Returning to work as a first-time mom: Nicki Proud shares her journey so far

Nicki Proud has had a lot of firsts at Linktree. It was her first time working in tech, she was our first Executive Assistant, and she was the first team member to use our 18-week paid parental leave. She joined Linktree in the midst of the first big Covid surge, having lost her job due to redundancies in the sports industry. It was an unsettling time for her and many others, but looking back she sees it as a blessing as she ended up "landing her dream job."

And not just because of her role remit, but also because of the flexibility it’s provided her as a new mom. We caught up with Nicki to find out what life is like returning to work after parental leave.

Can you tell us about your role as EA? I’m sure every day is different, but what does a typical day look like?

You’re right! No two days are ever the same, but I think that’s the best thing about it! There’s always the usual tasks like email management, juggling calendars and staying on top of your leaders to-do list but then there’s always the opportunity to get involved in a huge range of projects - you just have to put your hand up and dive in. So far I've been involved in managing the employee onboarding experience, organizing leadership workshops and managing our office reopening after the long covid lockdowns - just to name a few!

Curious what you were up to before Linktree?

Before Linktree I worked as an Executive Assistant within the wonderful Inclusion and Social Policy team at the AFL. We were a small but mighty team battling some really important issues within the AFL and the wider community including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues, racism, gender equality, sexuality and gender diversity.

How does your current role differ from some of the other EA roles you’ve had?

Previously I worked within large well-established companies where your scope of work was mostly limited to your department. Starting at Linktree early in the growth phase has given me so much opportunity to get involved in projects right across the company. My leaders have given me so much trust and autonomy to get stuck in and get involved in anything that interests me - it’s been such a fun, challenging and rewarding ride so far.

You were the first person to take advantage of Linktree’s 18-week paid parental leave. Any tips for future Linktree parents?

It wasn’t long after I started at Linktree that I found out I was pregnant with my first baby. After the initial excitement of it all I started to really worry about how work was going to react to the news. I remember holding back tears telling our CEO, Alex, but he just immediately gave me a big hug and reassured me that Linktree would take care of me. The team put so much care and effort into creating a really generous and thoughtful policy. I’m so lucky to be the first one to take advantage of it - it truly made such a difference to my experience becoming a new parent and I will forever be grateful for that.

Advice for new Linktree parents? How many times in your life do you get the opportunity to really switch off of work and solely focus on yourself and your family. Nestle in and soak it all up - it really does go so very fast.

Also, bulk buy those baby wipes. You’ll need them.

You were on parental leave for 9 months. What are some of the biggest changes you noticed when you came back?

So much has changed, but in the best kind of way. Firstly, our entire team has tripled in size! We celebrated our 100th employee before I went on leave and I've returned to almost 300 Linkers from all around the world! I was the first Executive Assistant at Linktree, now we have the most amazing team of nine. In March, Linktree received a valuation of $1.3 billion officially making us a UNICORN! And our rebrand was finally revealed – an unbelievable amount of hard work went into this so it’s lovely to finally see it out in the wild.

Do you think the transition back to work would have been more difficult if you weren’t working remotely?

10000% YES! The flexibility of remote working has made transitioning back into work a breeze. It made the process of starting my daughter at daycare so much less stressful. Her daycare is right around the corner from our house so we have been able to gradually increase her time spent there each day - which is a lot less than if I had to factor in a commute!

What do weekends look like for you?

Unfortunately no more sleeping in for me! We try to get out and about - days at the park, out for brunch, catching up with friends and family. Making the most of those precious hours between naps!