Where am I and how did I get here?

In my new line of work everyone is always telling me (well not just me, everyone!) "you have to write all the time", "you have to produce online content, not just share content", "you have to build your online professional presence", etc.  Well, I got kind of tired of hearing it and decided today was the day to get back into the good old forgotten blog.
I’ve got a few topics I’m going to write over the next few weeks (time permitting which is scary!) but I’m going to start with an update on where I’m working, why I’m working here, and why it might be the place that just might stick...

Well, here's the update.

After working in Asia Sur for about 1.5-2 years (cannot remember time anymore now that I'm 41, ouch!) I left the magazine at the end of March and decided I would re-group and try to find a job that would be a much better fit with my skills and my need to balance personal and professional life. After almost 3 years of living in Peru I felt that negative work experiences were kind of ruining the whole Peru experience for me and either I seriously turned around the work satisfaction situation, or I was going to end up leaving Peru pretty quickly (which I still consider but not quite as often as I used to before).

So I put a post on Facebook on my last day at Asia Sur that was really just meant to tell everyone, in a somewhat humorous way, that I was leaving my job and ready for something else.  But not really looking for a job or anything! In fact, I figured I would take at least a couple of months off and use the time to do the stuff at home that you NEVER EVER EVER have a chance to do while you're working full time and also a mom! The post said something like "looking for a job that allows me the flexibility to spend time with my kids, workout, and also let me work at a place I actually love and where I feel valued AND valuable.  Interests include: Marketing, Digital, Fitness, etc.".  It also posted a picture of Mancora, a place we were going on vacation as a family for Easter weekend.

Lo and behold the power of social media (be careful what you ask for!) the General Manager at LHH - DBM Peru saw the post because we had 2-3 friends in common on Facebook, and she contacted me! 6 weeks later I was working on a part-time consultant role in Marketing and getting to know this world of Human Resources, Ouptlacement and Services. During my P&G days I always jokingly said that I would end up in HR because I LOVED being part of cultural and organizational change. In fact, it was a requirement at P&G in order to progress with the Company.  But I never did it as something I was forced to, I always just loved to be part of it.  And now here I am, three months later I was offered the role full-time and started doing full-time at the beginning of this month.

I am learning so much about this new industry, I am energized because I am doing TRUE marketing strategy again, and I feel like I am part of a place where people are valuable AND valued every single day. Who knows how long I will be here or how things work out, but for now I have found a little seed of inspiration that I'm hoping to channel into the blog.  I am READING a ton more, something which I have always loved to do, but quite often don't find the time for. And I am soooo much more patient with my kids.  Even if I now get home a little bit later since switching to full-time, the time I spend with them is truly quality time.

I'm also actively involved in the newly formed MIT Club of Peru and I'm happy I'm having the time to dedicate to these "extracurricular activities" that I have always cared about on a personal level.  Not to mention trying to work out 3 times a week at least! After all, it's almost summer in Lima...

Anyway, that's my first of a series of posts about what I'm learning in this new role. I will hopefully be back next week with perspective on why I turned down another (better) job offer that I got around the same time I switched to full-time here.