Ambitious and Funemployed

Stephen Colbert, I Can't Wait Around Forever

2010-03-08T09:39:00.006-06:00

In the least stalkery way possible:
Stephen, Watch Out!

Part 3 of The Colbert Conquest is coming to you tomorrow.

And if you don't take me on then, well, then I guess the next time you will see me is when I offer you a job.

The Colbert Conquest

2010-03-04T10:13:00.004-06:00

For everyone waiting on the edge of their seats, here is the story of my first handshake with Stephen Colbert:

As you have recently read, I posted a letter to Stephen Colbert letting him know that I was coming on his show, and that I was bringing him an Angry Dwarf Sandwich.

And then yesterday, I went with my cousins to The Colbert Report. After a long wait on line, we finally got into the studio, where we happened to be sitting in the first row: front and center.
This was exciting for two reasons:
1) I was sitting in the front row of The Colbert Report
2) Stephen Colbert high fives everyone in the front row as he runs out onto the set.

When Stephen came out to answer a few questions from the audience, I shot up, and I was the first person he called on. I made some jokes like I had been trying to get in touch with him to tell him I was coming, and we bantered for a few moments. I then told him I had brought him an Angry Dwarf sandwich- at which point we whipped out the sandwich and Stephen exclaimed, 'Oh it's you!?' recognizing my cousin from his local deli. He turned towards the audience and said, "It's my deli guy!" And then he makes my now mortified cousin tell everyone what is in the sandwich that makes it so awesome. He sent some guy to pick up the sandwich, and then came over to thank us for coming and shook our hands.

During the break, some guy came up to us and asked us our names. I was hoping for a shout out on the show, but instead I found out that it was just for security purposes. Obviously Stephen Colbert gets a lot of poisonous sandwiches, so they have to be careful.

At the end of the show, Stephen walks down the front row and shakes everyone's hands but he lingered by us to say, "Seriously great to see you, thanks for coming! Be seeing you later."

When it was over, I left one folded up copy of my resume on my seat. Other than that, I didn't pitch myself at all, no mention of 'Here is a sandwich, now HIRE ME', no stalking, no pestering, and the clean up people probably just threw out the folded up paper on my seat.

Still though, I shook hands with Stephen Colbert, twice. He has heard my name.

And I also followed up by sending the show the following email:

Dear Stephen Colbert,

I thoroughly enjoyed your show today! If you have read my blog, you know I want to pester you for a job. You know that I am hilarious, charming, and ambitious. You know I have papered the walls of Jon Stewart's studio with my resume. But instead, for you Stephen, sir, Mr. Colbert, I brought you the Angry Dwarf sandwich from the Watchung Deli. Don't look at it as a bribe. See it more as a gesture of kindness. And as proof that I would make a kickass hell of an assistant.

A lack of response will only convince me more that you are indeed in need of another staff member, even if it is just one in charge of being your personal sandwich maker.

Sincerely,

Ambitious and Funemployed
ambitiousandfunemployed@gmail.com

So folks, don't go away quite yet!
I have got a few more Colbert surprises for you coming up in the next week.
Stay tuned...

**Interesting fact: Stephen Colbert has two wikipedia pages. One for himself, another for his character: Stephen Colbert. Both are linked to in the above post.

The Colbert Report

2010-03-02T10:49:00.017-06:00

Dear Stephen Colbert,

I am coming to sit in the live audience of your show tomorrow. If you have read my blog, you know I want to pester you for a job. You know that I am hilarious, charming, and ambitious. You know I have papered the walls of Jon Stewart's studio with my resume. But instead, for you Stephen, sir, Mr. Colbert, I am bringing you your favorite sandwich from your favorite deli in Montclair, New Jersey. Don't look at it as a bribe. See it more as a gesture of kindness. And as proof that I would make a kickass hell of an assistant.

Sincerely,

Ambitious and Funemployed
ambitiousandfunemployed@gmail.com

He Got my Credit Cards, my License, and my Resume.

2010-01-16T17:26:00.008-06:00

Sometimes I see myself the way I worry that others might see me: cliché. In some ways I am Coyote Ugly. The tragic story of the young Midwestern girl moving to the big bad city to be discovered and realize her dream as a superstar. Only in my dream, is just a successful woman in the television industry. Maybe someone who gets tickets to the Golden Globe awards. Maybe someone who eventually presents an award? But lets not get ahead of ourselves. For now, just a successful woman in the television industry would be fine. And I don’t expect to get there overnight. I expect to earn it. But that is for another post.
Lets go back to that cliché.
On Thanksgiving this past year, I decided to stay in New York, and experience one of the greatest days New York City has offer. I went to a Balloon Party, where I got to watch people blowing up the balloons for the Macy’s day parade. (I saw Mariska Hargitay there, and our exchange of ‘Happy Holidays’ was super exciting too.)
I woke up early that Thursday morning to get breakfast with friends, and the walk along the parade from the Upper West Side all the way down to Times Square.

