On(line) The Job Training

I had so much to learn in my first remote job. Decades of executive marketing experience had taught me nothing about data analytics. I had to quickly become an expert in Excel, Tableau and Google Workspaces in order to do my job, without training and in an environment where no one had time to ‘teach the new girl’. 

This job was critical to my literal survival - within a short period of time the shaky structure of my marriage crumbled and I was a single mom. I needed not only to thrive in this job, I needed to convert it from a part time gig to a career that would keep a roof over our heads. 

It was one of the many times I was grateful that I was encountering this situation far enough into the digital age that I could get most of the resources I needed from a keyboard. On a borrowed computer, I researched all of the ‘how tos’. In between Googling about divorce and custody, I spent time looking for free online courses that would help me keep my job, and build a career out of it. Some of the resources I leaned into included LinkedIn, Coursera and YouTube. It helped!