Taking the Leap… in a Pandemic?
Like a scene in a Hollywood movie, I’d historically worked in an office. I’m talking about those giant buildings with elevators, conference rooms, and the endless rows of cubicles. That place you race to in bumper to bumper traffic as you are outpaced by a guy with a walker. Once you finally arrive, you take a trip to the 5th floor because you know that is where the good coffee is kept. This place may even have social circles that resemble high school and that one coworker with a red Swingline stapler under lock and key. After finding your niche, there are some fun advantages to an otherwise bland routine — like going out to lunch and bonding over the recent episode of “What did leadership decide now?” All jokes aside, there can be some big benefits to being in an office, such as being more easily seen by leadership. You are also able to more easily build relationships with your team, walk up to a white board to collaborate, and maybe even benefit from the occasional free donut. Then, it all changed.
But then… COVID
Overnight, we hunkered down for the pandemic and I traded in my driving commute for one where I could walk. My office now sits next to my home kitchen and my officemates lack all forms of office etiquette — but their floppy ears and wagging tails make up for it. Like many of my coworkers, I had occasionally worked from home before, but this was different. Our transition to a full remote culture was not a smooth one. There was no option to find a whiteboard to draw this out together or decide to chat about it when we’re back in the office tomorrow. Luckily, we had worked together for a while so we were able to find solutions to our hiccups — but that couldn’t be said for everything. Beyond the team, our regularly scheduled program of “What did leadership decide now?” went on hiatus and we eagerly waited to hear if there would be a season renewal. By the time we finally heard the “good news”, my worry was replaced with a new one. This sinking feeling there might be an “Office Space” like efficiency consulting team with their own pair of Bob’s starting to ask “So what would you say you do here?” before showing me the door….my own door? Whether the worry was real or not I had decided it was time for a change.
Time for a Change
Many more doors had opened at this point as “remote” had become the destination for all job postings… but would there be an eventual return to office? Would I want to be conveniently located near one of their offices already just in case? Keeping this in mind, I brushed up my resume and searched for roles that both interested me and would challenge me too. Just like that I was off to the races.
As my interviews went on, Zoom fatigue had taken on a whole new meaning with the “virtual onsite.” At first, they didn’t seem like they would be that bad, it would be just like the regular onsite interview… right? That couldn’t have been farther from the truth as I learned it was a totally different ball game. Sure, the concept was similar to an onsite interview but there is a different level of exhaustion after spending the majority of the day in the same chair on the same zoom call. The whole time, hoping that not only am I making a good impression, but also trying to learn as much as I can about what it would be like to work there.
I learned a lot about different companies throughout my journey and how companies, big and small, were all impacted by the pandemic. Some had confidence in their roadmaps, while others had their products under a total rehaul because of COVID. Some were waiting on budget changes and approvals while others were full steam ahead. Ultimately, there was one company that caught my eye, Snapdocs.
Making it Official
I had officially signed on the dotted line to join Snapdocs. I was very excited to make this transition as Snapdocs checked a lot of boxes for me; a product I believed in, an intriguing industry, transparent leadership, and most importantly, a collaborative culture I could learn and grow in. This excitement wasn’t without its own anxieties. The concept of starting a new job remained the same, but I had never started a new job remotely. What would it be like joining a company having never met anyone in person? Would it be hard getting to know my colleagues outside of “shop talk”? What would the team dynamic look like virtually? Would it be hard learning the lay of the code land from my kitchen? What would setting up my equipment and environment look like over Slack?
My start date with Snapdocs was approaching fast and I was eager to experience what a 100% virtual onboarding would look like. I wouldn’t be driving or flying anywhere for my first day, no handshakes, office tours, lunch with my onboarding buddy, or anything I had experienced before. My computer and accessories were set to be delivered to my door. Then it would be on me to at least get logged in and online… no pressure right? Being pleasantly surprised, this was the smoothest equipment setup I have had in a long time. All my accounts were ready, passwords worked and I was able to jump into getting my development environment running.
My first day flew by and before I knew it, two weeks had gone by. There were still some of the usual events like meeting your team, learning more about the company’s goals and product, and learning about all the different Slack channels. There were also new events, as Snapdocs fostered connections between new and existing employees both within their departments, and across the company.
Connecting with the virtual team
I, like every other new hire, was paired with a buddy whom I could ask questions and use as a resource to get up to speed. For me, the buddy system was perfect as it allowed me to get some tips on Ruby, insight into some of the processes around design and architecture, and learn some of the fun history in the department. I officially met with my buddy on a weekly basis to chat about — almost everything. We sometimes used the time to talk about our service architecture and the automation we had. Other times we would chat about what was going on outside of the virtual world, hear about the debate on what paint color to paint the living room, the latest episode of “The Expanse”, and different hobbies we have. We would also chat outside of the weekly sync but much more story and feature focused.
As I got up to speed, I started learning more about the different services and which team owned what. In a virtual setting, I found it to be just like following a breadcrumb trail that eventually led me to the right person, team, or slack room. Certainly not as adventurous as walking around the floor to find the team that is set up with the nerf guns or has a duck balloon in their row. Breadcrumbs got the job done — and left a better first impression! Gone were the days of awkwardly standing at their desk interrupting their thoughts. It wasn’t long before everything became second nature and it felt like I had always been a member of the team.
Connecting at the virtual water cooler
Snapdocs also has some more game focused events like our monthly virtual trivia night. At that event, we form random teams and attempt to gain the most points. The theme changes monthly and sometimes even correlates with a holiday or awareness like women’s history month, or even some that are company related — like “Interns Trivia” in July. I’ve never been great at trivia but I still have a fun time trying!
We have even found ways to host events virtually that were traditionally in person. For instance, our “Women at Snapdocs” ERG recently hosted a Wine and Paint night. The paint supplies were all mailed to us prior to the event and the drinks were optional. We had a host from the paint company join us on zoom and teach us what we needed to know. They walked us through how to make the different colors and tips on the shapes to draw. All of our pieces came out differently and we celebrated what made our pieces unique. It was so fun to see what others had come up with.
Have you ever done an escape room? I’ve haven’t done one in person but our Engineering department’s virtual escape room was a blast. Similar to the Wine and Paint night, we had a host from the Escape Room join us on zoom. They had all the clues and props ready to go and set us off on our way to find the Art thief’s next heist. We broke off into our teams and worked together to solve the clues as fast as we could. The faster your team was, the higher score you received at the end.
It is a little crazy to think that as I reach my 1 year anniversary with Snapdocs, the concept of everything still being 100% virtual because of the pandemic is very real. I know I am glad I didn’t wait for the storm to pass at my old gig and am especially proud to have joined Snapdocs. They have cultivated an environment and culture where it feels so similar to being in person that you often forget you’ve never actually met anyone in real life.
It might not always be rainbows and butterflies but “The Great Resignation” isn’t the only solution either. There are many companies out there that are finding solutions with a remote-first culture. There are companies, like Snapdocs, that value both their employees and culture. If you’re looking to make a change, I’d say go for it! It worked great for me.