I then rushed back to my apartment to pick up my overnight bag and take the 1 train up to Riverdale, where I was catching a ride to Thanksgiving dinner.
I stood on the platform waiting for the train to arrive, impatiently looking between my watch and down the seemingly endless black tunnel. Finally, the growing light indicated that a train was arriving.
The doors opened and I politely stepped aside to allow other people to exit. Then, as I myself was about to step on to the train, some guy cut in front of me, entered the train, and then just stood there, looking confused. I waited, standing now right in between the doors, waiting for him to step aside and let me through. Finally, as the doors began to close, he jumped off of the train at the last second, allowing me to move into the train car just before it pulled away. As I then put my bag on my lap, I realized that it had been opened, and my stuff had been taken.
Within seconds I realized what had happened. I asked the guy next to me if someone else had been standing behind me, 'waiting to get on' while the whole 3 second occurrence took place. He said yes, but then he decided not to get on at the last second. He too then understood what had happened.
Two guys had basically sandwiched me between the doors, quickly opened my bag and took things, including my wallet, and then jumped off the train, leaving me headed to the next station, sans wallet, and without reception. Lucky for me, I have Verizon, and while I think their customer service is terrible (I actually HATE them) I can't seem to make good on my threats to leave them because they have the best service around. So from the subway, I canceled my credit cards, and began fuming that I had just been mugged, at 1pm, on Thanksgiving Day.

Oh, and of course, my resume is tucked away inside my wallet. You think he's got good contacts in the entertainment industry? You think he'll bother to pass it along?

Because I Actually Do Have A Bucket List. Typed Up In A Word Document.

2010-01-10T17:22:00.009-06:00

Now, even before the movie The Bucket List came out, I have had a list of my own that I just call ‘Things I Want To Do Before I Die’. Doesn’t sound as good I know, but if Morgan Freeman had uttered it in a soothing voice on thousands of the big screen you might feel differently.
Get a drink named after me. Check.
Go skydiving. Check.
Go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Check.
Be in People Magazine. _____

Now, there are way more things besides being in People that I haven’t yet accomplished (see a Blue Whale, see a man eating clam- I swear, my AP Bio teacher said they exist) but that is the one we are going to focus on today.
You see, just before I started this blog, something else hit the web and exploded! Bigger than Charlie Bit Me and bigger than FML. Why bigger? Who is the judge? Because this thing that hit every computer screen somewhere, got written up in the next issue of People Magazine. (It has since then even been incorporated into my favorite TV show (spoiler alert for those of you who still haven’t caught up on this season), The Office.
So congratulations Kevin and Jill, you have hit that goal before me. Congratulations on your wedding too. And on being in People magazine. Oh ya, and for trying to turn a brief youtube phenomenon into a charity organization.

So what does this have to do with my blog, my job search, or me?

Not much, other than I too had a good 5 seconds of fame (this definitely didn’t count as part of my 15 minutes) recently, and I just wanted to share it with you all.
A few nights ago, a more than an acquaintance, not quite a good friend, (lets call her a ‘friendly’), started chatting to me about my life. She opened with, “I have been thinking about you all week.”
Really? I asked. Why?
“Earlier this week, a friend of mine in the CBS Page Program sent me a blog to read saying ‘this person writes my life’. So then I started reading it and I just wanted to share it with you, because it is hilarious, all of my friends read it now, and I feel like it is your life too!”

Well now I am intrigued! What is this blog?

The friendly laughs. She says, “Its called ambitious and funemployed.”
Before she finishes my jaw has unhinged and is resting on the floor. But within a split second, I think I am shrieking. I hope I wasn’t, because I can get very high-pitched, but I think my still ringing ears would attest- there was shrieking.
Did I start this blog with the intentions of being famous? No.
Do I think that because one group of post-college grads found it on the internet and now read it that I am famous? No.
Does this in any way accomplish my goal of getting into People magazine? No.
Am I still loving the fact that someone unknowingly recommended that I read my own work? Hell yes!

So, What Have You Got to Show For Yourself Young Lady?

2010-01-03T09:05:00.007-06:00

In the last twelve months, I have:

Received my Bachelors Degree
Learned to make coffee
Memorized the the excel spreadsheet shortcut handbook
Perfected the art of changing in and out of my interview suit in Banana Republic dressing rooms
Completed a senior Capstone Thesis Project
Accumulated enough twitter accounts for promotional sites at internships to donate to the people in Oklahoma city who still don't have twitter
Had business cards made. 5 free ones. They sit on my dresser.
Had my fair share of celebrity encounters
Moved to New York City
Applied and re-applied to the NBC Page Program
Probably got blacklisted from The Daily Show (I have tickets to see Jon Stewart as well as tickets to The Colbert Report this upcoming March, so stay tuned...)
Started attending shows at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre
Made some sort of impression on the CBS Page Program
Realized I know very little about sports...
Yet also went to my first Rangers game.
Hopefully maintained a positive attitude
Devoted more unpaid internship hours than most people do in a lifetime
Dealt with absent minded creative supervisors, and overly anal OCD supervisors
Sent out a lot of resumes and applications
Met a ton of extraordinary people. Nice, extraordinary people.

Bring it on 2010! Hit me with your best shot.

I am Considering Adding the Word ‘Kickass’ into my Cover Letter

2009-12-27T23:34:00.018-06:00

You know, just to mix it up a little.
I am often (well, I was once) described as hilarious, charming, and ambitious. I have since included those three words in my cover letter.
Well, not in my regular cover letter.

That’s right folks, when you job search this much- you have way more than just one cover letter. The cover letter that includes that description of me, is the one I would send to places that I hope would appreciate it. The Onion, College Humor, Comedy Central, etc. Just trying to set myself apart from all of the other over-qualified candidates searching in my field.
Because I am unique. I have done things that no one else has done. Ok, not no one else. But it puts me in a smaller minority of people. Have you been skydiving and bunjy jumping in the same day? What about buying a pumpkin for the mere thrill of throwing it off the roof of a very tall building? What about trying out for the Charmin Toilet Paper Ambassador Program this holiday season?

