I Got a New Job - Part One — Glitter for Breakfast

Why was I MIA last week? What is the "exciting news" I've been talking about? If you couldn't guess from the title of this post, I got a new job; I am now the Influencer Marketing Manager at Weight Watchers!

I don't think I have ever been so excited about a job before. At the start of this year, I decided that my theme for the year would be fearlessness, or to use the quote that inspired me, "Feel the fear and do it anyway." (According to Google that's the title of a book by Susan Jeffers so I guess that's where it's from, I saw it on Instagram, obvi.) Instead of looking at "why not" as precursors to a list of reasons why something couldn't or wouldn't work, I flipped it into a question, "Why not?" So, when I happened to see a listing in my weekly LinkedIn email (daily? I feel like I get them all the time) for a position in influencer marketing at Weight Watchers, I thought, well, it might be a long-shot, but I can at least apply.

Sending things in to a LinkedIn listing always feels a bit like throwing a message in a bottle out to sea. Is there really someone out there who will see it? Am I one of a billion applicants? Is this even a current listing? Getting the initial email back from HR restored my faith. Life isn't just about who you know and having connections. You can put yourself out there and earn it on your own. As I've spoken about before, working freelance can be hard, there are no promotions, no one to share in successes or failures, and it can be easy to forget what you have accomplished, as so much of your work is go-go-go and moving from one project to the next. When I went in for my interview, I was floored and humbled to learn that my now supervisor is a fan of two of my biggest projects. To see such a clear example of how the work I have put in over the years has paid off, left me proud, happy, excited, eager to do more, and I don't know, touched if that makes sense.

Fast forward to now, i.e. one week in. I LOVE my team and everyone I have met so far at the company has been nothing short of welcoming, kind, and happy to answer any question, even the silly, "which way is the bathroom?" questions. I'm pleased to report that I haven't gotten lost but I have made a few wrong turns.

Starting a new job is hard. There is so much to take in, you want to make a good impression, figure out what the vibe is, get up to speed as quickly as possible, and not get lost in the office or forget all the passwords you're creating. Come Friday night I was exhausted but in a really satisfying way. I know that I don't yet know everything and that I'll probably still have questions a week from now, heck probably in a few weeks from now, but that's normal.

To save this from becoming a short story, I'll end here for now and bring you part two of my new job story later this week. Stay tuned...

Any new job tips for me? When was the last time you started a new job?