If you want to picture Jessica Edens-Hamilton outside of her comfort zone, picture this:

It’s her first go as a copier trainer inside the lobby of a DFW law office, and 20 people are staring back at her, waiting to hear her speak. Jessica was admittedly extremely shy at the time, and terrified in the moment that was presented to her. But she did it. She did it well. Jessica’s stint as a customer-facing copier trainer is just one example of how Jessica has continuously faced her fears, harnessed the pressure of taking it to the next level, and eventually came out it more confident than before.

It’s been said that comfort is your biggest trap, and coming out of your comfort zone is your biggest challenge.  Jessica can attest to this: Finding comfort in a new role doesn’t exist without a few unanticipated challenges.

And for her, there have been several new roles.

Jessica started her career here coming in blind.

When Jessica came to interview at Datamax, she was interviewing to be the IT helpdesk coordinator. She had spent considerable time in the medical field since high school, and as a literature major in college, had made plans to get into teaching. Nothing, however, in the IT field.

Even so, she took the interview with an open mind.

“I remember being very caught off guard because I was getting very opposite vibes about what to expect,” Jessica recalls. “I literally came in blind, and I even told them ‘I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for.”

The next thing she knew, she was offered the job.

“When I came in it was a little uncomfortable. I was running the help desk, and was supposed to be telling these IT technicians how to manage their time, and what order to run their tickets. These were technical guys who knew what they were doing and they had been here a long time,” Jessica said. “But I had a wonderful mentor at the time and he continued to talk me through it. And really, it was a fairly swift adjustment and surprisingly, I got comfortable with the job and loved it.”

It was 2.5 years later when David Rhodes called Jessica into his office.

She was terrified and unsure about what to expect. She learned that after the previous copier trainer had left, there had been several salespeople lamenting that Jessica would be a great fit as a replacement.
“I told him, ‘I don’t know anything about copiers!’ but he assured me that I’d be trained and that he thought I’d be a great fit,” Jessica recalls.

Her eventual conclusion was “Why not?” That doesn’t mean it was an easy transition.

“I was not a public speaker. I was a very shy person who didn’t like being the center of attention,” Jessica said. “I’ll never forget that first training session with 20 people there in front of me. I was shaking and bright red… if you ask me I thought it went terrible, but Rachel (Rhodes) told me I did great.

With repetition and resiliency, she eased into her role.  Her confidence grew and so did her comfort level in presenting copier training sessions in a room full of people.

“By the time I took the trainer role,  I was getting more confident in who I was to the point where it was, ‘Hey, I can do this. I was more open to the idea to the possibility that I could get comfortable doing this. And honestly, I loved interacting with customers. I enjoyed being out and about and developing relationships. It was a really nice fit for me.”

But if you’re seeing a trend, you know that Jessica’s role would evolve for a third time at Datamax.

Once again, Jessica was “handed a novel to read when I still didn’t know my alphabet.”

As she’s quoted above, perhaps she underestimates her skillset. Even so, Jessica’s ability to adapt, evolve, and excel in whatever opportunity comes her way is seriously outstanding.  Most recently, Jessica’s taken on the role of IT billing and, again, had no considerable such experience when she took the position. But being comfortable isn’t what Jessica’s after – at least not at first. She’s about pushing forward, reinventing herself, and continuously getting less afraid of just jumping out there.

“You find that strength somewhere. You push through. And the next time it’s a little easier. I’ve mentioned it often, but I’ve also had a ton of wonderful people around me to support me along the way.”

Finding comfort in a new role doesn’t exist without a few unanticipated challenges.