The Art of Making Tough Calls: Coming Back to G2A.COM For Good
This is the sequel to my piece about how I came to Poland and started working at G2A.COM. You’ll find the first part here.
During my job search I met my partner in life and the mother of my 3-year-old daughter through my cousin. We hit it off then. We were spending a lot of time together when I started working at G2A. I guess you could say we fell in love.
But as I mentioned in the previous part, this is where things took a turn. As I was working at G2A, I thought to myself: “I really miss Chicago. Maybe I should go back to my friends and family?” I was a help-desk specialist, basically customer support, and I’ve been working for about a month already. I guess I got homesick. I pulled my boss aside one day, the guy that hired me, and told him: “Hey, Bart. Ummm, I think I’m going to quit. I want to go back to America.”
And he understood. But he also told me that if I ever wanted to come back, I should just let him know, because he thinks I’m an awesome employee and the door will always be open for me. This was SUPER important to me.
Coming Back 2 ‘Murica
So that was it for me. I stayed in Poland for like half a year, worked at G2A for 1 month, and then left the company and my girlfriend.
Once I came back to Chicago, it felt like I basically never left. Nothing changed. My friends were still the same — some doing bad, some good. So, what did I do upon my return? I partied a bit, hung out with friends, lived with my parents and started looking for a job. Too bad I had no opportunities there. Life was miserable. I was working the worst job I ever had in my life in a warehouse 30 minutes away from my house, sorting dirty clothes at 4 in the freaking morning for a minimum wage.
One day I left the job, got into my car and started crying. I realize the mistake I made by coming back to Chicago. Don’t get me wrong: I love the city. This is where I grew up, had my first kiss, got my driver’s license, went to school, did a bunch of cool things and met a lot of awesome people.
But it just wasn’t for me. That’s what my heart was telling me. My brain was of course on the opposite, but I decided to follow my mom’s advice and listened to the former. I called my parents, told them I want to go back to Poland, start a new life with my partner (soon to be wife, I promise!) and work at G2A.
Coming Back 2 G2A
Still, I needed to make sure that once I got back to Poland, 1. I wouldn’t be living with my cousin’s family, 2. I got my job back.
The first thing I did was tell my GF I’m coming back and I need her help in finding us a place to live. Easy. She moved out of her parents’ house, found us a nice little flat in the middle of a busy city. Next, I needed to get my job back. Easier said than done. I was having a hard time trying to contact the company. Luckily, one day I got an email from HR about them sending me some sort of a “work diploma” to basically show that I worked at this company and when.
I took this opportunity to write back and ask her for Bart’s number to call him. The first thing he said was: “OH YEAH, OF COURSE I REMEMBER YOU! YEAH, COME BACK! LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU’RE BACK AND WE’LL GET YOU YOUR JOB BACK, NO PROBLEM!” All caps because he was so excited to hear the news. I was, too. I was ecstatic!
From that point on, I was ready to start my new life. Job was set, housing was set, and I left Chicago for good. I didn’t know that at this point, because I told myself I will try it out for a year. 5 years later I’m still here, with the two women I love so much, a Welsh Terrier that barks a lot, and the same job: G2A.COM, where I do something that I always dreamed about and love doing.
After all, it’s not every day you get a chance to become a streamer!
So what am I doing today? It’s the stuff of dreams: video game-related things like streaming and creating content. And in the meantime, I am learning a whole new set of skills when it comes to networking and marketing. I have had many opportunities with G2A and I even got a chance to travel a little bit around Europe before the pandemic. Hopefully, when things will get back to normal, I will be able to travel a bit more.
There is also some things that I am specifically proud of achieving, like riding on a pig and becoming a GIF!
Be sure to check out my streams. I stream everyday from Monday to Friday, always starting at 3:30PM GMT.
By Michał Szajna, Streamer, Content Creator and Community Specialist at G2A.COM
