Objective: To put together a 1000 word think piece that portrays your ‘first 14 days at BHM’ .
I’ve decided to write with a journalistic flair for this task. For the short 23 years of my life, I have always described myself as a storyteller, not necessarily because I like to tell stories, anyone can tell a story. But mostly because I like to ‘impact’ people. I like to carefully select each word I choose in a way that ropes someone in and leaves them hanging for more. That is storytelling.
Entry 1
Today is Monday and I’ve been given a wealth of information! Although my inbox is swamped, to say the least, I am extremely excited because as of tomorrow I will have my first meetings with our clients ‘Project Management Institute’ (PMI) and ‘Shoprite.’ It fills me with great pride to be working so closely with an organization I have grown up with. It’s an interesting feeling to look back and remember my mum pushing a trolley in Shoprite with 13 years old me (who was really meant to be looking out for the ‘Del Monte’ juice but instead would be thinking about moving to the city to start a fun and creative job.) I thought about the young professionals who waltzed into their firms and admired their ability to brainstorm with confidence, -their excitement for pitching ideas was a feeling I vicariously lived through for many years. Now here I am, doing exactly what I have always wanted to do, for a company I admire, serving a client I have known for many years and spent many after-school trips in, thinking about this very moment. Today is a special moment indeed.
Entry 2
Today I finally got to meet with my clients. Joining the meeting was nerve-wracking but I felt myself dive into the conversations and tried my best to make rapid notes of the jargon mounting in my head of which is still to be unscrambled in my head. It was only after the meeting when it truly dawned on me how much reading and research were needed to understand everything.
To add, it was interesting to see how PMI was a much bigger organization than expected. I also learned about MailChimp which in all honesty made me feel like a bit of a boss if I’m going to be very honest! This is simply because the program itself is pretty epic. It literally sorts out clippings for a client and organizes a document for you in a quick and efficient way. (aka see the word ‘epic’ again) It left me feeling like MailChimp was truly one step away from gaining consciousness and stealing my job as a PR professional – I’ve never used such a handy tool before and was impressed, to say the least! (Let it stay like that though, we don’t need computers taking our jobs completely)
Entry 3
Today we had a meeting with Ayeni. It was really great hearing from him personally and his responses to my questions really did make clear the goal and direction of BHM. This really was a comforting reminder that I am exactly where I am meant to be and this is the company that I can thrive in. I also learned that BHM really does have quite an entrepreneurial spirit which is something that fits me quite well. Overall, I am really enjoying my work!
Entry 4
Today marks my first two weeks at BHM. So far the work has been a challenge and a breeze at the same time which has truly made an adventure out of my experience. There has been a great deal of information to digest, however, the creative aspect of my work has also left me wondering slightly, when is this actually ‘work’ going to start! Aside from a fully loaded inbox (which never seems to unload) and a fast work pace, my ‘work’ has felt more like a creative project than ‘work.’ Even now as I write this short essay I feel as though, this is not quite ‘work’ but a leisurely activity.
However, and there is definitely a ‘however,’ purposefully voiced by the wise and experienced PR leads that looked to me with eyes of both welcome and warning that politely said ‘work is going to get very busy, enjoy your comfort now.’ Learning from their advice I’ve taken a note to pace myself well as I too know that PR can get overwhelming especially when handling multiple clients. However, despite what the rest of the team said about the busy nature of BHM, a part of me was whispering in the back of my head, ‘I would take the 24/7 hustle and bustle of business over the sedentary and solitary life of sitting hunched over a University desk for four hours straight.’
So far, it’s been refreshing working on different projects too, my last job was very focused on specific projects and areas so it’s going to be refreshing to explore a multi-dimensional working style in BHM.
Entry 5
Today was eventful. I wrote the minutes for the PMI meeting and attended five meetings in total which has been by far the most meetings I’ve ever attended in a day.
It was lovely getting to meet the full team and hear their stories because it helped me graft an idea of where I myself would like to be in the next few years or so. I found myself looking to these teammates of mine as not only collaborators but role models I can aspire to be.
It was such a pleasure to meet Njideka and discover how fun her job must be! When she told me she did the PR for Big Brother Naija I knew instantly the sort of environment she would be in and couldn’t help but wonder (and maybe envy) how great her network would be.
Other than that the rest of my day was spent studying the clients which I’ve noticed is an act that is becoming more and more pivotal with the more meetings we have. So much so that I believe now that it is officially time to work with Ronke to test ourselves on what we already know in order to retain our knowledge! The train is running and we’ve got destinations to reach! There’s no stopping now.
