I Blew My Writer Interview for Buzzfeed — Here’s What Happened
Lesson learned: Confidence in job interviews can only get you so far.
Freelance writing is a steady source of extra income for me ever since I started in 2019. It seems like a long time ago, back when I was a wide-eyed, just-push-it-out writer.
Now I’m blowing writing interviews for big companies like Buzzfeed, and I’m alright with that.
Heck, it was all thanks to this platform that allowed me to write whatever I wanted and made me aware that I can make money from writing exactly that.
If you want to write about health, companies will hire you even if you’re not a doctor. The same goes for many niches — if you like lawn mowers, man do I have a boat-load of writing gigs for you.
All you need are a spec article showing you can write about the topics your chosen company covers, excellent research skills, and a lot of confidence.
Or so I thought.
A slight change to my writing career plan
The year 2020 really changed the direction of my career. Before I was living on dollars traveling around wherever I can afford in Asia.
It all changed when I moved to Toronto — one of the most expensive places to live in.
My to-do list pretty quickly turned into anything else other than writing like working a 9–5 job, school, or just procrastinating in general.
People sway even from the things they’re passionate about, but I’m glad I didn’t sway too far.
So this year, 2022, I decided to apply for a full-time writing job in Toronto.
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The Buzzfeed interview
SEO writing is a form of writing I grew to love over time. Anyone who would scroll down my profile can see that that wasn’t always the case, but there’s a high demand for it in digital marketing.
When I was looking for a full-time writing job on Indeed, an ad for Buzzfeed popped up for a shopping writer.
Instantly, I knew I had to try so I clicked the ad, put down my info, and let the universe do its thing.
Of course, it was a long shot to even get an interview but in my head, I always say ‘at least I tried’.
Truthfully, I was a little bit cocky because I usually do well in interviews but boy, that first interview humbled me.
Not to mention, the waiting game for the phone interview made me too anxious.
I just didn’t realize what else I could have done until the interview was over and there was nothing to be done.
Lesson learned: don’t come to battles unprepared.
This isn’t my first rejection from Buzzfeed
Younger Leo would still be ecstatic knowing we scored a writing interview for Buzzfeed even if we didn’t get it.
I remember when Buzzfeed had all the cute quizzes you can do and it didn’t have much competition then, so every trendy thing I’ve read came from their publication.
No doubt I have tried applying as a writer before for Buzzfeed when I was living in the Philippines with nothing to back up my resume.
Obviously, I didn’t even hear back from them back then.
At least now I was considered. That’s an improvement.
Writing as a career is something my teenage self didn’t know how to pursue because where I’m from, creative options for careers aren’t as pushed as, for example, being in the medical field.
But, I’m glad I’m still here writing, even if it’s not for Buzzfeed.
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