Brittany Chaffee - Writer; Manager of Digital Content Strategy, UnitedHealth Group
Brittany is knee-deep in corporate data analytics and reporting by day, and freelance writing about people, relationships, arts, and culture by night. Her work has been featured in Girlboss, Wit & Delight, Artful Living, Rewire, the Star Tribune—and of course, Babes Who Hustle. We can’t help but love her insight on staying creative, navigating and owning unexpected career changes, and remaining true to who we are—not what our jobs define us as.
The Basics:
Hometown: Waconia, Minnesota
Current city: St. Paul, Minnesota
Alma mater: University of Saint Thomas
Degree: B.A., Advertising and Communications
Very first job: Subway sandwich artist!
Hustle: Manager, Digital Content Strategy & Planning at UnitedHealth Group; Freelance Writer
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
I deeply admire Pheobe Waller-Bridge. The way she approaches storytelling is powerful and relatable. She said Fleabag was a “love letter to all her friends'' and I try to write with that quote in mind every day.
If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
Oh, gosh. I would be on the coast of northern California. That smell. An open morning. I would be getting in a car that my husband and I would drive all day, threading through redwoods and misty ocean air. We’d end the evening early in Pacific Grove and have cocktails at Hula’s Island Grill. This is a visceral vision because we’ve done it before. And I think about it a lot.
Favorite self-care ritual?
A bath, a book and an ESARORA ice roller (in that order).
What’s your favorite book to recommend?
I am not chill about this question. My top five: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Too Much, Not the Mood by Durga Chew-bose, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Ugh, and anything Joan Didion!
Go-to coffee order and/or adult beverage?
Cold brew and/or an Old Fashioned (didn’t realize I was so hardcore with my drinks until being asked this question).
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle, providing a summary of your roles and the work you do daily.
I am corporate by day and a writer with a good candle and MacBook by night. At UnitedHealth Group, I’m on the Digital Insights and Strategy team, where I manage reporting needs for internal channels, acquisition strategy and campaign insights. My main focus is to evaluate content that’s made for our employees and understand the (very) human, emotional elements our employees need on a daily basis. At night, I manage my own freelance writing business and spend many late evenings writing articles, social content and my newsletter, bathmilk.
How much of your role at UnitedHealth Group includes creative skills vs. business skills?
Writing is something that’s very vulnerable and empathetic. And when I was hired onto the Digital Insights and Strategy team at UHG (UnitedHealth Group), they were looking for someone who could be in touch with that human piece required in writing; the emotional stuff. Their desire for a role like this was so intriguing to me. And it was not (technically) a linear career path choice. I’d spent ten years of my career writing social content, press releases, blog posts, editorial calendars and the like. Now, I’m bopping around on Adobe Analytics, trying to figure out what content resonates with people. The skills that are imperative for this position are the ones I had coming in, blended with the basic understanding of data. Now, I consider myself as an “emotional detective” that uncovers the human element behind the numbers. Analytical with an empathetic twist.
Describe your career journey and how your concentrations in marketing have evolved. Have any particular jobs or experiences defined your career goals?
Careers aren’t linear, and it took me a long time to process and learn that. My first job was at an advertising agency and then I became a flight attendant. After that, I became a copywriter and transferred to the Communications and PR team. And now I’m in data analytics! I’ve bounced from agencies to corporate to experiential marketing to start-ups. After college, I thought I wanted to be hustling in the agency world, but I quickly realized I liked the structure of corporate life. I also thought I wanted to be in the account side of advertising, but it was quickly showcased to me that I wanted to be more creative.
Which topics do you write about and what mediums/publications does your work end up in?
I love to write about people and relationships; arts and culture. I’m really interested in challenging myself and writing more about politics and women’s rights. My work has been seen in publications like Girlboss, Wit & Delight, Artful Living, Rewire, and the Star Tribune.
Have you always had an affinity for storytelling? Where do you think that stems from? When did you decide to pursue this professionally?
When I was little, storytelling was a fundamental part of my make-up. I put on plays for my family. I filled notebooks with stories. My elementary school had a “publishing company” called the PineCone Press where they printed your words and bound them for you. Before I could read really well, I’d fake-read old Boxcar Children books to my “class.” I vividly remember making up those stories. Storytelling always chips down to the truth and it helps us relate to one another. I’m excruciatingly empathetic and I think writing helps me connect with a deeper part of myself. It helps me understand the world around me, and sort through fear.
Staying fresh and innovative in today’s fast-paced world can be a challenge. How do you stay creative and where do you look for inspiration?
Walking. Really quirky writing exercises. Reading. Taking breaks to visit the barn, my happy place, where I ride horses and forget I’m existing. Whenever I think about staying creative, I source it back to my childhood. What did I enjoy then? My bare feet on grass running across a soccer field, being near horses, bathing, exploring forests, being near my mother.
