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A Year of Adam

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​Our Operations Executive, Kimi, has just hit her one year Adam-iversary. What started as a temporary administration position has evolved into a permanent role within We Are Adam, and she reflects on the past year's journey in this blog...

As I approach my one-year work-iversary at Adam (that has absolutely flown by!) and move from a temporary position to a permanent one, I started thinking about all the things that have changed in the past year and how my life has changed because of this job. So, in true ‘me’ style… I’m writing a blog about it.

Candidate to Colleague.

My first experience with Adam was as a candidate. In early 2020, I was working from home as a copywriter. But I was also feeling isolated and lonely, so I figured it was time to look for something with an actual workplace and colleagues.

A very luckily-timed CV upload led to a phone call from Paul, who prepped and sent me for an interview at another business. The role itself ended up falling through, but Paul mentioned that Adam themselves would be looking to hire an admin assistant, and did I fancy applying? Absolutely. My experiences with Adam so far had been miles beyond what I had experienced with other recruiters, and to be completely honest… I got really, really good vibes from them. When I was asked if I would mind that there would be a puppy at the interview, I knew I wanted this job over anything else!

My interview was with Leanne and Vanessa, and honestly those good vibes just kept rolling on in. After my interview, puppy cuddles (of course), and a quick tour of the office, I left knowing that I would be devastated if I didn’t get the role. I went home, hoped, and waited. I got a call a few days later asking if I was available to pop in to the office to meet Richard, their CEO. The perks of freelancing meant I was able to hop on a tram within an hour. I know 'they' say you shouldn't seem too keen, but there was no hiding how keen I was on this role!

A week later, I got a call from Paul. Did I fancy starting on Thursday? Yes. Yes, yes, all of the yes. One thing I never told my colleagues – once I'd hung up the phone after that call, I shouted with joy and danced around my house in celebration... much to my partner's amusement!

Settling in

Settling into life at Adam was honestly ridiculously easy. At the end of my first full week, I was chatting one of my new colleagues about how I’d found it so welcoming and easy to settle in, and she mentioned that it felt I had been there much longer than I had. I took that as a good sign!

Then the pandemic hit.

Overnight, I was back to working from home. I had spent a grand total of 8 working days in the brilliant Adam offices and I was back to working out of my antique bureau in the corner of my living room. I won’t lie, I was worried. In those early weeks, recruitment appeared to dry up, and I didn’t know what that meant for the new starter and least senior employee.

I didn’t need to worry, however. The leadership team at Adam steered us through the uncertain, early days of the crisis, doing everything they could to put our minds and ease and continue with as much normality as possible. Despite us all being apart and my having minimal office days, I was always made to feel like a part of the team.

Playing to my strengths

One of the things that has stood out to me about working at Adam is how attentive the leadership team are to the staff – not just to how we are feeling, but also what we like to do and what ‘hidden’ skills we have. As I was settling into life at Adam, it didn’t take the team very long to discover my passion for social media and copywriting, as well as my desire to learn more about marketing in general.

Soon, I had taken over the social media accounts and was being given copywriting tasks. As admin work had quietened down due to the pandemic, we switched my focus and kept me busy with marketing tasks. The then Operations Manager - now Operations Director, yey! – Leanne took me under her wing, coaching me on the aspects of marketing that I was unsure of, or lacked knowledge on.

They also knew that I learn better when I’m actually doing something, so the vast majority of my training has been hands-on. Because of this, I feel that I’ve developed and honed my existing skills, as well as learning more than I could ever have imagined in a year!

What a difference a year makes

So here we are, one year on, and a lot has changed! I am no longer an admin assistant, very recently taking a permanent role as Operations Executive, and I am the happiest I’ve ever been in my career.

Thanks to the attentive and encouraging coaching and feedback from the entire leadership team, I feel that I have grown as a person and learnt more about what I am capable of. Not only that, but I can really see a future for myself here. Whereas a lot of jobs are seen as a ‘stepping stone’ to get to the next level, I feel like I’ve found more of a home. A work home, if you will.

My friends and family all comment regularly on the changes they’ve seen in me – I’m more confident in myself, less hesitant to try new things because of a fear of failure, and I’m just generally happier. Monday mornings don’t fill me with dread, logging on every morning has me looking forward to the day ahead, and I love catching up with my co-workers… I just can’t wait until we can all go out for a beer!

What a difference a year makes!