New Job! My "Head of Remote Operations" role backstory | #110
New Job! My "Head of Remote Operations" role backstory | #110
Sometimes special opportunities come from business as usual
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🖊️ Edition #110 from Zaragoza, Spain.
Howdy loyal readers, hope everyone is keeping well!
Thanks for your patience over recent weeks, life took a few unexpected terms over recent weeks and I have accepted an offer of a fractional contract with a Remote-First start up, find out more here in the Linkedin announcement.
✍🏻 Notes: If you want regular updates, see y’all on Substack Notes.
Why I have been focused elsewhere
I had started working with Nosana in early April and with the jigs and reels it has turned into a more predictable contract arrangement.
So, my priorities have shifted already for 2024 and against all the best advice from people on how to grow an audience on Substack, I downed writing tools for a few weeks during this month of May and focused on this new opportunity.
I concentrated on what was new, keeping me excited and eager to jump out of bed in the morning.
I still care about Substack, sure, but sometimes priorities shift and move around.
Plus, I needed to get back earning to pay the bills and top back up my savings after my recent sabbatical break.
Writing more or even full-time is a dream of mine, but after 109 posts, curating the publication, plus extensive time on Notes - for me, others may disagree - I don’t think I will ever make enough moolah to either write full-time or sadly, have a significant revenue stream from just this publication.
This year, I will earn less than $280, so I am sure you appreciate that common sense financials mean that substack is looking more like a hobby.
$280 will not even cover my basic business registration fees in Spain, for one month, which are around $380 per month.
Reminder: Please become a founding member for only €45.00 per year.
For me, predictable work and income, plus working with a team in recent weeks has felt really good. I am enjoying it lots, so I followed my energy and what brought me satisfaction.
There are lots of new learnings, as you often get with a new and significant project that totally matches your skills profile.
Finding my ideal client that is a 100% skills and culture fit, is not something that comes along too regularly, so when it does, you need to grab it with both hands.
Knowing I have a regular reliable income reduces stress and furthermore, is what I deserve.
✍🏻 Notes: If you want regular updates, see y’all on Substack Notes.
Learnings from being head-hunted
Unfortunately a couple of years ago I had a really bad experience after being headhunted for a similar type role.
It was a quick lesson in how modern hiring (and headhunting practices they came looking for me and asked me to apply!) are broken.
The experience led me to write:
A reality check needs to come via the horror that is the state of modern hiring processes, which in my view not designed tin favour of the candidate - at all! In some cases it is the exact opposite. Automation via ATS type systems, lack of funding in Talent Attraction departments combined with extensive invest-growth-boom type models in operation, means a lack of a strategy in hiring in many companies. Hurting the candidate most!
In the run up to this experience, many people and peers had said:
“Hey Ro, you should apply for Head Of Remote role your skills are a perfect match!”
So I did. Lots of interviews, lots of time, lots of asking trusted contacts to provide recommendations (wasting their time), plus some ghosting time by the recruiter later, I picked myself up, dusted myself off and said “Never again”.
It was a complete time waste, all I learned was modern hiring is broken.
Spend some on Linkedin and you will find more and more validation of that point above.
Plus those validators are people who really need work, really need it.
During my previous application process I was already earning from other regular clients, as per usual. So I would have liked possibly the role, but I was not desperate.
Thanks to being a Solopreneur, you will generally have more options to earn than those only seeking full time employment.
Little did I know that that Solopreneur Advantage would be the key to finding that Head Of Remote role that would be a great fit.
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IRL connection for client selection
I have to call out that my original connection with the founders of Nosana, was in person, last year in Turkey during an event called Vivel Network. Meeting two of the team there, was the foundation in securing the role.
Why? Those few days together with them built strong connections and fostered me keeping in contact with them ad hoc as they grew and scaled their company.
Which - led to their reach out in late March, as I was coming off Sabbatical for support in scaling their remote operations and team communications.
We kicked off in April with a part-time consulting contract, which over a few weeks expanded to more support to their day-to-day operations, organising and hosting their upcoming first team retreat in Cantabria and other advisory work.
Our weekly project review meeting threw up a discussion on making this a more permanent arrangement in May, and here we are, with me contracted for the interim as their “Head of Remote Operations” - Fractional.
Fractional means it is not a 100% full time role, it is more like a consultancy contracting role.
TLDR: 🫱🏽🫲🏾 In case you don’t know me already, I am Ro, I am based in Zaragoza, Spain with my Location Independent, somewhat Nomadic (4-6 months a years of nomading) family. For work, I am a Remote Work and Digital Nomad Expert, Advisor and Writer, oh and a Linkedin Top Voice.
All my web and FREE resource links are here and you can book a 1:1 here.
🙏🏽 This publication is reader supported, pay to subscribe here to show your support.
So for now, with the Nosana Team Retreat planned in June and my upcoming summer travel plans to Bali, Lombok (both Indonesia), France, the UK and around Spain - which are being integrated into my workflow, hey the joys of being a remote working part-time digital nomad! - I am keeping focused on supporting my new main client’s needs and requirements.
Building a positive Remote-Work Team Culture from the ground up, is a joy.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Any questions about my new gig? Ask in the comments! 👇
May the road rise to meet you,
love n light,
💚 Ro