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AGCO Australia

  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Holly Hansen

I think the key attributes to my job is to be a hard worker, the ability to multitask and to have a curious mind. 

What's your job about?

I am the marketing coordinator for the Green Harvest division across Australia and New Zealand which encompasses the hay and forage equipment. In addition to this, I look after the marketing activity for the Grain and Protein division, all in all, there are about ten different brands I look after. Marketing at AGCO is quite broad and I work on the communications side of things including advertising and copywriting. Another considerable part of my role is the organizing of events for trade shows and field days, there are lots of liaising with external suppliers as well as teams internally. 

What's your background?

I have lived in Melbourne for all of my life. When I left school I studied a Bachelor of Arts (Global) majoring in International Studies and minoring in Politics and French. At the time I was quite keen on pursuing a career in International Relations. I spent a semester of my undergraduate degree in Lyon, France which was a fantastic experience where I was exposed to a new culture and made friends with students from around the globe.

At the end of my undergraduate degree, I took a year off and worked full time at The Royal Children’s Hospital. This was an eye-opening experience that taught me a lot about compassion, patience and it was an extremely fast-paced working environment!

I decided to return to university in 2015 to study marketing and I graduated with a Master of Management (Marketing) at the end of 2016. I was keen to study a business-related discipline that involved an element of creativity and marketing was that for me. Despite not coming from a business-related undergraduate degree I found my skill set complemented the business discipline well.

I have experience in media and public relations organizations both here and overseas. Locally I worked in a media agency as an investment coordinator, which gave me great exposure to the media landscape in both online and offline forms. I also personally arranged to undertake a placement in London at a public relations company where I assisted on very prominent clients.

I was looking for a new challenge and in April 2018 I came across my current role at AGCO and I have been here 14 months already.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, I think someone from a non-marketing related background could do my job. I think the key attributes to my job is to be a hard worker, the ability to multitask and to have a curious mind. 

What's the coolest thing about your job?

My job is mostly office-based unlike some of the team who are based out on the road whether that be locally or overseas. I’ve been fortunate to have gone to New Zealand twice in the past six months to visit dealers and attend the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural show. Seeing the products you market in action is the most pleasing aspect of the job, you get the best feedback from those who actually use your product and I find the farming community pretty down to earth. 

What are the limitations of your job?

I don’t know if I could call it a limitation but coming from a non-agriculture background has been a good learning curve as I had zero experience in the agricultural industry before joining AGCO. There’s a good mix of people from both agriculture and non-agriculture backgrounds at AGCO and I feel that this helps the industry progress faster than if everyone had come from an agriculture background. 

Another thing to note is that the agriculture industry is very male-dominated. I’m sure this is reflective of a lot of companies working in manufacturing, machinery and the like. The number of women in our industry is small but gender norms are slowly being questioned and changed. I have never have let my gender get in the way of my professional ambition and look forward to seeing more women in our industry with leadership roles in the future. 

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Firstly, look after health both physically and mentally. University is tiring work whether you’re studying full time or balancing study with a full-time job. Eating well and getting enough rest is key, I know this isn’t always possible but try your best. Don’t feel guilty about taking a study break to catch up with friends over brunch, it’s a good way to decompress. 

Secondly, network! I know sometimes it can feel like daunting meeting with industry professionals but honestly, most of them love the opportunity to tell you about their careers. I was part of a marketing society during my Postgraduate degree and this put me in touch with some great people. 

Thirdly, this is links back to my first piece of advice but try and take a holiday before starting full-time work. I recommend this to all my friends who are still studying and wish I had taken more time to mentally recharge before embarking on my professional career.