AO Let's Go! aka, First Week at my New Job

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, but I think starting a new job is definitely up there with good reasons to have a blog break for a few days! It's been a little bit mad this week, and as a girl who is a real creature of habit, a change of routine has definitely been a bit of a challenge!

The good news is, I absolutely love my new job! I knew it was going to be great because I knew AO.com were an awesome company, but I really love it.

Monday got off to a bit of a stressful start. My alarm went off at 6am, and I was ready to be out of the door at 7.10am for my 7.32am train. Everything was going according to plan, until I looked at the departures screen and saw that my 7.32am train was now coming in at 7.47am. Not the best way to start my first day! Thankfully I had my manager's number and dropped her a text letting her know I would be a little later than planned, and I arrived just before 9am for my induction.

My first day was blur of introductions, new people and finding my way around the building. I had an induction in the morning, then I was off to meet with my team. As soon as I had my first lunch in "The Park" (our canteen area) I knew I was going to be very happy at AO.com.

This week I've mainly been meeting different people who I'm going to be working with over the next few months (everyone has been absolutely lovely so far!) and working on a research project for my manager, Larisha. My job is in the display team, and involves creating and managing the online advertising for AO.com and our clients, mainly through banner ads and pre-roll ads. We're going to be working closely alongside the marketing team over their future campaigns and I'm really excited! My main goal when looking for a new job was to move into something more marketing-based and this job is absolutely perfect for me.

My research project has been focused on what display advertising is, different sizes and formats of banner ads, and looking at some of the best display campaigns. It's been really interesting to learn about display, as it's not something I've ever had experience in before. Larisha was really happy with the presentation I prepared for her and she wants me to show it to some of the rest of the team! She's eased me in a bit this week, but I think I'm going to get to be really hands on next week, which I'm looking forward to!

Also, working at AO.com is just awesome! (They're the fourth best company to work for in the UK, fact fans!) There are free snacks provided in all the fridges on every floor, and free breakfast (I've been coming in early for a bowl of porridge before work!), plus we have a Starbucks that is subsidized too. Thankfully, there is also subsidized gym membership to make up for all the snacks! I also got a massage at my desk on Thursday. What the what! The best part of all though is that AO.com really focus on making people happy- both the customers and the staff. Everybody is always smiling and that is such a great environment to work in! You can see how awesome our offices are in this post over at AO World. I work at the Bolton HQ.

However, as I mentioned earlier, getting into a new routine has been a challenge. With a 6am start, running before work is kind of out of the window so I'm back running after work again, which I don't love as much. I've sorted out my gym induction for next week and it's only across the road from work, so I'll probably start going there to workout after work. It's tough when I run straight after work, and once I've gotten back, had a shower, eaten dinner and made lunch for the next day, it's nearly 9pm before I sit down. But I know it's all about finding my routine. Remember the trouble I had with trying to find time to blog when I first started working full time? I'm confident that once I get used to the trip (it's a much longer commute than I had before) I'll get a routine in place. But for now it's 10pm bedtimes and 6am get ups and evenings at home most nights. I did manage a meal with Phil and Steph on Thursday night though, but I was still in bed for 10!

I'm really excited for the future at AO.com. Leaving my old job was incredibly scary but I know it was for the best, and I'm excited for what life at AO will bring!

Edit: I'm hoping regular blog posting will return in the next week or so once I get used to working again! I've also just lopped up a lot of my hair (it's just below collarbone-length as of yesterday!) so I can't wait to show you that too!