I remember the times when I was still looking for my own employment. Scary times those were. I’ve been constantly busy with questioning myself, whether I was good enough for the big agencies (certainly, I’d be happy to have some big names in my CV). But what do I do there – serve coffee for others or do I get to actually work on a project? Do they bite my hand (or portfolio, or whatever I give them) off, if I stretch it to them? I should say, though, that I was always too uncertain not only about my skills, but also about other aspects of my personality. But it was always like that…
When I look back today and see where I’ve worked until now, those are certainly the small companies; one exception would be my first employer, which was a medium-sized company, counting 200 people in their best times. And I regret no minute of it. One was constantly doing stuff, learning new things (many of those quite practical, too), one was really close to actual projects and served a coffee for oneself. I mean, where else would I get to work for such big names as Procter & Gamble, Adidas, Vertu or TAG Heuer? Probably nowhere. And not the least part of the fun was the responsibility, which was handed in to me. It felt like I was almost working for myself – I couldn’t get ill, because there was no one to carry on with my job.
Turbulent. Stressful. But in aftermath – very rich in experience, and fun.
By the way, two of the former employers were about 3 or 4 people at the time I joined the team. Today they are 20 to 100 people. The smaller, the more human and interesting it will get – so I thought back then. And it seems, I was right.
- Alexey