Murphy’s Law couldn’t be more true, but that doesn’t mean it won’t end well. This was definitely the case when I was trying to transition from Chicago to NYC.
My first job out of college was an assistant position at Chicago magazine. I loved my job there and the team was amazing! I interned here in NYC and had the itch to move back. My #1 goal out of college was to work at a national glossy, the one, in particular, would be GQ. A full post on why I loved that magazine in the future.
I flew to NYC every 3 months to connect with old friends and even a few informational interviews that I set up. (Just want to note that I paid for everything with my own money, hence the 3-month cadence. It took me that long to save for each trip.)
In September 2010, I landed 2 interviews in NYC. One was at Elle Decor and the other at Cooking Light magazine. I was excited about the opportunity, but I just came back from a trip to NYC a couple of weeks ago. I was broke. I couldn’t really afford another trip. Nonetheless, I booked a flight to go early morning and then come straight back later that night.
The Horror
On the morning of the interviews, I was sitting at O’Hare airport with my portfolio. This was when designers were still carrying giant, print portfolios to present their work. I remember right before the flight that I had to rush to use the restroom. When I say right before, I mean as boarding was happening. I was afraid of missing the flight and went straight in line to board.
I would say that my spirits were good. I was confident. I had great work. I updated my portfolio to show the design work I’ve been doing for the past year. I was prepared to impress! I just kept thinking that this could be my opportunity to land that job in NYC.
About 30 minutes or so before landing, I wanted to go through my portfolio. When interviewing for a design job, you have to talk about your work. I needed to make sure I did it in an eloquent manner. When I reached under my seat for my portfolio, it wasn’t there… I LEFT IT AT THE AIRPORT!!!!
Panic immediately set in. There is absolutely no way to interview for a design position unless you have a portfolio. Man oh man, I landed at LaGuardia and tried to call O’Hare to see if the portfolio was at the terminal that I left it at. Nothing. My interview wasn’t until 1 pm so I had some time to come up with something.
I came up with nothing.
Honesty Is the Best Policy
That was a hard no on all fronts. After an hour of standing at the airport like an idiot, I decided to finally get in a cab towards the Time & Life Building at Rockefeller Center. I called HR at HFMUS (Elle Decor’s parent company) to tell them that I forgot my portfolio and that I understood if they wanted to cancel the interview. I also emailed the art director at Cooking Light to explain my predicament. The only consolations I had to offer was that I had a “website.”
To my surprise, both of them said it was fine to continue with the interview. This so-called “website,” wasn’t a website at all. I didn’t know how to code HTML/CSS and the best I could do at the time was to upload a PDF to my website. Unfortunately, My PDF was from graduation a year ago. I didn’t have any new work to show, only some school projects.
Do It Scared
I couldn’t have been more ashamed to go to an interview so unprepared. As I entered the doors of Elle Decor, my stomach was turning like no other. I the production director, the photo editor, and the creative director. I went through my projects. Some were more embarrassing than others, but it seemed to go ok. The creative director was impressed with my resume, but you just never know right?
Onto the interview at Cooking Light. The art director was extremely chill, which calmed my nerves quite a bit. Again, still embarrassed about the work I had to present, but I got through it. When I met with the creative director, she went through my resume and knew my boss from my internship and my current boss. Things were looking up! Perhaps a strong recommendation would help my case?
I flew back to Chicago with some ounce of hope, but was extremely disappointed in the whole experience. When I landed at O’Hare airport, I went back to the terminal I departed from. Low and behold, my portfolio just sitting there by the window where I left it. The year is 2010. How is a random bag/package sitting at an airport the entire day undisturbed?! I grabbed it and went home. What a day!!
Although bummed out, I told myself that, at the end of the day, the only thing I lost was my expenses to go to NYC for the day. I still had a job that I loved. The silver lining is that I did land two interviews in NYC. I took that as it only a matter of time for me to actually land the job.
Conclusion
A few days after the interview, I got a call from HR at HFMUS and she extended an offer for the job at Elle Decor! Like, what?!?! After that hectic morning, how?! I was so ecstatic that I said yes, yes, yes. I didn’t even care about the salary, nor did I wait to hear back from Cooking Light. I didn’t go through what I went through to say, “no.”
Sometimes you ended up getting the job you think you’re not going to get. I’m not actually sure what convinced them that I was a great candidate. Did I hide my nerves well? Was my portfolio already strong enough from graduation? In any case, the opportunity was to move to NYC where I could grow my career in magazine publishing.
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