a poor result, you learn the importance of picking your crew wisely!

I also learned the importance of establishing and fostering connections with the people you meet – those kids walking around in trackie dacks on campus today, are the business leaders walking into the boardrooms of tomorrow. So, it’s important to keep fostering your connections as you never know where you’ll next cross paths. They may end up being a colleague, a client…or even your boss!

After four fun years, I graduated from Monash with a Bachelor of Business majoring in Marketing, as well as a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Japanese.

It was now time to take on the real world!

A very proud day – graduation day for Sonia

Starting at the bottom….

Armed with a killer perm and confidence aplenty, I secured my first marketing job at Brown Brothers Winery up at Milawa, in regional Victoria.

Like… the… best… first job…. ever! Wine, cheese, wine, cheese…. I think I put on 15 kilos in one year!

Barry, my manager, hired me as a Direct Marketing Assistant. With my wealth of direct marketing experience (not), I did the best I could attending to the small tasks and assignments Barry gave me – like filing, mailing out letters to people and helping serve customers at cellar door.

I must have looked like I was struggling early on as I remember one of the older Executive Assistants, Joan, coming over to me to say: “you know you can ask for help when you need it”. That was a little life lesson.

From then on, I learned not to waste time trying to work things out on my own. I asked Joan and others for help, learned from them, worked with them and took on more and more responsibility. This included helping to plan and deliver Brown Brothers’ Annual Wine & Food Festival with over 5,000 attendees. I was so proud of the first brochure I produced….

Geez my time at Brown Brothers was fun – maybe too much fun as I was told by Barry not to be so distracting to the other staff – but I also learned so much in that job, like planning, organisation, delivery….and I did these well.

Proving I could ‘deliver’ provided me the platform to then progress my career.

One of Sonia’s first marketing communication pieces

Working my way to the top and having fun along the way…

From my formative experience at Brown Brothers, I then progressed onto more senior and senior roles – from Assistant to Manager to Team Leader to Director.

I worked across a range of industries – consumer goods, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, sport, entertainment, retail and charity.

And across numerous organisations – Walt Disney, Telstra, GE, ANZ, Treasury Wine Estates, Cricket Australia, Brotherhood of St. Laurence, amongst others.

People often wonder how I have been able to move between such wildly different industries and organisations and be successful. The answer’s simple. When you study marketing, what you learn can be applied anywhere.

That’s why marketing is such a great occupation to pursue, because it allows you to follow your interests and passions across all industries and types of organisations – you never know what amazing things you will get to work on or experience in your career!

Some of the best things I got to work on included launching numerous blockbuster movies like The Lion King and Toy Story, meeting movie stars and film makers, growing a new market for ‘broadband’ internet in Australia, putting women’s sport on the national stage with the biggest ever Women’s Ashes, travelling abroad for work to places like Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York, being asked to judge leading marketing awards like the CLIO Sports Awards in the US, and having the joy of working on award-winning campaigns and in award-winning teams myself. And, of course, working with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and the whole gang was a highlight too!

One particularly unique experience I had was when I was at Walt Disney, I was given the opportunity to run around Disneyland in Los Angeles dressed up as Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh! Having what felt like a hundred kids run towards me screaming with delight and hugging me was the best experience! You can’t see it in this photo here, but I’m smiling ear-to-ear!

Some advice for others starting out…

Funny how things happen. What my father did for me at the age of 16, I did the same with my own daughter at the age of 16….and wouldn’t you know, she’s now in her second year at Monash University doing a Bachelor of Marketing and Bachelor of Business, and loving it.

My advice to her – and to any 19-year-old in their second year at Uni – is to really try to do your best with your studies. The reason for that is what you’re being taught is what you’ll actually use in your career in marketing. So, don’t think it’s a bunch of theory you’ll never use again – you will. And the other reason is, it’s pretty competitive out there. Being able to demonstrate strong outcomes in your university studies could give you that little edge you need when you’re up against others for job interviews.

When you leave university and start your career, make sure you learn as much as you can and try your hand at different roles to build up a breadth of experience. Get across all the 4Ps! This will provide you a strong foundation to build your career, makes you more versatile and marketable to employers, and will also help you work out the kinds of roles you want as you progress your career. Oh…and don’t occupy yourself trying to jump-frog to the next role and up the career ladder – just focus on nailing the job you have and the promotions will then naturally follow.

Finally, remember that it’s not all study and work. When you look back at your time at university and the early years of embarking on your career, you’ll realise that they’re some of the best years of your life. With youth, energy and freedom on your side, it’s an exciting time when you can open yourself up to new learning, new people and new possibilities. It’s time to make the most of it.

Connect with Sonia on LinkedIn