At 16, I left school. Left home.

It was an act of rebellion but I needed to find a different path, even if noone else understood it. I worked at supermarkets, a bookshop and eventually an optometrist, becoming an optician and managing stores across New Zealand.

Moving to London at 21, I landed another optician gig - but it was awful! It had me questioning everything and longing for home. Then a (very) tipsy conversation at a birthday party led to an unexpected opportunity: my first HR role at a major UK investment firm.

Suddenly I was wording in a heritage-listed building around the corner from Buckingham Palace, advising on policies I'd Googled the week before. Imposter syndrome? Loads of it! But I kept saying yes, again and again. And I grew.

What followed was over a decade in recruitment, HR and leadership development, first in the UK and then in Australia (after I followed a boy across the world... the boy didn't last, but the move did!)

Arriving in Melbourne, I assumed my UK experience would translate easily. It didn’t. I struggled to find work and had to rethink my strategy completely. Eventually, I pivoted into agency recruitment, using it as a stepping stone back into HR.

I rebuilt my career from the ground up - working across industries, designing talent strategies, delivering training and leading people-focused change. I recruited hundreds of people and learned how to navigate complex, evolving workplaces from the inside.