When the pandemic started to gain momentum in the U.S. and I started working from home, I had a hard time adjusting. For a socially awkward introvert, I was surprised by how much I missed human interaction. Eventually I got over that human weakness and working from home evolved into my favorite way to work.
The biggest benefit was the added time with my family. Time that used to be spent commuting, or even showering, could be redirected to going on walks. I got to have lunch with my wife and daughters every day.
I’m fortunate that we have a great workspace in our home. Our nerd den is a combination office, crafting room and podcast studio. With my back pressed against the cool concrete wall I face a custom-built desk a friend made. I can close the door, block out the world and focus without anyone ever stopping by to make smalltalk. When I was really focused, I had some of my most productive work days of my career.
After seven years in my most recent role, I decided to explore the job market. A colleague had recently changed jobs. She told me the market was hot and in the new remote reality, there were opportunities literally everywhere.
My friend is more of a traditional marketing professional. My skill set is more niche in marketing communications, so I was curious to see if my situation was similar. It turns out she was right. It had been over three years since I had applied for any positions and I have never seen so many opportunities.
I took some big swings. Since the last time I was job hunting, companies have become more insistent on getting your salary expectations in the initial application phase. I asked for as much as 40 percent more than I was making.
Out of all the companies I applied with, there were three who were seriously interested in my skills. One was located just miles from me, but I would have to be in the office five days a week for the first 30 days for training and then three days a week for the rest of my life. The next position started at three days a week in the office for the first 30 days before renegotiating. The final one was fully remote, and happened to be where my colleague ended up.
All three companies was they all wanted me to fill a content marketing role. I have nearly 15 years of experience as a communications manager. When I accepted my most recent position, content marketing wasn’t even a thing. Or was it?
There are similarities, both focus heavily on writing skills, but communications manager roles tend to rely on traditional tools: press releases, print media and media relations tactics. Content marketing leans more digital, often relying on search engine optimization and other marketing magic that I totally understand and can articulate in a sensible way. I just choose not to at this moment for a perfectly logical reason.
I ended up with a company that makes medical consumables. My early impressions are that I’m now essentially “head writer guy” and they had a definite need for my skills. In my first two weeks I’ve published three blog posts, written and recorded a voiceover script, written a press release, created a media list from scratch and edited a number of landing pages and emails. Not bad for someone who’s never worked with consumer products before and had a ton to learn.
I’ve found myself going to the office three days a week with my new position. It’s not bad, and certainly preferable to going back into the office full time. But it has put an extra strain on my time. Balancing a new job with a new baby and all my (admittedly self-imposed) OiO deadlines has been a lot to manage. When I started doing the podcast on a monthly basis in 2019, my first daughter was already seven months old. And that was just one show a month, there was no Game Pass Forever or Tom and Joey Unfiltered episodes. I’ve been taking a long look at this monthly column.
There were two reasons I started writing a monthly column:
- Promote what’s going on at OiO
- Position myself to land a more content-focused job (preferably with Game Informer)
The results have been a mixed bag. I am thrilled with my new position and OiO helped me get there. I include the podcast and website on my professional resume and they came up in my interview. Unfortunately, traffic has been rather dismal for the column and after three years, I’ll officially call it quits with the column after next month’s edition.
It’s been a fun experience. For those of you who regularly read the column, most notably my frequent editors Hobby Box Joe Burns and Dr. C Casey Hallin, thank you! We’re hard at work planning another 36 podcasts and a big party for our Patreon supporters next year. Hopefully I’ll be able to cobble together some new articles in the next year. Just not over the last two days of every single month.
What’s New at OiO
Game Pass Forever: Myst
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Episode 42 of Outside is Overrated – Venom
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