Chapter 12 | Marketing Mayhem

Truth be told, my rocky ups and downs with EI were magnitudes lower than the ones I experienced with CHI. I made it ten months before I called it quits and put in my notice, realizing the pace, demands, and quantity of the work were not a good fit and ultimately unsustainable for me.

I was hired as a Senior Marketing Coordinator and supported the day-to-day marketing efforts for five golf clubs and four conference centers, including World Trade Center Seattle and Bell Harbor International Conference Center. It was a position that blended project management, writing, and design - and in many ways was the most creative role I've ever been in. But the never-ending workload of creating menus, flyers, postcards, wedding packets, web updates, agendas, advertisements, and email blasts took its toll. I battled to get everything done on time and with excellence. I went in early and left late and fought off the "I need to prove myself" mentality that was always lurking nearby.

So much of marketing and communications is in the details - getting things accurate without mistakes, especially when you're in a consulting role.With each deliverable, and email I sent, I felt like my capability and value was at stake and up for grabs. Not a great place to be in, especially when I personally believe my identity is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ and not my performance or accomplishments in this world. 

These conflicting feelings were amplified when paired with a high pressure boss. I admired her attention to detail, certainty in decision making, overall experience, and marketing strategy, so appreciated her feedback, correction, and help when it came to the content and tasks I was assigned. That said, she modeled workholism and wasn't incredibly encouraging, warm, or empathetic - skills that are crucial and meaningful to me.

Ultimately it came down to me realizing that although my skill set and abilities were on par, perhaps my personality and preferences would be a better fit elsewhere. Working more than 45 hours a week is draining to me, especially if there's interpersonal tension in the mix too (and indeed there was - mostly between my manager and the person I managed which put me in an awkward spot).

As with all my jobs and internships, I'm walking away with highlights, frustrations, and interesting memories that serve as mile-markers on this unique career path of mine. I loved getting free lunch everyday and eating with co-workers, I enjoyed the all-team meetings and helping feature fun events, I appreciated the opportunities to visit the different properties and meet the teams, and I liked designing various pieces of collateral. As you can tell, each of these is more tied to the relational people, and less so to the goal-oriented opportunities. Although a tough year that resulted in many talks and tears with Mr. Fleece, I'm glad I walked through it all. It helped me realize which aspects of a job are most important for me.

Grateful and relieved,

SJW