Name
Hi, I’m Hayley, a 30-year-old new mum living with my husband, one-year-old son and our dog in rural Devon.
Current profession
I went back to work part-time in January and am currently working as Content Marketing Director for a national retail company. I also write a parenting, food and lifestyle blog called Devon Mama in my spare time.
Town or county you live in: Devon!
How did you get into content marketing?
My route into content marketing isn’t the traditional one. I’ve worked at the same company since I was 13 and a Saturday girl. It’s a family company and with almost all of my family involved, I was bound to end up there. Prior to going to university to study Business and Management, I worked for 12 months as a Marketing Assistant. I credit that with being one of the best and worst jobs I had, I worked directly for the Marketing Director and would cry relentlessly as my work was never ‘good’ enough to meet his standards. It both put me off marketing and inspired me to do better.
After leaving university, I came back to the company and joined as a buyer, quite different from my previous experience! In our organisation it still allowed me to have input with product presentation and promotion, especially as I was sourcing and developing own-brand products from the Far East. Over the years I worked my way up to Procurement Manager before joining the Board as Procurement Director back in 2014. My role at that stage was overseeing all products and stock from conception through to it leaving the organisation to go to the customer, giving me a team of 15 and a budget of £25 million annually. I was still heavily involved in promotion planning and worked closely with our branding and marketing team throughout.
As time progressed we realised there was a gap for a content marketing team. Previously our copy and content product was spread across various individuals in the company, each technically employed to do another job! In 2015 I set up a small team, working directly with them to develop how we presented and promoted our products digitally. It fitted well alongside my procurement role even if it was two very different skills and sides of my brain!
When I had my son, I started to look at which parts of my role would have to go in order to accommodate a shorter working week. I realised quickly that I wasn’t prepared to lose my marketing role and with that, stepped aside as Procurement Director. Since that point, I’ve brought all content production into one team allowing us to give a clear, branded and consistent message. I actually bumped into my old boss the other day, he couldn’t believe it had taken me this long to get back into marketing!
Briefly describe a typical day at work…
A typical day at work for me starts at 7.30am. I get into the office, grab a drink and get settled in. That first 30 minutes before everyone else arrives is the golden time – I get so much done! As a Director I’m expected to still be ‘on’ when I’m at home, so I tend to do a quick pre-check of my emails the night before and first thing in the morning. When I’m in the office I start by going through my inbox and getting any quick wins out of the way first. I have sign off for all content, which means I spend a huge chunk of my day editing and proofing work before signing off; sometimes that can take minutes, other times hours.
Around 8.30am I go into a Director’s briefing where we discuss any issues arising, sales and performance. After that, it’s usually meetings with people in my team to catch up on what they’re doing, chat through ideas and sort any issues. I operate fairly openly with my team, nothing is off the table (unless it’s ridiculous), so there are always plenty of ideas and suggestions to talk through. Over lunch I’ll do a bit more copy reading, check emails and sign off adverts or marketing materials; unfortunately, part-time hours mean that a lunch break is a necessity I just don’t have time for these days.
In the afternoon we’ll have a campaign planning meeting, getting the entire team together to plan and schedule campaigns. We work 3-6 months ahead as a minimum, thankfully a habit I’m used to from my days in Buying… it can lead to being very fed up with Christmas by the time it comes round! Finally, I usually end up dealing with staff issues or a management issue such as strategy work at the end of the day. I sign off at 4.30pm to pick up my son before going home to another hour or so on the sofa later.
What is the best part of your job?
The team. One of the best bits of bringing together a relatively new team is being able to handpick them. They all come from different backgrounds and have different levels of experience and technical knowledge, but somehow it just works. I’m also very lucky to have a hugely supportive team of fellow Directors; my desk is in a corner with three of them and we’re constantly collaborating, discussing and laughing. I also love the flexibility I have. If I need to swap a day in the office, I can. If I need to leave early, I can. It’s taken some adjustment, but it works well for us at the moment.
And the worst?
