How a Facebook message landed me my dream job

The crew that became family

Yup you read that right, the trusty ole platform that might seem outdated now, actually landed me my dream job. Here’s what happened…

It’s senior year at UWEC and aside from the post-grad trip to Spain that’s in the books for May, I have no clue what I’m going to do with my future. As thankful as I am that I finally decided on a major during my Junior year (after literally switching my mind like 4 times… no thanks, Psych degree), I wish that I had some sort of career lined up for me.

So, in my quest to become more of an adult and figure out my post-Spanish-glory-day plans, I started to research jobs in my profession. Organizational Communication is a major with endless opportunities and a minor in Marketing is just the cherry on top. I was finding lots of sales roles, some communication assistant options and more interestingly, a handful of social media coordination jobs.

I was originally interested in something that would allow me to work from home and/or be my own boss, but I knew that in order for that to happen, I would need to hustle first. I should also mention it was at this point that I had already shot my first wedding, and was hooked on working with other people, creating my own deadlines and having creative freedom to do whatever I wanted. 

With the hope of turning  freelance work a full-time gig, I started reaching out to businesses for any virtual assistance work. This was kind of a new idea for me, but I figured if I could land a couple gigs with say 3 clients, I could get enough hours to hit the 40 hour full-time mark. 

Long story short, I was interested in lots of different career paths. 

So you might be thinking, ‘Alright cool Katie, but where’s the part about the Dream Job that you mentioned in the title?’.

Okay I hear you, I just thought I would paint a picture of where my head was at first. Here’s the real scoop on how a Facebook message landed me my dream job...

I am convinced I have seen almost every wedding trailer on the internet.

Sappy, funny, upbeat, cinematic, you name it & I can probably tell you the name of the bride and groom before the 5 second mark hits. One day in between homework and studying, I fell into a deep-dive of the Instagram underworld, ya know as millennials do, watching every wedding video I could get my hands on.

I remember so vividly finding a video of a lakeside wedding, with the most perfect music and cinematic shots that stopped me in my tracks. I then spent the following hours watching every video ever produced by the studio, completely captivated by the way they told stories through video. I needed to learn more. 

I’m not sure if it was something divine or just a whim, but in that moment I decided to reach out to the company.

I didn’t really know why or what I would say, but I figured that if I was lucky enough, I would connect with someone on the team and something great would happen. Realistically, they would at least give me some tips on how to make it in the creative world that I was about to enter and then send me on my way. 

This is the message I sent & what they said

I was floored.

I couldn’t believe that they would possibly want to meet me!! And for coffee!?! Double bonus!! We set the date and I traveled back from Eau Claire to the Twin Cities to meet the owner at Bachelor Farmer for a cup of coffee. I went for a casual outfit; booties, jeans and a blouse that said I was ‘classy yet fun’. I sat nervously awaiting Jordan, the man who was only identifiable based upon his website photo. He greeted me with a hug and asked me a million questions about myself… what I do at school, how I got started in video, where my boyfriend goes to college, what my ideal life is. It felt like we were instantly friends after just 5 minutes of chatting and 3 sips of my latte. 

I asked him all my questions about video and advice he has for a newbie like me, soaking in every bit of knowledge he could bestow upon me. My eyes lit up with the idea of shooting wedding videos, getting to be behind the scenes of corporate work, learning new equipment, ahhhhh… wow. Then a few words snapped out of this daydream… ‘So would you be interested in working with us this summer?’

I had no clue this was a job interview!!

I was overjoyed!! My anxiety about finding a post-grad job had suddenly been lifted & I had a plan!!

I’m not sure if Jordan even knew that he was going to offer me a position that day, but I like to think God brought us together because He knew I needed this role to shape me as a person. I learned more than I could’ve imagined about video production, got valuable insight into building a business, gained confidence in myself and my quirky personality and made friends that I cherish.

Jordan & I - two months into the job!

The rest of the story goes a little like this:

Ramen dates with none other than the Jojo!

• I spent the first day on the job looking on amazon for the a notebook & pen that ‘spoke to me’

• I shot wedding videos, yoga retreats, behind-the-scenes of music videos, etc.

• drank wayyyy too much coffee from our coffee-shop-turned-office workspace, with bright windows, modern tables, and an addicting blt sandwich

• I picked the brains of the knowledgeable co-workers who are pretty much the next Quentin Tarantino’s

• Laughed non-stop with the goofiest and coolest crew I’ve ever worked with

A really blurry photo of me in a slow-mo dance party at one of our shoots lol

I hope that this maybe inspired you to get out of your comfort zone and utilize all these platforms to your benefit! There are so many ways to network online these days, you just have to take the plunge and do it! The worst that happens is someone says no - and even then, who cares?!

Let me know if you have done anything similar or if you found this helpful! I’d love to chat :)

xoxo - Katie