What’s that? Now I have your attention? Really? Sky diving and bunjy jumping weren’t enough? What is the Charmin Toilet Paper Program???

Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, they open up Charmin bathrooms in Times Square. They choose 5 lucky people to man these bathrooms by clapping for the frequenters, cheering on the go-ers, and blogging about their experience Enjoying The Go.
So a friend a I lined up for a few hours in the blustering cold, and prepared a 2 minute medley to perform and prove why we would make the perfect ambassadors for Charmin. For 10,000$ - tell me you wouldn't do the same.

You have to go!
He has to go!
She has to go!
We have to gooooooooo
O my tummy is feeling frightful
But Charmin is so delightful
And since we really have to go
Let it flow
Let it flow
Let if floooooooooooooow
O Charmin Charmin Charmin
Your ends they never fray
Your always soft and ready
To wipe my ____ awayyyyyyy
We wish you a Merry Wiping
We wish you a Merry Wiping
We wish you a Merry Wiping
And a Charmin filled year!

And you didn’t even see the dance that went with this. So yea, I’m pretty unique. And I’ll do almost anything (like sing and dance about toilet paper) to get a job.
I think I am going to add Kickass to my cover letter.

How Far Would YOU Go?

2009-12-18T08:48:00.003-06:00

I have easily just wasted the past two hours of my life. And by the time I am done with the wasting of time, it will probably be closer to three hours.

I got a call from one of my internships early this afternoon saying, "We could really use some extra help this week." Being as I had already given away all of my daytime hours, I said that I could come into the office in the evenings if they needed help. "Yes please, that would be great!"
And that is how I found myself sitting here in the office at 8:30pm on a Wednesday evening with absolutely nothing to do.

The thing about interning is, often you really are disposable. People you are working for feel overwhelmed, and so they call in the extra help. But then, they have actually nothing for you to do except watch them feel stressed.

So that is how I found myself this Wednesday evening, playing on my computer wishing for a project to do until 10 O'clock at night when I finally thought to myself:
"Have I no self respect?"

I am wasting hours of my life, trying to help someone out for free. They have nothing for me to do. And I am sitting here wasting time on my computer, looking for free tickets to things and losing myself in the vastness of youtube.

Things I am: productive and efficient.
At home I could be watching this youtube clip in my pajamas. Here I have to smile and pretend like I want to be here, feeling helpless.
Things I do not like to be: unproductive and inefficient.

So I went home. The entire process took four hours. I did nothing but refresh my gmail.
All I wanted to do was help.

Destined for Greatness

2009-12-10T23:08:00.003-06:00

Some People Just Know They Were Destined For Greatness!
Ok…..
Maybe everybody knows that.
Maybe everyone’s parents indoctrinate their children with the phrase ‘ you can be anything you want to be’ enough that each one us truly believes that we are the future of the world.
But I truly believe that in 30 years, everyone I met during this limbo stage of life is going to be kicking themselves for not working with me sooner and becoming ‘the next big thing’.
And if I’m wrong?
Well, I guess we’ll be blaming my parents.

Is there a college degree that can prepare you for this?

2009-12-06T13:09:00.010-06:00

So, I’m about to let you all in on a big secret in my life. I don’t know how to make coffee. I don’t drink it, and I have no idea how to make it. Beans? Filters? Instant? Cream? Milk? Half and Half? I don’t know what’s what. And it all my years of interning (and I’m about to start #7) I have never had to make coffee. I’ve gotten coffee. I’ve written the orders down with all the specifics spelled out for me, I picked up from diners and Starbucks or brought it up from the lobby. I’ve even gone to the kitchen and filled a mug from the giant thermos thing that keeps the coffee hot. But I have never made a pot of coffee.

A few weeks ago, I brought in the guest to the studio, and as usual, I asked, “What can I get you? Water? Coffee? Tea?” And as is most common, I got “Coffee would be great.” So I went into the control room to fill a mug of coffee and I find that the giant thermos thing is out; it just makes a spluttering noise and releases a few drips. Not a problem, Ive gotten out of this mess before. I take the thermos into the kitchen, where there are three other thermos’s ready for taking, and I open them up to pour their coffee into my thermos. To my dismay, the gods of stealing coffee were against me that day, and every thermos was empty. I even went to another floor: no coffee.

And such began my disastrous first attempt at making coffee.

I though, OK, I can do this. It cant be that hard.
I should have known by the sheer amount of time it took me to remove the part that holds the filter that I should just ask someone for help. But I am 23 years old, and I should know how to brew (is it brew?) a pot of coffee at this point in my life. So I dumped out the old filter with its wet caked coffee, and I put a new white doily like filter in. Then I found the drawer with the coffee in it, opened up a bag, and started to shake some in. Here is where I encountered my first dilemma. How much? I guessed just enough to cover the bottom of the filter (for future reference, I discovered that for the team I work with, I should be using 1.5 bags of coffee per thermos). I couldn’t find anything else to do, so I put the thermos underneath and pressed the only thing that looked like a start button. The machine began to gurgle, but nothing was coming out. So I found a flap on top, and used a Styrofoam cup to start pouring in some water. (Mistake.) Waited some more, but nothing seemed to be coming out. Added more water.
Suddenly, coffee began to dribble out into the thermos! Yes! Success! I watched it pour into the thermos and I was feeling pretty smug. Then I realized that the coffee showed no sign of slowing down, but the thermos was just about full. But I held off doing anything about it. I thought, it must go to the top and then stop. It didn't. It just kept going. I grabbed another thermos and shoved it under the still spewing coffee machine. But it still wasn't slowing down. Now my hands are burnt, I am splattered with coffee, and I am pressing every button I can find until I finally follow the cord and unplug the damn thing. Didn't help. Coffee kept coming.
I filled another 4 cups before the coffee finally stopped flowing.

