“Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.” -Mandy Hale
Many who know me personally will say I took a huge risk with a career change after seeking and accepting my new position as the Senior Graphic Designer at Midwest Marketing. At the time, I had just completed seven and a half years at my previous employment which was an in-house advertising department for an established local business. Although I experienced tremendous growth in that role throughout those years, I felt that I was destined for more than just working the ins-and-outs of a single retailer, even if that meant coming out of my comfort zone. So yes, you could say that I took a risk, but after working for Midwest Marketing for a little over a month now, I’m glad I did.
As an in-house graphic designer transitioning to a marketing agency, I understood that while I was very specialized in one industry, I would be working for very many others, but this was one hurdle I was prepared for and ready to conquer.
My first week was dedicated to becoming very familiar with many of our clients that I would be working with on a regular basis. I eagerly welcomed my own research opportunities by looking up past creatives and checking out their website and social media platforms which allowed me to get a better idea on how each client prefers to convey their message. I was very grateful that Midwest allowed me to dedicate that extra time to familiarize myself with everything and everyone.
One of my first impressions of working at Midwest Marketing was the great level of professionalism and organization, as well as the amount of assistance that was readily available to help me succeed. I was also amazed by the knowledge of my new co-workers and the amazing marketing campaigns that they worked to put together.
In my second week, I attended my very first staff meeting where there was good discussion about the opportunity of growth in how we can set ourselves apart from other agencies by being the first in the market to promote ourselves in a certain way. The meeting was then followed by a short, fun, team-building exercise, and I look forward to getting to know my co-workers more! Later that week, I was also asked to think about how we can spruce up our client creatives to give them a new look for the upcoming new year, which I am excited to tackle on. It was clear to me that Midwest Marketing strives to continue to find ways to improve their branding, for us and their valued clients. Towards the end of week two, I had already completed a variety of jobs and was starting to feel like I was getting into the groove of things!
Change can be intimidating, but I am glad that I took the chance to come out of my comfort zone and now have the opportunity to grow alongside Midwest Marketing. I am extremely thankful to be able to work with such amazing team of creative minds and am looking forward to facing new, exciting challenges to continuously promote growth and discover new possibilities!
