FBC 2013 RECAP (+ life)

I’m a little late on this (by a few months!) but it’s a topic I wanted to write about eventually. That sounds so foreboding but I promise it’s not bad news.

Back in January, I was really considering making some big career changes. I was working a job that didn’t fit my personality and that was far from home, in an industrial part of the city and I REALLY needed a change. I started worrying that the job wasn’t the problem, that maybe I just wasn’t meant to be a graphic designer. Days were short (it was January) and I really didn’t feel happy spending 9 hours a day in a cubicle with no daylight. So I started brainstorming career choices. I had always wanted to go to cooking school so I started asking friends in the industry about schools and advice. Maybe this was the change I needed. I applied to a very good cooking school, in their baking program. It wasn’t so easy as filling out a form and clicking send. I had to go to get my high school grade transcript, get an old boss from a restaurant I worked in during college to write me a letter of recommendation (the original signed copy had to be sent – which meant a few hours commuting after work) Then I had to translate it to french and find my birth certificate… ok it was a lot of work, i had about 2 weeks – after i decided to apply – to get it all together. I didn’t even know if this was the best choice. But I had a month before they would give any answers so I had time to think. I was really excited about DOING something, moving forward, even if I wasn’t sure about the direction yet.

By this time it was the first week of April. But lets go back to January where my story started. So before I made the crazy decision to apply to cooking school, Iwas really into food photography. I thought maybe this was what I should be doing. When I saw the announcement for the first Food Bloggers of Canada conference, I barely hesitated to put that sucker on my credit card (and the 500$ plain tickets). So come mid-april, Ive applied to baking school – not really expecting to get in – and I’m at a food blogger conference thinking I’m not sure if this is what I want to do with my life but I want to see what it’s all about and take back as much as I can.

While at this 2 day conference, I get to listen to a lot of interesting stories, advice and meet lots of great people. One person in particular would make a big difference in the next month – unbeknownst to me. She worked for Tourism Montreal – “cool I follow you guys on twitter and instagram!” – we thought it was funny that it took leaving montreal to meet a new montrealer. I told her about my blog and all the ideas I had and how I loved talking about Montreal and food. I got her business card and planned on keeping in contact with her once back in Montreal.

So I get home on the Sunday after the conference and I do my usual sweeping of job sites. (At this time I was refreshing job sites every 30 seconds.) One job in particular catches my eye – Tourisme Montreal is looking for a graphic designer – and I have all the qualifications they are looking for. I start brainstorming ideas to design a custom portfolio/resume to send them – so I can stand out – and debate wether it is rude to contact my new friend from the conference to help get my foot in the door. I decide to send a tactful and friendly email. She immediately replies that it was great to meet me and I should send her my resume, she will forward it to HR. (Holy crap, right?)

After applying for the job, I realize I received my answer from cooking school in the mail and I had thought it was junk mail. I open it – after it’s been on my table for 2 weeks – and find out I got in! Wow, I couldn’t believe it. I was really excited. Except… What about the job I just applied to? I need to answer the school within a week of opening that letter. I don’t even know if they will call me in, and if so, how do I know they will hire me?

Then I get the call to come in for an interview at Tourisme Montreal. Opportunities always have a way of happening at the same time. I have to answer the cooking school on the Friday and my interview is the following Tuesday. It was not an easy decision but deep down I knew I wanted this job more than I wanted to spend 2 years spending every day in school. Someone else can have my spot in the baking program.

So I spend every free moment I have working on a fake passport I design to look like the real deal – but the content reflects who I am, my experiences and examples of my work. I have it printed (and reprinted because I found a typo). I also want to send a thank you note after my interview so I go take a wide angled photo of the street and front of the building where the office is. I create a custom postcard with the words “Wish I was here” over the photo of the office. Incase you can’t tell, I really WANT this job. It’s perfect for me, WALKING DISTANCE from home (as opposed to the hour+ commute I was doing each direction) not to mention I love Montreal and showing it off on my blog.

One interview and a technical test later, I had a job offer.

And that is why the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference changed my life. HA! I do believe everything happens for a reason and that good things eventually come if work your ass off to get there.

It’s been about a month and a half and this change has improved my life so much. I work with amazing supportive (mostly female) people, I can walk to work in 13 minutes, I have my own office, free coffee and a very positive work environment.