1 year, 2 months, and 4 days
That’s how long it took for me to be able to work in the office at my “new” job. For new readers, you can catch up on my job journey here and here. It’s a bit of a read so hang onto your hats. Let’s give a quick recap, though, for those who have forgotten.
In November 2010, I took what I thought would be a 6 week temporary receptionist position. This turned into an 8-year job of varying roles. When I moved to NY, I transferred offices at the same company (much to my dismay) and ended up there for another year and change. At the beginning of 2020, I interviewed with my current job and received an offer on 3/11/20. I was set to start the end of the month. I’m sure no one needs a reminder as to what happened in March 2020. On my first day home, I received a call from my new boss advising that they would have to delay my start. We kept in touch as things remained up in the air and, as you can read in that first link, I was able to start on 5/4/20 after some craziness at my old job (see 2nd link).
Now, anyone that’s ever started a new job, especially one in a brand new field, knows how overwhelming those first few months can be. You have to learn new systems and protocols for different things. If you’ve changed industries, you have to learn new terms and procedures. It gets to be quite a lot. Add onto that that I was learning everything remotely and after 6 months I felt like I’d only been working here for about 3.
When my year anniversary rolled around a couple months ago, it was so bizarre to me. I’d only been to the office twice since being hired: once to get my laptop and again to have software installed on it. Other than people I met when being interviewed, I hadn’t met my coworkers in person and I’d been with the organization for a year. The whole thing has just been such a weird experience.
I knew that after the 4th of July that we would be going back to the office part time - a couple days a week to simply get back into the flow of things. I was excited at the prospect of seeing people in person and actually meeting those that I’ve worked with for over a year, but it also came with a lot of anxiety. When you’ve only communicated with people via email or the occasional Zoom, meeting in person and showing them “hey this is me!” can be a lot. I began to worry that people would start to see me in a different light. To anyone that knows me in real life, I’m kind of loud and, well… I can be a lot sometimes. Once you get to know me it’s fine, but right off the bat it can be a little much. I didn’t want to make a bad first impression… even though these were people I technically already knew.
Today was my first day back and I really didn’t have anything to be scared of. Granted, there are only 2 other people in the office at the moment (big vacation week), but being here with familiar things made me feel immediately comfortable. Sure there might still be more anxiety next week as more people return to the office, but I think I just needed to get over that initial jolt of being back with people. I know I’m not alone in saying that my people skills have taken a severe dip in the last year plus so it’s an adjustment for everyone really.
I’m excited to be here, though. Even though I’ve been working at this job for over a year, actually being here has made it finally feel real. It only took 1 year, 2 months, and 4 days for it to happen, but it’s real. The last tie to my old life has finally been cut and all that’s left is the open road in front of me. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
- Danielle
