Carolina Marsden

Take us back to the beginning. How did your career start?

I’m originally from Brazil and moved to Australia 10 years ago. In Brazil, I started in an administrative role, supporting head designers to graphic designers for fashion labels and later to my own studio in the fashion industry. I loved the creative side of working in fashion, but to further progress I needed to be fluent in English - that’s when I moved overseas. When I moved to Australia, it was harder than I thought to start in fashion, my bachelor’s degree didn’t transfer here and at the time I couldn’t afford to go back to university. So I took those administrative skills and found an opportunity to grow my career in that direction. I landed my first administrative role in Australia at a global bank supporting the Treasury and Trade Solution’s department. It was great – they needed a lot of support and I could make an impact across the whole department. I had a mentor and taught me so much of what I know today, including learning how to leave a lasting footprint in an organisation well beyond my tenure. It was really encouraging to have someone want to see me grow early on in my career.

I moved into another global banking organisation after this position to learn and expand my skill set. Support roles vary from organisation to organisation, and in this new role, I had exposure to a lot of executives and different projects. There were different niches within my role, which was a great learning experience. I would go from creating presentations to managing people to project management depending on what was a priority at the time. After spending time honing my skills in this role, I was ready to apply my learnings in my next adventure elsewhere. It was when I was putting in my notice that my bosses offered me a higher role working at C-Suite level – they didn’t want me to leave. I had a great network at this organisation, and I had proven my ability to excel in the role, so it made sense for me to progress this way. It was my first time working at C-Suite level and I’m so glad I took the leap. I’m people-driven and thrive on collaboration, so this career path is one that I find deep fulfillment in.

Executive Assistant Brighter Super

What misconceptions are there about being an Executive Assistant?

I think people see an Executive Assistant as someone to run and get you a coffee, but it’s not like that. Yes, there’s a lot of email management and people management and the job varies a lot depending on the executive. But for me, it’s all about partnership and giving them the best platform to make critical decisions. It’s about creating boundaries for them and advocating for the things they need to perform their best.

Advice you want to pass on to budding Executive Assistants?

Observe and listen because if you look around, you learn a lot. It’s a skill that’s really appreciated when you know how to use it wisely. Another couple mottos I live by is do your best every day and if you don’t try, you never know how things will turn out. I’ve always been ambitious and wanted to grow; not to climb the ladder as such but to have a real motivator and reason to jump out of bed every morning and give my all. We can’t expect to be perfect 24/7, but I think aiming high helps you become the best version of yourself.

Fast forward to 2023 and I joined Brighter Super in March this year as an Executive Assistant, supporting the Chief Finance Officer and Risk Officer. They are a fantastic team to work with and it’s a very exciting time in the business.

Brighter Super is very supportive of work-life balance, and as I’m juggling full-time work with motherhood it was really refreshing to feel supported in both my career and personal life. I’m able to feel fulfilled in my career whilst being there for my family; it’s really rewarding.