That One Time I Started A New Job During A Pandemic

My Long-Form Glassdoor Review

“You will never forget the day that you started this job.” I actually heard that a couple of times from friends and new coworkers this past Monday. I was handed keys to the office, but I wasn’t entirely sure how long I would be able to use them.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the timing of it all. I started my new job the week of California’s statewide order to stay home due to an ongoing pandemic. I felt both lucky and not-so-lucky to have slid into a new position just before I wouldn’t have the chance to do so–or at least for a while. I was able to make the change without having to wait for the all-clear that would release us back into our normal lives, and unlike so many others during this time, I was able to pick up a paycheck still.

Each day that I went into the office, I would leave feeling good about the new position, but I would wake up in the morning, not knowing what would come next. Today concludes my first week at my new job, and I have to hand it to my new coworkers for somehow managing to flawlessly orientate someone into their office while remaining calm during an influx of news barraged at them about COVID-19. The amount of organization, flexibility, and nerves of steel needed to do so while keeping everyone safe and calm already makes them pretty cool.

It made me think about all the other first days at my old jobs. It took me weeks to nail down their names, but it felt like I had all of the names memorized at my new office in just a few hours. Camaraderie seemed like it was destined to brew during a time when people lined up in the streets for blocks just to buy toilet paper.

I still miss the friends that I made at my old jobs. I, occasionally, wonder in-between news updates how the real-life version of the television show, The Office, is fairing. I’m hoping everyone is okay, and they’re hanging in there despite everything that is going on right now.

It truly is a strange time, and it feels even stranger celebrating new successes while being stuck at home with a bottle of wine and a cat confused as to why she is now seeing me so much inside of the house. At least I had enough sense to grab some vegan wine, and I have friends and new coworkers willing to FaceTime and use Google Hangouts Meet to keep connected and sane. It would have been a vastly different experience going through all of this without the ability to reach out to each other via technology. I’m glad that I can always hop on Twitter or Instagram and remain social even though we are all far away.