Meet Ronita

As a former freelance copywriter, Ronita has always loved writing but wasn’t sure how to move beyond her freelancing roles. When she and her husband moved to Tulsa, they both connected with inTulsa’s talent team to help in their job searches, and Ronita landed her dream job—a full-time role as a writer for a well-known fintech company.

How did you land in Tulsa? 

My husband is from Oklahoma, and that’s what put the state on the map for me. But we were both living abroad when we met. We never thought we would move back, but the pandemic changed that for us. It made us think about where home is, what that means to us, and what we’re looking for. Since my husband was from this area, when he saw the Tulsa Remote program, he suggested we apply to it. He was accepted into the program, and we decided, let’s do this. Let’s move.

To be honest, when we first came to Tulsa, we didn’t know how long we would stay. And now, it’s been over a year, and we’re planting down roots.

How did you find out about your new role?

Right before this job, I was a copywriter for a fintech company, but that was a freelance job and because it was freelance, I didn’t know it could be a full-time job. So when we moved to Tulsa, I started a job search in a different field. I’d been doing some teaching abroad and had a marketing background, so I applied to jobs with those skill sets, sending out resumes, doing interviews. I even connected with Sally at inTulsa about jobs in those fields. And nothing was working. 

So I began to take stock. I thought, “What has worked for me is freelance writing, so maybe I’ll go that way. I’ll see if I can get a copywriting job.”

At the same time, my husband was looking for a job too, and he wanted something in Tulsa, so I put him in touch with Sally at inTulsa. Through that connection, Sally asked me how things were going for me as well. I told her I was switching gears and looking for copywriting, and she’s the one who sent me the NerdWallet posting. She offered to put me in contact with them. It sounded like such a good fit. I went through the interviews, and I was hired in about three weeks.

What was it like working with the inTulsa Talent team?

I felt like I got to know Sally and she got to know me very well. There was a lot of thought put toward what I was looking for. She kept sending me opportunities that she really felt fit my profile. She was very thoughtful and incredibly helpful.

I appreciated the care she expressed, such as the fact that she checked back in on me to ask if I got the job. Even just finding me the job was huge. I would never have found that job on my own. That was key. I want to give a big shout-out to Sally. I’m very grateful to her.

It’s interesting because my husband, Jeremy, works for Tulsa Community College’s Cyber Skills Center now, and Sally at inTulsa reffered him for the opportunity. Everyone at inTulsa who’s just raising awareness of what’s out there has been really great. We were so new to Tulsa that we didn’t have a network, but inTulsa became that local network for us. Plugging into a network that has an idea of what’s going on here was really great.

What’s a typical day in your new role like?

I’m a lead writer at NerdWallet’s personal loan team, writing articles on different ways to use personal loans and crypto loans. I’m part of a team that is totally remote.

On a typical day, I wake up and take the dog for a walk, and then check my Slack and work email to see what the day has in store, including meetings and deadlines for that day. Then I do what I call my “commute.” I walk to Topeca Coffee in downtown Tulsa, get a coffee, and then walk back home. That’s my commute now. 

And then I start my workday. The first half of my day, I put toward writing articles. I have lunch, and then the afternoons I spend checking how my recent articles have performed. Has traffic gone up? How long are people staying on the article? Have they clicked on the buttons and links? I check all of those statistics on a regular basis. In our business, we always have to take into account what people are searching for and having the right keywords in our writing to optimize SEO results.

I also meet weekly with the content team and my editor, talking about what’s going on, what we’re writing about, how we’re talking about things, being more inclusive in our writing, how we’re addressing problems. We also discuss how we’re staying on top of the user experience of readers reading our site.

After that, I usually go to the gym, check things once more and finish up my day by 5-6 p.m. The company has really great work-life balance. You’re not going to hear from anyone on Slack or email after 6 p.m. It’s really nice!

What’s the best part of your role?

I’m just so happy with this job. This is what I wanted. I love to write. I love the autonomy that comes with it. The company is fantastic, and there’s a lot of great benefits involved, with the security and stability that comes with a full-time writing job. Everyone’s willing to help out from different writing verticals. If I need help, people are always very helpful.

What are some of your favorite things to do in Tulsa?

My favorite thing to do is take my walk to the coffee shop. The Arts District is so beautiful, and the weather is so nice. Year-round, we can walk around outside. The city feels very safe. The barista at the coffee shop always has treats for my dog, and he loves that.

There are so many events going on too, like art activities which I love (I paint). The food scene is growing, and it’s fun to be part of that growth. We’re always trying to keep up with what’s new. We also like to go to the lakes and rivers, kayaking. I feel very free here. The skies are really big. The land is very open. There’s never a line here. There’s always a parking spot. Living here is so much easier in every form.

What would you tell people who are thinking about moving to Tulsa? 

If you have a remote job with a salary from the East or West Coast, you can’t do better than here. Tulsa is a manageable, warm city. Your money goes so much farther here. I feel like I’m doing things here that I never would have imagined when I lived in New York. There’s so much to do here. And you’re able to save so much here.

The affordability and openness of living here has allowed my husband and me to think about growing our family. When I lived in New York, that seemed like an impossible option. Now we feel like we can afford to grow a family.

It’s a great time to be a part of building Tulsa. If you’re looking for a little more from life than you can get in the cities and are looking to build something long-term, whether that’s a family or your personal life or starting a company, Tulsa is a great spot.