Well, now I had no idea what to do.

I obviously had to ask for help. 'Why didn't I just ask in the first place?!'
Just as I am mopping up the counter wondering if the guest I promised a cup of joe to has forgotten about it, someone walks into the kitchen. I give him an exasperated look that clearly says, Do you know how to work this machine?'
He takes a peek around, and says, "I have no idea how to work anything. I'll get the person who does." A few minutes later, a friendly employee walked in. She smiled and said, this machine is very temperamental, and then proceeded to walk me through the process with that particular coffee maker.

In my own defense, the coffee pot actually does make a thermos and an extra cupful at a time. So even if I had known exactly what I was doing, without fair warning, there still would have been an overflowing mess.

Cocky vs Confident

2009-12-01T23:18:00.004-06:00

If there was something you could say in an interview to guarantee you getting the position, you would say it.
Everyone would!
But aside from ‘I will work for free’, what is that thing that is going to make that treacherous interview process a ‘no-brainer’?
Obviously we shouldn’t be giving out this secret phrase to just any old Joe off the street, but (and here is where I shamelessly promote myself) I have a college degree, I did well in school, studied abroad, created my own major, have more than 10 quality internships, I network, I'm responsible, and I'm obviously driven. I have got my shit together. So why do I still not hold the key to that secret phrase all interviewers want to hear?
What do you want to hear from a potential future employee? What can they do to set them apart in a positive light? What makes people say: Lets hire her.
I know there has got to be some one word that everyone wants to hear. I don’t think I'm a bad interviewer, but I am concerned about the whole idea of cocky vs confident. People say, ‘you have to sell yourself in an interview!’. Well, I think I am a good deal! But I also hear that interviewers are turned off by people who think they can do it all.
Let me tell you, future interviewers out there, I have the ability to complete any task. Because if I can’t figure it out, I will ask. I am resourceful, and I know my boundaries. But I will give it my all.
There.
Is that what you want to hear?

**If you watch this video below, please laugh. Who spends the time to make these?**

Thoughts on Child Labor? Keep them to yourself.

2009-11-28T16:53:00.007-06:00

Two days ago as I was walking to the building where I babysit (hey, an intern still has make a living), I saw a whole row of giant trucks parked along the street. Before my brain even processed what that meant, my adrenaline started pumping and I started walking faster. An open truck revealed those pieces of lighting equipment that I have come to know so well. Some further investigation netted me the name: Damages. Glenn Close was filming on the block. And by the sheer number of trucks, trailers, and crew members milling about, I knew they weren’t just shooting B-Roll. This was the real thing. I got out 3 copies of my resume…. And well, you have read enough of these stories by now that it’s not even funny or exciting anymore. Woo Hoo, she gave out her resume another 15 times.

WRONG.

This time, resumes in hand, I began walking towards the first important looking person that I saw (not Glenn Close). And then, I froze. My heart just wasn’t in it. What was I going to do? Smile, make some joke, and try to give the guy my resume in the hopes that he will pass it on to someone who might actually follow up with me? That dream is fading. And I have already had this experience more than a few times, so I cant even do it for the good story anymore.
Instead, I had to come up with a new plan.
I continued to the apartment where my little Jack and Jill (names have obviously been changed) were waiting for me to entertain them on such a cold wintry day. And it was there that I hatched my new plan. Something worth re-telling, even if it doesn’t provide me with a check in the empty employed box next to my name.
I took out a handful of resumes from my backpack, and also a stack of Post It’s that I also carry around with me. (I don’t think there is any good reason why I do that.) Together with J & J, we made tons of Post It’s saying things like:

Hire my nanny so I can spend more time with my mom.
My babysitter would rather work for you for free than get paid another hour to watch me.
My babysitter would rather be a PA.
I’ll miss my nanny if you take her away, but my loss is your gain.
Hire my Babysitter!
My nanny will intern for free!

Then we folded up some resumes, put Post It’s on each of them, and ventured outside into the midst of ‘Damages’.
We walked out onto the blocked off street with a purpose. We passed out resumes to various members of the production crew, and then I steered the kids back inside.
Will it work? Probably not.
Did someone get a laugh? I hope so.
Does it make for a unique story? I would venture a yes.

