The Graduate

While at BU, I was taught to be as unconventional as possible in my attempt to score a job in the advertising world. Stories were told during our “Ad Copy and Design” classes about hopeful graduates who sent the coolest application packages to NY agencies getting them two steps closer to the seemingly unattainable door. One of the stories was of a guy named Todd who sent bars of soap neatly carved with the word “SOAP.” Following that, he sent resumes and cover letters clarifying his intent. His name was Todd Soap. Bleh. How clever.

An Account-minded person by nature I thought, “Hey what’s stopping me from being creative? If Todd can do it so can I.” So I came up with this:

Description: Huge teal envelopes, so they won’t get lost amidst the piles of mail, with three sections to review. Part I was the hard cover. On it was a black cut-out “suit” and ribbon “silk tie” with a fashionably matching cut-out collared striped “shirt” (made from the blue and white back of postal envelopes – I’m all for tasteful recyclable crafts). Recalling the hours I spent in front of the TV watching Oprah in my PJs – a clear declaration of unemployment – cutting and gluing these pieces together, makes me tear a little. Sniff. To think how far I’ve come since. Handwritten above this miniature piece of art was, “Danielle Chong’s Resume” and below, “How about another suit?” I don’t need to explain that bit as you probably already know that account/marketing divisions within ad agencies are known as Suits, and have been since the inception of this industry. Part II was the personalized cover letter. And lastly Part III was my resume.

Now all you hopeful graduates out there, what I’m going to tell you is, NONE of this works. So forget this shit and get on Craig’s List. Also, you’re not going anywhere without any prior experience. How are you going to get it while you’re at college – you’re asking? You figure that part out. I did.