This month, I celebrated my 10-year work anniversary at Whittaker Associates! As a Millennial, that is a long time. I started as an intern while attending college to get my degree in Business and Finance. Upon graduating, I wanted to dedicate myself full-time to my job, and luckily, the WA team was happy to have me!
Over the last decade, my responsibilities and tasks have been added to and changed, but with each change, I’ve been able to grow professionally and personally, gaining skills and self-confidence in my abilities. A few of my favorite things about working long-term here at Whittaker Associates are:
The ability to make changes and see results
It’s satisfying to be able to see room for improvements, make changes, and see the direct results of those changes. Often, processes are tweaked little by little over longer periods of time, and the results can only be seen years later. It’s a great feeling to see how far we’ve come in the last decade.
The luxury of being surrounded by good people
And it truly is a luxury. When you have the trust of those around you, and you’ve learned your colleague’s work and communication styles, it brings about a rather seamless workflow.
The surprise of learning unexpected skills
I’m not sure I even knew what economic development was when I started as an intern. However, I’ve gained insight into an industry that was unfamiliar and feel I have excelled at finding creative ways to help our clients. I get to wear a lot of hats in my role at work, and it’s given me the chance to gain skills that I had never considered.
The satisfaction of seeing our client’s succeed
As we all know, business recruitment isn’t an overnight success. It can take months, if not years, to land a project. Whether it’s a new company coming to town or a facility that was just sold, seeing the fruits of our labor translate into our client’s triumph is a proud moment!