career
This is an in-depth exploration of my professional journey, offering a personal perspective of how I navigated my way through various roles, delving into my experiences, responsibilities, and the stepping stones that led me to each job.
Free People: Working My Way Up The Ladder
I initially began my career with Free People during my senior year of college as a seasonal stylist during winter break. I loved helping customers style outfits and creating a enjoyable shopping experience. When I moved back to Columbus after graduation in May 2018, I returned to the store and accepted a full-time position as the "Manager in Training". I gained more responsibility including: store management, resolving customer and employee issues and effectively communicating with other stores and home office. I additionally completed daily performance reports highlighting our sales achievements, focuses and challenges.
I excelled in my role by ensuring the smooth operation of administrative tasks and serving as a mediator among the management and stylist teams while consistently ranking as the store's top seller. This performance earned me a promotion to Assistant Store Manager after just two months.
As an Assistant Store Manager I managed day-to-day operations. I oversaw the hiring process from recruitment to onboarding and handled scheduling for our team of approximately 20 employees. All while collaborating closely with the Visual Merchandising Manager to implement corporate sales goals and aesthetic visions. This entailed staying up to date with constant changes from home office and providing hands-on support for her daily tasks.
In the spring of 2019, I relocated to New York City and had the opportunity to transfer to a Free People store in Manhattan. Working in this bustling environment exposed me to a new realm of experiences. The clientele was more diverse, the pace and professionalism significantly higher, and sales goals took precedence over all else. I am deeply grateful for the time I spent working for FP; it will always hold a very special place in my heart. In the fall of 2019, I was offered my first freelance contract, marking the beginning of a new chapter in my career.
Freelance with forceMAJEURE Design
In the fall of 2019 I embarked on my freelance journey with forceMAJEURE Design as a PR and Social Media Coordinator. I had interned for them the summer before my junior year of college and was excited to return to the familiar workspace and reconnect with old colleagues. I was hired on a 3-month contract with a primary mission to refresh and expand the company's social media presence. Over this period, I embraced trial and error as I navigated this new venture in social media management, content creation, and copywriting.
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I will forever be thankful to forceMAJEURE for this invaluable opportunity. During my time there, I gained in-depth experience in tracking media analytics, implementing effective content strategies, and honed my skills in professional collaboration. Moreover, I had the pleasure of connecting with individuals from diverse backgrounds - as I was one of two Americans at the company!
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In hindsight, I must admit that taking on this role was a significant challenge. It marked my first venture into the professional PR field, and I found it a daunting task to navigate without a mentor or guidance. While I had anticipated a heavier focus on social media, a substantial portion of my responsibilities involved writing blog posts about projects from the past few years. Seeing as copywriting isn't my strong suit I faced ongoing challenges in meeting their needs.
Nevertheless, I view it as a valuable learning experience. At the conclusion of my contract with forceMAJEURE we respectfully parted ways and I turned my attention to new opportunities.
My 4 Year Journey in Jewelry with Alexandra Beth
While working at Free People Chelsea I often explored Chelsea Market during my lunch breaks, particularly 'Artists and Fleas, which featured local small businesses in pop-up shops. The “Alexandra Beth Designs” booth drew my attention with its trendy and affordable costume jewelry and became a daily stop. I had just began "influencing" and AB reached out asking to "gift" me jewelry in exchange for IG posts. A month later we met for a photoshoot in Chelsea Market, marking the beginning of a remarkable friendship.
This photoshoot turned out to be a pivotal moment in my NYC career, leading to opportunities on Alexandra's team and her mentorship as a seasoned New Yorker and young female professional. During my freetime I started working at her Artists & Fleas booths in Chelsea and SoHo, took charge of the company's Instagram and served as Alexandra's personal assistant. I successfully balanced this role alongside my responsibilities at forceMAJEURE and continued to do so in the months that followed.
Returning to a retail role was a seamless transition, I enjoyed assisting customers and consistently met my sales goals.I provided further support to Alexandra by running errands across the city, attending meetings with vendors and joining road trips for trade shows. This period of my involvement with Alexandra Beth Designs continued until March 15, 2020 when Artists & Fleas was forced to close its doors due to the onset of COVID-19.
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During quarantine, I fell into a rhythm creating content on Instagram and TikTok and with hard work and a lot of patience I began securing paid collaborations allowing me to take on content creation as my full time job. To read more about how the rest of my career as a content creator panned out please kindly CLICK HERE.
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During the pandemic Alexandra transformed Alexandra Beth Designs into Alexandra Beth Fine Jewelry, aligning the brand's direction with her clientele's evolving needs for fine jewelry. This transition prompted a move from Artists & Fleas to an office in the heart of the Diamond District on 47th Street. The desire for more consistent work and lifestyle led me to inquire if Alexandra could use an extra pair of hands in the Diamond District.
I quickly fell in love with the hustle and bustle of the Diamond District. I was frequently taking on more hours and responsibilities which led to my transition into the full-time role of Production Manager. In this capacity, I worked closely with Alexandra to provide the necessary support for a small business.
Working hands-on with jewelry involves a multitude of errands each week to complete a project. For example when fulfilling a custom necklace order I would start by coordinating with the client to ensure their preferences were met. The next step entailed visiting various vendors on 47th Street for components such as the chain, clasp, closure, and extender chain. Once all the pieces were procured, I oversaw the production team in assembling the final product while ensuring we met the client's deadline.
My role also encompassed client communication, active participation in client meetings, and the provision of insightful advice. We crafted a wide range of jewelry, from delicate stud earrings to exquisite 5-carat diamond engagement rings. One of the most rewarding aspects of this experience was assisting some of my dear friends in finding and creating their dream engagement rings while personally overseeing their production from start to finish. After a few months as Production Manager I earned a promotion to Director of Operations & Marketing. In this expanded role I continued to manage production while also contributing to content creation, brainstorming photoshoot concepts and future content ideas and handling website maintenance.
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I can't emphasize enough how much I cherished this role; I arrived at work each day with a smile on my face, eager to embrace the day's challenges. Alexandra served as a patient and caring mentor and working together for several years was an absolute delight.
In August 2023, as my lease came to an end, I faced the difficult decision to return to Columbus. While my time in New York City was truly remarkable I felt it was time to establish roots back home. Regrettably this decision meant parting ways with Alexandra as fulfilling my daily responsibilities from a distance was impractical. I hold this experience dear and will treasure it for a lifetime.
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Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
480-321-9996