My first week was over a year ago, but, as one of my tasks is to keep our staff onboarding handbook up to date, it dawned on me that a retrospective post might not be a bad idea.
When I was offered my role at Code Enigma in September 2018, I admit I was suspicious. I thought the offer was too good to be true. They'd offered me very fair pay, a generous personal development budget that would allow me to work and learn, and I'd get to be at home every day! I thought I'd been duped until a shiny new MacBook Pro arrived in the post and I thought to myself, "this is real." I looked at my new laptop for ages, excited about the content I'd soon be writing on it.
Full disclaimer, I had told CE I had a home office, which was only partially true. I had to rush to IKEA to buy a 'proper' desk. They had no issues organising the other equipment I needed and it was like Christmas in the lead up to my first day, with parcels turning up containing an extra monitor, or a wireless mouse, and my now beloved whiteboard.
From what I'd made of the team during my online interview process, I knew immediately I liked them. That was cemented on day one. There is a special blend of herbs and spices here at CE, and I adore my colleagues. They're passionate, hardworking and really quite a clever bunch. The statement that we're a family is a genuine one. You learn that quickly.
As for my actual first week, it went in a blur of feverishly creating documents, plans, and spreadsheets about blog ideas, events I wanted us to go to and taking over the Twitter account. (There was more, but it was a while ago). I most remember my first day, as I had no idea what to expect; I'd never worked from home full time before. It was a strange experience to feel nervous about a new job, whilst sat in my own home. It wasn't long before I was in IRC and feeling connected to humans. Everyone welcomed me and, a year later, I couldn't be happier about my choice to join the Code Enigma family.