How One Door Opened when Another Shut

Throughout my career, I've had a lot of moments where I doubted my decisions. When will I get my foot in the door? Do I close my current door? What if new doors don't open when I close this one? I didn't know it at the time, but closing that existing door is what led me to my "dream job" at the time.

In 2013, I was able to get a 1-year work status in the U.S. after graduating. To maintain this status, I had be employed for at least 20 hours a week, and must not remain unemployed for more than 90 days. I took the first job (or internship) I was offered, because otherwise I risked getting kicked out of the country.

I worked as a production coordinator (or "intern", officially) at a media startup, though the term was loose because it was at a very young stage of the company. In fact, my interview, as well as the company's office, was in a 1-bedroom apartment suite in Battery Park. I was pretty interested at first, since the project was a documentary on martial arts, and a lot of footage had already been shot by the director (my boss).

I was mostly in charge of writing and communication. My daily tasks included: promoting the film through various online platforms, reaching out to companies for financing, starting a Kickstarter campaign, editing written content for the website, and helping out wherever was needed. There were two other employees, or interns, who did motion graphics and social media outreach, respectively. During the interview, it was agreed I would work 20 hours a week (4 hours a day). I was happy with that arrangement, since I wanted to spend the rest of my time drawing and working towards a job in animation.

I ended up working 40 hours a week, but still got paid as if I worked 20. Soon I was the only employee left. My boss decided he didn’t need the other two people anymore, so it was just me and him in his apartment. I also became uncomfortable with the work space, since he had decided against renting an office. I asked him if I could work 20 hours as we had agreed on, or spend some time working from home. 

He immediately got very upset and didn’t understand why I felt uncomfortable working with him out of his living room, working double the amount of time than we had agreed on. He told me that back when he worked in advertising, interns would work until 1 am, unpaid, without complaint. He also said that he was planning on sponsoring my visa after my current work status expired, but now he wasn’t going to do that anymore. He told me to go home and think about if I still wanted to work here. Basically, he was telling me I should quit. 

I understood that as a new graduate, I didn’t have many options. I didn’t want to be jobless, but I also knew that I wouldn’t thrive in this current environment. Especially after our last conversation, I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back and do my best work. It was time to move on, even if it meant risking my work status and having to move back home and live with my parents. 

I called him a few hours later to tell him my decision, and his response was “That’s a good call.” I really didn’t feel great about myself. Then I called an animation studio that I had previously interned for, and asked if they had any upcoming positions. I had asked them a few weeks back, but they didn’t have any, so I figured it was a long shot. They called me back an hour later, asking if I could start on Monday. That’s when I got hired as a full-time clean-up artist on an animated show! It was the beginning of my career in animation, and I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.

When I don't feel good about where I'm at with my career, I think back to this incidence.

If you are pursuing what you want and working your hardest at it, there's no way that could be the wrong choice. It might seem scary to say no to what you already have, but remember that new doors will always open. Sometimes, those new doors won't open until the old one is completely shut, so don't be afraid to shut it.