Saturday, March 6, 2010

Gut Knows Best

"... After college, I continued to work in agency settings over the next three years. The first year was at the same agency of my first internship (they hired me upon graduation) and then at a PR agency in Chicago for two years (LOVE CHICAGO). I'm now in Orange County, Calif. where I've gone back to working on an internal PR team in a corporate setting for a cell phone company. I've been here for about a year and a half now. So not only am I a writing nerd and a horrible radio DJ, I guess ths also makes me a techhie. Is there anything worse?? Haha ..."

Hi. Yeah, so that was me as of a few weeks ago. (For those who are new to this blog, you can read the rest of my introduction to Working Girl here.)

Guess what? It's time for an update. Here goes:

Some may call me crazy given the state our economy is in, and given that I loved my job so much (no dress code, great boss, remember?), but after a year and a half working on the internal PR team at the Orange County based cell phone company, I decided it was time to say good-bye to the corporate world.

You see, all of a sudden, things got turned upside down at work. It was like someone flipped a pancake on me, slap! Things changed very quickly, changes that were completely out of my control. Literally, guys, one day things were trotting along swimmingly and the next, I was driving home crying at the steering wheel and making a bee-line for the Taco Bell drive-thru (my comfort food) because I was so worried about getting laid off. What was happening?!? Have any of you ever been in that type of situation? Makes me question big corporate companies and who's managing them. Where's The Man? Lemme speak with the bozo in charge here.

After an agonizing month or so, I found out I wasn't going to be laid off. Instead, I was given a brand new role, brand new team, etc. and I was not happy about it. Accepting this new job would be like taking three steps backwards in my career, there would be zero room for growth, limited exposure, non-existent team camaraderie since it would be me in the OC and the rest of my new team on the East Coast, no pay raise or hope for one in even the far distant future, ugh, I could go on and on. It was time to get out and move on.

I can't tell you how scared I was to do that, though. I'm not usually one to just up and quit a job. I like to play things a little more safe, but this time I could not ignore my gut feelings. The negatives were just too overwhelming and far outweighed any positives.

Fast-forward to today, I am the happiest girl ever. See my smiley face? :) The best part, I'm still a PR Working Girl and I'm working 100% from home. I can't believe how things have fallen into place for me, still a whirlwind of craze and stress, no less, but it's like the stars aligned and I was meant to quit my job.

DEEP BREATH. AND AGAIN.

So dear readers, thanks for your patience as I've let the dust settle a bit these past few weeks. Moving forward, my weekly PR Working Girl adventures are going to be pretty cool (in my humble opinion). I have my very own two new PR clients, one women's fashion & lifestyle magazine and one small business, a retail store. I heart them both.

Also, I'll be able to provide the "working from home" working girl perspective, and I know there are lots of you work-at-home girls out there--I'm going to count on you for advice! I've gotten great tips from readers already, probably my favorite is from MonsteRawr who commented on my "Hopelessly Addicted" post where I rant about how I'm such a slave to my cell phone. Thanks to her suggestion, I've set my phone to vibrate when I get a new email so now I only check it when it buzzes, not constantly like I used to. Thank you, friend!

So tell me, ladies, what is your advice to someone just starting out working from home? Any expectations I should set for myself?

9 comments:

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

Congratulations on quitting your job.

I quit mine 2 years ago and it was also the best (rational) decision I ever made.

Working at home = even better, but I guess my only tips are:

1. Dress up just a bit, so you feel like you are in working mode.

2. Shut off all distractions -- lock your BF into a bathroom, turn off the tv, don't have the radio on, turn your back on the fridge

3. clear off your desk and only have your work stuff on there

I get easily distracted when I see things I have yet to get done lying on the table. I have to hide all that before I work :)

Chandra said...

I agree with your first commenter, that you should get dressed for work. Sitting around in PJs is unmotivating.

Pretty Zesty said...

Congrats to you! I also agree with you. I just went back to school to learn more skills so that I can eventually leave the corporate world and be my own superwoman! ;op YOU GO GIRL!!!

Seattle Kim D said...

Congratulations, that's excellent! I really admire your bravery, that must have been terrifying. I haven't worked from home but as I'm an unemployed PR girl that is freelance writing from home while I job search I feel somewhat qualified to offer advice. :P I advise you make sure you leave the house at least once a day or cabin fever will take over. Even if it's just a quick trip to Starbucks or a the grocery store, getting out and being around people is crucial to your sanity.

I look forward to reading about your new PR adventures! :)

Ellen said...

Oh goodness, I've been "working" from home for nine months and I still don't know if I have it down. I'd advise not have a lot of groceries in the house at one time because grazing all day long is very tempting. It just may lead to eating half a jar of PB and a pint of ice cream in one day without realizing it...until it was too late. Not to mention a five pound weight gain. But um...not that that's ever happened to me or anything. I'm just saying it COULD. ;)

http://www.firednfabulous.blogspot.com/

Corporate Chickee said...

Congrats to you! You'll love working from home - it's fantastic! I actually did the opposite - I traded in my 'work at home' status for a corporate gig. For me it was about work-life balance. Which, when home and work are the same can be very difficult!

My advice to you - set yourself some working hours, and stick to them. Don't start working at 8 or 9 pm, or worse- right before bed, etc. If you don't set some boundaries, work can take over very quickly.

I was able to work-in some house keeping, but not everyone can do this without getting distracted from work. I personally loved being able to throw in a load of laundry between conference calls, etc.

Find what works for you - but just make sure the work doesn't take over your home! Set up your 'home office' and keep work in your office space, wherever that may be. You'll need to draw a mental line between work and home.

Good luck - you'll love it!

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prashant said...

Working at home = even better, but I guess my only tips are:Dress up just a bit, so you feel like you are in working mode.
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