An interview with Andrea Candy

Andrea Candy has been the Customer Relationship Manager at Zipform Digital for nearly 5 years.

With International Women’s Day shedding a light on breaking the bias, we sat down with her to find out more about her role in this previously male dominated industry.

The customer communications industry has changed significantly over the past 20 years. From large scale industrial printers churning out hundreds of thousands of letters and invoices every week, to the incredibly sophisticated digital operation that it is today. Andrea Candy has seen it all.

In recognition of International Women’s Day 2022, Andrea shares how she navigated these changes during her career spanning more than 20 years, and why she believes “imposter syndrome” is a very real challenge facing women in the workforce.

What initially drew you to the print industry?

In my very first job I dealt with account managers from printers and mail houses and had the thought “I could definitely do that job”. It’s an industry that unless you’re in it you honestly don’t really know what people do in it.

I’ve been in the industry for a while now and have seen the dramatic evolution from print to digital, and that’s what keeps it interesting for me. I can also genuinely say that I learn something new every day – especially from our digital development team, who create solutions that are so exciting to present to clients.

Which obstacles have you faced during your career?

Imposter syndrome was very real for me – particularly when you first move into more senior roles, which for me was in my 30s. I felt quite strongly “why would anyone listen to me?”  It did prevent me from going after some bigger opportunities earlier in my career, however I’m much more comfortable and confident now I’m happy to say.

Do you have a female role model?

I have so many – and most of them probably don’t even know they have been a role model to me! 

Involvement with Business Chicks has been pivotal in my personal growth – to have a support network of women from so many diverse industries has helped to challenge me to step out of my comfort zone.

But key to who I am today was my mum – she was so supportive and encouraged me to “be anything you want to be”.  I can vividly remember being offered my first management position and discussing it with her as I just wasn’t sure I could do the job. Afterwards she said, “see I told you”.

We are sometimes our own greatest enemies by not believing in ourselves, when so many other people already do.

My one piece of advice to women starting in their career, is to always be yourself and be brave to try new things – you are more capable than you think!

Andrea Candy is one of Perth’s most respected and experienced customer communications professionals with over 20 years’ experience in this field.

As Head of Growth & Customer Relationships for Zipform Digital, Andrea specialises in understanding the rapidly changing direct mail landscape in Australia. She genuinely strives to understand her client’s business, challenges and the demands they have in not only delivering value to their customers but generating positive return on investment.

Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn.