A new year, a new decade, a new flurry of blog posts to commemorate the start of 2020. Rest assured, this isn’t one of them. Instead, and more significantly to me, it’s also been one year since I first began working at Word Monster (or 13 months, to be more precise – but December never really counts).
I would love to be able to say that I had absolutely no qualms about joining Word Monster, but that wouldn’t be entirely true – while I had no doubts about the company or work culture that Carl was creating, I just wasn’t sure how I would adapt to the remote working way of life, or how I would feel about sitting on this side of the writing fence having spent so long as an agency bod.
Turns out, I needn’t have worried. Remote working isn’t for everyone, but what I’ve discovered in the past year, is that remote working works for me. I could go on and on about the flexibility it affords you (all of which is true), but I doubt that this would be news to anyone. Instead, what I think I’ve found most surprising during my time here is how much I’ve enjoyed the actual work. And that’s largely down to two things: the team and our clients.
Probably one of the more unique things about Word Monster is that in this instance, freelancing doesn’t automatically mean working alone. Yes, we are all physically sat in different locations, but we are all still very much connected, and touch base regularly to discuss matters both important (figuring out resource to help with a request from one of our clients), or trivial (figuring out how to incorporate a McDonalds drive thru into our next outing).
One of the nicest things about this role is that trust comes with the job, meaning that I can also put my head down and crack on with my work with no interruptions. But if I’ve ever needed help deciphering a brief or wanted a sounding board to discuss my approach, then I know that another Monster is only a Skype call away.
And that leads on to the next point – our clients. All of our clients have been great. Not only do they view us as an extra ‘helping hand’ (which is a fab feeling), but they also understand the value of working collaboratively. One of the most important things I’ve learned during my time here is that it’s OK to ask questions. If anything, people appreciate you taking the time to check in with them and making sure you’re all aligned – it shows that you care.
Working with different agencies means I’ve had the opportunity to work with such a varied (and lovely) bunch of people, as well as in therapeutic areas I previously had no experience of, whilst trying my hand at exciting, more creative projects. And that doesn’t mean I haven’t still been able to get involved with some of the more bread and butter basics of med ed – if I’m perfectly honest, I secretly enjoy a good referencing job or Veeva upload.
The main thing is that I still feel like I’m learning and developing – something I value and that has had a real impact on how I view my job.
So here’s to another year of monstering around – can’t wait to see what’s up ahead!
