Special Edition – Interview

“I was off on maternity leave when a former manager sent me a link to the applications for Special Edition. She encouraged me to apply, saying that a woman in her current team had just completed the programme and she couldn’t believe the difference in her. When I initially looked at the opportunity, I doubted that I would be good enough to be selected. But I read feedback from previous delegates, who were making huge claims about the experience being ‘life-changing’ and I thought ‘I want a piece of that!’. So, I gave it a go and secured a place.

Given everything I have learned since completing the programme, the confidence gained and my improved mindset, it scares me to think what I would have missed out on had I not clicked that apply button!”

“I had taken a year out of the industry for my maternity leave and felt I had generated a lot of energy on my time away from work. At the same time, I was also starting to get nervous about returning to the industry. A lot changes in the digital world in a year, so that was really playing on my mind. I came back to work and started Special Edition in conjunction, and I think I would have struggled more with the return if it hadn’t been for the course. Special Edition gave me a really positive outlook on returning to the industry – it was like a rebirth, as cheesy as that sounds!”

“I’ve always enjoyed the industry I work in, and done well in terms of career progression, but I had reached the level of Associate Director and I didn’t know what was next for me. Even though I am confident in my knowledge, skills and experience, a part of me has always thought that I could never be a Managing Director or start my own business. I look at others in those positions and have never felt that I could relate. Following the course, I genuinely do believe that I am just as good as anyone else and that I have every chance of getting to that stage. The course has helped not only understand that, but it has also helped me define and shape my goals and ambitions which I hadn’t truly thought through previously. I feel like I now have a better understanding of my “niche” – and that I know what I have to offer an organisation to make a real impact on their business, and that’s quite powerful! I do believe that I could choose a company that I really want to work for and just approach them with what I have to offer – and that’s not something I would have dreamed of doing prior to the course.”

“When I was doing the course, a role became vacant in another agency under the Dentsu Aegis network. I reached out directly to the Managing Director of the company to enquire about the position (something I never would have done in the past!) and during that conversation the role was offered to me then and there. I had been nervous about the prospect of asking because this is a senior role that manages across Edinburgh and Manchester locations. Without Special Edition, I don’t believe that I would have had the confidence to take the steps that got me this role. Following Special Edition I have a whole new mindset and perspective that has changed how I think, how I feel about myself and what I have to offer the world. That’s the greatest outcome, and more than I ever expected.”