The Real Deal

Today I started my new career as a Marketing Coordinator and let me tell you, it was real overwhelming. This job is going to be drastically different than what I was doing before in a million different ways.

To give you some background from my company’s Web site, we are "the recognized dream team that supports developers and their lenders for the disposition of high-profile, high-volume condominium and mixed-use buildings in the city. As a single point of service, the award-winning marketing company provides market research, product development, marketing and sales management from inception to completion by employing proven techniques to engineer the results of sales.”

I know… what? I’m pretty sure most people still don’t know what the hell my job is, and even less can figure out what it has to do with my degree. I’m still figuring it out myself, I’ll let you know. But I do know that I made a move in a very positive direction.

So far I feel very out of place, lost and confused. Even though I have worked with many of the people in this company before, it’s different to now be one of their co-workers. Even worse; before I was an expert at everything I did, so they respected me. Now I am the clueless new girl who doesn’t even know how to use the fancy fax machine.

It’s very odd to go from working for a company with hundreds of employees to one with only about 15 people. The company takes up the seventh floor of the historic Olympic Tower on the corner of Third and Pine Streets. Needless to say, a bad location for me – not only am I blocks from every fabulous shopping venue in town, but I’m also right across the street from McDonalds! And let me tell you, gaining ten pounds from eating McDonalds every day is NOT an option. All of the girls I work with are fabulous, trendy, 20-somethings who are perfectly put together every single day… and not one of them weights more than a buck ten. Not gonna lie, I bought myself a substantial new wardrobe last weekend just to try and fit in.

Basically I still work in a cubicle, but a nicer one. I still work in front of a computer for most of the day, but it’s a brand new flat screen. I still work with advertising, but now I sell it to the Seattle Times instead of processing it at the Seattle Times. I’ve moved up, in a nutshell.

Even though I’m not going to specifically be using my degree, I’m really excited about how much I’m going to learn in my new position. I get to help market expensive downtown condo projects from the ground up. This means developing the brand and then marketing it to the public. I get to create ads for magazines, newspapers and web sites. I get to write copy for advertorials and marketing materials. I get to plan and throw fabulous parties for various project stages. I get to design and print direct marketing materials and invitations. I’m pretty excited to get my foot in the door and become an expert on all these things.

I can’t wait until I am up to speed, it’s just so frustrating to be the new girl still trying to figure everything out. I know I can be great at this job. I just hope the learning curve isn’t too steep. Fingers crossed…