Why i do what i do. An inspiring and brave story by our first 1 year employee!

The below has been written by QuizJam's content and customer success manager Blade Shaw and is why I do what I do. When i was recently asked by one of our advisers why i started QuizJam i answered with... I love building teams. I love working with people to help them get the most out of themselves. I love having the ability to have such a positive influence on someones life. Over a 50 year working life the average person will spend roughly 35% of their waking hours at work. I want to ensure that i create a culture and working environment that makes people happy and inspires them to do great things both at work and in life!

I would like to sincerely thank Blade for sharing his story with us and allowing this to be shared with the world. I believe this is such an inspiring and brave story and anyone who has been through a rough time or is currently going through a rough time should relate to this and hopefully be inspired to keep fighting as there will always be light at the end of the tunnel and something work fighting for! If you are not going through anything like this, please remember that someone you know probably is, so please always be ready and willing to put your hand out to help!

Blade this is such a great story, beautifully written (as usual) and you should be proud! Love you mate!

"Yesterday was my one year anniversary at QuizJam! Glenn asked me to think about how much my life had changed over the last year, so I decided to write it all down. It's pretty long, but worth a read if you're in a hard place at the moment.

One year on, one of my bosses Glenn asked me to think about how my life had changed in the last year. For the past 365 days, I’ve worked at QuizJam under the guidance of co-founders Joel Steel and Glenn Morton.

When I graduated University in 2015, it felt like I had finally reached the summit of a mountain which I’d spent my entire life climbing. Having left school in Year 10, dealing with depression since I was 8 years old and a less than ideal home-life situation it was a catharsis of the highest order to walk across the stage at the Perth Convention Centre and receive my degree from Curtin’s chancellor. It made me think about how far I’d come as a high school dropout, and how without the encouragement of my soon-to-be wife Jayde I would have continued to live under the belief that I was never meant for higher education.

While I’d like to say that after I took off my robe and mortarboard that I stepped into a suit, the reality is a bit bleaker than that. For almost a year to the day, I sent out countless resumes and CVs to any organisation that would entertain the notion of hiring me. While sitting for a number of different interviews, eventually I would make it through to the final round for a position as a Trainee Store Manager with Aldi when they expanded into Perth. I was so desperate for a job, that I began spending as much time looking for a job within my field of study as I did for something that would just help pay my bills and move me out from living with my partner and her family.

I woke up on a Sunday morning, and checked my email out of habit as I lied in bed – I’d been sweating it out for a few days about the Aldi job. I hadn’t done too well at the medical assessment, and was concerned that this was going to affect any chance of a job offer. Sitting in my inbox that morning, was an auto-generated email – I hadn’t been successful in making it through the final round, and Aldi would unfortunately not be offering me a job. For months, I had hinged my hopes on getting this job. My partner Jayde was sitting in our shared study at the time, and as I opened the door I suddenly burst into tears. I was so angry and disappointed, it felt like my only chance at independence had slipped right through my fingers. How had someone like me, who had worked hard through a number of internships, extra-curricular activities as well as having over a decade of retail experience and a university degree not get the job after everything I’d been through?

Things gradually got worse, there were a couple of months where no interview offers came in. Centrelink sent me to a job employment agency, and then referred me to a job program which I had to attend every day so as not to miss out on payments that I desperately needed. As the program was just launching in WA, we showed up to sit in an empty warehouse for 8 hours while the organisers waited for the tools and equipment to show up. Eventually I received a medical exemption from attending, as my depression and anxiety were having a disastrous effect on my IBS which made travelling over an hour each way a nightmare. My situation continued to get more severe, until the point where I wasn’t really able to leave the house.

In June of 2016, I applied for two jobs over SEEK – one at a job I’d previously worked at in Telstra Directory Assistance and the other as a Content Manager for a start-up called QuizJam. I still remember having my initial phone call with Joel, where he told me that I’d be working on a three month contract. At the time, it didn’t bother me – I just wanted the opportunity to prove myself. Joel invited me to attend an interview, and gave me the address of where I needed to show up. Walking up the street, I double checked the address and realised that it was a house – definitely not what I was expecting! When I walked through the door though, I was met with a room of beaming faces who I immediately started joking around with. Despite never having met any of the people there, automatically I could sense that there was a connection that linked all of us that I couldn’t quite explain. Upstairs, we sat in the home office and they ran me through the funniest and most unique job interview that I’ve ever been through. Despite all my experience with public speaking and interviews over the years, I was naturally still a little nervous. I wanted so badly to work for QuizJam, and alongside these people I had felt an instant connection with. They left me at their door with a smile, and assurance that by the end of the week I’d hear back about whether I got the job or not.

Heading back on the train, I called my partner who told me to meet her at Aldi in Joondalup as we needed to do our weekly food shopping. As I walked towards the doors, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. Not thinking too much of it, I answered the phone….And here I am, one year later. Since then, we’ve moved out of the home office after accepting an offer to join the inaugral muru-D Plus Eight Accelerator program in Perth, placing us squarely in the heart of the Perth CBD.

As both a professional and a person, I’ve come so far in the last year under the leadership of Joel and Glenn. They took a chance on someone who needed it, and I’d like to think that I’ve met their expectations of the person they met during that interview. To say I’m grateful is probably the biggest understatement I could possibly make, but there is no one sentiment that I think describes the level of thanks I feel is appropriate. We’ve challenged one another endlessly over the last year, and with the addition of Aaron Dark with who I’ve also developed a close bond with the last 6 months there’s an undeniable “Three Musketeers” scenario which has grown between all of us.

When I wake up every morning, I’m thankful to come into work. Not just because I’m getting paid, but because I’m being offered the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to something that is continuously improving and evolving. That my talents are recognised and appreciated, in a job that I think a lot would kill for. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who have felt the way I have, and experienced trials and tribulations of their own. And to you all, I implore you to keep fighting the good fight. Because right around the corner, your own Joel and Glenn could be waiting. Your talents will be recognised, and you will find the place that you belong."