I have a job internship! Granted, it’s unpaid (so not exactly the independence of adulthood yet), but it’s pretty good for less than a week in a new city. Ironically, the company is based out of Boston, but that’s a minor detail as everything is done pretty much remotely. I’m really excited about this opportunity and am thrilled that this is the first entry in my “professional” portfolio/blog.

What happened: I arrived dazed and groggy in New York City on September 2, but was ready to hit the pavement the next morning. Besides a vague list of maybe-jobs, I did very little prep before hand, because through knowledgeable people and my own observations, no one was going to entertain my job applications until I was physically present in NYC. And now I was here. Immediately started spreading the word any which way I could: old contacts; new contacts; Facebook; Twitter. And the response was overwhelming and touching. I have to say it definitely helped to know I had so many people rooting for me and willing to throw anything my way.

One friend mentioned that I should reach out to a swing dancer in Boston who might have contacts in the museum world. And when you’re unemployed, you take what you can get. So I reached out to this swing dancer, Kellian, and her response was immediate. She asked for a little bit of my background, which I happily gave her. Admittedly, I was a lot more blunt, tongue-in-cheek kind of humor because after sending out what felt like a million cover letters, I was kind of done with being “polite and professional”. And it really caught her eye. Along with some very helpful leads, she offered me the position of intern at GDL.

What is Green Door Labs? Basically, they consult museums that wish to add an interactive layer to their exhibits via smart phone apps. For example, they were consulted to help construct Murder at the Met(ropolitan Museum of Art), an interactive “who done it?” murder mystery in the American Wing of the museum.

What will I be doing? My job as “intern” will be figuring out bugs of their newest venture, lovingly called Edventure Builder, letting organizations design their own app adventures. I will be creating a “How To” manual, to make the process easier. I will also be sent to museum conferences (don’t be surprised, there are conferences for everything) to promote GDL as well as network myself.

Kellian will also be acting as a mentor, helping with my resume and (when something crosses her desk) point me in a direction where there might be a job at the end.

It’s a mutually beneficial relationship and we also get along like a house on fire. (Which is a good thing. I know, when I first heard the expression I thought it meant a relationship that was self destructive.) We get each other’s humor and her calls are both productive and entertaining.

So, half way through the second week and I still feel good. And I look forward to continue to explore what will become my professional career.