One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty Five days...

Nope, that’s not how many days we’ve been in quarantine, but it sure does feel like it sometimes.

It has been One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty Five days since I joined WorkMarket. For those of you who are unaware, WorkMarket is an enterprise software that enables companies to efficiently and compliantly organize, manage and pay their extended workforce. 

This was an interview I didn’t want to take, an interview that I was sure I bombed (more on that later), and a role that was supposed to be a stepping stone to my real dream job. If you asked me back in 2015 what I wanted to do when I ‘grew up,’ I would proudly tell you that my sights were set on going to school to become a Funeral Director.

As I come up on my five (WHAT?!) year anniversary, I have taken the time to sit down and really think about all the peaks and valleys of this journey. One word to sum up this five year journey: grateful.  The gratitude I have felt towards WorkMarket isn’t just part of this new awakening that many of us are feeling amongst the chaos of 2020, and it isn’t a fleeting feeling.

I took the interview for WorkMarket in July 2015. I was fresh out of school, spending every second by the Jersey Shore, and applying for jobs 24/7. I was 22 and  wanted to work somewhere with a big ‘known’ name but with a role that paid well and would allow me to have a flexible schedule - typical post grad thought process, I know. I received a text in July 2015 from an old college friend, working in HR and recruiting, who pointed me towards a small, NYC tech startup and with a job opening for a receptionist. I knew nothing about startups or about the NYC tech scene. I was so far removed from this sector, that my only reference back then would be the Programming class I took in college and later dropped because they wanted me to create a button and well… that wasn't for me.

On my way to the interview, my ill choices made the morning even tougher - I didn't know how to commute into Manhattan and I was wearing new flats that hadn’t been broken in yet. I even needed to make a pit stop at a CVS to get bandaids for my ankles. (Pro tip, never wear new flats for your first time in Manhattan). Upon entering the midtown office to meet with the HR team and Founder (whom I had Googled moments before), I felt very anxious about what I was getting myself into. I walked into an office of about 40 people sitting on top of each other. I waited at a couch off to the side by the engineering team. I did everything I could to look confident while I sat there with shaky hands and sweaty palms.

I was escorted to a tiny conference room, and a few moments later the founder came. He didn’t fit the profile of a ‘businessman’ to me. He was relatively young, dressed in shorts and converse and started by asking me who I was. Let's face it - I was 22 and had no idea who I was. I may have been a bit too forthcoming and candid with him by stating that this was ‘just a job to get me through funeral director school’. That was always a conversation starter for me since it takes a really special kind of person to wake up and want to be a funeral director.

Towards the end of my interview, the Founder hit me with an “interesting” question:”how many tires are in India?” 

Perplexed by this choice question and barely having time to try and understand the “why” behind it, he handed me a whiteboard marker, and walked out of the room. Weirdly enough, I had just completed a school project focused on business in India. In combination with the list of fast facts I had on Indian businesses and my very poor, back of the napkin math - I landed on a number around 10 billion (if my memory serves me right). As the Founder entered back into the room and observed the chaos strewn across the whiteboard (picture: the string scene from A Beautiful Mind)...it was clear that I had lost my mind a bit in the process… and got the answer completely wrong. 

I thanked him for his time and left the office. I called my mom immediately and told her “I don’t know what just happened,but that might have been the best interview I ever had.” 

Less than a week later, I received a phone call with an offer for my first real job.

My first day with the team consisted of helping everyone wrap up loose ends as they were about to move 6 blocks up to a new office space the following week. I walked into an office that wasn’t packed or labeled, or organized in any way. I quickly paired with the Operations Manager and threw myself right into the mix. This didn’t really scream “incredible and exciting first week on the job,” but when your new boss asks you to roll up your sleeves, you roll up your sleeves and get it done.

The following Monday I began my career as the front desk receptionist at WorkMarket. I was a jack of all trades and I loved everything about this. I was handling phones, guests, ceiling leaks, holidays parties, ordering food, purchasing equipment, reporting bathroom malfunctions - you name it, I did it. Yes, there were annoying days, but I was lucky to be surrounded by so many people who made every moment of that role the best. 

I was fortunate enough to have been taken under the wing of HR and learn some of the fundamentals of a totally different career path. I quickly learned the ins and outs of recruiting, performance management, Canadian PEOs, and anything and everything that makes for a healthy and productive work environment. The founder continued to mentor me and I had the support of all of my peers. All I wanted to do next was continue developing myself to get into a full time HR role.

I started with no experience outside my campus job, threw myself into the unknown chaos of a startup and then I was handed a golden ticket in 2018 to join a world class HR team via our acquisition by ADP. I have been mentored, groomed, and everything in-between by some of the best in the software industry. I have laughed for hours with co-workers that turned into friends, met an insane network of people, and have developed relationships that go beyond the walls of the WorkMarket offices. 

I have spent the last five years of my career on W37th ST. What a ride it’s been! The late nights working, the holiday parties that went until the morning, breakfast club, the conference room floods, the fun committee, endless new hires, town halls, summer kick offs – I could go on and on, but I digress. 

It’s hard to put into words how much these years have meant to me – but it always goes back to the theme of being grateful.

Not many people can say they loved their first job. There is a stigma around millennials that we are job hoppers and only stick around until we’re bored or wait for the next best thing to come our way. Working at WorkMarket has been far from easy, but what I can say is - it has always felt right. 

I have always felt that everything happens for a reason, that there’s a beautiful and slightly divine twist of fate for every choice that we make - but it also takes patience, determination, a strong constitution, and a network of individuals to guide you along the way.

A big endless thank you to Jeff Wald, for giving me the opportunity when I made it too easy for him to say no. I’m thankful that I didn’t run screaming out the door in 2015 and that you didn’t math shame me, I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today without you. Thank you.