HMA — Blog — Colleen Hofmann

Change tends to sneak up on you. You never truly see it as it's happening, because change occurs in small instances every day. I imagine it's how parents feel as they watch their children transform. You move from day-to-day, reaching firsts, battling over messy rooms and worrying. Then, poof, they're graduating, moving out and transforming into an adult.

It's the same with any other kind of change. You rarely notice it until it becomes impossible to ignore. It took my boss, Drew, explaining one of my better qualities for me to realize it - my ability to work through a challenge, see the big picture and find a solution. Huh. I guess I do manage to do that, don't I? This conversation brought about a lot of career reflection, particularly the past two years at HMA.

It also brought about many different versions of this post. For me, writing is what helps me process my thoughts and reinforce lessons learned. I don't really do it enough, if you ask me, especially when it comes to my job. I chug along day after day, working to find solution after solution, rarely stopping to think on the significance of my personal accomplishments (Don't lie. I know you do it too.) and how much I continue to change.

Technically, I started my career at HMA in 2011 as a freelance writer. After interviewing for the copywriter and SEO/copywriter position, I was thrust into writing copy for an interactive brochure about a client's highly technical North American arm. Little did I know my baptism-by-fire first experience with HMA set up how the next two years would flow.

Back then, we were an agency of nine. Now, we are 20 strong with additional technical experts all around the world. In that time, I've created processes, rewritten processes, failed and succeeded at kickstarting best practices for our SEO and PPC services, as well as content development and social media, or as we like to call it, real-time media.

I've probably worn nearly every hat possible, but that is, after all, the HMA way. Then, in between, there were a lot of little triumphs, big victories, early mornings, late nights, hiccups and throw ups. I get a little overwhelmed just thinking about how much I've done in the past two years. It's a lot more than I imagined I'd accomplish at 26. After I pause and catch my breath, I get a little excited imagining all the great things in store for myself.. It's kind of fun to let your brain wander off and think about these things.

When was the last time you stopped to reflect on your accomplishments in your career? How do you take what is unique about you and make it useful?