What’s your approach to freelancing in your “spare” time? How do you separate that work from your full-time job?
Right now, I’m going through these questions at 6:42 a.m. in almost complete darkness, with a candle lit. I’m really creative in the morning, so I try to wake up early to meet that. Work is 9-5, freelance comes morning and night. I use the “Focus Keeper” app to stay on task and break down my to-do list in 25 minute segments. Otherwise, my brain floats away. The pandemic has actually made it easier, because I’m lucky to work-from-home and transfer from one to the other. It’s made it harder because I’m tired.
How have your past professional and academic experiences and lessons prepared you for the work you do today? How have they not prepared you?
My academic experience didn’t prepare me for the tedious, everyday professional stuff (building presentations, understanding leadership needs/communication, the amount of excel spreadsheets I’d be diving into, um social media?) In college, I learned about radio spots and billboards. My first job was on the agency’s first social media/PR team that built “mommy blog!” campaigns. Schools simply weren’t moving as fast as the world was. I kind of had to learn the hard way. As far as professional experiences go, each job has offered me the trial and error version of my expertise. I learned the essence about being transparent with timelines, building team relationships and jumping in during meetings. A lot of our professional careers are about failing for later. One of my favorite direct reports would always challenge the team by playing devil’s advocate. He wanted to see how valid your argument was; how much you believed in something. I hated it at first. But, I would always go into meetings prepared and confident about my belief. 95% of the time, he said to “go for it” after we stood for our case. And it made me a more passionate colleague.
How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?
Very much. I actually wrote about the double-edge sword expectation of women in the workplace for Babes Who Hustle. In a past work review, I received the feedback that I wasn’t being “aggressive enough” as a leader. This was interesting to me because women always have to be aware of how we disrupt the patriarchy; in every other case, I was always worried about being too aggressive. And now I’m too soft? It was a good reminder that a lot of the ways women are viewed in the industry is through a micro-lense of emotional labor, instead of actual talent and experience. Who cares about the work —how is she emotionally? We need to have more women in leadership. We need to get paid equally. Empathy is a superpower. There’s a lot that needs to be done beyond what I can even articulate but it starts with being an ally to all women, especially women of color, and those with various gender identities.
In the last year, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your career?
This is a big one because I don’t feel like the person I was a year ago. I’m completely new. I want to believe I’m softer but I think I’m more realistic. I used to be really hard on myself about my career and accomplishments but I’m getting better at asking for help. Expertise is a journey, not a destination.
What’s something you’re proud to have accomplished in your career so far?
My books, Wild Morning and Borderline. Recently, I’m really proud that I took a leap. A year ago, I would have never imagined that I’d be working in digital analytics. I’m a word girl! I’m all storytelling and content! To put it very honestly, being at work is uncomfortable every day. I mean that in the best way, because I adore the support I have on my team to help me grow and learn. I had originally imagined that, by now, I would be an expert in my field. I knew everything there was to know about my craft. But, before this job, I was being naive. I have my own magic powers. But, there is the entirely other side of my career—one that is analytical and measurable—that I left on the table because I was scared of it. I’m proud of myself for leaning into the unfamiliar. I’m proud of myself for being curious. We are fooling ourselves if we think we know everything in our career.
Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
So many! I’ll start with a few of my mentors/inspiration-humans in the writing world. Kate Nelson, the editor of Artful Living and a phenomenal writer, is an impeccable/straightforward storyteller and word magician. Kate Arends of Wit & Delight has created such a beautiful space on the Internet for writers and vulnerability and design. And I don’t know her personally, but I really look up to Haley Nahman. She has an uncanny ability to pluck out the gutsiest, simple realities of life throughout her writing. Heather Rist Murphy, one of my first bosses and now lifelong friend, taught me everything I need to know about work ethic and putting out quality projects; knowing that quality work takes time. Now the Vice President of Performance Content and Social Media at Collective Measures, her blended compassion and grit for her work has become a fundamental part of my professional ethics. Last but not least, I look up to my best friend, Tara Niebeling who has been fearless in her PR career and will always be my role model for taking chances and being unapologetic about it all.
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
Sometimes, it’s not going to be the company’s decision to let you move on—it’s going to have to be yours; quitting is not giving up. You will be rejected! A lot! Write thank you cards. Be kind. Give yourself some grace while you’re learning. Show up on time—yours isn’t more important than anyone else’s. Last, but not least: you are so much more than your job. You are human.
Connect with Brittany:
Instagram / LinkedIn / Twitter / Book Website / Email
This interview has been condensed and edited.
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