Monday, January 3, 2011

Me? A Cosmo Girl?

In the spring of 2006, near the end of my senior year of college, I applied for an internship that I never thought I'd get. I came across the post on CreativeHotlist.com (an awesome source for creative jobs, my fellow designers) for an art intern at Cosmopolitan Magazine. At first I passed over it, thinking it was completely out of my league. When I came across it a second time, I had a "what the hell" moment (I'm convinced these are the best moments of your life, by the way) and I applied. I heard back from Annie a few weeks later for a phone interview, and she let me know that they would contact me. Months went by. I enjoyed the last frat parties and bar crawls of my senior year, and dove into working full-time at my other internship at an agency in Detroit.

I read the book "The Devil Wears Prada," and it reminded me that I had never heard from Annie. Dejected, I figured I hadn't gotten the job, but in a brave (maybe stupid) moment, I called her and left an awkward and erratic message to gain some closure that sounded something like this:
Hey Annie, we spoke a few weeks ago regarding the internship in the art department, and I am assuming you filled the position, but I just wanted to call to make sure. Thank you for your time.


I would never hear back from her. It had been months, and I was sure with her busy fancy job that she wouldn't bother to even let me know the position had been filled. My current internship drew very near its close, and I wondered what the hell I was going to do about finding a job.

My phone rang a few hours later, it was a 212 number. My heart dropped. Could it be? Hands shaking, I picked up the phone in my most professional-sounding, non-moronic voice. "Hi S, it's Annie from Cosmo. I just got your message, and wanted to give you a call back. You'll start in the beginning of May, do you have housing arrangements?" I stuttered for a moment, trying to process all that was occurring. Though I didn't want to sound like an idiot, I backed her up a bit. "Wait... did I... get the job?" I asked her, cringing at the sound of my own voice. "Um.. yes! Didn't we talk about that a few weeks ago?" OMG! I HAD GOTTEN THE JOB. IN NEW YORK CITY! It's every girl's dream. I was going to be working at one of the biggest fashion magazines in the world. I couldn't BELIEVE IT! I tried to calm myself down so I could answer her question without making her feel like a dope. "Wow! No, actually, I didn't know I had gotten it. I believe I can make arrangements; let me make a few calls and find out." "Okay, great," she said, sounding nonchalant. We ended the call, and I nearly dropped the phone. I couldn't believe it--I had gotten the job of my dreams. Now, to figure out how to move to New York and survive in the big city (and in the world of Cosmo) with my poor fashion sense and lack of experience...

3 comments:

  1. Been reading your blog a while and nvr realized you work for Cosmo. You think u know someone...

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  2. You'd never know it by the lack of designer shoes in my closet, but yes... it's true!

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  3. If number of shoes were the criterion, I'd be a Cosmo girl!
    You wouldn't have thunk it but shoes are my kryptonite.

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