Swindon Lives - International Women's Day Special - Clare Milton

In honour of International Women's Day, we sat down and spoke with Freelance Marketing Manager, Clare Milton.

What would you say is your most valuable skill?

Experience; having worked with multi-national Blue-chip brands such as Early Learning Centre, Disney, Thomsons, BSkyB and Leapfrog, I found the experience of working for these set me up for life, these are the types of brands that have got it right, and if you play by their values with everything you do and apply them to brands that you continue to work for, then you’ll be helping them get it right too.

Do you have family (and/or children)?

Yes, I have 2 beautiful children, Jay who is 4 years old and my little girl Frankie who is 10 months.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?

With a great set of grandparents and understanding other half! I do a lot of my work in the evenings, when the kids are in bed, luckily my other half plays semi-pro football as well as his full time job, so we both have full on lifestyles, but he trains twice a week in the evenings – so I work on these days and leave Friday & Saturday nights & Sundays as ‘our time’.

Are there any strong female figures who you would cite as your idols?

My mum is a strong female figure to me, she has worked hard all of her life, and taught us that if we want stuff we have to work to get it.

Plus, my colleagues that employed me in my first Marketing role, when I was 17, who were in their early 30’s with high flying jobs, buying Louis Vuitton handbags and doing lunch, they (still do) work hard for everything they have.

Have you ever had to give up or miss out on anything in order to pursue your career?

Two occasions spring to mind, one Christmas/New Year Party season I was sat signing off proofs for a Fitness First Supplement that was launching in The Sun Newspaper on 1^st Jan, instead of partying!

And the second time, I had to sacrifice sunbathing!! We went on holiday to Portugal when I was working on an opening of a new pub in Old Town, and I had to sign off and approve Menu’s sat indoors!!

So nothing too bad!!

Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to fellow females looking to get into your profession?

Be prepared to do anything! Always get EVERYTHING triple checked! Cover your own back! Don’t be lazy, and learn to say NO!

Do you ever experience any discrimination in the workplace because of your gender?

Luckily I’ve never experienced this, when I’ve worked for companies, bar ELC, I’ve always worked for smaller agencies, so you find yourself working with 5 or 6 people who are all hard grafters, like-minded, and you learn from each other, you become a a family, I much prefer smaller companies with bigger responsibilities.

Do men ever feel intimidated by your success?

I don’t think so; the men I’ve worked with have always appreciated my experience and opinions.                                                                                                       

As a successful female, where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Everyday new opportunities arise; anything could happen in 10 years! Who knows, as long as my family are healthy & happy, then I’d like to think I will be still learning and still growing with the ever changing world of marketing - that we so love!