Disclaimer: this post is NOT sponsored by the UNL CoJMC NYC Media Tour, but it probably should be.
A few days ago, a group of j-school students came to my office, where I talked about what life is like at a media agency, how to get an internship and most importantly, where to find the best bagels in the city.
When Kelli, one of my favorite professors, reached out to me about setting this up, I assumed someone with more authority than me would do the presenting and I’d just show up and say hi to everyone. I mean, I don’t even know how to explain my job to my parents, let alone to a group of people who might want to work here if I sell it well enough.
HR sent me a very informative presentation about the company’s history, background and clients, but said I could do whatever I want with it. So, naturally, I tore it apart and replaced the slides I didn’t understand with fun things like a timeline of the last four years of my life, a day in the life of my Bitmoji and a page titled “Soooo…. What is a media agency?” Because let’s be real, I couldn’t answer that question when I started my internship.
I’ve never felt as grown up as I did while standing up there, giving my best advice on how to make the most of your college classes and how to not sound stupid in a phone interview.
Examples: If someone asks, “what is your favorite ad campaign?” you shouldn’t say, “I’ll get back to you on that.” If you do, however, make sure to answer the question by the end of the interview so they know you stick to your word. I absolutely did that, and although I got the job, I still wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else (my favorite ad campaign is P&G’s “Like A Girl,” for the record).
Also, have your computer next to you. Make a list of points of conversation and cross them off as you talk about them. That way, you won’t spend the whole hour talking about your semester as Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor of The Daily Nebraskan when you suddenly forget every other thing you’ve accomplished in your entire life. It’s fine.
You may wonder if I’m even qualified to give advice like this, as I’m currently working at the same place I interned and I was rejected from nearly every other internship I applied for. This is a valid concern. But let’s just focus on the part where I actually got a job and moved to New York straight from a cornfield. I sound way cooler from that angle.
When I went to the CoJMC student/alumni mixer on Friday night, a girl ran up to me and said she came to the event specifically to network with me. I almost cried. I’m so used to being on the other side of networking (i.e. emailing a friend of a friend of a friend begging for five minutes on the phone to talk about how they got a job I am not qualified to do), and it’s shocking to think I could offer any valuable insight to someone in the same position I was in last year.
Here are some fun questions and answers I shared over the past few days:
How did you get a media internship with no relevant experience? All experience is relevant to the job if you talk for so long the interviewer gets confused and just assumes you’re qualified.
How can I get a job in New York? The same way you get a job in Nebraska, but in New York (and I know networking is gross but knowing people really does help).
You were a copywriter before… how did you get away from that? I wasn’t offered any of the copywriting jobs I applied for, so I thought it’d be fun to accept a job that did actually want me.
Can I add you on LinkedIn? Well of course, LinkedIn is my second favorite social media platform (Venmo is first)!!!
What’s the biggest difference between New York and Nebraska? No cornfields.
Where’s a good place to get coffee in New York? Starbucks.
Do you see celebrities, like, everywhere? Have you heard about the time I met Ed Westwick in the bathroom at The Standard?!?!!! (less weird than it sounds)
So yeah, I’d say I did a decent job of convincing a group of college students that I’m fun, trendy and super professional, even though I spent $106 on bagels for them when my budget was $75. Can’t wait to do this again next year when I’m 365 days older and probably not at all wiser.