Background: I used to be the senior writer/editor for an international trade association. A little less than five years ago, I was downsized out of my job. In the months that followed, I learned that writing and editing jobs are a whole lot scarcer than I thought. Since then, I scraped together some freelance work (that’s the great thing about being a writer/editor – you’re never unemployed, you just “go freelance”), went back to school and got a teaching certificate, and drew down my savings.
Finally, last December, after concluding that the teaching thing wasn’t working out either (why couldn’t I be a MATH teacher, or at least bilingual?), I found a copy-editing job that pays the bills and gratefully took it. I’ve been editing my little heart out ever since.
then, ten days ago, my former boss (with whom I’ve remained friendly) e-mailed me and told me about a friend of hers who’s a partner at a boutique ad agency that needs a copywriter. My ex-boss told them about me and apparently pimped me hard, yo. I followed up on the opportunity, and long story short, I’m meeting with this woman at noon today!
I’m excited but anxious, mainly because while I have more than ten years of awesome writing and editing experience, I’ve never actually worked for an agency before, and I’m concerned that will work against me. My ex-boss basically told me to quit being a weenie about the agency thing, remember that I’m the best writer I know, and go in there with my shoulders back.
Still, I figure I can use some positive energy, so wish me luck!
With years of writing and editing experience, you’ll do fine at an agency.
I had an interview last week (one of less that five candidates selected out of close to 100 applicants), and I’m hoping to get a call for a second interview in the next few days.
Best of luck to you! I have been job-hunting for awhile and something really good just came through for me, so maybe it’s your time as well. Keep us posted!
Update:
I got to the building nearly 45 minutes early because I was paranoid about traffic (my path led through downtown Dallas, which is unpredictable at any hour of the day except rush hour, when it is predictably rotten), so I sat in my car and reviewed the writing samples I’d brought until it was time to go in.
Whereupon I discovered that the woman I was meeting, the one with whom I shared a mutual connection to my ex-boss… was not there.
She was in a town some distance north, where one of the agency’s clients (a new shopping center just getting ready to open) was having some sort of crisis, and it became clear that she would not be getting back to the office until late afternoon, if at all. Sigh.
Instead I met with another person at the agency, an account exec on the client-relations side of things who is working on some of the same accounts I’d be working on. She was really nice and very informative about the agency’s work style and the time frame for this opening. She looked at my book and was visibly wowed by some of my stuff.
All in all, I got a very good feeling, and hopefully I’ll be able to reschedule with the original woman sometime soon. And BOY, do I want this job. It would be a huge step in the right direction for me.
I like that while she had to go deal with the crisis, she was thoughtful enough to arrange for someone to interview you. It should be the default, but sadly isn’t.