So, this is my very first blog post! I’ll soon be stepping back into the outside world after nearly 11 years as a (mostly!) happy employee. Now that my boss is taking early retirement, the time has come to take stock of where I am and, more importantly, where I want to go on my new adventure.
Over the last 20 years
… I’ve been very lucky to have fallen into some wonderful jobs and carved out my own roles without ever having had a clear and pre-defined job ideal. I’ve gained some fantastic skills in lots of different areas: account and project management, digital and IT, multimedia, PR and marketing, human resources, PA and office management, event management – even running a museum!
I’ve worked for a company with over 200 staff around the world and also as the only employee of a small local consultancy. I’ve had the great pleasure of working with some truly lovely clients (both agency and client side). All these experiences have taught me that I’m flexible and adaptable and that I enjoy working in an office full of people, in teams, or on my own.
And working mainly from home for the last seven years since my daughter was born has shown me what a great sounding board my lovely senior cat is!
Where has time gone?
As I begin updating my LinkedIn profile and asking for endorsements from friends and colleagues, it strikes me that I don’t feel like time has passed. For example, I’ve known one colleague for nearly 18 years but it still seems like yesterday that I was taking my laptop downstairs for him to install new software or fix my emails. Since then he’s run his own successful IT business for 14 years … just where did all that time go?
So now it’s my turn to take a deep breath and begin to “smile and dial”, as another copywriter friend so aptly calls it. I freely admit that I’m not a natural salesperson and I’ve always adroitly managed to undersell myself so there’s no denying that this next chapter is going to be very scary. But, deep breath, I WILL look forward to new adventures and challenges and I WILL do my best to remain positive – please wish me luck, here goes, and fingers crossed!
Are you a freelancer too? How did you get started? What tips would you share?
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