My current workspace. My kitchen table. Taking a break from Corporate America, I'm savoring these precious moments away from an office.
Work. Let's talk about work.
My degree is in Accounting, and I worked in Corporate America in Finance & Accounting roles for the first 10 years of my career. After that, I started venturing into more operational roles, and customer support type roles. I grew up in Corporate America in a very conservative, professional, regimented culture. I learned some good lessons early in my career there. By the time I hit my breaking point in Accounting, I was working for a much different company. Much smaller, a more fun, but intense culture. I was rewarded for working hard, and promoted quickly. Multiple times. Before I knew it, I was responsible for 45 Accounting & Finance professionals, and every one of the managers that worked for me, hated me. I'm not talking we didn't get along and socialize outside of work. I'm talking hated with a capital H. And with good reason. I was a terrible leader. Over the next year, I learned more about leadership and about myself than probably during any other time in my life. I am so thankful to the people that gave me another chance, helped me grow and develop a new leadership style, and didn't fire me. After working through the hardest part of that, my husband and I found out we were expecting, and coincidentally, another opportunity, this time in Operations, became available to me, and I jumped on the chance.
The next few years are a little of a blur - our company was acquired. I was hired by the acquiring company. I had a second child. I was let go and went to work for a start up. I found success there. But, after not even two years at that start up, the business closed, and I find myself here. Right now. February 2016 started my short stint at home with my kids, now 5 and almost 3. I worked my ass off the last 10 years of my career, traveled way too much after I had kids, and now, I have a rare opportunity to stay home for 6 months until my son starts kindergarten. Then I'm off to find a new job.
There is so much I want to say, and want to share about being a mom working in Corporate America. There is so much I want to change for mothers (and women, and fathers) working in Corporate America. I'm so thankful for these 6 months to decompress, to re-examine myself, to soak up time with my kids that I never expected to get, and reset some priorities for myself and for my family. I want to do things a little differently moving forward, but I also want to share some of the things I've learned along the way - good and bad - in hopes that someone looking for answers can find a sliver of hope, a sliver of grace, and a moment of peace.
This topic is the whole reason this website was created. My passion and my drive to find the best of both worlds is the genesis for Corporate America Mom.