Progress, progress and more progress.

What I am about to say will not shock you. 

I love it here at West Midlands Fire Service.

I have reiterated this point over the course of this blog, and I want to do it again right now.

A lot of these posts have been about social media in general, my views of things going on and stuff like that. So, I thought it was about time I caught up with you all about what is actually going on.

If you haven’t read my good friend and colleague Jess’ blog yet, I suggest you check it out here. It’s a great read and provides a fresh perspective of what happens here at HQ!

It seems insane that we have been more than a month already. It feels like only yesterday that I was getting lost on the short (and, in fairness, extremely simple) walk between Duddeston Station and the fire service’s headquarters here on Vauxhall Road.

I was confident at that point that this was the right decision for both my personal life and my career, and I am happy to say my confidence was founded upon sound logic. I have loved every minute and still look forward to getting in every morning! A lot of people have that feeling for the first couple of weeks and then lose it as they settle in, but I still get excited every morning (even though my energy is usually lacking! I’m not a morning person).

I wanted this post to be a balanced point of view, and be able to say “well, this could be better.” The simple fact is though, this job is perfect for what I want.

I have always wanted a job with variety, the chance to get away from my desk every now and then, and most importantly, a great team who make the day enjoyable. This is exactly what I have been given with this role.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity (not least because of the sheer volume of applicants for The Juice Academy’s course). Already I can feel myself being more clued up about how to make the most of social media for my business.

So, what have we been doing?

Well, as I have already said, we don’t spend the whole day at our desk. There are a number of days where we have been out covering events for both Twitter and our #smavlog. We have also been around the building in different departments, finding out more about what the fire service do, which has been a valuable experience.

 Jess even had the fantastic chance to spend a day with White Watch at Aston fire station to see what they do on a day to day basis, in the first of many #SMAdays. 

 The most important thing for me is that I have been given the chance to develop into someone who doesn’t just “do a job,” but into someone who can be a valuable asset to any company.

Our line managers are not content with us using our strengths to complete tasks to the best of our ability. They are keen for us to use each other to learn and develop the skills we are less adept at in order to make us well rounded and more capable individuals.

This is why I am more than content with my current position in life. I look forward to work, I look forward to home and most of all? I look forward to, and I am very excited about, my future career.