Inside SHIFT: Looking Back At One SHIFTer’s First Year

I have learned so much in the last 365 days (approximately 260 “work days”) that it’s hard to know where to start when it comes to wrapping it up in a quick blog post. SHIFT, and working in an agency, has given me the opportunity to learn about everything from semiconductors to digital invitations to chatbots to outlet malls and, believe it or not, more things in between. In the last 12 months, I have worked a HUGE security conference; spoken and answered questions about agency life in front of eager college students, experienced trainings around topics such as broadcast pitching and crisis communications, secured briefings, developed social media campaigns, grown influencer programs, led client calls and learned something new every day.

At SHIFT, I have been empowered to work on projects of all sizes since the day I started and have always felt like a valued member of my teams. I have had the opportunity to work on accounts with people from SHIFT offices across the country and am continuously given new ways to become more involved in the agency as well as efforts to strengthen it. I have worked with colleagues from our sister agency FoodMinds that we share an office with to coordinate fun events for everyone and have been introduced to people from the greater AVENIR GLOBAL international network.

Working at SHIFT Communications, conveniently located in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District, has given me the accessibility to explore the many coffee shops (Bluestone, Philz, Blue Bottle … ) and salad choices (Mixt, Focaccia, The Plant … ) that the city has to offer. With the help of SHIFT’s monthly healthy lunch walks, sometimes I even get to experience this deliciousness with my colleagues.  In the office, I have gotten to see the sun rise and the sun set, depending on Daylight Savings Time , in what I am convinced is one of the best views in San Francisco. From the SHIFT SF windows, I have seen, and documented, the cruise ships that we see from the kitchen every day, watched and heard the Fleet Week planes fly by in their iconic synchronized formations, and even caught a glimpse of a lightning strike from a rare Bay Area storm.

In the past year, there’s been rewarding client work and big wins, personally and as an agency, but there’s also been in-office wedding and baby showers, engagement toasts and surprise birthday parties (which never turn out be all that much of a surprise after all). There have been summer outing cooking classes, guacamole making contests, Halloween trivia, Valentine’s card making stations, desk decorating, story-telling, souvenir giving, White Elephant games and a lot of laughing. I am so thankful for the amazing leadership I have had, the skills I have learned and the friends I have made this year. I am excited to embrace what the next 12 months has in store and strongly recommend that you spend your next year here as well! Check out our openings and #OwnYourSHIFT!

Shannon Steffen,
Account Executive