Fictographic

Asked by thethreefates thethreefates

Why is thebest thing that has ever happened to you

As a post-recession university student with no internship experience, I was super freaked-out that I would graduate and end up at home, unemployed, with my tail between my legs.  So, I began to apply for jobs the first week of my senior year.  

I got a few interviews, passed a decent number of first-round ones but failed just as many.  What worked was just talking about what I’d done - not big business buzz words or theoretical ideas.  I just told them about the face software I had written and about the student activity group I spearheaded.

Luckily, in January, Zynga, the world’s largest Facebook gaming company, invited me to fly to San Fransisco for my second-round.  I had been exchanging e-mails with a recruiter at DreamWorks Animation, so I extended my San Fransisco stay to include an interview with them.  It was the only time I’d ever paid to change a plane ticker, and it was the wisest $150 I’ve ever spent in my life.  (I’m also lucky I was staying with a close friend rather than a hotel.)

The night after my DreamWorks interview, I got an offer from Zynga worth twice what most households make in a year.  Just me.  I’d be in the top 75% of earners in the US.  Plus stock in a company that hadn’t had its initial IPO (if you don’t know what that means, it’s roughly another two years worth of the aforementioned salary.)

Now, as is customary, I informed DreamWorks that Zynga had given me an offer.  My adviser told me to wait, and a week later, I was sitting on top of a DreamWorks offer as well.

Now, I work at a company who has two films up for Academy Awards this year.  

I’m pretty sure “two job offers” and “achieving the dream you’ve wanted since you were fourteen” counts as “best thing ever.”

But then again - I eat lunch for free every day, and that is quite possibly the real best thing ever.

Sometimes, it seems places are out of reach, that you could only dream of getting there. But me - and a lot of my friends (Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Disney, Pixar) - are proof that if you start out early enough, with enough work ethic and wit, you can make it.  In my opinion, “best things ever” don’t just happen, you make them happen.

Posted 3 months ago — 25 notes