Professional update: After six years @Twitter, I left my job as Global Creative Lead last month.

I'll be finishing up my current semester of Grad School, then spending the summer only focusing on my writing and drag.

7.5 years ago a friend was setting me up to have coffee with someone who worked at Twitter to talk about a job.

I never responded to the invite because I was so embarrassed of myself, my experience, my resume. I was sure "someone like me" could never work at Twitter.

A year after that I /really/ needed a job. A copywriting position was open on Twitter's SMB team. I'd never formerly had the title of "copywriter" but the description sounded like all things I had experience with.

I wrote the cover letter and planned never to send it.

The next week, I met @hapfrap in a park. He worked at Twitter, I mentioned the job, he said he'd recommend me.

It was completely random and the only reason I ended up actually applying.
I went ALL IN. I even designed my writing samples to look exactly like their website.

(Applying for tech jobs tip:

I didn't know that employees get CASH compensation for referring people that get hired. So never, ever apply to a tech job without reaching out to someone at the company first — no matter how thin the relationship. They may recommend you!!)

I prepared for so, so long for that damn interview. I even talked to my old college's recruiting office and they did a mock interview for me.
I felt GREAT but as soon as I got into the office panic set in. The place was so, so expensive.

But y'all, I NAILED that interview.

The best tip I got was that, after the "tell me about yourself" question, the interviewer should be able to get up and leave.

That's an open-ended question. It's all yours. You give them a prepared, brief version of your life that sets you up to be the *perfect* candidate.

I started by writing blogs, website pages, and email campaigns.

Luckily, while I was writing the emails (which I'd never done before) I didn't know that they'd be sent to tens-of-millions of people

I took some copy risks and wheeew my jaw when I saw the metrics.

I was fortunate to have some early wins and a CHAMPION of a boss and boss's boss in @wingersf and @akmercog.

Though, it still took me six months to feel like I wasn't going to be immediately found out and fired.

Oh! I meant to say. I started at $70K.
Which was more money that I ever ... heard of?

I didn't even negotiate the salary because I was so worried further analysis would lead to them realizing they never meant to hire me.

I had planned to "ask for $55K" hahahahaha

Once I was no longer as concerned that I'd be fired on the spot, I started working with the queer employee org.

@jimsaysheigh and @kaylaglanville were doing an INCREDIBLE job using it to push the company.
I started managing the @TwitterOpen account.

That was the year marriage equality was up for a vote. I'd noticed " #LoveWins" popping up across Twitter and we decided to use the phrase as our first Pride Twitter emoji.

Kayla and Jim go it passed. Marriage Equality passed. And we gained 60,000 Twitter followers in a month.

Then, we talked about @repjohnlewis a lot. He came to promote the 3rd installment in the March Trilogy. I'll never forget his speech. He talked, of course, about "Good Trouble". So I started looking for my own trouble to make at Twitter.

The Twitter Emojis thing seemed like a good start.
Looking back though a 2021 lens I think, "Really babe? Emojis? That's the fight?" But remember that then they were rare and having one meant conversations were Really Important.

And most importantly, they were in my power

A year later we had one for #SpiritDay + #TransDayOfVisibility. The next year I got #ComingOutDay + #BiVisibilityWeek added. I've never been messier on Jira, then when I was pushing to get #LoveIsLove to appear in Arabic.

Now we have tons in all languages

After two years I was promoted to "Marketing Copywriter". I got to start focusing on specific customer groups like agencies, as well as working on product copy for two, now dead apps: Dashboard and Twitter Promote Mode

I also started speaking on Twitter's behalf at conferences in London, Chicago, Nashville, and New York.

One of my talks at @socialmediaweek was spun off into a digital series on @smwplus that I hosted called "Write Better"

But we wanted to do more creative, attention-grabbing projects. So I worked with @rachaelgking's agency @pod_ppl and we launched Twitter's first podcast, Character Count. Which very much became my baby.

https://business.twitter.com/en/blog/podcast.html

Main takeaway: never work with Apple on anything

Around this time, I was promoted to Global Creative Lead and therefore had more agency to work between teams and select even larger scale projects.

Also, @JulioDizon joined — so I finally had a designer again!! We did monthly photo/video shoots. I was the light test model

Next, Julio wanted to learn more video editing. I wanted to learn how to storyboard. So we did both. COVID hit so we were in completely separate rooms while making (script, storyboard, animations, voice over — everything!) for The Perfect Twitter Video.

Ok, I think that's PLENTY of Tweets about work today. (And my DMs are blowing up with questions)

Obviously, I've left out TONS of projects and wonderful people. But I don't think enough people lay out their paths for others so I wanted to do a bit of that.

I'll leave y'all with this:

Be radically kind
Every job is one meeting away from becoming a soul-sucking nightmare. All my friends are complaining about bosses micro-managing them. Micromanaging! In a pandemic?!
We spend our lives at work
Don't be a sadistic corporate drone