Super Freaky

2009-11-23T10:45:00.004-06:00

The life of an intern is neither profitable nor glamorous, but I can’t deny that there are perks when you least expect them. For example: the car service that picks you up at 5am. Your internship pays for it because they want to be sure you make it in on time for the 6am radio show. They don’t tell you its because they are worried you will oversleep. Instead, they make it sound like they are doing you a huge favor, and are concerned for your safety; they don’t want you to risk the dangerous subways and streets of New York at such an ungodly hour.
Better though, is when you show up at the internship, its 5:20am, and you find that instead of the boring morning of coffee making that you groaned about when you pressed snooze on your alarm, that someone exciting is going to be in the studio that morning.
For example, recently as I prepared to pinch myself awake for 4 straight hours, I found that my first job of the morning was to pick up Stephen Dubner.
Stephen Dubner? Yes, you are dumb. You should know who he is. But in case the symbol of a sliced open Apple/Orange doesn’t jog your memory, I will inform you. Stephen Dubner is one of the co-authors of Freakanomics.
I guess the reason that I in particular was super excited about this, is that for a class back in my freshman year of college, I had to write a letter (I forget the assignment exactly) to someone who had had an article published. And I decided to write to Stephen and Steven, the co-authors of Freakanomics. And now I got a chance to talk to the man himself. And he was exactly what one would expect. Flyaway hair, thick rimmed glasses, and forever concerned that his thermos full of coffee was going to spill on his MacBook.
I chatted with him for a bit, and mentioned what an honor it was to meet him, as I had actually once wrote him a letter. He looked at me concerned and said, “Did I not write you back!?” I explained how I had not actually sent the letter, but rather, I just wrote it for an assignment. To which he responded that I should of course send it to him.
At this point in my life I think the letter is a bit silly (especially being as their second book just came out, and they went with an exploding fruit for the cover art) but here goes:

Dear the guys who wrote Freakanomics,

I read your book. I like the way you think. Out of all the statements and all the theories, I like your conclusions on the correlations between legalizing abortion and the drop in crime. For those of you who haven’t read the book, forgive me Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, as I butcher your intelligence in a one-line explanation. In the 1970’s, abortion became legalized; and about 16 years later, when all of those unwanted fetuses would have reached the age to become criminals (potentially a reflection of poor parenting from the resentful people who raised them) the crime rate dropped. Coincidence? Maybe. But also- maybe not. I marveled at the gall of such a statement to a nameless friend of mine. His response? That is just a theory; there is no way to test it. Hmmm, am I stupid or something? It’s impossible to test a theory? I pointed this out and we established that the only way to test this theory would be as follows. Step 1: Find a country with a highish crime rate where abortion is illegal. Step 2: Legalize abortion. Step 3: Wait until that year of fetuses hits the age where they would become criminals. Step 4: Observe if the crime rate goes down.

So Stephen, Steven, keep yours ears peeled for a country that you could influence. Test this out. I promise to promote your next book. And I can guarantee that I will buy it. I can’t guarantee that other people will, but I have a theory that another book will do almost as well as the first. Oh, and one last thing! I’ve been thinking about what two fruits would work as your cover art. Besides for an orange, which you already used, there are not many other fruits that distinguishable on the inside. The one I came up with? A watermelon. If on your next book cover you had the shell of a pineapple, with the inner slice revealing watermelon, I think it would be a huge success. I’m going to copyright the image, but for you guys who did me such a favor by testing out the abortion theory in some third world country, I would let you guys use it for free.

Thanks.

I guess the cool thing about all of this, is that I actually got to meet someone that I wrote a hypothetical letter to in a class. How many interns luck out like that?

There is Desperate..... and then there is Too Desperate

2009-11-19T16:52:00.005-06:00

This ad was posted on the TV/FILM/RADIO section of craigslist with the title:
Tickling for $150/hr

Now, I was just curious- no way interested- just curious to see what the author of the posting might say to convince someone to contact him- so I clicked on the link.

But after reading the post, I was still not reassured. I mean, who responds to these postings?

These ads appear on craigslist all the time.
I'm just curious to know if anyone responds to them.

Why howling at the moon probably won’t get you a job.

2009-11-13T12:03:00.006-06:00

This is a story probably unlike one you have ever heard before. And it starts on a typical Tuesday morning. During my internship interview week, I raced about the city taking full advantage of my 30 day unlimited metro card. During that time, I had a few unusual experiences, met a few unusual people, and leaned about a few unusual places to work. But there is one in particular that stands out.
I entered the production company in SoHo whose name I will keep to myself. The whole building was filled with the air of ‘we are hipsters who have money- and we shop at Urban Outfitters’. Still though, those people are cool, and so I was pleased with my surroundings as I sat down in the waiting room after giving the receptionist my name. Once again, I was the first person being interviewed for the position. But this time, I don’t think that had any effect on my getting the job. After a few minutes of waiting, and eavesdropping on the conversations happening all in around me in the office, I surmised that this was the type of place where coworkers are friends- meaning, they all clearly hang out together after work. I’m all for that. Don’t necessarily need it, but hey, creates a great work environment. Finally, I was called in to meet with the head of the production department in a glass conference room in the back of the lobby.
I wish I could draw an actual diagram for you right now, but I guess you will have to use your imaginations.
There were three glass walls to the conference room, and the fourth wall was the exterior wall- it had windows in it looking out onto the street. I sat facing the window, with the glass wall behind me, and behind that- the lobby of the office. My interviewer sat with her back to the window, looking at me and through the glass walls into the lobby behind me.
She started off the interview with the usual going through my resume and explaining the details of the company and the specifics of the position I was applying for. It was when the conversation gets interesting and we talk a little bit about me and how I ended up in her office, that her attention began to drift. I noticed that she was no longer looking at me, but taking long glances over my shoulder until finally, she smiled, waved, and then turned her attention back to me and apologized. She explained that some of her subordinates realized re was interviewing someone new, and were trying to make her laugh by making faces through the glass wall behind me. I chuckled and we laughed about having a fun office and company pranks and the like.
I then continued my spiel about why I was uniquely the perfect person for the job and I realized that I had lost her again. But this time, it was not discreet. She suddenly yelped, squealed with laughter, and ran by my left shoulder out the glass doors and started chasing another mid-30s man around the receptionist’s area beating on him with my rolled up resume.
After another few laps around the reception desk, she panted back into the room laughing. She said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, so unprofessional, but well, he just mooned me!” Then it got better. “I was totally in control of myself and ignoring it but then he started doing squats against the glass wall and well, I lost it.”
I went with it. I laughed, showing that I was cool with public nudity, and was totally in for being fun and absurd among office friends. But I had lost her attention completely. So even though I sent her a thank you note making light of the mooning incident, I think that either she was too embarrassed by the episode to actually hire me, or she couldn’t remember anything about me because the image of some man’s hairy buttocks was branded onto her brain.

