SOPHIA CHOWDHURY • • • NEXT WAVE
Full Name: Sophia Chowdhury
Social handle: @everyday.like.this
Job title: Social Media Marketing Strategist and Content Producer (sometimes stylist)
Location: Melbourne, Australia
What does a day in your life actually look like as a freelancer wearing so many different hats?
It can be chaotic if you don’t add structure, because tasks can be flying at you from all angles. I usually try to have 3 types of days:
Admin days (pulling clothes, emails, planning - the boring but important stuff )
Shoot days (content creation, styling)
Post-production (returns, managing content, editing, copywriting, and providing feedback)
I usually give myself 1-2 days of each of those a week depending on my workload. I think one thing about social is people expect you to switch between so many skills, so organising it into similar task blocks helps your brain not to burn out. All of these types of days can interchangeably work across my influencer, marketing, and styling jobs which has been amazing for my workflow.
You've worked both in-house and as a freelancer. What does each side teach you that the other can't?
In-house has taught me how to work within a team and how a marketing rollout can be structured for success. It's also taught me how to deal with racism in the workplace when there are different types of people that you have to work with, something which I've never dealt with when working as a freelancer.
Freelancing teaches you boundaries, autonomy, and usually comes with more creative freedom. You get to say no when work that's out of scope is thrown in outside your agreed contract (or charge more). You're also getting hired for your expertise to help elevate the brand, so you have bandwidth to be more creative. You learn to work on your own and be independent, as you dont have an in-house team to lean on.
I think one thing that's been really important across all 3 - in-house, agency, or freelance is having a good client/manager. The bad ones will micromanage you and burn you out. When a boss/client trusts you and guides you, the results usually speak for itself.
What's one skill that has made the biggest difference in your career that people often overlook?
Codeswitching. I think working in predominantly white spaces in my career, there have been rules on how to dress, act, etc.; basically, proximity to white = success. It's taught me how to navigate my career by playing the game and helped me survive some horrible jobs.
I think brands and workplaces may have good intentions and want to be diverse, but just having it on the outside (hiring POC models/staff) but not doing the work internally to ensure a safe space is not the way to do it. Having a different perspective is something that great brands welcome, and I've been fortunate to be able to myself and bring a new view to many workplaces to help switch up the strategy.
What's one piece of career advice you wish someone had given you when you were starting out?
You’re not behind, you’re ahead. You’re feeling stuck because the industry hasn’t caught up yet. The digital space is always evolving, so don't be too hard on yourself. I think feeling stuck led me to freelance, where people were more willing to give me a chance to try new things. Workplaces move at a slower glacier pace than the actual social sphere. Looking back at my career, there have been so many roles that have been first of their kind or tailor-made for me, with my skills in consideration. Patience is key. The right roles will come in time.
What's a job you had that wasn't your dream role, but ended up being a great stepping stone to where you are today?
My first big girl role was an agency/inhouse hybrid. We were hired by an agency but worked onsite. The social role was new. I saw social media gaps, and when a social lead was hired, I was able to implement some change. There wasn't much room for creativity, and it was evident the company didn’t understand social yet.
It was a stepping stone to my first agency job, which solidified me as a marketer, as we had a few global brands, which then led to where I am today. My manager at that first job was also racist, so it taught me how to deal with HR and conflict in the workplace very early on in my career.
What's one thing everyone can do to better support POC owned brands?
Buy, follow, and amplify them.
If someone wanted to build a career across strategy, styling, and content as you have, where would you tell them to start?
Internships. DM/email the types of industries and brands you want to work for. The worst they can say is no.
I’ve done styling and marketing internships when I was starting out. It allows you to gain experience and gives insight into how a business works. It's also a great way to figure out if it's something you want to pursue. There can be so many opportunities to learn new skills and jobs you may not have known about. My first taste of fashion week was volunteering in 2010 at Melbourne Fashion Week as back- and front-of-house. Fast forward many years later, I got hired in a DEI role for Melbourne Fashion Festival to ensure back-of-house was a safe space for POC and all marginalised models.
Oh, and build your portfolio after you finish those roles. I'm currently trying to build mine, and it's hell trying to go back and find a decade's worth of assets