Ha! Being part time also has its downsides. It’s very difficult to be in a high-level job and not be there 24/7. It’s not as if my job role ceases to function or can be covered when I’m not in the office, which means I have to be constantly available. People often think it’s easy being at the top of the management structure and while it does have huge benefits, it’s also the worst bit of my job. Ultimately, the buck stops with me. If one of my team make an error or something goes out incorrectly, it’s on me. It’s my role to develop and support those working for me and prevent mistakes from happening.
As a Director, there is no-one really above you, which means that you are expected to have the answers and the fixes. I’d often look over my shoulder as if someone more senior was going to be stood there and answer the question I’d been asked! I’ve had to make tough decisions that go against my personal feelings in order to put the company’s best interests first, including making roles of people I like redundant. It’s an incredible feeling having that responsibility; it can be very stressful, very lonely and completely exhausting.
How many children do you have?
I have a son born in May 2016.
How old was your child when you went back to work?
I planned to return to work in September 2016, but didn’t feel quite ready. I took back the Content Marketing part of my role at that stage, working from home while my maternity cover was on an extended holiday. I loved it but it just proved that I wasn’t mentally ready to return to work! From September onwards I returned to work for Board Meetings and in January 2017 I went back to work properly.
How did you find going back to work after having a baby?
Oh gosh. I found going back to work with a baby so much harder than I thought I would! Even though I felt ready, I don’t think you can ever fully be ready for that change again. It helps that my son loves his childcare, but there are days when I don’t get to see him in the morning, meaning I get an hour with him maximum. I find myself riddled with guilt about leaving him when I’m in work and guilt about not working more when I’m at home. It’s tricky!
Did you go back to the same job? Or consider a career change?
I went back to an element of my old job. I genuinely considered not returning for a long time. I looked at our finances and realised that although we could cope, we would be doing just that; coping. We wouldn’t be able to afford to do anything beyond that. I looked at stepping down from a management role but decided it would be a huge backwards step for me and leave me frustrated. If I’m going to leave my baby, I want it to be for something worthwhile.
Who provides childcare for you?
My son goes to nursery one-and-a-half days a week and to my mum for one day. I was nervous about both of those options, but he loves the nursery and has come on leaps and bounds since joining there and being among other, older, children. With my mum, it’s been wonderful to see their relationship blossom and develop. I grew up close to my grandparents and I want the same for my son.
Was it easy to negotiate flexible working/returning to work?
My work has been very accommodating of me returning to work on a part-time basis. We’ve never had a part-time Director before, so I do feel a pressure to make sure that I’m constantly over-performing in order to show it can work.
Would you say your attitude to work has changed since having a baby?
Definitely. I’m still career driven, but I now know that it’s okay to take my foot off the gas a little! I find myself far more appreciative of part-time workers and other working primary caregivers. I used to think it would be easy working part time, but now I realise it’s anything but. I don’t do 3/5ths of my old job. I just do it in 3/5ths of the time for 3/5ths of the pay! On the flip side, I’m far less tolerant of office politics. I’ve not left my own child at home to have to come and deal with ‘children’ at work. I put it down to tiredness and a lack of patience these days!
What advice would you give to mums on maternity leave?
Enjoy it! I spent so long worrying about what I was missing, whether I could go back part time and then how I’d cope, that I forgot to enjoy it half the time. Spend some time doing proper research into childcare with plenty of notice; we had to book our nursery place prior to our son even being born. Good childcare that you trust removes one of those horrible guilt-inducing stressors.
Finally, be realistic about what you can manage. It’s all very well returning to work part time, but that does mean your role needs to be adapted to suit that. Likewise, with full time, don’t over commit yourself to the point that you’re running yourself ragged. You’ve got a full-time role at home as well, parenting doesn’t change to part time or flexi hours… be kind to yourself about what you can achieve. Most of all, know that what’s right for you may not be right for another. Don’t feel guilty for wanting to be back at work (or not!). Your career. Your family. Your choice. Not the neighbour’s, the woman at Tesco’s or your mum’s. Yours.
