- Name (First and Last)
Lindsay McFarlane
2. Twitter
@workinggirlchi
3. LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-abeles-mcfarlane-297a26a?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
Employment Info
Employer
Working Girl Inc. and Neiman Marcus
5. Title/Occupation
Founder/CEO and Public Relations Director
Academic Info
Graduation Year (list as "Month Year")
2009
7. Major
Advertising
8. Minor and/or Certificates
Other Stuff
Hometown
Highland Park, IL
10. Hobbies
Fashion, travel, SoulCycle, yoga, entrepreneur, new restaurants, family and friends
Career Information & Advice
Please answer each of the following questions with as much detail as possible while keeping your answers succinct (aim for 2 - 4 sentences per question).
11. What are your job responsibilities/duties?
For Working Girl Inc., I am a one woman show. I work with every candidate one-on-one, connect them with their matching positions, partner with companies locally and nationally and I also work partnerships with our universities as well. I am always in constant motion with WGI and I learn from taking on my own business daily and I have also learned so much about myself while on this journey. For Neiman Marcus, I am the PR Director. There are 2 of us in the office and we run over 300 events a year for the Michigan Avenue store. These events can be small or large scale events, on or off-site. In addition to events, I manage a large annual budget, work with local and national charitable organizations, manage and partner with local and national media, and so much more.
12. What does a typical day look like?
For both of my jobs, there isn't a typical day. At Working Girl Inc., I usually work early mornings, late nights and on the weekends. A typical "day" would be working in my home office or at Soho House shooting off emails and meeting with both candidates and clients. After emailing and meetings, I will grab lunch or drinks with a potential new client and then run off to speak at a young professionals event or to a photo shoot for the blog. At Neiman Marcus, a typical day is a bit more, well, typical. I usually grab my coffee on the way in and sit down at my desk around 830am. Almost every morning there is a product knowledge meeting for a specific designer, so I will run down to that particular department and make sure their meeting is ready and that their model has arrived. Once that meeting is set, at 930am, I will make my way to the all-store meeting where we are informed about everything going on that day and week within the store. At 1030am, I will go into the managers meeting where we review in-depth all the happenings in the store, sales goals, large events, promotional events and so much more. Around noon, I will get back to my desk, catch up on emails and run to lunch which is when I go home to walk my dog, Kinzie. I work 2 blocks from where I live so I always have a nice break outdoors to get away from the office. Once I'm back, in between the expense reports, sales reports, and event planning, I jump on 2 conference calls with different fashion vendors and then run off the manage an in-store event for 100 people. I will then arrive home at 830pm.
13. What do you most enjoy about your job?
For Working Girl Inc., I love helping the candidates find their dream job and getting that amazing happy all that they landed the gig. It's the best feeling in the world. At Neiman Marcus, I love that I get to work in high-end fashion every day. My favorite days are when I get to meet designers. It is truly inspiring. I always have to pinch myself so I know that it is real life.
14. What is the most difficult aspect of the job?
For Working Girl Inc., it is definitely the balance of candidates to open position ratio. A lot of times I find myself with a ton of candidates in a time where there aren't many open positions and vice-versa. The balance is hard to maintain while working two full-time jobs. At Neiman Marcus, it is always time. There aren't enough hours in the day during busy season (Fall season which is from late August through Thanksgiving and Spring season which runs from March through beginning of June). I always find myself looking at the clock and saying to myself, you need to go home!
15. What on-campus activities were you involved with? Where did you gain relevant experience?
I was in a sorority which was a great experience socially. In the College of Media, I was a part of AAF and on the board senior year. I didn't realize how valuable this was until recently. I realize being in Chicago how connected I am with these people 8 years later. I would tell anyone to keep busy in college and get involved. It is extremely easy to get comfortable and lazy in college. Take advantage of the time you have during those 4 years. The number one thing I can say is INTERN, INTERN, INTERN.
16. How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your professional life? For this specific position?
I have to say the courses that focused on real-world situations definitely prepare you best. I found that learning how to code in html and create my own website was one of the best experiences in the college and prepared me the most. I loved the relationships I made with my classmates that are still very strong today. Also, whenever we had professionals come in to chat with our class, that gave us a glimpse to real life which was beyond beneficial.
17. What advice do you have for students interested in this field?
Always say, "why not!" You never know where these new experiences will take you, so why not? What do you have to lose? Intern as much as possible and get as much real-world experience as you can.
18. What is one thing that you know now that you wish you had known when you started in the field? When you graduated from the College?
I wish I knew where I was going to be at this point in my life. I am grateful for all the chances I took and all the experiences I went after. I wish I had more confidence when thinking about my future. I wish I knew how valuable each and every career move was. Now that I look back, I always think to myself that every one of my positions was my dream job because it led me to my dream.