How Working in the Automotive Industry Unlocked the Creative Job of My Dreams

I spend most of my day rotating my attention between social media, website design, photography and video production, analytics, budgeting and Adobe Creative Suite. How did I end up here? The answer is luck, and being a little pushy.

When I was younger, I often dreamed (as we do) of the luxurious and creative job that I would surely have by the time I was in my twenties, and certainly my thirties. I will give a healthy nod to The Devil Wears Prada for putting the image of living a fast-paced life and career into my still-developing brain, but I had it all figured out: I was going to be a news anchor. Work hard, tell compelling stories, look fabulous, and kick ass. So what would younger me have thought of me being a car salesperson at 24? A failure? Probably.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2015, majoring in Communications and a concentration of Media and Arts Analysis. I’ve been the butt of many of my own jokes when it comes to my own degree, but the fact of the matter is, I have been student debt-free for many years, and have a full-time job that I enjoy and pays the bills. This situation is what I like to think of as a happy accident: after graduating college, I worked as a waitress, bartender, and eventually restaurant manager to pay for bills. I soon moved back in with my parents. I questioned myself, wondering why I had just gone through college when I would just end up not utilizing my degree, much like 40 percent of folks with a college degree.

It was a busy day at the restaurant. I’m sure I smelled of grease, beer, and cleaner: the restaurant stench that never leaves your clothes, skin and belongings. I was alternating between helping out the bartenders, expediting food from the kitchen, and clearing dirty dishes from tables, while flashing a smile and giving the classic “how was everything today?”

I spotted a familiar face at one of the tables: a manager from the local Subaru dealership that I’d just purchased my first new car from. It was an entry-level hatchback Impreza, but I loved that thing like it was a Bentley. I stopped by to say hello to this man and his family, and hurried away with their dishes.

As I flocked from table to table, I couldn’t help but think: I love hiking. I love being outside. I love my Subaru. I’m sure they would have some kind of job for me here… but what a risky jump that would be. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was in the same pit that a lot of restaurant folks find themselves in: a feeling that you can’t leave because you’re only good at working at restaurants.

I made my way back to their table and eventually blurted out the words before I even had time to think about what I was doing: “I’m miserable. Are you hiring?” The man raised his eyebrows and offered, “We’re always looking for people to sell cars; what do you think?”

I scrunched my face, images of Danny Devito from Matilda flashing into my mind. “I don’t think I can do that. Do you have anything in marketing or advertising?” My meek, hopeful request was met with reality: most dealerships, like his, outsourced for all of their marketing needs. It was easier that way.

I looked around at where I spent most of my waking hours: children spilling their drinks, parents looking at the bills with fatigue in their eyes, drunk folks at the bar yelling at the game on the television. I had stained my new button-down shirt with buffalo sauce and was constantly plagued with sleepless nights hearing the sound of the ticket machine from the bar and kitchen. Was this really where I wanted to be?

“Sure,” I mustered. “I don’t know if I’ll be any good, but I’ll do it.” The next day, I interviewed, got the job, and put in my two weeks notice in the restaurant industry, not knowing that I’d accidentally made the best career decision of my life thus far.

Selling Subaru's was fun. The customers were smart, the product was amazing, and it challenged me. I did this for two years until management offered to let me run their social media page — just their Instagram to start. I did this at no cost to the company, in between selling cars.

Eventually, the management team recognized my efforts and promoted me to a “Sales and Marketing Coordinator “— I assisted the sales floor with whatever they needed, and ran social media on top of that. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google. It kept growing. I was able to utilize my Canon DSLR camera, and produce fun photo and video content. It was shaping into a dream potential that felt many, many years away.

It wasn’t many, many years away: it was two short years away. I now operate as the Marketing Director for the entire automotive group, at twenty-nine years old. I’m using my degree. I get to create content with essentially no limits. I work with various manufacturers, third party companies, and more to make our brand the go-to brand for folks in our area, and sometimes beyond that, too. Recently, I have been handed enough volume of work to require another employee in our marketing department.

I wouldn’t call it manifesting: I deal with a very large amount of both anxiety and imposter syndrome. I’d call the path to getting here lucky — lucky to have a team (this feels brown-nosey to write, but it’s the truth) that sees value in my work, and to trust me to do it well. But also… hanging my work on the metaphorical fridge to show them what I can do didn’t hurt.

I’m grateful. I’m lucky. And I hope you’re lucky with your career, too.