It feels good to be appreciated.
Until a few months ago, I struggled with the idea of ‘falling in line’. I struggled to be comfortable with the idea of applying for jobs, going to interviews, getting a full-time job and working under someone else.
That’s not because I felt entitled to a self-employed life. I’d loved being a freelancer, but it was nothing to do with not wishing to work for someone else.
The main reason for not wanting that standard full-time job is that I don’t really do 9–5. I don’t do work/life balance. I don’t conform to the idea of work being seperate to life because I enjoy the work I do so much that I wouldn’t class it as “work”. My work is digital content, but my life is digital content.
That’s why I was so hesitant to really commit to a full-time job. I used to shudder whenever I thought about being asked to start work at 9am and finish at 5pm. I enjoy working way more hours than that. I’m a guy that hardly stops unless I’m explicitly told to (mainly by Jen or my parents).
But I work as much as I can. I make videos for fun. I write for fun. As far as I was aware, if I had the chance to make videos and write as a job, I’d be over the moon.
Then NCC came along.
I got the opportunity to chat to Kirsty (Head of Communications at the NCC Manchester office) after a family member emailed my CV over.
Perfect, I thought, this is a top notch opportunity.
Long story short, the chat went incredibly well. Kirsty was a journalist before working at NCC, and she’s a Liverpool fan. Plus, she knows a few people in the Manchester tech scene that I know, and she’s a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk.
Of course by now you’ll all know I was offered a job to work at NCC. Communications and Content Intern, starting on the 1st August.
I accepted.
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Why did I accept? Why did I change my mind after being so sure that I wasn’t built for full-time employment?
Because I felt appreciated.
I clicked with Kirsty straight away, the working environment sounded fantastic, and the company is going places.
Appreciation is the key to happiness.
I haven’t even started at NCC, but I already feel like my skills and contributions will be appreciated by a team which recognises the hard work I put in.
I might be wrong, and only time will tell, but it feels good to be appreciated.
