Erin Watson

Background

About Erin Watson

In this ever-evolving world, facing change with curiosity and an open mind is essential.My first stint in postsecondary education was in Ottawa U's English program, but I entered it without a clear career goal. Very early in my professional life, I realized I had to make a choice: stay the course or switch gears. Due to my childhood interest in creating websites on Geocities, I decided to pursue a career as a web developer. After graduating from Algonquin College's break-neck Interactive Multimedia Developer program in 2012, I stumbled into the workforce with strategies, advice and platitudes that simply didn't fit the realities of the post-2008 job market.I had the opportunity to cut my creative marketing teeth on an internship at Simple Story Videos as a storyboard artist. From there, I landed a job at Mediaforce, where I was given my first taste of agency experience working as a web developer. I found that I thrived in the environment. The tight turnarounds, the opportunities for creativity, learning about the ever-changing digital marketing industry, and the comradery on a team were all so exciting and fresh to me. In late 2015, I was hired as a junior developer at Banfield. Although initially tasked with developing marketing emails for Banfield's clients, I seized on any opportunity to learn new skills and take on new roles as my career progressed at the agency. To try and encompass my scope of work, I was given the title of digital media designer and developer. At Banfield, I was a storyboard artist, a web developer, a production artist, an illustrator, and the agency's email best practices expert. Following an almost nine-year tenure at Banfield, I find myself again at a crossroads in my professional life, asking myself if I should stay the course or pivot.I am currently searching for my next opportunity for career advancement. In the interim, I continue to forge ahead with a mindset towards growth and curiosity rather than stagnation. I am currently pursuing a certification in Lean Yellow Belt and Microsoft 365.