Recently, I applied for a job at a company that I think I’d kind of be obsessed for working with (although I’ve said that before, haven’t I?). One of the things I loved most about the application process (seriously, who am I right now?) was that they asked me to tell “my story” in place of a resume. After I finished up writing it I decided that a) I miss writing this type of thing (not narcissistic drivel, but … ya know… stories and such) and b) I wanted to share it with you all! (PS: They said that I had a 500 word limit, so this is the abridged version. Oh, and I took out identifying information about past employers – since there’s no need to put that all out there!)
So… without further ado…
After arguing with my parents for weeks (months?) about where to go to college my parents eventually won and, in September 2005, I made my way to UMass Amherst. (They were right, by the way – aren’t they always?) There I enjoyed three and a half years of way more fun than any one person should ever have in their life, a few really cool classes, and a couple of grueling internships in Public Relations, Marketing, and Event Planning. During this time I also became kinda/sorta/completely addicted to all things social media. Facebook was just a baby, Twitter was just a gleam in Jack Dorsey’s eye, and there hadn’t yet even been a thought of opening a rehab clinic for 20-something women who are crying over the fact that they can’t live a Pinterest-ingly fabulous lifestyle.
After graduating from UMass a semester early, and then regretting it the first time my friends invited me to go back for a party when I had to get up and work the next morning, I landed a job in Boston at an IT company. I loved it for a year or so, then decided to pursue my lifelong goal of becoming a lawyer. As it turns out, I was wrong – my lifelong goal wasn’t to become a lawyer. It was to become a Marketing/Social Media guru. I left law school after the first semester (but not before starting TheBlogtini.com), since I couldn’t justify spending that much money being bored out of my mind every single day, and from there had a string of educational, although unfortunately short-lived jobs in various aspects of the Marketing industry.
First up was a stint as the Marketing and Circulation Coordinator at [enter the name of a publishing company here]. Maybe you’ve heard of them – nearly everyone I’ve ever interviewed with has. They appear to be a revolving door – a very happy, idea driven revolving door, but a revolving door never the less. I was brought on to be part of their virtual events team, which after about 1 year they decided wasn’t something they wanted to focus on anymore. I then moved on to [a teensy tiny company that did something I didn’t even know there was an industry for] to be a part of their newly formed Event Planning division. Just under 1 year later, they decided that their clients didn’t need event planning services to the scale with which they’d been offering them, and so – I was sent on my way. Finally, I ended up at [the college]. I had the pleasure of working at [the college] for just over 1 year, when they decided to outsource my responsibilities to a marketing agency. I’ve got glowing references (and even a written recommendation letter!) from each of my supervisors at these companies, if you’re interested in speaking with them or hearing how it’s really, truly, honestly not my fault that I kept bouncing around!
Now, I’m looking for that perfect fit. A company where I can put my Social Media and Marketing skills to good use, while also gaining more. Somewhere that I can grow as a person and as a professional – and hopefully have a little fun along the way. After all, if you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life and that’s kind of the goal – isn’t it?