This article is written from the perspective of Angela Kwang, First Page Digital’s Senior Digital Strategist.
My journey to becoming a Senior Digital Strategist spanned over 13 years. Over ten years was spent at First Page Digital, a digital marketing agency in Singapore.
I can easily recollect so many memories of important milestones throughout my time with First Page Digital, from the day I was hired to my first promotion. Due to my prior experience in sales and my dedication and hard work, I was promoted to Senior Digital Strategist shortly after joining the company. But there’s more to my career journey with First Page Digital. Several learning and growth opportunities have been presented while working for the same SEO agency for ten years.
With the hope that this article will help you in your career journey, these are my top five reasons why I’ve stayed at the same SEO agency in Singapore for an entire decade.
1. Recognition, Respect, and Appreciation
Every employee wants to feel a sense of self-worth while working for any company. Receiving recognition for their work motivates individuals to perform better. Moreover, it is essential to feel respected regardless of which position you have been hired for. When you are recognised, respected, and appreciated for your contribution to the company, you will see the years pass by quickly even while remaining at the same place.
At First Page Digital, I am constantly appreciated for the hours put in and contributions made. That’s one of the many things that kept me going and pushed me to reach a higher level of success. Beyond the genuine acknowledgement, I was treated with the utmost respect; that was the major reason that made me stay at the same place for a decade now.
2. Fair Treatment
Being treated fairly in the company builds trust, improves morale, strengthens loyalty, and boosts productivity amongst employees. Fair treatment at the workplace also helps the company to retain its top talent. At no point should employees feel that someone else is being preferred over them or is compensated more regardless of how much effort they are putting in respectively.
Fair remuneration and treatment were the primary reasons I was able to pull off the best ten years of my career journey (so far) at the same digital marketing agency. The fact that I was treated equally in my workplace helped me focus entirely on my daily tasks and responsibilities, rather than worrying if my efforts will be recognised or not.
3. Continuous Growth
The next parameter that can make employees stay in a job for longer is the company’s growth opportunities. Unless employees are given new challenging tasks to accomplish or have opportunities to put their strengths to work, they will tend to look for better offers. After all, money isn’t always the driving force.
At First Page Digital, I was always involved in new opportunities that kept my full potential engaged. Moreover, I got to work on different projects with a wide range of responsibilities as a Digital Strategist. As a digital marketing agency, First Page Digital offers more than just SEO services in Singapore. I was able to dabble into more areas in the field that helped me in my overall growth.
4. Great Work Culture
Work culture holds a lot of importance in retaining top employees. A positive workplace culture can easily attract, engage, and retain talent, and the way employees interact with each other is another characteristic of successful company culture. This cannot be shown simply by words but through experience.
While working as a Senior Digital Strategist with First Page Digital in Singapore, I’ve had many opportunities to coordinate and work with different departments such as Content and Google or PPC Marketing. That’s when I realised that I was a part of a great work culture where everyone strives for perfection within their team so that they can be expert SEO consultants for our clients.
5. Work-Life Balance
Balancing between professional and personal life can be overwhelming, but not when you are working with the right company. Employees feel empowered and stay longer when they are trusted to manage how, where and when they work. This helps to maintain their mental health and achieve work-life balance. Moreover, it also imparts a sense of responsibility on the employees to live up to the high standards set by their employers.
As I was working with one of the best and busiest digital marketing agencies in Singapore, I was concerned if I would be able to achieve the right work-life balance. To my surprise, I was given the freedom to work at my own pace, understand the work culture, and utilise my capabilities to my fullest potential. The trust that was placed in my abilities also made me more accountable for my work so that I could find more meaning in my professional and personal life alike.
All of these factors are what made me stay in the same SEO agency for ten years. There is always a job out there that will be a good fit for you. You need to clearly understand what you need to do in life and what you expect out of your job.
Here’s a piece of advice I still stick to till today:
“Your work fills a large part of your life, the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
