This week has been wonderful and exhausting; overwhelming and exciting. As of yesterday, I finished my first week at the new job; and what a fabulous week it was. Without giving away too much (I’m still not so sure about this "personal blogging" thing), I’ll just say this is my first corporate job and with a national magazine.

I had been applying for jobs all summer, with Yahoo and Sage, MTV and VH1, Conde Nast and TimeWarner. Had prepared myself for the possibility that I might have to move for the job I wanted, knowing I wanted to stay right here in good ‘ol SoCal…And then I saw the opening for Community Editor and the job description sounded just like something I was both qualified for and would have fun doing.

Here’s the thing, I love how no matter how bad things seem to get, determination and a positive attitude can sustain you through most things. Your skills can get you through the door, but more often than not, it is personality that gets people hired.

So Monday I walk into my new job and almost immediately – much faster than most were expecting – was able to take over the basic responsibility of the job; not like plugging content into a spreadsheet for website is difficult. It didn’t take long for me to begin to see that plugging in content is the bare minimum of what my job entails. Over the course of the week I heard statements such as "become the expert" and "she’s going to master…" and I started to feel the slightest bit of pressure, realizing that plugging in content – a very important task indeed – was the least of what I was expected to do.

If I’m being honest myself, I’d have to admit that I was feeling overwhelmed by Wednesday. The other editors had already pretty much let go of the part of my job they had been doing. I mean I said I wanted to learn by doing, but I didn’t mean I wanted to be left to my own devices. The autonomy was almost immediate and on my third day, it was a bit stressful. No to mention that I realized I had already made my first mistake, which resulted in a second. I handled it though and took some deep breaths.

Friday was the best day of the week. No, not because it was the last day, but because it was the first that I felt like I was really getting the hang of the job. When I checked my email, there was one from my Managing Editor (who will be ME from now on), saying he had a project for me to work on and that he wanted me to start writing as well. I spent most of my day, reading, researching and finding story ideas. It was awesome!

So I got week one down and I’m excited for the next. How’s that for walking into your dream job. That’s twice for me! 😀

Anyone else got a story about their first week at their dream job? Leave a comment or post it on your own blog and leave me the link in the comments. Do share.