Big news to share! I am moving to New York City on Friday to join the Food Network team as the new social media specialist! This has been a life-long dream and I am ecstatic that it is finally a reality. During the summer before my senior year of college, I interned at Food Network and had dreams of returning ever since. I cannot wait to bring you along my journey living in the Big Apple and being right in the heart of the food world. The holidays are coming up and I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like to be around the Food Network Kitchens, let alone in the city!

When I was an intern at Food Network during the summer of 2013.

I have had my sights set on switching from the non-profit world in Indianapolis, Indiana to the food media industry in New York City for the last eight months. Landing this new job has been a work in progress for a long time. To give you some perspective, I applied for roughly 100 different jobs! I always knew that working at Food Network was the dream, but I had to “cast a wide net,” as my dad says, to set myself up for success. I spent lunch breaks and evenings on phone calls, had dozens of video interviews, brainstormed ideas and pitches on edit tests, filled a whole one-inch notebook with notes about jobs, and details from calls. I even had a few roles lead to the very end, but in my gut I just knew it wasn’t the one. Thank goodness I kept moving forward in my search because the timing worked perfectly for me to accept my dream job at Food Network! Patience and perseverance truly paid off. New York City, here I come!

If I can give you one piece of advice about searching for jobs today, it is to utilize your network and leverage positive relationships. After months of job searching, I finally decided to start utilizing my network – and that’s really where things took off. I emailed, Facebook messaged, texted and called more than 100 friends, peers from college, family members, friends of family members, past co-workers and more to ask for their insight and network.

You are exceptionally more likely to jump to the top of the pile of job applications if you have a relationship with the company or know someone who can help connect you. Don’t mistake this advice for me saying you only need to utilize your network and know people. You also need to work incredibly hard and position yourself to be qualified for the roles you are seeking. I felt confident asking these people for help with introductions knowing that I could fully deliver in my work.

My experience networking over the last few months taught me so much about people. So many people were beyond ready, willing and excited to help. I remember one evening when I started sending out these messages, I sat on my computer staring at Facebook Messenger for hours flipping back and forth between conversations reconnecting with old friends, learning about their careers and asking for insight on my search. Sending that one message, even if it felt a little awkward to ask for help, made the biggest difference! I now want to pay it forward helping others in their careers because of the time and insight people gave me.

If you are looking for your dream job, or unsure of where to start, hopefully this post will help inspire you to start searching now. And don’t give up! With patience and perseverance I was able to land the ultimate position at Food Network and couldn’t be happier.

I cannot wait to bring you along in my journey living in New York City. My presence with Gourmet Gab may change a little bit, but I will be updating social media often, so come join! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.

#GabAboutNYC, let’s do this!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Images by the incredible husband and wife duo, The Siners Photography.