Here's the Scoop: Elly Hewitt

Elly is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of alt/shift/

Connect with Elly on Linkedin

Learn more about alt/shift/

1. Why did you choose advertising/marketing as a career path?

Because creativity lights me up and I love the pace, energy and people in the industry.

2. What's the best advice you'd give to your younger self who's just started their career?

Show initiative, put your hand up for projects, bring a positive attitude and be good to work with.

3. What do you look for when hiring young people?

Great attitude and evidence that they’ve put energy into their careers with internships etc.

4. How do I make my resume stand out?

Make it look visually appealing. There’s so many designed templates now online, there’s no excuse for a word doc anymore.

5. What skills have been most beneficial for you?

Listening - the more you listen the more your instincts will be right in responding. Putting a lot of effort into building relationships - with my clients, team and stakeholders.

6. Do you need a degree?

I own and run a PR agency and didn’t study PR. I personally think you learn most of this on the job. I’d take great attitude over a piece of paper any day.

7. What was a key lesson you learnt in your career to date?

That you need to roll with the punches. The best and worst part of working in an agency is that no two days are the same. Some days you can lose a big client, other days you can be delivering outstanding work. You need to be able to work through the lows and celebrate the highs.

8. Have your reasons for joining the industry changed over time?

As I’ve become more senior my reasons have been far more strongly weighted to business growth and developing team members. I love managing people and watching them kick goals.

9. Have you ever failed? How did you react?

All the time. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough. There’s always a lesson from every failure and it helps you develop more and more with each stumble.

10. If you had the chance to re-do your career knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I’d get our systems right early on when we started our business. Start up chaos can be avoided to an extent!