Why I’ve Stayed at Buffer for 8 Years, an Open Reflection

When I tell people how long I’ve been at Buffer — eight years today — people generally have a lot of questions. But one of the most common is, “Why have you stayed so long?”

Eight years is an unusually long time to be at one

When I tell people how long I’ve been at Buffer — eight years today — people generally have a lot of questions. But one of the most common is, “Why have you stayed so long?”

Eight years is an unusually long time to be at one company in tech. It’s also an unusually long time among most of my friend group except those who work in more traditional jobs, say in teaching or in government.

So why have I stayed?

My short answer is usually the same — it’s the people and the product. I truly enjoy working alongside the Buffer team, and I am also an avid user of the product for my personal social media accounts and have been since 2013. I really value the energy I feel from working alongside a group of talented and driven teammates and being consistently interested in what we are all working on. I love that I am eager to hear what the product team is doing because it impacts my weekly content workflows.

That’s the short answer — I’m still here because of the people and the product, and it’s true. But I wanted to take the opportunity of hitting a new milestone to do a little bit of a longer post and a deeper reflection because it is more than that. The people and the product make my work much more enjoyable, interesting, and relevant, but that isn’t everything.

Sometimes, staying is the hard option

I’ve been at Buffer through various job markets, and Buffer’s brand name carries weight. I’ve had many recruiters reach out over the years about new and interesting roles. I’ve had connections introduce me to someone who was keen to hire me. I was at Buffer during what was later called the Great Resignation when several of my teammates, some also friends, chose to move on to other companies. The job market was very strong at the time for my area; there were a lot of incredible opportunities, and when you see most of your peers moving on, it’s hard not to ask, “Should I be doing the same?” And potentially the strongest pull — I had my first child while at Buffer and struggled to come to terms with coming back to work and balancing having a baby a few months old at home.

I have stayed through it all, and I haven’t just stayed because it was the easier option. When I came back from family leave, it coincided with the Great Resignation — I was adjusting to having a baby at home and working while our Marketing team was severely understaffed, and I s