Blog – Career crossroads: My path to MacroArt

Anysia Henderson – Marketing Executive

It’s that time of year when new years resolutions come into force, and you begin to re-evaluate your life choices, this could happen at the beginning or throughout the year. Crossroads present opportunities and within this blog, our very own Anysia Henderson details her past experiences with ‘career crossroads’ and their endless possibilities and how MacroArt entered her life.

“Today, I’m doing a job that I love.

It’s a job that I’m told I’m very good at, and it’s definitely one in which I am learning new things about the role and myself every day.

As MacroArt’s Marketing Executive for the last six months, I have embraced a host of new opportunities to widen my skills and experience, and I am sure there is more to come. At MacroArt, I feel both valued and valuable and I’m proud to be a part of the team.

But, if I’m honest, it was never my Plan A to be here.

From a very early age and into my late teens, my whole life had been absorbed by, and centred around, the world of dramatic arts and performance; I danced, I acted, I sang, in various festivals and shows at schools both near and far (with the tireless help of my parents in ferrying me around the country!) It’s what I loved doing. And I revelled in it.

But something inside me told me I needed a backup plan; what if I didn’t have what it takes? What if I sustained an injury that closed the door on my dreams? What else could I do?

And so, my first crossroad was reached. Which road should I take? What should I try next?

I have always believed that setting off in the wrong direction is better than not setting off at all.

I decided that my best next step was to strengthen both my qualifications and my skillsets, pursuing my interest in marketing and communications. So, I continued my education, culminating in achieving a First-Class Honours degree in Events Management and Marketing in 2018.

After a few more crossroads, I found myself working at an education company in Huntingdon, as Content & Digital Marketing Executive dealing with the day-to-day marketing functions of a busy company. But like my love for performing arts, I never stopped being inquisitive or learning new talents and skills. I immersed myself in every new opportunity within my role, whether it be shadowing videographers and filming, or post-production skills.

My hunger for learning, never passing up an opportunity to acquire new skills, helped me gain a promotion within this firm to become a Multimedia Production Executive, where I was involved in creating engaging video and audio content, further broadening my experience. The future looked bright.

But still, I craved the chance to become part of a broader, more inclusive marketing team.

And then, another crossroad…

In 2021, with a need to change my work/life balance and make more time for my family, I was keen to look for opportunities nearer to where I lived, to reduce my travelling and free up more time at home.

And here I am, working with the talented team at MacroArt, empowered to use all my existing skills, and develop others to support our marketing goals. It’s the perfect role for me!

But here’s a little secret; before I discovered the job advert, I never knew that the industrial estate where MacroArt is based even existed, and very little about what MacroArt did. But now I’m here I have a chance to change that, growing awareness of our brand both locally and across our wider client’s industries.

My role here encompasses so much more than marketing; for instance, I also work with local schools and colleges to promote apprenticeships and work experience opportunities in our industry, an initiative that resonates deeply with the ‘younger me’.

What if I had decided not to stay in formal education, but follow an apprenticeship? Would I still be where I am today? Would I be happier? Would my career look different?

The truth is, I will never know.

However, it has made me realise one thing; in the world of work and careers, ‘crossroad’ is just another word for ‘opportunity’.

My advice: treat every crossroad as the chance to explore new horizons. Discount nothing. There are so many different routes to success, whether it be work experience, apprenticeships, higher education, or university.

There is no ‘hard and fast’ way to find your perfect career.

And this is the key – all you need to do is take a path – through this you’ll make the most of all the crossroads that you come across.”