It was the beginning of the year 2020 and I thought: “this is it.” After working in the same sector for almost three years, I wanted to switch to somewhere new, where I could be challenged daily. It’s not that I didn’t have challenges, but there was something missing, and I felt the need to be in a more dynamic, fast paced, ambitious environment.
After updating my profile on different social networks and putting some make up on my outdated resume, I started flirting around with a few companies that promised the world to me but, for some reason, didn’t quite feel right. Until a Tuesday afternoon, it happened. Our virtual eyes found each other, we both clicked “agree,” and there it was: a perfect match!
On my first date with Avature, I was really nervous. I had lost track of how these things worked with the one you liked! However, it ran really smoothly. First, we had a not-at-all stressful meeting where we got to know each other further and figure out if our expectations were aligned, then we followed the well-known steps to a healthy, long term relationship. And finally, we both gave the long expected and always wanted: “I do.” The ceremony, though, would have to wait for a few weeks.
The date was set to April 6. With all that time to think how it would be to start sharing my life with someone so amazing and with such a bright future, I was getting anxious! I tried thinking of something else.
All of a sudden, boom! “Confinement,” they said! OMG! We (as in, humanity) were not prepared for it! And it caught me between jobs! My head started to spin around like a helicopter: would we still be right for each other? Will Avature change its mind about me? Would I be left at the altar? Resiliency and flexibility were part of its characteristics, I was told. I tried to stay calm, there was no reason to panic, we were still fifteen days away.
As days went by, I got more and more anxious and “DING”! An email in my computer: “Hey there! We are still committed to it 100%, we’ll drop by your house and leave everything you need to start our formal relationship as planned.” I was SO happy! I couldn’t believe my eyes! I’d chosen someone amazingly marvelous!
The big day arrived, 10am was the time. We turned our computers on, had it set up and a new chapter began.
Of course, I was unfamiliar with 100% of what was going on, not only it was a new family I was joining to (with all the processes, the structure, the platform itself) but also I was doing it in a new, unknown fashion: full home office. Nonetheless, the first day we did have a party of our own. After a busy morning were we caught up with the first baby steps, we had an amazing welcome virtual lunch party with a bunch of my new peers which will then became allies and more so, friends.
Resilient and flexible was I told? It was like they were doing this since forever! The onboarding and first training sessions were key to introduce myself into the avaworld (yes, from now on, my life have become “ava-something”) and they ran smoothly. Afterwards, connecting with teammates to understand new process and attend sessions performed by our Managers made it easier not only to dive deep into Avature but also generate the right mood to comfortably reach out almost to anyone in order to solve a question or either provide suggestions.
To become an Avaturian during confinement didn’t feel at all like joining to any other firm, it felt incredibly like business as usual, like we were already part of it from a long time. However, it did not only have to do with the fact that integrating new team members was technically and technologically awesome, but it had to do with the cultural aspects Avaturian life. It also had to do with me, and how I was ready for this new chapter in my life. I guess that with a worldwide, unprecedented pandemic or without: when it's meant to be, it's meant to be.