Jan 29, 2018
This month marks 9 years of me being a Precision Sourcing employee… that is nearly a decade and most of my adult life! Crazy…. But what a journey it has been. Oh how these past 9 years have flown!
When I joined Precision Sourcing in 2009, I was a 24-year-old, very naive girl who was not sure what I wanted out of life and the idea of having a goal to work towards was foreign to me.
In fact, I will always remember that after 6 months of working here, I was asked to think about what I wanted to achieve financially over the next 12 months and it sent me into a tizzy. How was I supposed to know what I wanted to achieve or even calculate…? Maths had never been my strong point, so I was nervous. This is something that I am teased about to this very day!
So, after a lot of tears and soul searching… I victoriously decided that I wanted to earn enough money to buy a new TV and a comfy sofa……. Oh, how little did I understand about the opportunity I had in front of me!
Fast forward 3 months and I was sitting on my new sofa watching my new TV!
Now, to mark 9 years, I am going to look at the 9 things that have stood out the most for me during my career here at Precision Sourcing…
1. Sinead O Connor was right….. Nothing Compares to you!
Over the years, my head has been turned a few times (sorry boss) and I have spoken to other companies, but nothing has come close to what I was being offered at Precision.
As the old saying goes….
“If it aint broke, don’t fix it’
2. There has never been a truer saying than ‘Champagne and Razor blades’
In another life, I was working a Permanent desk and the highs and lows were worse than a boat sailing through a storm! One day I was flying high and swinging off the deal bell when the next I was crying into my coffee…. Resilience has been key for surviving the past 9 years and if I had a dollar for times I had had to pick myself up, brush myself off and start again then I would be able to afford…. Ummmm…. Smashed Avo on toast (damn Sydney prices).
3. If its not working, change!
When I had been at Precision for 3.5 years, I was promoted to a Team Leader. At the time, I thought that leadership was where I wanted to go with my career but in hindsight, I was too young, and I didn’t have the emotional maturity to deal with a that role.
It took tears, a few bad months and lots of razorblades (see point 2) for me to realise that I was not enjoying the role and that I wanted to move sideways into a Principle Consultant role so that I could focus on my own desk!
Thankfully, the leadership team supported my decision and I have never looked back.
4. Things change- it’s how you embrace them that counts
Some of the big changes I have faced over the past 9 years have been a change in commission structure, stepping away from leadership, falling pregnant (unexpectedly) and me returning to work part time after maternity leave…. All pretty major things and in typical Abby style, I freaked out, flapped, cried and then dealt with it.
You’d think that I would have realised that its how I deal with things and take comfort from that during my ‘freaking out stage’.
I haven’t.
5. Holidays are important
Pre-baby, I was the queen of holidays (probably why I don’t have a property portfolio!). In the past, I have travelled to South America, India, Maldives, Ibiza (numerous times) The UK, Fiji, Bali to name a few. I lived for my next trip and if I am brutally honest, it was what drove me.
Now that I must tackle toddler routines and day care fees, my holiday photo album is nowhere near as healthy and it has made me realise that those breaks I took were really important, they gave me a chance to refresh and see something other than the 4 walls of the office.
Any tips for a toddler friendly holiday as we really need one?!
6. Nothing like a team outing to bring people together
I have realised the importance of this a lot more since having a baby, probably because I cannot make it to all the team social events.
We had our Christmas party in December and it was so.much.fun
The next day was not so.much.fun
However, I enjoyed being part of the team camaraderie and the banter post event, it brings us all closer together and that is only a positive thing.
Last week it was a boat party and I am still laughing about some certain shenanigans!
7. Ignore negative people #noknobheads
We have a #noknnobheads policy when it comes to hiring although over the years, a few have slipped through the net and once they have settled in, it is easy to be pulled into their drama.
Putting my hands up here and saying that yes, I have sometimes got close these people. Now that I can look back on it, I should have steered clear and ignored all the negativity, it’s pointless!
8. You won’t like your job all of the time
If you say that you do, then you are a liar…. Even past and present entrepreneurs who build their own company and blog about ‘following your dreams’ will not like their job all the time, its human nature not to.
As I touched on in point 2, in a high-pressured recruitment role that can be champagne and razorblades. You will not like your job all of the time, however it is how you pick yourself back up again that counts.
9. 9 years can feel like a lifetime but also it goes in the blink of an eye….
How has it been nearly a decade? I have no idea….
What I do know is that this is the right place for me so sorry guys, you are stuck with me!
Here’s to the past 9, but more importantly…
Here’s to the next 9!
