After attending university in Newcastle studying visual communication design, Emily said it was a story run in the Times last year covering HM founder Virginia Hyland’s nomination for a Telstra Business Women award that inspired her to take the leap and find work in the city.

“Virginia mentioned that they would be looking for someone to start this year, and if anyone was interested to email her,” Emily said.

“I’ve always had an interest in (media), but I really had no idea about the industry or how it worked.”

Emily is currently on the frontline of Australia’s media industry, analysing competitive market strategies and participating in the development of targeted marketing campaigns for clients across the state. 

After only 10 months in the job, Emily is set for promotion in coming weeks to the role of media assistant.

Ms Hyland, a country girl herself from Gilgai, said Emily has taken the metro world by storm.

“She has just impressed everyone since she came on board in January this year,” Ms Hyland said.

“My managing director, who is a city girl, didn’t really know what it would be like to bring in a country kid into the organisation. 

“She has just been so amazed at the hard work Emily has done that she has even said to me, ‘We need more country kids, because if this is the level that they work at we need more’.

“We have been so impressed at how quickly she has taken on board new opportunities and been such a hard worker.”

From job searching to promotion in less than a year, Emily said the key to success in the workplace is taking the first step.

“But I think the most important thing is just to put yourself out there and take that initiative,” she said. 

“I think at the moment country kids need to work so much harder just to get there. 

“They have to take the initiative to get down there and worm their way in. City kids have to do the same thing, but a lot of the time it is a bit easier because they are exposed to that kind of world on a whole lot more than country kids are.”