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����AV’s Twilight Insights

On Tuesday, Senior College students caught up via Zoom with ����AV alumna Bonnie MacTavish (2000), Head of Experience Strategy at Nightjar, to hear about her career post school.

Director of Student Opportunity and Career Education, Ms McFetridge’s ����AV’s Twilight Insights series got off to an impressive start on Tuesday afternoon, with an informal Zoom catch up with former Head Prefect at ����AV and current Head of Experience Strategy at Nightjar, Bonnie MacTavish (2000).

As our Senior College students discovered, Bonnie does not shy away from challenge. Since leaving ����AV in 2000, she’s been on a quest to live life to the full, prompted by her love of people, travel and the humanities. While she’s enjoyed an extraordinary career in advertising, working for some of the world’s leading brands, she’s also overcome setback and embraced change. As she explained to the girls, taking risks and changing direction has allowed her to meet some great people, travel to some fantastic places and discover the kind of work she finds most satisfying. Put simply, Bonnie’s optimistic view of life has put her firmly in the driver’s seat of her career.

After graduating from ����AV in 2000, Bonnie attended The University of Sydney, where she parlayed her love of humanities into a Bachelor of Arts Languages. Of course, a major drawcard was the opportunity to spend six months in Italy. As Bonnie explained, sometimes life takes you in directions you don’t expect. And while Verona was never top of her Italian wishlist, she instantly fell in love with the city and made lifelong friends there.

After finishing her degree, Bonnie decided to study for a Masters of Media Practice at The University of Sydney. This led to a career in advertising at McCann Ericson, working as a planner on brands such as Uncle Tobys, Streets and Bürgen.

After four years, Bonnie took a career break and went on a gap year to South America, Central America and Europe, which exposed her to different people and cultures. She then headed to Paris for a year, hoping to find freelance work in advertising agencies in the City of Light. But the GFC hit, so again, Bonnie switched tack and taught English. As she said, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Teaching was not what I’d envisaged, but I ended up loving it.”

Bonnie’s next gig was at Saatchi & Saatchi in Sydney. “I actually had my heart set on another role with another agency and didn’t get it. But this ended up being an even better opportunity.” Here, Bonnie created brand strategies for Toyota, Lexus, Carnival Cruise Lines, RSPCA and OPSM. “You work hard and play hard in advertising. You need to have a very strong work ethic. You work long hours, but there’s always creative magic happening around you, which is fantastic.”

Itching to do her own thing, Bonnie decided to set up a boutique, full-service agency, Drifter, which she ran for five years. “After working for big agencies, it was time to roll up my sleeves and be hands on.”

In 2017, recognising the need for brands to have connected digital experiences, Bonnie formed Nightjar with two friends. As the Head of Experience Strategy, Bonnie incorporates user research and testing to solve user problems. Nightjar currently partners with established brands such as THE ICONIC, Destination NSW, Optus, Pernod Ricard, and Sneaker Freaker, as well as boutique brands and tech startups. The award-winning experience design studio is based in Surry Hills. It comes complete with Graeme the studio dog, who Bonnie says is an integral member of the team.

Bonnie reminded the students that the opportunities that arise as a result of being part of such a vibrant and inclusive community as ����AV are immense. “����AV is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only does it offer you a fantastic education, but you make such great connections here. I’m still in constant touch with my school friends and we are all looking forward to celebrating our 20 Year Reunion this year.”

Bonnie finished with five key things for the students to remember:

“Do not fear the new. Life is unpredictable. You will not end up where you thought, and that’s okay. You will take so many twists and turns in your career – that’s not just normal, it’s also exciting! As long as you study things that interest and fulfil you, you’ll find a way for these to influence your careers. Roll with it and trust you’re where you’re meant to be.

The grass is not always greener. Comparison is the devil! In today’s age of social media, it’s hard not to compare our lives to others. It’s taken me 37 years to realise it, but comparing your journey to those around you doesn’t add much value. Particularly in career milestones, you will do things at a different speed to your friends and peers and that’s okay. Surround yourself with people who life you up and make you feel good about yourself and your choices.

Advice doesn’t cost anything. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. In my role as an advertising planner, and more recently as a CX strategist, it’s always important to ask questions. So, get advice from as many people as you can, from various fields. In various roles. Asking questions and demonstrating a genuine interest in others will always yield you high returns, and almost always uncover something new and interesting to you.

Hold your friends close. Support is everything. Regardless of the fact you’ll end up in different fields (even despite studying together), and living totally different lives, your friends will be a constant support to you – to bounce career ideas off, to celebrate all the wins, and to love you when things don’t go to plan (which they inevitably won’t).

And finally, enjoy rewarding yourself. Balance is key. There is so much talk and pressure and stress on what you will do when you leave school and university, but don’t forget you need downtime too.”

����AV’s inaugural Careers Captain, Sophie (Year 12) thanked Bonnie on behalf of all the girls. She said that everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the speech. “It definitely reassured me that I would love to pursue a similar pathway.”

Ms McFetridge was also delighted with the talk, which comes ahead of National Careers Week next week. “We are so grateful to alumnae like Bonnie who generously give up their time to talk to our students. It’s incredibly helpful for the girls to hear what our alumnae have done since graduating from ����AV, particularly for our Year 12 girls who are carefully considering their plans for next year. Our students get so much out of listening to our alumnae talk about their careers and the paths they’ve taken to get there. It’s also wonderful for them to interact and ask real questions.”

����AV will be holding more Twilight Insight Talks over the coming months. Watch this space!