2020 Outstanding (Unusual, Too)
It was a hell of a year.
With the world experiencing a pandemic, America going through protests and riots, and devastating wildfires in Australia, to name just a few… is it any surprise We Didn’t Start the Fire got a few lyrical updates?
Today also marks a year and a week since I last wrote anything here. In light of this anniversary-of-sorts, here’s a belated update of what I did last year, where I’ve been, and who I’m trying to be now:
Whiz Kid
Praxis Graduate
Coffee's for callers
Job Hunter
A Full Life
Whiz Kid
At SoftBank, I jumped headfirst into Customer Success, taking on several accounts and helping to revitalize the department’s documentation in light of the ever-changing environment. As the world fell into the stress and worry of Coronavirus, this only amplified. It became our duty to anticipate how to assist our customers in light of it.- This Windows kid became proficient with MacOS
- Gained proficiency at Hubspot, Slack, and Asana
- Began the Case Study process with one of my clients
- Compiled our unwritten operations into a cohesive CS Playbook
- Survived the transition from the office to entirely work-from-home
- Hit deadlines and stayed on top of my tasks
- Learned how to read product usage stats and draw conclusions about customer satisfaction
Praxis Graduate
Before I transitioned from Customer Success to Sales, I officially graduated from Discover Praxis, the professional development bootcamp that helped me land the job at SoftBank Robotics in the first place.
I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have done this stellar program!
Coffee’s for Callers
Customer Success was foundational for me. But I wanted to be in marketing before too long. I needed experience. After six months on the CS team, I transitioned to the outbound sales team as a Sales Development Representative.
- Reached my monthly outreach goals, despite fearing I’d fall short
- Hit the top of the board for the number of outreaches via phone each month
- Worked closely with the marketing team to determine outreach efforts
- Mastered the process of building Hubspot sequences
- Held weekly one-on-ones with other Sales Reps to help my approach
- Massively improved verbal communication
Job Hunter
Working at SoftBank Robotics was a phenomenal opportunity for which I am so grateful. But at the start of October, it was time to say goodbye so that I could carve out a new path for myself where I wanted to go.
A Full Life
After a big year, I took a couple of weeks to wind down before buckling back down to the job search. I also made time to visit a friend out of state.
In between applying for jobs, I found time to read or listen to over fifty books, try out a bunch of new recipes for baked goods and meals, and, most recently, redesign my website! As if that wasn’t great enough, I started dating my closest friend, an amazing and intelligent woman.
Closing Thoughts
This year, I want the blog to be a living record of my habits and skills.
If you follow me, be on the lookout for my planned upcoming posts about my experience with updating WordPress. I learned a lot in this impromptu crash course! I’ll also post something short about daily journaling habits I picked up at the end of last year.
May this year be to you what it has been to me so far: full of joy at life and realistically hopeful for what good things the future holds.