Navigating the Virtual Working World:
What it’s Like to Start a New Job on the Brink of a Pandemic
Lizzie Gorman | Marketing Operations Specialist at LogicManager
You may recognize her name and friendly face from the bottom of our educational content emails, but did you know that Lizzie Gorman was one of LogicManager’s very first remote hires? Joining the team in April 2020, her onboarding experience was, at that time, unconventional. One year later, find out what Lizzie remembers most about the process and what her advice is for those going through a similarly digital career transition.
A little bit about me…
When I arrived at UMass Amherst, like most college freshmen I was so excited to have the opportunity to select courses and internships that catered to my interests. Luckily, I was interested in photography, radio, print media and culture: things that paired nicely with my analytical and creative skillset. Before I knew it, I was passionately pursuing a career in marketing.
I feel fortunate to have had the vast array of marketing experiences that I have thus far; from email marketing, to digital advertising, on-site event planning and brand building, there is always something new to learn in this field. Being the Marketing Operations Specialist at LogicManager has allowed me to continuously learn, all while growing in my career and making a real impact on our company goals.
In my roles prior to LogicManager, I learned best when I was able to absorb the environment around me. This immersion into the various teams and departments helped me feel more connected to the mission of the company, and ultimately craft messages that resonated strongly with our audience.
Joining the Team
Prior to 2020, I had never experienced remote working. When the pandemic hit just as I was about to join the LogicManager team, that was all about to change. While I looked forward to forgoing a commute and gaining more flexibility, I did have concerns about working from home; Would I be shielded from the organically generated insights I’d relied so heavily on in the past? As a visual learner, would it take me longer than usual to catch on to things? How would I be able to build genuine connections with my team?
My first day at LogicManager felt surreal. I remember going into our office in the Seaport District to pick up my computer, and as I peered around the open, inviting space I thought that “maybe in a few weeks” I would be collaborating there with my new team members. After our Systems Administrator, Matthew, got my laptop squared away (from a 6-foot distance), I headed back to my apartment to log on for the first time.
From my very first daily company huddle, albeit via Zoom, I could tell that there was a strong community to embrace. As people began welcoming me via slack messages and virtual coffee invites, my worries about lacking interaction and connections began to fade away. The following days and weeks of onboarding were seamlessly led by our department leaders, and our Manager of Advisory Operations, Sheila, guided me through an in-depth training of our software. She demonstrated a variety of use cases, which helped me put myself in the shoes of our customer and build a thorough understanding of our audience. I thought it was especially cool that I could track my training progress directly in the LogicManager application.
One Year Later
Looking back on the past year, I’m so glad that my instincts about joining LogicManager were right. The things that had initially excited me about the company – their strong trajectory, collaborative culture, the CEO Steve’s passion for the industry and everybody’s enthusiasm for innovation – still excite me every day. On top of that, our leaders do an excellent job of transparently outlining company, team and individual objectives, following through with check-ins, follow-ups and feedback wherever needed. It’s gratifying to understand the process behind the progress.
This opportunity has also opened my eyes to the power of technology. It’s allowed me to flex both my analytical and creative skills, and has challenged me to think critically and leverage data for insights. Each day I catch myself making new strides, which increases my confidence in making recommendations back to our organization. It’s been so rewarding to solve problems with my team, and although I may be physically alone throughout the day, our morning stand-ups, cross-ops meetings and company huddles are daily reminders that I am not truly alone. Our virtual cultural events – from paint parties, to happy hours, game nights and more – have brought me closer to the people I may not otherwise interact with on a regular basis.
My advice to anyone considering transitioning roles amidst today’s virtual working world is to ensure that support will be there when you need it. It’s easy to assume that starting a new job and not knowing anyone in “real life” will feel isolating, but technologies like Zoom and Slack remind us that there are other (awesome) people behind our screen.
Curious to learn more about what it’s like to work at LogicManager? I encourage you to check out our Careers page today!