When It Rains It Pours

2009-11-08T01:57:00.005-06:00

About every two months I get a whole slew of emails offering me interviews. I don’t know why it happens in a cycle, but it always does. I wont hear a word from a single company, not a single positive response and usually not a single response at all. Then suddenly in the same week, I’ll get seven emails offering me interviews.
And so the rush begins again! The interview suit comes out, resumes get reprinted by the dozens, and if it were possible, I start getting even less sleep.
To me, interviewing is like craigslist, and craigslist is like a blind date. You absolutely never know who or what you might find on the other side of the door. And any one of those experiences could change your life forever.
Whether the interview be a 15 minute meet and greet, or an hour of resume nit picking, for that time you get a glimpse into the other side of your situation. The employed side. And you get caught up in the moment! You even start to feel important just to be interviewing for these intern positions. And why shouldn’t you? These interviewers are making a sales pitch to you (obviously because they want you to work for free) and trying to convince you that you should be honored to be considered for such an exciting time at their company. And then you get excited, and start selling yourself to them. Here is my resume! Here is what I can do for you!
I guess I am what they call lucky, in that I have actually been offered a variety of internships, and I usually get to choose where I want to devote my hardworking free time to. However, it is a harder decision than it seems. Each of these companies is probably excellent, and sometimes, when you are working for free, it all boils down to convenience. Which office is closest to the train? Which company has the best hours for my schedule? But personally, I think the most important question to weigh is: which company is going to give me the best connections? Which is the one I’ll be able to look back and say, if I hadn’t done that I never would have met _____ which eventually led me to ______ which eventually introduced me to the position I end up finding my self in…. successfully. Sometimes, I think I choose wrong. Other times, its easy to remember why I made the decision I did. But mostly, I can easily see where my first impressions of a place are skewed. It’s easy to get caught up in an interview when the interviewer is presenting their internship as the stepping-stone to your future. But it’s hard to remember how this internship is helping your future when you are making copies and getting coffee.

And so it begins! Let the runaround continue!

Bob, let's see what's behind Door Number 3!

Into The Wild, There Goes Another Resume

2009-11-05T16:42:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I gave out my resume, not to a celebrity, not to a reporter, not to an awesome job contact. Yesterday I gave out my resume to a guy on the street. During my wild promoting for a film at my current internship, I got stopped in Union Square by one of the many of flyer wielding carnivores. When he realized that I was not a potential customer but rather someone who was soon going to be fighting for the same 10 square foot area of sidewalk battlefield, he introduced himself, and we began to chat. Over the next few hours, I learned that Rob (*names have been changed) made a huge amount of moolah from just handing out fliers. Rob, an aspiring actor, is also of course involved somewhat in the film industry. And by that I mean, makes mini documentaries with no budget to speak of, but just because he is an arts person, and no money no matter.
While him having my resume in no way gets me closer to getting me a job, I met someone cool on the street, and now will potentially be a production assistant for one of his films some random Sunday in Brooklyn. By the time that happens though and I get to put it on my resume, I hope I will have better information for him instead of ‘guy on the street’.

It's Like I'm Running The New York Marathon

2009-10-27T11:29:00.006-06:00

Today, an idea was brought to my attention, so I am going to share it with all of you.

Instead of thinking of it as chasing down a job, think of it as a RACE!
A race to see who hires you first.

That way, no matter what, in the end- you win.
Also, even though its you who is still sending out resumes, thinking of yourself as the prize instead of the stalker is way more exhilarating.

How Wrong Is It To Apply For Internships While You Are At An Internship?

2009-10-21T09:04:00.003-06:00

Now, you may have been following me for a while as I search for a job that will make me proud to attend Career Day at the local middle school, or you may have just joined me. But one thing you should realize as you follow my futile attempts at getting a job in this economy, is that I have not been spending my days bemoaning my failure at life. Instead, I want you all to know, that in this interim time between college and first job, I am keeping myself extraordinarily busy. In addition to my three babysitting jobs, and my 3 hours a week freelancing at CBS Sports (that I hopefully start next week) I have four different internships that I am devoting 40 unpaid hours a week towards.
One of these internships is at a production company in midtown Manhattan, in a building that makes me feel important when I walk in 4 days a week. I don’t want to lie- there is something exciting about taking an elevator up to the 20th floor surrounded by important people in suits even when I can wear nice jeans and a sweater to work. At this internship, I am in charge of online promoting for an independent film. I work closely with the Writer/Director/Producer and Associate Producer to make sure we get the word out about the film in order to (as they say) ‘put asses in seats’.
And since I have been posting and blogging and tweeting for their company, the website hits for their film have gone waaaayyyyy up. So yay! I’m doing something well!
But I have realized at this point that in less than a month when the film opens, I will have no more reason to stay at this internship, although I am sure they would be happy to have the free help stay on. So even though I am busy as a bee for the next few weeks, I am already lining things up and applying for my next set of internships. Still assuming, at this point, that a job doesn’t magically work out instead.

