I shared fresh stories from last night’s IABC Queensland event where I road-tested my Work Fame concept—no slides, just prompts, energy, and a few spicy truths about standing out.
In this episode
- The serendipity start: rocking up to u&u Recruitment on Queen Street and reuniting with Erica Brush—we played state school netball together at 15 (Met West, Roma!).
- The recruiter reality check:
- 9 out of 10 jobs aren’t advertised—your reputation does the heavy lifting.
- When roles are posted? Hundreds of applicants. You need a pattern interrupt to be seen.
- My quarter-life crisis story: leaving Accenture dreams for a Wicked Campers marketing role (with zero marketing experience).
- The bold move: in 2008, my best friend Camilla and I filmed a two-part mini-doco in a Wicked van, played Volume 1 at her interview and Volume 2 at mine…
- The twist: one job on offer; they hired both of us.
- The takeaway: be memorable on purpose—create assets, don’t just submit applications.
Key ideas
- Work Fame > Waiting: If 90% of roles are filled off-market, your visibility is your CV.
- Pattern Interrupt: Show, don’t tell. Bring a demo, a short video, a mock, a pilot.
- Create demand: Sometimes the role you want doesn’t exist—until you make it obvious it should.
- Belong or be bold: Safe blends in. Bold gets callbacks.
Try this this week
- Pick one upcoming opportunity (pitch, interview, intro call). Add one memorable artifact: a 60-second loom, a sketched storyboard, a simple landing page, or a one-pager with a before/after. Make them say, “We could use this.”
Links & mentions
- IABC Queensland (event host shout-out)
- u&u Recruitment (venue host + Erica, the surprise reunion)
- Wicked Campers story (the two-video gambit that turned one role into two)
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Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.com
P.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:
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Visit my website: leannehughes.com
Email me: hello@leannehughes.com
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