My name is Quathar Jacobs and I’ve lived and worked in Iraq. Boom. That’s my introduction. I was going to say, “New mom. New job.” In any event, both are true. This is the story about how I found myself working at Flow Cape Town with a four-month-old baby boy, and a stay-at-home-dad.
I first encountered Flow Communications while working as a media liaison for a conservation organisation. And we clicked. It felt like I’d known Tara and the team for a whole lot longer than a few weeks. It was only after I’d resigned, tied the knot and was getting ready to move to Iraqi Kurdistan, that I’d thought about the possibility of working at Flow.
After a couple of months in Iraq and before the politics of the region took a turn for the worse, my husband and I were expecting our first child. Given the uncertainty of the region, I packed up my belongings and returned to South Africa. For the first time, I truly appreciated our country. And in an ironic twist, one of the first things my husband and I did upon return was hop on a red bus – the City Sightseeing Blue Mini Peninsula Tour; little did I realise I would soon be working on the City Sightseeing account at Flow.
It sure was good to be home.
Not one to sit still for too long, I tried to get back into the job market, but all it took was one look at my growing belly and I was told to “come back in a year”. My dad had a good laugh at my expense, asking: “Who is going to hire a pregnant woman? Don’t be in such a hurry to work, honey. Stay at home. Rest.” And I did just that, but not without putting a few feelers out there.
Fast-forward to about two months ago, when a very nervous me sent off my CV to the manager at Flow Cape Town and found myself face-to-face with Kate “the Great” Rau later that same day.
Kate says that five minutes into our very informal first meeting, she had a strong sense that I belonged at Flow. She didn’t know if I felt the same way, of course, and wasn’t sure whether I was ready to pick up my career again, but she wanted me to.
And so it began, my official working relationship with Flow.
After just three days on the job, I made the great trek to Franschhoek (that’s more than 60km away from our Cape Town office) for my very first blog assignment, the world-renowned herb tunnels at Allée Bleu. According to Kate, she briefed me at the last minute to test my mettle.
So off I went to a farm I’d never been to with very little knowledge about herb tunnels, and returned with a stack of photographs, a blog for Southafrica.net and a sense of accomplishment.
Now, into my sixth week as a Flowstar, I’m doing what I love. Being inquisitive, writing, taking photos, plotting social media posts and having Carrie Bradshaw moments every morning I get off the train to come to work. With a background in journalism and a new found love for South Africa, Flow is home.
At “home”, I sit directly opposite project manager, Leanne Pohlman, whom I’ve learnt a great deal from both professionally and personally. She says that I fitted in with ease from day one and it feels as though I’ve been here a lot longer than a short six weeks. Leanne also feels that I take on tasks with enthusiasm and a keenness that is most welcome in the Cape Town office.
This month I’ve had the pleasure of doing writing for The Collection, South African Tourism, City Sightseeing South Africa and the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway. Of course, all this would not have been possible without a lot of help from Stuart Buchanan, who has shown me the digital ropes and answered my many questions.
Despite how busy he is, Stuart’s been very patient with me and says that it’s been a breeze training me (phew). He adds that it’s great to have someone who has experience in the field and understands some of the basic jargon already. Stuart concludes that I seem to take it all in my stride, and ask questions when I need to.
Getting the last word in, Kate says that I’ve proven myself in just about everything I’ve tackled. That I write with authority and a clear voice, think “digital” and am a great social strategist.
May they help me grow from strength to strength in an ever-expanding environment. And may they always offer me adventure and fun.
