At first glance, I'm sure the apartment broker saw "naive" stamped on my forehead. The form I filled out for the agency said it all: a 21-year-old girl from the Midwest, fresh out of college, with no rent history. I can't blame the guy. I was beginning to wonder if I'd taken too big of a risk. Find an apartment in Manhattan before my first day of work at Reader's Digest? That gave me four business days. Naive, certifiably insane-take your pick.
Well, I wasn't naive. I had brought all the paperwork I needed to New York so I was able to sign a lease on a fantastic find two days before I started my job. Two months before that, my post-graduation plan was to get a job in Des Moines. Any job. Now, I live in NYC and am a research associate editor at RD. Wondering how the heck I pulled that one off? Let me explain...
In late October, I was an anxious college senior looking forward to my December graduation. Memories of my ASME summer internship at RD were still fresh in my mind as I juggled interning at Lexicon (an editorial packaging company), working in the Magazine Center, editing the capstone magazine, freelancing for Meredith publications, and attending classes. In my "spare time," I desperately sent out resumes and clips to Des Moines companies. Oh, and I was planning my wedding (see "certifiably insane" above).
In the midst of all this craziness, an HR rep from RD e-mailed me: There was an open research position-would I like to apply? A few phone interviews and a research test later (and a conversation with my fiance in which he basically said, "If you get offered a job at Reader's Digest, there's no way we're not moving to New York"), I accepted the job offer. I added "coordinate a move across the country" to my schedule and plowed through the rest of the semester on pure adrenaline.
Thankfully, my first day at RD was a fairly smooth transition since I already knew most of the staff from my internship. Learning all the research procedures and guidelines was a bit stressful, but it was nothing compared to the huge gamble I took trying to find an apartment.
Sound like a whirlwind, stressful way to move to New York and start your first full-time job? Well, the rest of the year didn't calm down much. My fiance moved to NYC in May and job-searched while working two internships. It paid off, though, because one of his internships just hired him as a full-time employee. And, our wedding is finally here-September 15, in good ol' Des Moines.
So, here's a question for you: What else do you want know? I'll reply to all comments, I promise! -Bridget
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