05/02/2025
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁
In my current full-time role, I am the only team member working in a hybrid setup.
During the hiring process, the president and hiring manager shared that they had previously worked with a marketing agency that couldn’t deliver. They decided to build an in-house marketing team instead—and I was applying for the 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 role to lead it.
Having built teams for multiple startups across various industries, I knew this was something I could take on. But there was one catch: the role was strictly on-site, full-time.
Despite this, my email subject line boldly stated:
“𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲!”
And in my cover letter, I made my 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿:
“𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐’𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘯-𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘐’𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥.”
At the time, I was in my second trimester with my first child, and I knew I needed a role that aligned with my priorities. I wasn’t willing to compromise time with my baby for an opportunity—so I bet on 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 instead.
During my interview, I walked them through my work, my systems, and how I had once 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. They were impressed—and I was offered the position immediately.
Fast forward to today: I’m on my 105th day of paid maternity leave. I visited the office yesterday for paperwork, and the warmth and appreciation from my colleagues reminded me that in just four months, I had already proven my worth.
𝗠𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟰 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀:
✅ 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 our social media following since my onboarding.
✅ Established 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 with influencers & PR agencies.
✅ 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 monthly sales targets month after month.
✅ Built a 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 that operates with minimal supervision.
✅ Optimized 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 by studying trends & customer behavior.
✅ Cut 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 and redirected budgets for better ROI.
✅ Led a record-breaking month: #𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 & 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗧𝗼𝗸 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, #𝟱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝘁.
What This Experience Taught Me
𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. Your values, priorities, and well-being should never be compromised for the sake of an opportunity.
If you truly believe in your skills and 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀, the right people will see your value. You don’t always have to fit into the mold of what’s “expected” if you know you can bring something greater to the table.
For anyone afraid to stand firm on what matters most to them—I hope this reminds you that you can. 🤍