When most people are taking this opportunity to go remote and contract-based, I am looking for a permanent, full-time role, and here’s why.
The Story
It was January 2020 when I officially moved into my brand new office space, away from my home office. I had a university student interning at the agency, and actively interviewing and looking to add more people to the team. I was convinced more than ever that this was my path, entrepreneurship had been calling my name since I won a large grant from the government to fund a passion project back in 2014. A female-led technology agency? That sounded like a dream come true.
Then, the event we’re all too familiar with happened. COVID-19 and its lockdown struck, forcing everyone indoors. I was back in my home office, could no longer meet up with persons to interview, and not knowing how long this thing was going to last, I decided not to pursue any further hiring. Thankfully my contracts remained intact, if not grew due to the need for everyone to go online.
People would ask “How has the pandemic been for you?”, thankfully I could say, I’m no stranger to remote work, so I’m very used to it, so nothing much has changed except I’m not going into my brand new office space I had been so excited about.
A year later, in 2021, something changed. I started worrying less and less about scaling and started exercising and spending less time in front of screens. I was feeling great! Even in the middle of this horrid event, I was feeling the best I felt in years.
As I started to crave more and more of the things that made me genuinely happy, not caring about status or what I thought success was. I kept getting pulled back to my first job in tech. This is the company I spent the most years in so far, and it was really because of one thing. The people.
I realized I started my agency for more reasons than ‘being a boss’, or ‘owning my own company’, more than ever, I wanted to create an environment where I would want to be around the right people every day. People who cared to have a conversation outside of ‘tech’, where staying back to work late was something you looked forward to because you don’t mind hanging out a little longer with your friends. An environment where you are solving real-world problems with your family. That’s what I was looking forward to the most.
While I enjoy the technical things, the problem solving, the creativity, etc. I enjoy having people around who would understand when I’m celebrating breakthroughs, and pop up at my desk to ask for help, so we could jump on a whiteboard and hash it out. This was my goal.
It didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t enjoy the part where I had to think about every last part of the business, but I enjoyed the parts where I got to interact and care about people. Where I got to mentor, and present solutions, and collaborate with others who share the same vision. That’s a big part of what I love about working in tech, but for some reason, I thought I had to build that on my own, but I DID NOT HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL. These types of teams exist, I know because I experienced them before. So 2021 is ending where I’m on the search for a full-time FED position.
Here we are now
I have been a developer for the past 6 years, focusing on frontend development, and spent some years diving into UX Design which I believe allows me to be great at building usable and maintainable experiences, bringing UX and developer hybrid skills to any team.
Most recently, my work as a micro-agency owner allowed me the opportunity to provide leadership with many client projects, in addition to mentoring an intern. I have led the initial product build for a startup that is currently one of the leading service providers in their country. Added to my work with several cross-functional teams as a frontend developer, I have worked with organizations through product pivots as a UX consultant, facilitating workshops, conducting research, and providing wireframes. I have walked many projects from concept to launch, which required me to be an efficient and proactive self-starter and solve some complex problems.
I’m looking for a place I can call home, a team I can build with, and values
I can align myself with. In turn, I believe my organizational skills, positivity, and relentless inclination to discover the “deeper” pressures or issues affecting a product or team could be an asset to any team. As a leader, I have been commended for being flexible and willing and to serve wherever a need arises.
The call to action
If you’ve read this far, thank you. I would invite you to share my information with anyone you know may be currently hiring, and I could potentially be a great fit for the role. Reach out via email at arielwolffe@gmail.com or visit arielwolffe.com.
