Our People: Cari McCoy

What were your job/career experiences like before working at Clickstop? 

The companies I worked for were all very “corporate.” There was always a lane to stay in, a ladder to climb, a bureaucratic hoop to jump through, chain of command to answer to, etc.

There was a clear every man for himself mentality.  Often at the expense of someone else.

How has Clickstop positively impacted your life professionally? Personally?

I had always known I had high expectations of people around me and I spent my life being told to bend them to make them more attainable; that I set people up to disappoint.

Clickstop has shown me that the right people, who care enough, will aspire to and reach for the loftiest expectations – and often meet or exceed them.

After years of being timid and afraid to speak up, I began to share my thoughts and opinions.  At Clickstop, we’re expected to do just that, and I was able to carry that outside of these walls into my personal life as well.

Finally, I felt like I had a voice, a platform, and encouragement to confidently speak up. After being uncertain and full of self-doubt, Clickstop helped me discover my convictions.

Clickstop sees traits like positivity, empathy, and connectedness as strengths not weaknesses. And after years of being told I was being too sensitive, my peers at Clickstop made me feel validated. I’ve learned how not to be so sensitive to the things that don’t warrant those feelings and to separate them (though this is ongoing work).

I’ve become more decisive and possess greater strength of will. I had always been an “it’s up to you” kind of person, and I am no longer afraid to ask for what I want, or to ask myself the question and pursue the answer.

Previously, I hadn’t seen hard work rewarded in other places quite the same as I’d seen seniority, well-played office politics, and even brown-nosing rewarded. Clickstop is different.  The ones who roll up their sleeves and enthusiastically throw themselves into the work are recognized and rewarded; it motivates me to work even harder

Describe where you are at today compared to one year ago….five years ago.  What does that experience, and growth feel like?

Five years ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I wasn’t even working in marketing yet, had a young family, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or what would make me happy. I had interest in a lot of things and was talented at absolutely nothing. It was about this time I embarked on a major life change, re-enrolling in grad school, moving across the country, getting a job in corporate fashion marketing, and never really knowing if I was making an impact.

Fast forward a few years and a few moves/jobs…

A year and a half ago I joined Clickstop as the Social Marketing Manager. I saw a need on the team for someone to unite the collective vision around how we produced meaningful content and, despite having no formal copywriting experience I went for it. I was made the Content Director after about four months. A couple months after that I became the VP of Creative Services, leading both content and creative teams, and a couple months after that I became the Interim CMO. 90 days of Interim led to becoming the full time CMO, and I’ve been in this seat for one year.

Change has been constant. Some of it has happened to me, and some of it has happened because of me. But growth has happened throughout all of it because of my curiosity, willingness to learn, to be wrong, to fail, and above all to hustle. Clickstop rewards each of those things in a way most organizations don’t, and that has made it easier to integrate into the rest of my life as well.