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Topic: finding a nyc job...did i make a mistake?
| Author | Message |
| getmeoutofhere | Posted – 5/31/2007 11:34:49 PM | show profile i moved to ny in mid-may from nh. i had a 2005 grad (undergrad), i came to nyc with two years of reporting experience at a local nh daily, and now i'm freaking out a little. no one seems interested in a girl with out-of-state experience and connections. i'm temping and providing "administrative support" at companies i have no interest in working at, and while i know it's only been a few weeks, i'm starting to get a little bummed. what do i do? just keep trying? aim really low? i guess this is the quarter-life crisis they all talk about...you're impatient to do something you feel is worthwhile, but don't know exactly what you want it to be. and every second you're not doing something "worthwhile," you feel like you might as well be sleeping. |
| leprechaunsy | Posted – 5/31/2007 11:46:35 PM | show profile Give it time. Seriously. Relax, earn some money temping (it'll probably beat any entry edit salary), get to know the city, and send out resumes. It took me almost a year before I found my first edit job in NY (with three years' experience). It was a little nerve-wracking, yeah, but I've been employed steadily since. You obviously have good experience ... Just give it time. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 6/1/2007 1:49:27 AM | show profile | email poster Definitely give it time and support yourself as needed -- and write in your other time. Drink in that NYC atmosphere -- you gave up security to immerse yourself in it, so savor it and make use. Find places to write and observe people, go to free/cheap events, get a card at that fantastic public library system. Don't waste those moments -- there are people from further away who'd give a great deal just to have the chance you have carved out for yourself but can't because they're tied to a job or a family or whatever. You knew from looking at this board that it wouldn't be a picnic -- you saw others with as much education and experience with these kind of complaints. So make the best of the situation -- you're a nobody? Then nobody will care or judge you if you develop your inner writer, start a novel, dedicate a tiny corner of your tiny room to be a private writer's garret. Teach yourself your craft, learn it from others. Network, meet and learn from other writers. Check out meetups dot com if they have NYC chapters to connect with other writers. Chin up -- manage your own destiny. Here's some words of wisdom for you: Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it. Jules Renard Man who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait very, very long time. Jules Renard Talent is a matter of quantity. Talent does not write on page, it writes three hundred. Jules Renard Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. Jules Renard Laissez les bonne idees roulons! |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 6/1/2007 2:07:48 AM | show profile What exactly are you looking to do? If you took your (barely) two years of reporting experience at a small town daily with the hopes of landing a reporting gig at the New York Times (or even the New York Post), you're sadly mistaken. I'm continually amazed at the number of people who with hardly any experience insist on moving to the biggest market with the most experienced and talented journalists ... and wonder why they're stuck doing temp work. Getmeoutofhere ... I'd suggest you move to a smaller market and try New York when you're ready to swim with the sharks. It might be a stretch, but have you considered Providence, Rhode Island? Good luck. |
| Village Gal | Posted – 6/1/2007 7:50:14 AM | show profile You've been here two weeks and you are freaking out...are you serious? what in the world did you expect? give it time, start networking, keep looking, chill out, enjoy this great city stop feeling sorry for yourself. What are you trying to do? |
| foodlit | Posted – 6/1/2007 8:27:31 AM | show profile It sounds like your quarter-life crisis has hit hard! What kind of a job are you targeting? You've been given some very good advice here, I'd also seriously focus on networking and specifically targeting where you want to work, and then cold calling to set up informational interviews...not with hr, but with people who could be hiring managers. This is extremely effective. Also, make the most of your temp jobs. If you haven't already done so, request to be placed at more creative companies where there's a chance that they might hire people with your skills permanently. Go in there, do a great job and network your way into a permanent position....this happens all the time, if you go above and beyond they will often find a spot for you and you never know where it could go. good luck! Pam |
| Printingman | Posted – 6/1/2007 8:41:14 AM | show profile I see..........plates of quesadilla and burrito combos in your future. Seriously 2 weeks and your freaking out?? Your not ready for the big bad city. Go back to Nashua |
| Marie | Posted – 6/1/2007 8:58:58 AM | show profile At least you've gotten temp work, which is keeping you financially afloat. Many people can't get that. Do what everyone else said. And try to freelance a few pieces. All the "big" papers take some freelance pieces. The Queens edition of Newsday used to be a good place for freelance. I don't know what the situation is now, as I haven't written for them in years. But look into it. Don't worry about not earning big bucks for these pieces -- you just want some clips from big papers. And get Web-publishing skills--that's the future of newspapers. There are online jobs. Good luck. And enjoy the summer here. NYC, despite the heat, is great in ths summer. There's a lot of free, wonderful stuff. |
