What Metric Means to Me, as a Former Metrician

I was never going to stay in New York forever. After about 4 ½ years I was starting to feel a lot more like Jim Croce than Billy Joel does about the Big Apple, but there were a few things about it that made it a very hard decision to leave.

First there were my friends. I think most happy 26-year-olds can relate to that. I have a wonderful group of friends that I’ve met in New York City, particularly at work, who will be my friends for life. I really enjoyed being around them all the time, and I wasn’t fully convinced that I was ready for that to end.

But perhaps even more than my friends, I was having a lot of trouble imagining leaving my job. That’s something I imagine most 26-year-olds would want to punch me in the face for saying. But it’s true. I really, truly loved my job.

Working at Metric Collective was the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve done up to this point in my life, and if I hadn’t fallen out of love with New York City I would have been there until they made me leave. I was given more autonomy and responsibility than I could have ever imagined in a job at this point in my career. If you’d told me three years ago that I would be responsible for helping create the entire sales structure for a successful and growing adtech company I never would have believed you. But that’s what an environment like Metric does for you. It allows you to trust yourself and your abilities because everyone around you is so badass that you can’t help but feel like you must be pretty badass too. Or that you’re doing an excellent job of tricking everyone into thinking you are. Either way — it was a really great year and a half.

After leaving I took a month off to drive around this great country of ours, from the deep south to the national parks in Utah. I’ve now landed on the West Coast, where I probably belong.

Early “retirement” was pretty fantastic, though, I must say.

But as I search for my next career opportunity I’ve realized that Metric completely changed my perspective on work. The things that matter to me most as I interview with new companies aren’t about the day-to-day responsibilities of the role or the potential for promotion down the line — they’re about company’s culture and how I can contribute in a meaningful way.

Metric taught me how important it is to surround yourself with smart people who challenge and trust you, and now I won’t settle for anything less.

P.S. I miss you all so much — congrats on absolutely nailing Halloween.