New Hire, Remote World

A few weeks ago, I decided to take the next step in my professional career and leave my previous employer to become the Marketing Manager for ZogLife. For me, change can be hard – and sometimes scary – but there was a different type of change that I had to consider when taking this new role: I would be working fully remote. Yup, that meant my bedroom would now be my office, I no longer had an hour-and-twenty-minute commute, and my newest colleague was my dog.

Since I graduated from college, I have worked alongside my co-workers in an office space. If I had a question, I’d just walk down the hall to my boss. There was no cooler place to be than the Keurig around 3pm and there was always someone around to talk about weekend plans with. When I accepted this job offer, I knew that I was going to be creating a new normal, and that was okay. I did my research and saw that I was joining a company with strong core values that prioritized working as a team, caring about one another, and having fun, so I had complete faith that they would have my back.

Within my first week, my co-workers did and said things that have already made my transition a smooth one:

1. My team came up with a thorough onboarding program. They made sure that I understood the culture, mission, and goals of the company, felt comfortable, and that I was taught the ins and outs of my role.
2. My manager set up recurring, weekly coaching sessions with me. Aside from just having a weekly meeting, he taught me to break my year up into quarters, my quarters up into weeks, and my weeks into tasks to complete that would help me reach my goals. The fact that he’s providing me a space to ask for help if I need it each week really means a lot to me.
3. The company values teamwork, open communication, and most importantly, having fun! I was nervous that my social butterfly self would miss everyday interactions at the water cooler, but I already find myself laughing at my computer screen at messages that I get from co-workers throughout the day! Working from home doesn’t mean that collaboration isn’t present – or that you can’t share laughs and smiles. We even do icebreakers at the beginning of meetings which has helped me get to know everyone on another level already.
4. My co-workers are always just a video call away. If I have a question, I’m simply one Slack message (or Zoom call) away from getting the help I need. The amount of shout-outs and warm welcomes that I received in meetings and over Slack just in my first week really helped with my transition. A member of my team made it a point to message me and say that I should never feel like I’m sitting at home behind a computer screen by myself, and that they’d always have my back. Receiving that message made me realize that I was working in the right place!
5. The company has scheduled in-person retreats to bring us all together each quarter – and virtual events such as Pride Month Trivia for team building! Since we’re working remotely all over the country, it’ll be special for me to meet everyone in-person and make connections that aren’t just behind the computer screen.

So, how does it feel being the new kid on the block in a new, remote world? With a team as supportive as this one, it feels pretty great.

Photo credit: www.canva.com