I Started a New Job in the Middle of a Pandemic

LIFESTYLE

Jun 23

March 10th, 2020 will be a day I will never forget. Why? It was the first day of my new job, and the world was in the middle of a pandemic.

March 4th was the closing of a chapter that was LONG overdue. I had been on a hunt for a new career for almost a year, and I thought I would never find the role I was looking for. I knew I wanted to stay in the start-up tech world, I loved people management, and I'm an operations guru, but I had been at these early-stage startups too damn long. Early-stage startups are great for the professional experience but will eventually age you in dog years.

What? Did I hear someone say "Amen?". I felt that one through the screen of your device.

So here I am starting the job I prayed for, worked for, manifested, and at the company I have been dying to work at. I will never forget my first day because I got on the 3 train from Harlem at 145th and transferred to the 1 train at 14th. The train was pretty empty for a weekday, no one was touching the poles of the subway, and some people had on a masks. I walked into our chic multi-level office located in West Village for my 10 am start time, and the office was empty.

The on-boarding team was taking our head-shots for the company directory, and I will never forget this moment because they requested we wear black shirts for our company head-shots. You know I had to do the most and decided to channel Steve Jobs and wear my "power turtleneck." As I was adjusting my black turtleneck, the HR team informed us that the office is currently in a recommended work from home status. This comment explained the very empty office. We finished out our day, was issued our company laptops, attended meetings, and met my manager and peers. I was to manage 10 direct reports, and they were currently working from home. In that moment, I honestly didn't think of to what extent this pandemic was going to affect my new job. I think in early March many of us couldn't comprehend COVID’s effects at that time. Fast forward two days to Thursday (Day 3), I still come into the office, attending meetings, and going through my on-boarding tasks. An email goes out from our CEO that starting Friday, we are required to work from home.

At that moment, I had so many questions that started running through my head.

"How will I get to know my direct reports if we are working from home?"

"How can I continue to onboard as a people manager remotely?"

"How will my peers be able to support me during this time?"

And lastly, the one I repeated to myself several times:

"How the f**k am I going to do this?"

That first day working at home was stressful because I would go through these different stages from denial that couldn’t do this job, and then imposter syndrome would kick in telling me I wasn't qualified for this. Had a talk with God and my momma (IN THAT ORDER) on Friday night, I was determined to shake ALL THE DOUBT. I woke up that Monday and wrote down this reminder to myself:

Fast forward to today, I am now 3 months into my new role and feeling more confident than ever. It is truly a blessing to work in an environment that is inclusive, supportive, and I am surrounded by some of the hardest working people I have ever met. This company is a space where there are no office politics, but only people willing to lend a hand. I have a team of direct reports that bring their best to work, provide me with honest feedback, and flex their problem-solving skills on a daily!

I told myself if I could make it through this unique situation I can truly prove to myself how easily I can adapt to new challenge. I am really proud of my ability to pivot during a unprecedented time and succeed.

3 THINGS A NEW JOB DURING A PANDEMIC TAUGHT ME

Don’t approach a new situation IMMEDIATELY with a defeated attitude. Instead assess the situation and make some attainable goals!
Don’t be afraid of failure, but welcome growth.
Speak up when you need help.