Making it in NYC: I Started as an Expense Report Intern
By: Chloe Rask
If you didn’t spend six months living in your mom’s basement, did you even recently graduate? If you didn’t spend your first couple of months in the city sweaty and alone, did you even just move to New York? If you’re not attempting to divide your journey into subheads, are you even writing about your New York experience?
GETTING TO NEW YORK
I never wanted to end up in New York. I wasn’t in the advertising program–never went on the New York trip. My first time here was when I landed with my Home Depot boxes and cautious optimism. I studied public relations and political science at the University of Oregon. Even though I knew I wanted to be a copywriter, I thought that I could study something other than advertising while getting copywriting experience outside of the classroom.
That plan was all fun and games until it was two weeks after graduation and I didn’t have a job lined up. I had been in contact with someone at Laundry Service about a position, but not quite the kind they glamorize at the J school…Two phone interviews later, I accepted their offer for an expense report internship. The recruiting manager told me, “We don’t want anyone who’s trying to get their foot in the door–just need someone to come in three days a week to do the VP’s expenses.”
After a couple weeks of shuffling through receipts and corporate Amex charges, some of the accounts let me help with social copywriting. Then after a couple more weeks, I started getting invited to creative brainstorms. Finally, after eight weeks of, “Who used Amy’s card to buy an egg salad sandwich in SF?” I was offered a job as a junior community manager.
Six months later, I took my first vacation to visit my Nana in Palm Springs. While boarding my flight I received a call from my VP.
“So we need a social media manager on Twitter and I think you should move to the New York office at the end of next month and take it. Ok bye, we’ll talk about it when you get back.”
Nana and I clearly had plenty to chat about.
I had been living in my mom’s basement since graduation. I didn’t have a lease. I had never lived outside of Oregon. I had nothing to lose. By May first I was sweating into the humid New York office for my first day.
WORKING IN NEW YORK
In the past, Laundry Service has primarily been a social media agency with its roots in inspiring consumers to smash that like. And that’s how I ended up in a department called social media management, with the other recent college grads and former interns.
Social media managers post content and organize content calendars, usually leading up to positions in account or project management. However, depending on the account, they often fulfill strategic and creative roles as well.
Luckily these were always the accounts I was on. For a year, I was the lead copywriter on two accounts, even though my title was social media manager. While I was grateful for the opportunity and the work reflected my goals, the title was slowing down my career advancement. This lead to playing that fun game with your superiors where you don’t want to come across as annoying ot ungrateful, but you also need to be persistent. I had done freelance as copywriting in school and felt I was talented enough to label myself as one. It was tough on my ego to hear, “You’re not qualified enough to be moved to the copywriting department.” Luckily, I didn’t think I was good enough at anything else to relinquish my pursuit.
I met with leadership to establish specific milestones I could hit to be considered for the next open position. Once a month, I’d remind my managers of my desired department change, and check in on my progress toward those milestones.
When the New York offer came, I didn’t miss a beat. They wanted me there. I had the power. When it was time to formally negotiate the terms of moving, I said, “I will only seriously consider transferring if it is for a position in the copywriting department.” My account director and VP laughed at me.
Ok, so I didn’t really have the power. But I did have more leverage to ask for a timeline I could hold my managers to. We agreed on explicit deadlines and experiences that would guarantee an eventual title change once I was in New York. At last, when annual review time came, they upheld their part of the bargain. Now here I am, basking in the riches and glory of a jr copywriter title. Even though it was a frustrating road–and one that I’m still walking–it was ultimately a rewarding and satisfying experience.
SURVIVING IN NEW YORK
One of my only reservations about moving here was my anxiety. It’s taken a cocktail of therapy, medication, and self-love to keep it manageable. But even with my day-to-day tensions under control, I often have to remove myself from environments that push these fragile boundaries. I get overwhelmed when I’m surrounded by too many people and uncomfortable around loud noises.
Closing Max’s? Going to be a no from me, dog. Women’s march? Happy to support from the outskirts, ladies.
The fun thing about New York is: THAT IS EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME. I knew I was signing up for loud, crowded subways and packed, honking streets. I knew people would be impatient and unsympathetic. I knew I’d be pushing my boundaries and risking the stability of my mental health.
There are definitely times when I’ve had to deboard the train early and wait for a less crowded one to come, or walk the remaining 1.6 miles home in order to avoid it entirely. I doubt I will ever comfortably weave through the packed sidewalks of Chinatown to grab a casual dinner. Even though my body has adjusted, and my threshold for sensory stimulation has come a long way, I know these are things I will always have to be cautious of. And that is very okay.
Anxiety is different for everyone, but if these feelings sound familiar, I want you to know that you can live in New York with anxiety. To me, it was worth it. Every day I am learning more about myself. While I’ve pushed my limits and challenged my boundaries, I’ve also come to recognize which ones to keep up. It seems like only one type of person can thrive in the bustle, but that’s not true at all — most of us had to learn, and so can you.
It wasn’t the traditional route, but I made my way. You don’t have to have a fancy internship or job offer immediately after graduation to eventually end up in New York. You don’t have to follow the proverbial path to end up thriving. If the shiny success stories are intimidating or out of reach, let them go and do your own thing. The worst thing that could happen is you hate it, blow through your savings to survive, and move back to your mom’s basement… But you’ll eat some dank bagels while you do it.
Chloe Rask is a junior copywriter at Laundry Service from Portland, Oregon. She is not the worst. Follow her on Twitter.
