Man, 2018. That was a year, for real. I remember looking at the calendar rolling over and thinking, “Okay, this has gotta be different.” I was feeling pretty antsy, honestly. My job at the time, it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t… exciting. It felt like I was just punching a clock, doing the same stuff over and over. I was craving something more, you know? Like, I’m a Virgo, right? I like things organized, I like to see progress, to feel like I’m building something. And that year, I just wasn’t getting that vibe at all.
I started off just quietly looking around, not really serious, just dipping my toes. I’d scroll through job boards late at night after the family was asleep, just seeing what was out there. Nothing really grabbed me. Everything felt like a lateral move, same old, same old. So, for a few months, I just kept plugging away at my current gig, but that itch was still there, bugging me.
Then, around spring, something shifted. I remember having this conversation with a buddy of mine, Jake. He was talking about how he just jumped into something totally new, learned a whole bunch of stuff on the fly. And that really hit me. It wasn’t about finding the perfect next step, it was about taking a next step, even if it looked a bit messy. So, I decided I needed to get aggressive. I wasn’t just scrolling anymore; I was actively applying. And I was targeting things that scared me a little, stuff that felt out of my comfort zone.
Taking the Leap: The Interview Grind
I started sending out applications like crazy. My resume probably had more dust than actual relevant experience for some of these roles, but I figured, what’s the worst that could happen? A “no”? I was getting those anyway by doing nothing. I remember one specific application, for this little tech startup. It was a completely different industry than what I was used to. My gut was telling me I was probably way over my head, but I just clicked “submit” anyway.
To my surprise, they called me back. The first interview was a disaster, I swear. I stumbled over my words, felt like I couldn’t articulate anything properly. I walked away from it convinced I’d blown it. But then, a few days later, they called me for a second round. I guess they saw something in my awkward ramblings. This time, I prepped hard. I researched their company inside and out, read every blog post, every news article. I tried to anticipate every question they might throw at me. I walked in there feeling way more confident, even if my hands were still sweating.
That whole process, man, it was a real rollercoaster. I went through three more interviews after that. Each one pushed me to think differently, to explain my past experiences in a way that related to their world. I distinctly remember one panel interview, five people just staring at me, asking rapid-fire questions. My brain felt like it was doing acrobatics trying to keep up. I managed to hold my own, even threw in a few decent answers I was proud of.
The New Beginning: Diving Headfirst
Finally, the offer came. It wasn’t perfect, nothing ever is, but it was a chance. A real chance to do something different, to learn a ton, and to actually feel like I was contributing to something new. I remember staring at that offer letter, a mix of excitement and absolute dread bubbling up. I gave my two weeks’ notice at my old job, and that was a weird feeling. Walking away from something so familiar, so comfortable, was tough. Some of my old colleagues thought I was nuts, leaving a stable gig for a startup that felt a bit like the wild west.
But I did it. I stepped into that new office on my first day, feeling a bit like a deer in headlights. The culture was completely different. Fast-paced, everyone wearing multiple hats. I was tasked with building out a new process, practically from scratch. No clear instructions, just a lot of “figure it out” vibes. It was overwhelming, truly. I spent weeks just trying to understand all the moving pieces, asking a million questions, probably annoying everyone around me.
I remember one specific project: developing a new client onboarding workflow. My boss basically just pointed at a whiteboard and said, “Make it happen.” I started by just mapping out everything on paper, trying to visualize the steps. It was messy. Lots of erased lines, crumpled up ideas. Then I began talking to everyone involved – sales, support, even some existing clients – trying to understand their pain points. I filled up notebooks with notes, sketching diagrams, trying to find the gaps.
- First, I interviewed the sales team to understand their handoff process.
- Then, I sat with the support team to see how they handled new clients once they signed up.
- I even reached out to a few friendly clients to get their perspective on what was missing.
- After gathering all that info, I spent days just putting together a step-by-step proposal.
- I built out a simple prototype using some basic tools I’d never touched before.
It wasn’t smooth sailing. There were definitely moments where I thought I’d made a huge mistake. I remember one Friday evening, staring at my computer screen, completely stumped on how to integrate two different systems. I felt like banging my head against the wall. But I didn’t give up. I spent the weekend digging through online forums, watching tutorial videos, just trying to piece it all together. Eventually, I found a workaround, a clunky one, but it worked. And that feeling of figuring it out, of actually building something that was going to make a difference, it was addictive.
Looking Back at the Outlook
By the end of 2018, that crazy onboarding process I’d been thrown into was actually up and running. It wasn’t perfect, but it was functional, and it was a massive improvement over what they had before. I learned so much that year, more than I had in the previous five years combined, easy. I learned to be okay with not knowing everything, to just dive in and figure it out. I learned to ask for help when I needed it, but also to trust my own instincts a lot more.
It was a year that forced me to push past my comfort zone, to embrace the chaos a little bit. Looking back, that “best outlook” in 2018 wasn’t about getting a perfect job or a massive pay raise right away. It was about taking a chance, about putting myself in a position to grow, to truly make a dent. And man, did I make one. It was tough, absolutely, but it was the best thing I could have done for myself, no doubt about it. That year taught me that sometimes, the best outlook comes from just being brave enough to jump.