It's a Mad Mad World

2009-10-13T11:04:00.006-06:00

Yesterday I saw the one of the guys from Mad Men.

I have since decided that I am going to start watching Mad Men, so I can be retroactively excited about seeing one of the actors on the street.
Oh, and what does this have to do with my job search?
Nothing really, because by the time I reacted, he was too far away for me to run over and give him a copy of my resume.

All in a Days Search For Work

2009-10-11T19:52:00.007-06:00

Some weeks are posting weeks, some are emailing weeks, some are faxing weeks, and others are mailing weeks.
Last week- was a mailing week.
As I am sure you have surmised from glancing through my blog, I have been searching the world wide web, the yellow pages, and any Rolodex I can get my hands on trying to get my resume in the hands of that one special yet still unknown person who is going to offer me a job.
Every few months or so, I acquire enough address to prompt me to send out a mass mailing. This isn’t the type of mailing where you BCC your contact list and send them some annoying message. I never do that. This is when I have saved enough headers, footers, and signatures from different emails that I have received and now have the mailing addresses of some places that I would like to work.
I also then searched production companies, and use my powers (cross referencing with the yellow pages, google, and each companies personal website) to get the mailing address for each of them. Then I’ve searched in wikipedia ‘shows that film in New York’. I play around with the wording a little. ‘Reality shows filming in NYC’. ‘Current television shows New York’. ‘Soap Operas New York City’. I then google and google, opening hundreds of new tabs, skimming each link for what those wizards over at the googleplex might have thought would be useful for me. Gleaning whatever information I can to track down some contact information for any show I can find.
In the end of all of this, I usually come up with about 40 to 60 names and addresses that I can send my information to. It may not be worth the stamps, but the hope is that someone is more likely to open a piece of mail and be forced to glance through my resume rather than discarding my email with an unopened resume attachment.

If At First You Don't Succeed, Do Something Else While You Keep On Trying

2009-09-24T20:29:00.007-06:00

For those readers who doubt me ever making it in my chosen career, here’s something that might make you feel better about yourself. After all, some do find pleasure in others failures. I do have a Plan B. And after that, I have a plan C. Plan B isn’t too exciting at the moment, so lets move on to Plan C.
If it's true, at least for this year, that I am not destined to get a job alongside any famous TV Star, or even have the privilege of getting coffee for a brilliant and broke small time producer, I would like to work at Banana Republic.
But for those readers who are suddenly eyeing me as a sellout, let me reassure you that I have been going about this Plan C search in the same way I am going about Plan A. Driven.
A few months back when I was visiting New York, on a day that I had no interviews scheduled, I put on my best Banana Republic dress, and hit the streets. In my workbag, I had a portfolio of 20 copies of my resume, and 20 Banana Republic applications, filled out and ready to go. And I started shopping.
At every store I immediately asked for the manager and explained that I was looking to work at their company. After being told that they have a website to where I can submit my information online, I reassure them that I have already submitted, but I have a personal copy I wanted to deliver myself. Now, while some floor managers are just confused with a ‘What am I supposed to do with this paper now?’ look on their faces, others are impressed, and immediately begin glancing through my credentials.
So what is the point of this story?
The point is, to all of you potential employers out there, that all of my other tricks to fight my way into the door have not just been ways of sucking up to get a job in the entertainment industry. Instead, no matter the task, I will put forth 150%. While it may not be a dream career move to work in the interim time at Banana Republic, their clothes fit me perfectly and I’ll get to use my discount to start creating the working women’s wardrobe for when I do finally land that contract job.
Plus, there is always the hope that it will help pay the rent for my apartment in New York City.

Linked In.......To What?

2009-09-22T22:07:00.004-06:00

How is LinkedIn supposed to help you get a job?

My friends and I signed up for LinkedIn when we realized that we were entering the professional world, or so we hoped. But after 'friending' all of the people we already knew personally, and the few people we met at our internships that we felt comfortable enough 'join networks' with, we were done.

So I've been asking around. Basically here is what I have surmised. You stalk famous people on LinkedIn. Not famous like the cover of People magazine. More like, the CEO of your dream company. Then, you see if you have any connections, no matter how far they are, and you ask to be introduced. How weird is that?

As far as my experience with LinkedIn goes, I know I am not utilizing it in the right way. I don't think checking the LinkedIn profiles of people I am looking to buy things off craigslist to make sure they are not sketchy classifies as appropriate LinkedIn usage. But I want to use it. I want to be a success story. I can see the headline (of my next blog post) now: Job Seeker Finally Landing Career Through LinkedIn.

If you or someone you know will be in the online area in the next week, and have gotten a job because of your LinkedIn account, we want to hear from you! Please write in!!!

CBS Sports: You haven’t heard the last of them!

