the new job sitch (a ranty one)

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so, last week i mentioned the fact that i had been offered the job of my dreams, and - naturally, a lot of you had questions! i didn't really want to go into it in too much detail before the ink was dry (so to speak), but as we're now on the final stretch into me starting in the new role (end of the month!), i thought it was about time i shared the whole story with you... from the beginning (rant: incoming).

i love blogging. like, a lot a lot. it's my very favourite thing to do when all else fails (and sometimes instead of other things) - and i don't just mean the actual writing part, either. i vowed to not take my london life for granted, but having mum here these last few months really showed me that i kind of have been; i go to the same cafes, the same restaurants, bars, markets, all the time. i hardly ever variate from the familiar... and seeing as i basically blog my whole life, that must get really boring to read, no? having her here meant i was seeing and doing new things every weekend, and although the early saturday morning wake ups were not always my favourite thing, the actual adventure totally was. and, you guys have really responded to some of these new things too, which makes me really happy!

i love the socialising that blogging brings; granted it's mostly online than off, but it's socialising none the less. i always always respond to the comments that are left here, follow the links back, reply on twitter, retweet when i can - you name it, i'm on it. because, two and a bit years ago when i started this blog, my mum was the only one reading, and i honestly thought that's how it would stay. now, there are so many of you reading my mindless musings - even though the views themselves have dropped, i'm getting more and more new faces stop by and comment, and that's totally the reason i keep coming back for more. ultimately, i write this blog for me - to record my life. but, if it interests you, and people want to read it, then i want to accommodate you too... you know?

i designed this layout from scratch. now, it's certainly not up to the standard that a lot of my favourite friends' and bloggers' are, but it's mine. the wee disclaimer at the bottom says it's designed by someone else, and it was. but then i customised everything i could, and now it's not. i just don't know how to get rid of that. plus, whatever, let people think someone out there is designing pretty atrocious blog layouts. ha! it took me ages to learn how to code and host pictures and tweak css and all that junk, and i am super proud of myself for doing all of that, because, i have zero patience or dedication to anything else in my life. for me to have learned how to do all these - granted, pretty basic things all by myself, i don't mind that it's not a top quality layout, because it's all mine.

when i started this blog, i was writing stories about london for my friends and family back home. a year or so in, people started reading a long too. about 18 months in, i had my first 'collaboration' opportunity; unpaid, lolz, of course, because what did i expect? i didn't know that paid opportunities were a thing! i was just some silly naive girl, writing about her clothes and her boyfriend and holidays abroad. after a few non-paid collabs that probably, in hindsight, came across really sales-pitchy because i thought i should do the right thing and like, totally up-sell the crap i was being told to plug, the product reviews started to come in. at the start, i turned a lot down; i only work with companies i have actually heard of, that i would actually buy, and that would fit my lifestyle. but then i started thinking outside the box - just because i wouldn't naturally think of the *thing* as a natural fit, doesn't mean it can't be, or isn't for someone else. at this point, there were a lot more people reading. so, rather than turn down opportunities, i took them and started to think outside the box.

content is key, we all know this, so i started to really be creative with the content i was writing. not in a deceptive way, in a way that really worked for this blog. for example, some shower head company wanted me to link to a specific shower head, so i worked it into a bathroom makeover wishlist post. a purifying tap company wanted a link back to a hot water tap, so i wrote a piece about winter water and how to keep your skin hydrated in the colder months. these are examples, obviously, of how something that seems irrelevant on the surface, actually can be used as great pieces of content... if you just think about how.

i'm off topic, slightly. basically, what i'm saying, is that at the start of this year, my blog was flourishing, i was happy with my content, i was happy with the constant communication from readers, i was getting regular work.  it made me think a lot about blogging full time. at that point, i was making a small amount of money from ads, from collaborations, but certainly not enough to quit the day job. so this begged the question; how? i thought about blogging for companies, on a freelance basis. but, freelance scares me - there's so much unknown involved, and i don't like the unknown. i thought about copywriting jobs, but ultimately copywriting is just re-writing someone elses words. i had too much pride in my own voice, that writing as and for someone else would be too much of a slap in the face. so again, what?

i reached out to some of my contacts in pr and asked them lots of questions. there was talk of interning in a digital agency, but the likelihood of getting a month off work to work for free somewhere else was very slim, and i also wasn't sure that 'digital marketing' was what i was thinking... that seemed all very technical and pr-y and i wasn't sure i was looking to wine and dine clients, rather, help them get creative with the content they were sending out there... so, with no real answers and my mum's impending arrival, i put it on the backburner and kind of... resolved i would think about it some more... another day.

and then! about a month ago,  i got an email from one of those pr contacts, asking me if i was still interested in the digital side of things, as there was a position on her team that she'd quite like me to have a look at. instant nerves kicked in - i'm a fraud! i know nothing about marketing! honestly! i said as much to her, she laughed, and sent me over the job description. i read it. and re-read it. and decided this was the job for me. the following week i met with her colleague in the office for a basic "she's not a weirdo" chat, a few days later a skype interview with my contact who was now in nyc for work, and then - horror behold, i had to prepare and deliver a presentation for her and another colleague. nerves! i'd never had to do anything like this before, and was sure i had misread the brief i'd been given, as it seemed pretty straightforward. never the less, i presented my thing, shook their hands, and headed home. sure, it went well, they seemed quite impressed by what i had delivered, and they had lots of questions for me that i wasn't unable to answer. i guess that's the basis of a good interview, right?

well, i put no pressure on this. i knew i could do this job, that i'd be excellent at it, and that i wanted it, but i've had so much disappointment on the job front recently that i find it's best not to pin all your hopes on luck. so, i waited. and then one wednesday night, as i was half way through a bottle of pink wine, i got the call that changed my life. they loved my presentation. they loved me. they wanted me to start as soon as possible! i was in utter disbelief that i cried into my glass of wine and then made my mate take me out for dinner. haha. i made her repeat herself so many times on that call, because i just couldn't believe i'd gone and done the thing. and, done it so bloody well!

so, what is this job, i hear you begging. well, you're looking at the newest member of the talented talkers team. i'm going to make it my mission in life as a (this is not a joke job title) blogger engagement executive to ensure that even the mundane of the products and clients out there have their day in the sun through creative content and collaborations, as written by other clever and sassy bloggers like you and me. and, i really, honestly, am still in disbelief that this is even a job. i mean, it's what i do, for me, now, all the time, and for free. who knew this was an actual career?! not this guy. i can't wait to start. nervous and sad to leave a job i am so damn good at (and bored by at the same time), and leave all my friends behind, but super super excited to get into something i honestly have nothing but love for. i am going to learn so much about this little blogging world, and hopefully, i'll be in touch with some of you guys soon too!

how. fricken. awesome. is my life, you guys. dream job or what!

(thank you for reading this spiel)