READER QUESTION from Kristin:
Q. I’m currently a college senior at XXX University studying journalism who is seeking advice. The exciting thing: I’ll have a degree in journalism this June with no obligations and this raging desire to experience/live in New York. The horrifying thing: I’m not exactly the richest of ladies, and trying to survive in New York on a post-graduate budget with the horrifying prospect of no jobs lined up (or only non-paying internships lined up) is really discouraging.
Do you have any advice on the first steps I should take?
A. Hi there Kristin! First, don’t worry. This is totally doable. Tough, but doable.
I moved back to New York City in 2007 to be with my new fiance, but also because I had decided that I wanted to pursue a career in print journalism. As you can probably imagine, trying to get a job at a magazine in the summer of 2007 was approximately as good of an idea as trying to board the Titanic. I’d actually been published in magazines before (as a freelance writer) and had a decent resume, but I literally could not get a job to save my life. I got one lukewarm kind-of-offer for an unpaid internship, but that wasn’t a possibility for 1/2 of a young couple trying to pay for both an apartment in NYC and a wedding, especially when the other half was a touring musician. But if this is your dream, and you’re willing to make sacrifices for it…you can definitely do it.
Whenever people asked me how to become an actress, I always gave them this advice: If there’s anything – anything – else in the world that you can do, do it. If the only thing you’d be happy doing is acting, then great…give it a shot. But be prepared for the realities of the business: you may very well never make any money, or appear in anything but community theater – that’s just how it goes. You have to want to do it because of your love of the craft. It’s the same for writing: you have to want nothing more than to write. And if that’s how you feel, here are my suggestions:
1. Move to the least expensive area possible. Bushwick and Astoria aren’t as inexpensive as they used to be, but you can still get some nice deals (and bigger apartments than you would find in Manhattan or the more subway-friendly parts of Brooklyn…which is necessary, because you’ll need roommates).
2. Ask everyone you know to send out an email asking if they have friends (or friends of friends) who need a roommate. If that doesn’t work, try CraigsList (but vet potential roomies carefully).
3. Get a bartending or waitressing job; if you pick the right place, you can make between 150 and 300 (cash) a night…and in some places, you can make much, much more. Oh, and don’t sign up for one of those bartending schools if you don’t know how to bartend – they’re a waste of time and money, and you can learn just as much from a book and some cocktail-knowledgeable friends.
4. Take those unpaid internships, now that you’re supporting yourself with some nights-and-weekends work. Their ostensible point is to feed you into a real job at the company.
5. Write. For anyone, anywhere, as much as you can. Bloggers frequently allow guest posts, so contact your favorite bloggers and see if they’d be open to the idea (I’d suggest sending a writing sample with your request). These obviously won’t be paid gigs, but they’ll start building you a nice body of work to show “real” employers.
6. Above all, remember that this is such an exciting time in your life: the entire world is open to you, so work hard, yes…but remember to have a little fun in the meantime 🙂
That’s just my take. Do you have any other suggestions for Kristin?
