When I first moved to Ottawa, I noticed a strange reaction when I told people I worked at Shopify. They were like, "WOW, THAT'S COOL! I've heard of Shopify," and the conversation would immediately be about Shopify and what it's like to work there. I didn't like Shopify getting more attention than me, so I started holding that specific detail back. At the time, I didn't understand how famous this company was. Here's the story of how I ended up there.
In 2014 my friend Cori reached out and asked me to help her start a business. I saw an opportunity to apply everything I'd been learning in school to a real-life project that could make money. It led to us starting an online brand whose community grew to over 250,000 over the two years we worked on the business. This project taught me to build websites, experience managing several aspects of a company and an online store launch and the bitter taste of failure at its end.
Fall 2016, another friend, Chris, shared a job posting for the Support Advisor role at Shopify. He thought it might be a good fit, and to this day, I don't know if he knew how right he was. I saw an opportunity to share the knowledge I'd been gaining over the last few years and expand my capacity. I would help other business owners use the platform, answering their questions and sharing resources to foster business growth.
I knew I wouldn't be bored in this role. I was okay with the pay and loved the benefits and culture. It was a vibe, and I saw myself fitting in nicely. I applied successfully and started a few weeks later. I'm writing this about 4 years after my start with Shopify and about 2 months after my last day. The thing that allowed me to make it through the door was my previous entrepreneurial background, passion for the industry, and demonstrated learning.
In my time at Shopify, I had over 5000 interactions with users of the platform. I moved into a leadership role coaching a team of around 8 other people on how to level up their support skills and make the most of the position to accomplish our goals. I enjoyed my time with this company as I met some lovely people and experienced massive personal and professional growth.
In my experience, customer support isn't a career many people go looking for. It found me at the right time, and it was a solid entry point into the tech industry. Shopify is often hiring and if you're interested in working there, keep an eye on the job board. I know many people who started in support, built out their skillset to explore roles that give a chance to have more impact.
The people I noticed building momentum quickly tend to have a clear idea of what they want, a readiness to accept feedback and the resiliency to bounce back from challenges. If you cannot maintain all of these, this kind of role is excellent for general skill-building and even networking. Once you're in, my advice, set your goals and do something about it if you're finding yourself unable to meet them.