2009-09-17T08:19:00.007-06:00

So nothing came from my first interview with CBS Sports. We said hello, we said goodbye, and we left things open for the future.
But remembering back to the way I first landed that interview at CBS Sports, (the aunt’s friend’s neighbor who works there and sent out my resume to his colleagues?) and we realize that while I thought I had used up the connection, really those forwards that he sent out were still circulating through West 57th street.

About a month after the bittersweet ending with the first guy from CBS Sports, and the day after I still hadn’t heard from Letterman, I once again got a call from an unknown number. This time, on the other end of the line, was a researcher from CBS Sports calling to schedule an interview with me for a position opening in the fall. Knowing that CBS Sports and I probably aren’t destined to be soul mates, I didn’t rearrange my travel plans to fly in to New York for the 25 minute interview. Instead, I scheduled a phone interview. And again, like all the others, it went great. Well, mostly great. We spent over 45 minutes on the phone (which is a helluva lot of time considering it was an international call) and I could tell he liked me for the position. Just as we were saying our goodbyes with the ‘we should definitely be in touch next week’, he hit me with, ‘Oh, one more thing.”
“Sure,” I said, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice.
“Did you watch the Superbowl last year?” he asked.
“Yes of course,” I answered, leaving out that it was only for the commercials.
“Who won?” he shot at me.
Well, I froze. I'm sure that somewhere in my head I knew the answer, but at that moment, I got nothing. So I told him what I did know.
"Well," I said, "In 2008 the Giants won."
"Yes, but what about 2009?"
I blanked.
Then I got drilled on sports trivia for the next 6 minutes. Which is a long time when you don't know who the UMD basketball coach is, or the names of all of the American players going to the US Open, or who won the World Series in 1999.
Finally, the questioning ended. But I couldn't just let him hang up with that weak last impression of me. So I said, "Listen, I have not spent the past years of my life filling my head with sports trivia. I was in college, and I spent my brainpower on other things. But if given this opportunity at CBS Sports, I know I am capable of learning all of this information. If this was my job, I would do it right. If given the chance to immerse in this culture, I would absorb everything."
He told me not to worry about it, and less than confident, I hung up.
About 3 weeks later I received a call from him, telling me that the position had been filled. Shocking. However, they still needed help and I had left an impression on him, therefore he would like to offer me a chance to freelance for CBS Sports during the NFL Season.

So yay! Woo Hoo! But working three hours on a Sunday afternoon is no incentive to give up on the rest of my job search.

The Search for The Mystery Man

2009-09-16T16:13:00.003-06:00

In December of 2007, I was visiting friends up in Boston. And yes, I did say ‘December’ and ‘Boston’ in the same sentence, so all of you from the New England area can predict what I am going to say next.
Snow.
After a lovely weekend visiting friends, I trudged through the snow to the train station, to catch the train to the airport. I chose a bench, dropped my bag, and sat down to huddle and wait for the welcome ‘chuga chuga’ sound.
15 feet away sat another guy, clearly in the same predicament. Small rolling suitcase, oversize gym bag with luggage tags on it, and a backpack perched on his knees.
The train was scheduled to arrive in 7 minutes.
7 + 25 minutes later, and still no train. Both of us checking our watches, checking our phones, looking down the tracks trying to decide what to do. On one stroll to the end of the platform, I noticed a small sign with the phone number for the train company, suggesting calling if there were any problems. A few frostbitten fingers and some catchy hold music later, I found out the train was stuck because of the snow, and couldn’t be expected to arrive at the station for at least another 45 minutes. As I hung up, the guy walked by me heading out of the station muttering, ‘this is ridiculous’ as he passed. I told him about the phone call and he said he was going to try for a cab- he had to catch a plane.
Lucky for me. Within a few moments we were sharing a 45-minute cab ride to the airport.
But my luck wasn’t over for the day, and that’s where the relevance of this story kicks in.
We were both so relieved at the situation that we became fast friends, talked enough to discover a few mutual friends, and continued our companionship while waiting at the terminal.
And before we shook hands and continued on our separate ways, I learned his name, where he was from, that he had been visiting his girlfriend at school, that his sister’s boyfriend was good friends with the friend I had been visiting, that he started the satirical newspaper at his university, and that there were a group of them from the paper that were all working for The Onion’s video department.
As a first semester junior, I was not yet carrying my resume with me like a security blanket, but we made the connection with our career interests, and he casually recommended that I should get in touch with him once I graduate.
That was almost two years ago.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, when I was at a wedding, sitting with a group of people who went to school in Boston. After sharing some stories of my job search, I suddenly had another light bulb flash over my head!
However, it had been a long time, and I had never done even the facebook follow up with this guy, so some of the details escaped me. But I had to try. Soon, we were all on a mission to find the name of the mystery man from the ride to the Boston Airport.
A few hours later, with many yearbook pages turned and tossed aside, we finally came up with a name. The name of the guy that his sister was dating. A few days later, one of the friends I had made at the wedding got an email from another friend (I know it’s confusing! Just try and bear with me!) telling her that the sister and now husband had just had a baby. So now we had the sisters name. And once we had that, we figured out his name. It took a few more calls, but this week, I finally got his email address.
So now I am deliberating. After all that, I now have a way to contact the mystery name from the cab right who used to work for The Onion. Is that good enough to follow up with my resume and see if he can help me?
My answer: Yes.
It’s just going to take me a day or two to compose an email that doesn’t make me sound like a creeper and gently remind him who I am. Then who knows? Worst-case scenario: restraining order.