| Marie | Posted – 6/1/2007 9:03:35 AM | show profile And don't be snobbish about the companies you're being sent to. Just do a good job, because you might need these people as references for the job you want (even if the company is not in your field, your supervisors at these places can vouch for your admin. skills and personality and how easy you are to work with). And who knows? They might have a friend or relative working in journalism in the city to refer you to. |
| Righter | Posted – 6/1/2007 9:29:36 AM | show profile Don't listen to the people telling you to leave NYC just because you're freaking out a little. It's perfectly normal for someone to be concerned about whether or not they're on the right track towards their goals, especially after doing something as risky as moving to another city. My advice is pretty much the same as many others. Just be patient. And keep things in perspective. Life does exist outside of NYC. |
| lausla27 | Posted – 6/1/2007 10:02:08 AM | show profile | email poster not a mistake Don't freak out... well, feel free to have a freak out, then try to keep it in perspective. It's rough here - it helps to learn as much as you can wherever you can. You'd be surprised how much you can learn even when you're not in "your field." I agree with the other members who posted that you should keep writing, even if it's just in a journal. It took me over two years to get a job in media after moving to NYC, but the two years taught me a great deal which has helped me in PR and helped to keep things in perspective. Chin up - you'll get there, just be patient, and don't worry - be prepared to give it time and don't give up. |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 6/1/2007 11:00:28 AM | show profile I agree with the pp who say it's ok to freak out but you'll be fine, keep writing, try some freelance gigs, etc. (Try some Jersey publications too ...) But just let me say this - one of my favorite questions (interview or cocktail party) is this; What time in your life would you go back to to relive for just one week.? And for me it was when I was in my 20's, totally broke, in a new city, wondering whether what I was doing was worthwhile. I drank too much red wine, had too much casual sex, ate cheap takeout, turned off my heat to save money. I mean, I love my husband and my kid and my mortgage but .... What you're doing now is worthwhile because you're living your life in a time and with a passion that you can never return to. Hang in there and have some fun, too. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 6/1/2007 11:33:42 AM | show profile | email poster So you're in your early 20s, you have 2 years of local reporting, you moved to NY, and you're temping. Congratulations: You're ahead of me by 17 years. Okay, that was harsh, but as WritesOnWater said, there are other people who are currently tied to other things who wouldn't mind being in NY right now. As Matt said, if you're expecting to land a big reporting gig in NY, this might have been a miscalculation. However, it seems to me just by looking at the job board here on MB that there are plenty of places looking for someone with 2-3 years of reporting experience. You might not end up on the metro crime beat, but if you look hard enough, I'll bet you find something that will give you the opportunity to build up clips. If money interests you at all, consider business and financial reporting. I can't stand that stuff, so right off the bat, half the openings in NY don't appeal to me, but it seems to me there are plenty of opportunities for anyone who wants to get into it. And if worse comes to worst, D.C. is a GREAT place to be in your 20s. Seriously, this city was made for young professinals. It's not *quite* as expensive as NY (it's still expensive, though), there are a lot of FREE things to do here, it's easy to get around (I don't own a car), and there are a LOT of people your age here. In fact, I'm a fossil in my office at 40. Plus, associations (which are a major part of the publishing industry down here) are a little bit kinder and gentler than the for-profit places of NY. They usually offer more vacation, normal hours (I haven't worked more than an hour late or on a weekend in 17 years), flex-time (I get in at 10:00), better health benefits, and a more relaxed office environment (business casual, jeans on Friday). So if you want to do something "worthwhile" and build clips, there are plenty of opportunities down here. |
| AWC | Posted – 6/1/2007 11:49:05 AM | show profile When I moved to NYC without a job lined up, it took me four months to find even an "acceptable" job in my field, and another nine months to find what I considered a good job. And I arrived here with a lot more than two years experience. Big cities are tough, and it's rare to find that perfect opportunity quickly. If you are really committed to living and working here, you need to give it more time and make due with what you find until the right job comes along. