CLARE RUTHERFORD – COOPERATIVE RESEARCH EXECUTIVE
I’ve had a wonderfully engaging career in Research and Government program management, leading me my current executive role in a Cooperative Research Centre, but I never expected my career would follow this path!
I was a microbiology major at university, and stayed on to do honours, so I was fully expecting CSIRO to be waiting for me with open arms when I was ready to step into the job market. To my surprise, they weren’t.
Looking back, I realise I had unrealistically high standards for my ‘first job’. I was looking for a role that would offer me an opportunity to do exciting research, travel the world and meet amazing people, and I searched unsuccessfully for that role for more than a year. While searching for my dream job, I also applied for a job to pay the bills, which is how I became the store manager for Bras N Things in Hobart.
At the time, Bras N Things was driven by customer service, with a policy that we weren’t in the lingerie business, we were in the customer business, so nothing a customer asked for was too much. We followed an incredible sales method called the GUEST+ steps, which focuses on generating an genuine connection with customers, rather than trying to push product, and it really worked! We well surpassed our sales targets every month!
But fundamentally, I was ashamed to be working there. I felt like I was destined for greater things than running a lingerie shop, so I never fully embraced the fun, playful culture or thought of myself as a BNT girl. It’s taken me years to reflect on that experience and realise what an incredible learning opportunity it was, and how much the skills I learned in that little lingerie store have continued to impact my life.
Opportunity is everywhere, it just depends on your point of view. I thought I was wasting my education and my skills and capabilities, but looking back, I learned some amazing lessons about the power of customer service, teamwork, and the importance of job satisfaction. I now feel truly grateful for my experiences as a store manager because it helped to define my personal values, one of which is to lead through service.
After having no success looking for a role that would let me wear a crisp white lab coat every day, I started casting my net a little wider and eventually found an amazing position as a grants manager in AusIndustry, the Federal Government’s business support agency.
I worked with many inspiring businesses across Tasmania to access government support to bring their products and services to market. I was surrounded by a wide array of entrepreneurs creating new products and services that I got to see before they came to market. I was able to foster a sense of curiosity, which led me to many valuable relationships and interesting experiences.
Since those early days, I’ve built a network and a career which now sustains me. I focus on maintaining a reputation as someone who will lean in, who works with enthusiasm and always leads with an attitude of ‘yes’.
The lesson that I’m still learning is that even in difficult situations there’s a learning opportunity, and that sometimes not getting what you want can lead to even better outcomes than you originally planned!
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