In April 2025, I sat contentedly at my full-time job as a publishing affiliate — till I obtained a foreboding feeling I could not shake.
One minute, I used to be joyfully coping with Netflix celebrities. Subsequent, my instincts had been screaming that one thing was incorrect. I could not clarify it, however the feeling haunted me till I did one thing reckless.
I quit my job. I put in my resignation, and within the morning, that feeling of doubt was gone.
I used to be shell-shocked. “Did I actually simply try this?” Amid the disbelief, a headline introduced shortly after that my former firm was closing.
It ought to have felt validating. However the actuality was catastrophic. Sure, my instincts had been proper!
Nonetheless, I used to be unemployed in a extremely aggressive trade. And so, I joined the ranks of job seekers looking for work.
The damaged job market
I used to be hopeful till I realized folks had been making use of to a whole lot of roles with out listening to again. The job market was frozen, and ghost jobs had been on the rise.
It turned clear that the standard hiring framework was damaged. With the standard path unavailable, I had one remaining choice: pull a Robert Frost and take the street much less traveled. However I had no thought how.
I reluctantly toggled to the “internships” button on a job board. Positive sufficient, an unpaid internship was open within the sector — e-book publishing — I hoped to construct my profession.
With out overthinking it, I utilized. To my shock, I obtained a solution. An project and two interviews later, the director of a literary company requested me searchingly, “Do you actually wish to be right here?”
I did. Not as a result of I assumed turning into an intern was glamorous, however as a result of I longed to be again in an area the place a group was invested in collective success.
So, at 31 years outdated, I turned an intern.
I needed to depend on freelance gigs and seasonal jobs to make ends meet.
30 is the brand new 20
Being an intern was humbling. There have been moments when the age hole hit me exhausting, sitting on the desk with folks 11 years my junior.
However I used to be in awe of them. They had been emotionally open. They requested questions with out embarrassment. They spoke actually about stress, uncertainty, and hopes.
Listening to them on the company, I found how guarded I had turn into as an grownup navigating corporate environments. Witnessing their mindset modified me. I wished that power.
However I used to be uncertain if I had room for it. As a lot as I wished to be freely curious — inquire, search mentorship — I did not have time. On the internship’s finish, I could not merely return to class like my intern cohorts.
I wanted an actual job, and the reality persevered: I had gone backwards, hadn’t I?
Tapping into the newbie’s thoughts
I used to be intimidated by auto-rejections and the AI bots. What if HR choked at my “intern” stamp? In any case, I wasn’t chasing entry-level roles; I used to be looking for roles commensurate with my expertise.
It seems, I used what my youthful fellow interns taught me and have become extra open. I made a decision to cease anticipating judgement, remodel curiosity into fearlessness, and job-seek past typical avenues.
And I did that by having conversations.
I used my intern standing to guide outreach. I contacted 145 folks working in roles I aspired to. Over roughly two months, I accomplished 80+ networking calls. Individuals had been genuinely curious about my background, my uncommon profession path, and my assured networking.
The tables turned. As a substitute of them interviewing me, I used to be interviewing them.
By the final stretch of my internship in 2026, I acquired a number of job presents. The wildest half? I by no means utilized to any of them.
Individuals wished to rent me due to my distinctive expertise and demonstrated drive.
I accepted a task as a literary agent with a nurturing, high-performing group. I’ve a contented new starting.
Jackie Garcia-Morales is an creator, publicist, and literary agent based mostly in New Jersey. Connect on Linkedin.
