This Careers Week, we wanted to highlight some of the routes our team members have taken to getting to where they are today. You may not realise it, but there’s no ‘one size fits all’ or “typical” route you can take. So if you’re considering a career in an agency, or are thinking of making the jump from in-house, here are the stories from some of our team:

Ben Carrett, Finance Director

“My career journey to Liquid was more of a road trip…

On completion of my Master’s degree – my degrees in Modern Greek, Environmental Geology, and Geophysical Hazards bear no relation to my job! – I took a temporary role at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations which then turned into a permanent position. It was there I met the then President Elect of CIPR, Lis Lewis-Jones.

Wanting a change and pastures new, Lis offered me a position at Liquid as PR / office assistant. I accepted and became Liquid’s first employee and relocated to the Midlands at the start of 2010.

As Liquid grew, so did my role. I left the world of PR to concentrate on the administrative side of the business, becoming office manager then finance director. I’ve recently had my 12th anniversary and have loved every minute.”

Jess Deeley, Junior Account Executive

“Before joining Liquid, like many others I was studying for a degree, and completed my first year throughout the lockdown. After much reflection, I decided it wasn’t for me and investigated other routes that may be better suited to me. I reached out to Liquid for some work experience and spent a week on placement in 2021.

From this I instantly knew PR was for me and was fortunate enough to be offered a permanent position at Liquid as a Junior Account Executive. I have been doing this role for five months now and love it! It was definitely hard deferring my degree and going for something new, but university isn’t made for everyone!”                     

James Read, Head of Digital

“After graduating from university with a Journalism and Politics degree in 2013 I started my career as a Copywriter. After working as a copywriter in a couple of roles it became clear that both Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and promoting copy via social media posts was a crucial aspect of creating any online content and found that more and more of my time and focus was dedicated to keywords and social media planning.

From picking up SEO and social media I fell deeper into digital marketing, taking on a role in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) where I was sending customer engagement and win back campaigns, before becoming Digital Marketing Manager at an in-house ecommerce company.

Eventually, after being in-house at various companies for seven years, I felt I needed a faster pace and more variety, so I joined Liquid as a Digital Marketing Manager in October 2020 and found the role vastly different to anything I’d done before. Being at an agency ensures that no two days are the same and allows me to work on a range of different digital marketing channels across a broad spectrum of sectors and industries.”

Ness Clark, Social Media Executive

“Returning from maternity leave is hard enough, without the added challenges of changing careers at the same time. I originally trained as a Visual Merchandiser, having a career spanning nearly a decade, then I decided to make the switch to Social Media.

I was only at my previous in-house social media role for a year before leaving to go on maternity, so I was still getting to grips with the transition. As my maternity leave was coming to an end and I knew I needed more from my in-house role, not just for me but for my new family. That’s when I joined Liquid and agency life. Juggling motherhood and work is hard at times but working somewhere where you are valued and have the incredible support of your colleagues, makes those times few and far between.”

Irene Eliseeva, Junior Graphic Designer

“My career path began at a retail company where I was responsible for product photography. After a couple of months, I took over graphic design works, making product catalogues and digital adverts for the company.

As my interest in delivering design solutions was growing, I made a step towards broadening the variety of my projects and began freelancing where I was able to work with small-scale start-ups. Soon after COVID trapped us all in a four-walls environment, I realised the lack of support and day-to-day communication and started seeking roles in a PR agency to join a team full-time again.

Since then, I’ve enjoy working in Liquid and being able to bring my experience in creative thinking and visual communication skills to our clients.”

If you’re looking for a new role, work experience placement, or year in industry, contact us today by emailing hr@weareliquid.com with a cover letter and CV. And who knows…we could be featuring your career journey this time next year!