Technically, TODAY is my five-year work anniversary, but I didn’t start work on a Sunday, so we’ll say that Monday is my five-year work anniversary. My has the time flown by! I can remember my first day like it was yesterday. I got lost once I arrived at my facility, and couldn’t find my way to the office where I was to work. I finally found the Human Resources office on the main campus and asked them to escort me.
So I was a few minutes late on my first day. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to sink into the job itself, and (bragging time) I whipped up that department and ushered it into the 21st Century. I initially worked with a lovely co-admin who had been there for almost 20 years and knew <I>everyone</I> in the joint. We ended up being a good team. I did all the technical stuff and she took care of all the facility-specific stuff. We got along really, really well and the combination of our work helped make the department even better than it had been before.
I loved my co-workers – they were all younger than me, but I didn’t care. They made me laugh and I slowly became the “mom” to some of them once I put a couch in my cubicle which gave them the opportunity to sit down and talk about their lives and trials.
After my first year I was given a promotion, which was an appreciated surprise. It showed that my boss knew I was working hard not only for myself, but for her and the department. During my second year I continued doing my best, and was rewarded with yet another promotion in title.
My job slowly changed from doing typical secretarial tasks to being truly administrative. Sure, I did presentations and set up meetings, but I also began attending meetings and being a participant versus just setting up the projector and taking minutes. I began some minor data analysis and delved into working outside the box, creating Prezi presentations instead of boring old Powerpoint.
In early 2013 my co-admin retired and in place was a new co-admin. I slowly began passing tasks over to her so that I could dedicate less time on the department and more time to my main executive boss. And then in late 2013 she was given a new role at our company, and the result was that I was needed by her more than ever. At that point we were working on separate floors (I know that sounds weird, but I was half supporting my original department director and half supporting my executive), and once 2014 hit, she moved me up into my very own office with a window, a view and a door with a lock. I had arrived!
This past year has been a good year. In many respects I am now a data analyst, although my title is still Administrative Assistant. But I mainly crunch data, analyze it and present it to my boss. I am now on a first name basis with many of the top executives at the company, and I’m able to work from home when occasions dictate. This year I went to set up a meeting for someone else to present. I had created the entire presentation myself since I knew the subject matter better than anyone. When the presenter failed to show up, I led the meeting, presented the material, and opened up discussion afterwards. Five minutes after the meeting ended the presenter showed up and I explained that she had missed the whole thing. But it had been a great meeting and I was very proud of myself that I led it as though it was "my" meeting. When my director boss found out, she was pleased and said it made sense that I should lead the meeting since I know the information better than anyone about the topic in question.
And so here we are, celebrating my fifth year anniversary. I love my job. I love my boss. My desire is that in five years I’ll be writing a 10th anniversary post but with a bigger office and a managerial title. I feel like my boss is positioning me in such a way that I’ll have that opportunity in the next year or two if I continue the upward arch of work that I’m currently doing. Leaders in the facility have taken note of what I can do, and so I’m hoping I can translate that into a jump over to that side of the table. We’ll see!