Today marks one year since I started working at Campaign Monitor as a front-end developer.

The role was one I really, really wanted at the time. I left a job I was happy at, for one where I was sure I would be much happier. This was the job that was essentially my dream job. And it has been a very rewarding ride.

I have worked with people I absolutely adore working with. I look up to them, and they are all great role models. They are kind-hearted, friendly people. They have looked out for me in times of trouble, and supported me when I took challenges.

In all honesty my skill level has only improved a little, but I think that the learning curve is an exponential one, and my technical skills will no doubt skyrocket soon. I have a wonderful team.

I love my team.

Yeah, actually – my team is great. :D

While others have gone through the process of changing teams, I have stayed in the same team for the past year. We have had a change in product manager, a new designer, a change in roles for some people on the team, had a few members move to other teams, and had members for only a short period of time. The flexibility of the people in my team amazes me. We are very ‘agile’, you could say. ;)

In the time I have been here, together we have worked on survey integration, flexibility and precision in our email builder tool, customisable buttons, email templating… and there is more to come.

My team have supported everything I do in my career and they have brought joy to my working life. We have conversations about silly things and serious things, and I know I can turn around from my desk and have a chat with any one of them if I ever feel I want to, or need to. I have gotten used to being around them, and most importantly, being myself. :)

We have had multiple team lunches (everyone’s different dietary requirements have always been a warm challenge for choosing something to eat!) and together did a team bonding exercise – an escape room activity! We succeeded, but were a few minutes overtime. We had a good laugh about it.

My own achievements

The warm environment and friendly people inspired and encouraged me to do something I previously hated: public speaking. I have given six different talks in the past year, some of them twice for different locations:

1. Microdata
2. Why does /* good */ commenting matter?
3. Why blogging isn’t what most people think it is
4. I didn’t mean to become a web developer, it just happened
5. It’s not our parents’ fault that they can’t use the internet
6. How to let go of the fear of failure and make better goals

It seems I like long titles that grab people’s attention or are straight to the point! Some of the titles started out short, but were changed because I really wanted to nail the topic of the talk and what it was all about.

After one of our coworkers, Dave, moved back to the UK to work remotely, Henry and I took over Bread Talks, the internal lunchtime talk session that Dave had started up. We didn’t want it to wither away, and to this day we still have members of staff come up and practice their skills or share their knowledge on Thursdays at lunch. We have even had some guest speakers!

With these achievements, my confidence has boosted since working at Campaign Monitor.

I’ve explored our codebase to the point that I familiarised myself with how C# and JavaScript (and Angular JS) speak to each other, although I don’t have a strong comprehension of the languages (yet). My team are supporting me to learn more and are willing to let me put aside time at work to do courses, watch videos, or do anything that will benefit my learning.

I got a pay rise recently, which was very rewarding! 💰

I love Campaign Monitor.

Yeah, I know, I love the fact that we get cooked breakfast and lunch and dessert and get to finish early on Fridays. But I don’t have much to say there as I know you are all jealous already. 🍳🍝☕️🍅🍵🍞

I love the quiet room we have, where I have done some colouring in several books, as well as practiced my talks, talked to any of my coworkers in private if I needed to, or just gone to relax my eyes.

We have a Giving Back program that encourages and allows us to volunteer several days in a year for various charities and organisations. I’ve participated in Steptember, Hour of Code and a photography project, and these are things I would not have really considered doing if it weren’t for the company’s dedication to volunteer work.

I love our company values and the fact that we live and breathe them. They make work a wonderful place to be. I feel safe at work – I don’t feel judged, I don’t feel belittled, or like I am worthless. I am valued. 💖

I love working here and I don’t plan to leave any time soon. :)

P.S. We’re hiring. ;)