10 Years in the Making

[#1]

This article is part of a recent Community Champion series highlighting the journey from Community member to Champion. As promised, here’s my journey as an employee of the Atlassian Community & Learning Team. 

Thanks for the encouragement! @Huwen Arnone _Deiser_ & @Teodora V _Fun Inc_ 

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In the fall of 2014, a good friend told me she was starting a new job at an Australian company called Atlassian. At that time, I was eager to change my career and looked at open roles in Austin (since Atlassian had just moved there). I applied for the Community Specialist position and advanced to the final interview; however, I didn’t get the job.

When I talked to the recruiter, she told me about a different role opening up in the spring that she thought I would be a good fit for, and asked me to stay tuned. I wiped my tears and patiently waited by checking the careers page each week for the new role to be posted.

On April 6, 2015, I started my new position as a Customer Advocate. I didn’t think too much about the role I initially applied for.

A year passed, and I eventually moved into a new role. I started Atlassian’s first social media support team, which provided technical and non-technical support to customers on Twitter. It was a hard job, but it eventually led me to the place I originally set my sights on at Atlassian, the Community Team.

You see, in 2020, I moved the Social Media Care from support to community because it was a much better fit. Our community was evolving, and people were talking about Atlassian’s products and sharing their use cases in more places than ever, both online and in person. It made sense for the team to shift away from providing break-fix support on Twitter (I know, I can’t believe it either!) to supporting those eager to connect with like-minded people and Atlassian.

Fast-forward to today, and I am now the Program Lead for the Atlassian Community Champions track on the team I originally hoped to be part of almost 11 years ago!

Sometimes I think back to the day I got the call saying I didn’t get the job, and I remember feeling so sad at that moment. But then, I turn to the present and find a big smile on my face. 🥰

⬆️ This was the recruiter's email signature in 2014! 

[Gee Espiritu]

Congrats and Lovely Story, @Loren Siegel 

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

That's a real chase for the dream role @Loren Siegel 😍

Thank you for sharing your journey! 

[Shawn Doyle - ReleaseTEAM]

Great story @Loren Siegel 

[Huwen Arnone _Deiser_]

OmG! You actually did it, so cool!! 🤩

Thank you for sharing your journey at Atlassian and the roles you’ve navigated. Regarding your time at the social media support team, I can only imagine the challenges you faced (and the complex technical questions there).

I knew this story was too interesting to keep to yourself, @Loren Siegel 🙌🏼