Alumni in the Spotlight | Jack Alderton

Can you provide an overview of your career journey so far?

After graduating from THGS in 2012, I pursued a Commerce degree at the University of Sydney. Majoring in Finance & Accounting was the natural progression of my passion for the stock market and financial markets. This led to the Finance Graduate program at Optus, where I spent 2 years uncovering my inner desire for a career that kindles more freedom and creativity than a traditional office job.

After a few more attempts at the office lifestyle, I decided to redirect my career path and pursue my personal interests. I started freelancing as a copywriter, seemingly learning this creative trade from scratch. I found a solid niche in financial writing that leveraged my intersecting financial knowledge and written communication skills developed throughout my academic pursuits (thanks HSC English!)

Now, this was 2020 and we all know what happened next… with my world-travelling freelancer dream struggling to make it out of first gear I took hold of a fascinating opportunity that came my way. It was an invitation to move to Malaysia and work for the world’s largest retail CFD broker as a Financial Writer. That ticked all the boxes for me. 

Since then I’ve been promoted to a Content Producer role, where I manage our video production end-to-end; the creative ideation, script-writing, strategic business alignment, delivery & marketing (I even star in the videos myself!)

What inspired you to pursue this career path?

Following my curiosity. When I was in high school, I loved maths, business, and economics. I was competitive and did my best in every subject which enabled great opportunities later on.

Later on, I realised that business itself was the passion that aligned most with my values. I didn’t want to be stuck in an office, I wanted to travel and see the world. Most of all, I wanted to actually help people and deliver tangible value to earn my money. Not punch numbers into spreadsheets that were so many steps removed from the end customer.

By following my curiosity to travel in Asia and explore new cultures and experiences, I now have a career that allows me to leverage my creativity and deliver experiences to our internal stakeholders and external customers. It’s incredibly rewarding and has helped me develop the skills I need for my next purpose layer.

What are your future aspirations? 

My next goal is to pursue YouTube and value-based educational online business full-time. I created a channel to share my travel journeys and educate younger ‘me’ with the best lessons I learn along the way. Leveraging the skills and knowledge I’ve picked up in my current Content Producer role to work for myself, inspire the next generation and truly impact lives is what I see myself doing next.

What advice can you give to our Hills Originals?

I believe we have layers of purpose in our lives. You’re not meant to be a robot. If you find something interesting, learn about it. Prepare yourself for future opportunities. When they arise, take them. The internet has created a new economy that most of us still can’t comprehend. The world is your oyster. Write a blog. Post a video. Share your ideas. Deliver a product. Sell a product. Destroy your limiting beliefs. The sooner you realise that anything is possible, the sooner you can take steps to achieve it. If someone has done it before, you can do it too. If no one’s done it yet, you can be the first. Be a modern-day explorer. Most of all, start right now. Life moves fast & you’ll look back one day and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. 'Strive for excellence' every day!