Former event manager Darren Lonsdale fell into his first career straight from school.
"I was one of the first students of the Hotel School in Sydney [a partnership between Southern Cross University and hotel chains]," he says. "I went from being vice-captain at school in year 12 to cleaning 14 rooms a day as part of the first course of my room's division diploma."

But rather than turning him off hospitality, the course ignited his passion for it. Lonsdale spent almost 11 years in the industry, including in London, where he managed conference services at the Mayfair InterContinental hotel.

The pull of the 2000 Sydney Olympics drew him back home.

"I got a position with an events company setting up the food and beverage and event-management programs for the major sponsors in their suites," Lonsdale says.

The 12-month role involved talking to clients, working out food and beverage programs, dealing with chefs and looking at sponsors' suites to decide which furniture and entertainment would work.

The position also meant accepting the time pressures that come with working in events and hospitality. "Nothing in hospitality is really 9 to 5," he says.

"As the Olympics approached, my role [involved] longer hours. But it was great to be part of something that big."

With the Olympics under his belt, Lonsdale decided to take the skills he had picked up in hotels and events and move into sales and marketing roles.

"I wanted to explore opportunities in a different industry," he says.

Next, Lonsdale found his feet doing sales within the telecommunications industry, first at Vodafone and now at Optus, as the state sales manager for mobility.

"I'm managing a team of business-development managers who acquire new business for Optus," he says. His team deals with companies of 200 people or more.

Lonsdale also works closely with other divisions within Optus, setting up exclusive deals for customers, reporting on results and organising training for his team.

He says although his job is office-based, staff in his team need not be tied to their desks.

Lonsdale loves the variety that comes with the industry.

"Change is constant, as far as technology is concerned," he says. "In the time I've been here, initially it was based around just selling mobiles; now we look at whole-of-business solutions."

Lonsdale discovered early some skills could be transferred between events, hospitality and sales.

"In hotels, you have to create and foster relationships, internally and externally, be articulate and details-focused and you also learn a lot about brand management," he says.

While the shift work of hospitality and events is now behind him, sales work isn't kept within office hours. "If you're closing a deal, you might stay back till 7pm or 8pm or work that weekend," he says.

Although content in his new field, Lonsdale hasn't closed the door on hospitality.

"For me, it's still a passion," he says. "I still have dreams of getting into a restaurant or bar as a side business."

THEN
Salary: $75,000-$80,000. "From a hotel perspective, senior management could earn $130,000 to $140,000."
Work-life balance: "It was more work than life; I was learning a trade. But it's not hard as there's a lot of excitement that comes around delivering an event, so a lot of time you're running on adrenalin."
Hours:  9am-5pm Monday to Friday (before peak event periods). "As the [Olympic] Games approached, it was a lot more — 60- to 70-hour weeks."

NOW
Salary: 175,000
Work-life balance: "Very good. Optus is one of those employers that value work-life balance. You don't have to be tied to a desk for regimented hours if it's not required for the role. It's good to have senior management who believe in that as well."
Hours: Varies. 40 hours-plus.
Miss: "Events work was very exciting. The client comes in with a brief for an event and to deliver, you need to always be thinking on your feet. That's very satisfying."
Challenges: "Securing more business. It's about what value we add to businesses so we can become partners in their business as opposed to just providing mobility."

LINKS
hotelschool.scu.edu.au
optus.com.au/business