When I hit rock bottom, I didn’t immediately realize it – there were some initial growing pains that only came with self-reflection.

But once I did, I realized that if I was unhappy, it was up to me to change my reality – no one else.

Today, I can proudly say that I am Head of CX at a startup and loving my life and my job.

When I originally joined, I wasn’t Head of CX. I worked my way up by spearheading new ideas, solving problems the team didn’t even know existed, and taking the initiative to do the things not asked of me. I made sure to let my passion for this new opportunity shine during my work.

It took two promotions to get to where I am now –building my team from the ground up and attending leadership conferences to improve my skills.

Now, you may be wondering: where’s this rock bottom you talked about?

In 2019, I was getting laid off from my job, facing eviction, and depressed. I hated my current reality and blamed myself for being a “failure” at my age (“late twenties”).

I wasn’t happy with my life, I felt stagnant, underappreciated, and underwhelmed by my previous positions.

I took some weeks to come to terms with my new reality, enjoy long hikes with my husband, and learn what I wanted next for my life and career. I was inspired to find a career where I could have a major impact, be challenged, and love going in to work each day.

So, my husband bought me a computer and I started a coding bootcamp, teaching myself how to code to build and design websites and applications from the ground up.

As my bootcamp was ending, I started applying for a combination of full-stack developer and web developer jobs.

After months of job interviews and many rejection emails and “thank you for your time, however…” emails, I sat back and thought, what am I doing wrong?

Then I thought back to the feedback I received during my interviews, “we are looking for someone with a little more experience”, “we are moving forward with other candidates”, and my favorite: “you seem like you have a lot of ambitions and if you are a jack of all trades then you may master nothing”.

I surmised that maybe I was trying to land a role in my new field too quickly and I needed to take a year or two to acquire the experience EVERYONE was talking about.

So my focus shifted to finding a company that was willing to grow with me and possibly offer some hands-on training.

I’ll admit, it STILL took me a few months to find a company that was aligned with my views but this time around, I was sending the rejection letters!

When a company didn’t align with my values, I moved on to others I assumed would.

Then, I found it: a start-up that was looking to add a second team member to their customer experience team.

I know, I know, I said I had just finished a bootcamp BUT the special thing about a start-up –especially at the size I was joining– is that I was going to wear multiple hats!

Three interviews and a signed contract later, I was hired as a customer success manager. But actually, I was sales, customer support, design, and the dev team.

After my first few months, I received a promotion to Sr. Customer Success Manager. And now, as Head of CX, I love logging in to work each morning and not having a set schedule because it means the day can take me anywhere.

I hope my story inspires you to take a chance and pivot once the time comes. Figure out what you need/want in your life and career and go for it. It can be that simple.