1. If you could describe your job to a 5-year-old, how would you describe it?

If a 5-year-old asked me what my job is I'd say, "I'm a project firefighter. My job is to help make other people's jobs easier and I make sure that no little fires pop up. When they do, I put them out as smart and fast as I can! I want to always make sure that everyone is happy to do their jobs and they don't feel sad or worried when they wake up in the morning or go to sleep at night."

2. What advice can you give future women that are trying to get into advertising?

I think the best advice is to make connections. The industry is small, people move around often and always talk about those they’ve worked with. Those connections will become key. I've always been happy to meet for a coffee with random people who connect with me via LinkedIn to just chat and hear more about what I do or to give advice in regards to breaking into the industry or project management specifically. For me, connections and nurturing relationships I've gained have been so important to my career growth. I think reaching out to people you can learn from or even HR/Recruiters is helpful. Opening up about who you are, your goals are the best things you can do to learn more and get your name out there (as long as it isn't OVERLY persistent, I think that can bother people). The worst thing that can happen is you get zero response and even that is better than not trying at all. Or attend a public industry event and start to build a network. Agencies are always changing and people are always asking each other for new candidates. It's great to have your name and goals in someone's inbox because you just never know when it might spark a thought or coincidently be aligned with what someone is looking for down the line.

3. If you can thank someone that helped get you to where you are now, who would you thank and what you would say?

I'd probably thank the Account Director I worked under at The Designory. In the early years of my career in project management, I worked as both a Project Coordinator and Account Coordinator and she really took the time to explain to me the inner workings of the agency and the impact of my role. I would thank her for not just showing me how to do things, but really giving me an understanding of why I was doing them or to ask why. That she was an example of a hard-working, independent woman who wasn't afraid to challenge the opinions of others. Without knowing it, she taught me to remain confident in what I was doing and to be kind yet firm when managing others. It really set a great example, especially during the recession and at a company going through turmoil.

*Emily currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and Director of Creative Project Management for Production Club.*