Maddy's story: from Tourism Marketing to Copywriter

Feeling stuck and unsure where to go...

At the start of 2020, I had completed 4 years working in tourism marketing. I had recently gotten married, so without having to plan a huge event I was suddenly left to ponder. And I felt stuck. Which we all know is the “Open Sesame” password for joining the Escape The City community. 

I more or less toppled into advertising, account management and marketing after uni. I absolutely loved it. I worked in a fun industry, with a fantastic and lovely team and enjoyed the travel, creativity and variety. I am a creative at heart, which is probably why I gravitated towards the industry, but at the same time I never really thought about what else I could do. I wasn’t totally happy, yet I had no idea what it was I wanted to change. 

My mind was stuck in what I knew. When I joined the Escape Career Change Accelerator, I think I was just looking for a better way to apply to fabulous and popular brands as a marketeer. What I wasn’t expecting was the belief that I could theoretically do anything. 

Finding a new direction and applying differently

During the Escape Accelerator and working through various exercises with my fellow escapees, I realised that copywriting was what I really wanted to do. But who on earth would employ someone without decades of writing experience, especially during a pandemic? Escape encourages you to “trust the process” of career change and “apply differently”, so you stand out from other candidates. While I understood the overall premise, I was sceptical. But I rolled with it.

I resigned from my tourism marketing role in early March 2020 and was jobless by June - stellar timing! I started applying for copywriter roles and for every role I applied for I researched the organisation’s tone of voice, colours and fonts and built a slide deck with content I wrote based on activity I thought that brand could feature. 

Trust the process, guys - ‘cause it actually works!

Looking back to January and to the start of my Escape experience, I feel like I am watching someone else’s story, because surely, I can’t be that lucky. But I now acknowledge that I did the hard work, took the small steps, and created this path for myself.

This year, I have rediscovered my creativity - big time! I launched an embroidery side hustle (Purl & Knot), built a varied and credible copywriting portfolio (www.madeleineds.com), landed a job that included a bit of writing with marketing management, and then became a full-time B2C Copywriter for JustPark. I secured the interview after they contacted me to say that my elaborate application had made a lasting impression!

I am now almost 3 months in, it’s gone incredibly quickly and I am so so happy I made this change and got this job. 

If I were to give one piece of advice to someone wanting to change career...

Nothing is impossible - cheesy as it sounds, it helps to keep all your options open. We all tend to immediately go “oh but I can’t do that because...”. Yes, some paths might have time or money constraints but that doesn’t mean it won’t work! Just think about how it could and then you might even find something that is close enough and equally fulfilling!

p.s.: And trust the process.