How Ryley Turned a Part-Time Hustle Into A Full-Time Job

Ryley Fredericksen had started her first official full-time role in another company when she received a call offering her a full-time role at Fresh Prints. 

“The job I was working at then was boring. I was receiving zero direction and support,’ Ryley recalls: ‘But for some reason, I was hesitant to accept the new offer. I talked to someone about having to choose and they pointed out how I kept speaking highly of Fresh Prints and how it was the obvious choice. I was too caught up with worrying about quitting a job that didn’t make sense for me to begin with!’

Ryley Fredericksen, Campus Manager Recruiter at Fresh Prints

As a graduate of High Point University in North Carolina, Ryley got her start at Fresh Prints as a student. She was the first Campus Manager at her college. She was one of the resilient CMs who made it through COVID-19.

“My first semester, I was just getting my feet wet. I became an Apparel Chair at my sorority to cleverly get more orders in and tried my best to establish Fresh Prints as the custom apparel company at campus,” said Ryley, “I thought it was going great until my mentor got changed to Jolijt.”

According to Ryley, Jolijt came in and set the bar very high. She got Ryley to push herself and go way beyond what she thought she was capable of.

“She knew what she was doing. I got to a point where I was doing a semester abroad and I was still able to work for Fresh Prints.”

But just when Ryley thought she was at a good spot, COVID hit. She was working on a custom order with 1,500 shirts that got halted. The supply chain had major setbacks and people no longer needed custom apparel. They had bigger fish to fry. Ryley’s final semester before graduation was slow and uneventful, but she was able to pull through.

After graduating in 2020, Ryley freelanced as a Social Media Marketer using the skills she picked up as a Campus Manager. She struggled with taking things seriously or finding authenticity in professionalism, but working at Fresh Prints helped her find her authentic professional voice among other things.

“I had a major problem with being professional. I’d even present myself as meek and unknowledgeable to my clients in my first semester because I didn’t want them to be intimidated or feel like I’m being fake,” recalls Ryley: “But while working as a Campus Manager, I realized the importance of presenting myself as someone who knew what they were doing because I did know what I was doing.”

Fredericksen calls it becoming a Girl boss. She also acknowledges that she learned how to manage her time and communicate better. Mastering those skills in college gave her an edge she was appreciative of.

“No one at Fresh Prints tells you what you need to be doing every day. They give you the tools to be successful and trust you to figure out how to make it happen. I learned many good lessons because they did this.”

Soon, Ryley found herself with another offer to work for Fresh Prints full-time. After deliberating for a while, she decided to accept.

“It was like a cliché rom-com movie scene where the girl is at the airport about to leave forever. The guy realizes he’s actually in love with her, runs to the airport, and gets her plane stopped” Ryley said: “I’d loved placing orders and getting people to see why Fresh Prints was a great company to work with. I was excited I got to be a part of that again but now in a more significant way.”

Ryley currently works as a Campus Manager Recruiter for Fresh Prints. She works on outreach and interviews applicants to help us pick the best candidates.

On what kind of people she looks out for during her interviews, Ryley mentions being friendly and genuinely interested in the opportunity as key factors that immediately set applicants apart. Along with that, she looks for people who work hard and hold themselves to high standards. 

“Applicants who come into the interview having researched Fresh Prints are almost always moved forward,” Ryley said: “it shows that they’ve taken their time to figure out what they were getting into and that is a sign of someone who cares about the work they do. Why wouldn’t we want someone like that on our team?”

For Campus Managers just starting out, Ryley recommends faking confidence for the first few weeks until you’re actually confident.

“I had no confidence when I was starting out. And it made sense, I was still figuring myself out,” she recalled: “But I wish I’d just pretended I was more sure of myself.” Ryley also recommends maintaining a portfolio or a record of the work you do as a Campus Manager for proof of your capabilities when you apply for jobs.