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 6/1/2007 1:39:03 PM | show profile A job hunt in NYC can EASILY take six months, even if you've got lots more experience than two years. Why? Because the reasons that motivated you to move here motivate tons of other people as well, so it's almost always an employer's market in the journalism field, as well as PR/marketing and several of the other major fields in NYC. So it's not so much that people aren't interested in you specifically, but rather that they have tons of people for every available vacancy. Unfortunately, life in NYC often means doing things that aren't your dream job and making less money than you thought. As glamorous as it can be, honestly, for most people it never ends up getting anywhere near that close to being glamorous. I'm not so I truly believe in a quarter-life crisis. Someone at that age has barely started to truly live as an adult, so I'd call it more something along the lines of "I'm an adult now" shock. As far as this notion of having to do something worthwhile, I'm not sure I understand. At the core of it, everybody gets up every day and has to do something to earn a living. Honestly, many people don't like what they do and would easily change to something else if money were no object. But that's the way life is and has been for ages. If by worthwhile, you mean you'd like to be doing something that has an impact, then investigate options to either work for or volunteer with a non-profit organization. The money will stink, but if that's not an issue for you, then you might very well be happy. I came to a realization a long time ago when I graduated from j-school that I wasn't going to be one of those to save the world or make a big impact (a la Woodward & Bernstein), so I just focused on the basics. After a few years, I got a lucky break that got me to NYC on a former employer's dime. But even then, I was just reporting financial news, not saving the world. I still have that same attitude now that I'm running my own PR business. I know that I'm not saving the manatees or anything, but I am doing good work for clients, managing to make enough money and I have a lifestyle that affords nice things for both myself and my family. To me, that's more than enough. I mean no disrespect, but once you're pushing 40 and have had a few big challenges in life, you'll realize that those kinds of accomplishments are enough. If you get anything on top of that, you'll view it as life's version of gravy. If you look at a period in life that's not going exactly as you envision it as a time when you might as well be sleeping, who knows what will pass you by? ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| A. Shaw | Posted – 6/1/2007 4:10:41 PM | show profile At least you moved in the right direction.... I moved from NYC to Maine for a non-profit communications writing gig - what was I thinking????!!!!!! It's beautiful up here and everyone is lovely, but I'm too intense for this place. I wanna go home!!!! (wah!) Give it some time - you'll find something. If not the dream job, then the first step to the dream job. The possibility (and dare I say probablility) is in NYC. Don't forget to mine your temp experience for articles. Best of luck! |
| getmeoutofhere | Posted – 6/2/2007 1:09:18 AM | show profile thanks to everyone for the realistic and positive advice. i think that, in general, i need to focus more on enjoying the place i'm in rather than worrying about what's going to happen to my very new career over the next year or two. to the people who said that i should "go back to nashua" or that "i'm not ready for the city"...please. if someone moved to nyc with no job and DIDN'T freak out at least once, there would be something wrong with them. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 6/2/2007 3:11:38 AM | show profile Getmeoutofhere ... ...there's a very big difference between freaking out after moving to NYC with no job and at least a DECADE of solid professional experience, versus freaking out after moving to NYC with no job and virtually NO experience. The former has a hell of a better shot landing on her feet than the latter. |
| getmeoutofhere | Posted – 6/2/2007 11:52:45 PM | show profile i guess i wanted to be 24 and in ny while i'm young, single and energetic v. waiting out time until i'm in my early 30s to move. i don't regret the move; i'm glad i had the (proverbial) balls to do it. "landing on one's feet" doesn't necessarily mean getting the perfect position within six months or a year of making a drastic life change. i'm flexible, and a hard worker; landing on my feet, at this point, means i'm going to be able to make the best out of every position - whether its temp or no - and make a life and career here for myself, whether it be over the next 5 to 10 years. i'm feeling good about this, everyone, so thanks again. my new temp job is fantastic, and i have a few interviews coming up. i feel very lucky. |
| DQ102 | Posted – 6/4/2007 9:01:18 AM | show profile Hi getmeoutofhere, I moved here in the early 90s from New England. Like you, I arrived with a couple of years of newspaper experience. I worked a variety of temp jobs for about a year, then landed an editorial assistant job at a trade paper and built a career from there. Don't give up. If I did it, you can do it. I had zero connections and went on to write for some big magazines, although it took years. That's just the way this business is. That is, unless you graduated from an Ivy League school and have parents with connections. It might be easier for those kids, but looking back, I am proud of what I accomplished on my own! |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 6/4/2007 10:42:59 AM | show profile Make the best of your temp jobs, it will take a while (give yourself 2 years to get something decent). |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 6/4/2007 11:09:01 AM | show profile Hey, if you had stayed at the little NH daily you'd be freaking out there that you were wasting your time by not moving to NY. Sure, everyone would like to find the perfect job instantly. But realistically, most people I know who get laid off search for a new job for months and months and months. Just keep at it. --providing "administrative support" at companies i have no interest in working at, and while i know it's only been a few weeks, i'm starting to get a little bummed. what do i do? just keep trying? aim really low? i guess this is the quarter-life crisis they all talk about...you're impatient to do something you feel is worthwhile, but don't know exactly what you want it to be. and every second you're not doing something "worthwhile," you feel like you might as well be sleeping.-- |
