Where Have I Been? Starting a New Career Chapter, that’s where.

I got a new job at the start of the month.

Or, more specifically, I transferred to a new role withing my current company. As with any new change, there has been a lot been a lot to adjust to. But, I’m glad I did it.

For the last few months I’ve been looking into new opportunities.

While I was content enough in my role as an SEO website auditor, I was starting to feel stagnant. The truth was, I was underpaid and under-stimulated in my position, and I was starting to want more. Though many sectors of the economy have suffered as a result of the pandemic, the online marketing industry was one of the few that prospered. As more and more of the businesses that managed to survived the 2020 shutdown went digital, my industry began hiring at unprecedented rates. Suddenly, my LinkedIn and Indeed profiles that have largely remained inactive began to receive a lot of attention, so I knew this was the time for a move.

I will reiterate that I am lucky.

Not only did I keep my job during 2020, but my skill set became even more valuable in the economic landscape that followed. I was able to pick and choose the positions I applied for with extreme prejudice regarding my working hours and conditions. I was reached out to by 3 companies, and applied to another 5. Of those applications I received 5 interviews. Of those initial interviews, 4 resulted in second interviews. Of those 4, I turned down 2 because I didn’t believe I would be a good fit. Of the remaining 2, I received a formal offer. I realize that this is not a common job search experience. Meanwhile, while going through this frenzy of interviews, I was also undergoing training for a new product my company wanted to develop.

Long story short, I had to choose.

I have enjoyed working at my current place of employment for 2 years. I have already worked in 2 positions in the company, and always expressed my interest in taking on more responsibility. When the opportunity to expand my skill set and help beta-test a potential product came around, I jumped at the chance. I’m glad I did it. The training was been intense and time consuming, but I have turned out to have a knack for it. So much so, that when another company made a formal job offer, I was torn in my decision to leave. A new company meant new opportunities to grow in skills and network. That also came with a pay increase I didn’t think my company would be able to match. So, imagine my surprise when my company did match the offer. After a week of hard thought and soul searching, I did decide to take on a new role at my new company and I haven’t regretted that decision.

So, why the lack of posts?

This new role has come with new responsibilities. The new product has been pushed into rapid role-out by investors, so instead of a 6 month development we are now trying to get everything ready in 6 weeks. This has meant that I have gone from being trained in a new skill set, to product development, employee recruitment, and employee training in less than a month. To say that I’m flying blind right now is a bit of an understatement. I cannot pretend that I’m anxious about these new changes. I also can’t pretend that I feel entirely deserving of the praise and the responsibility heaped on me by upper-management this last month. However, I am doing my best to excel in this new role and make both this new product, and the new team, I’m helping to build are successful. Even if that means I have a little less time to write in the meantime.