It's been a while, 3 months. 3 Months without skiing makes for a rough 3 months, but as always, I survived. At the end of August I had this pretty swanky job. I was working as a web developer for a new clothing company based in West Los Angeles. It was pretty great, my co-workers were fantastic, my view consisted of watching Ferraris drive by on Melrose Blvd. I loved my job. Then the day following MAGIC, I was laid off. The economy happens and it happened to me. That same day I went back to my trusty prior internship employer, http://www.malakye.com, and started applying to jobs. I applied to 3 positions that day. The first was Freeskier Magazine for online content, the second was Creative Reaction for online content, and the third was for Copper Mountain for social media and online content. I was already mid-way through the interview process with 686. I had aced my first interview and was working on a project for them and doing a great job. But alas, the layoff took me by surprise and I let it kill my spirit. Let's just say I didn't deserve to be hired by 686, and besides, I'm a skier.... Still love them, but meh, I'm a skier. Anyway, where this is headed.... I spent the most time on my application to Copper. I spent around 12 hours on the initial application. I got an email from Freeskier saying "no thanks," but I got an email from Copper saying, "We want to hear more." I responded to the email with another 5 hours or so worth of effort. With in a few days I was hired and moving to Colorado. This isn't my first time working Marketing for a ski resort, but I would definately consider this the closest position so far to where I want to be.

My first day out... Oct 21st. Photo by Forrest MillerUpon moving here and starting work, I discovered I had some crazy competition. I was up against plenty of marketing degrees and MBA's, neither of which I have. Apparently there were 3 things that helped me rise above the competition. 1. I clearly accepted that the position was entry level and seasonal, but I followed up with, "I'm excited about the opportunities the position will bring in the future." 2. I researched for a few hours before I wrote my statement in the Copper "voice". I wrote, I rewrote, and then I wrote a few more responses. Then when it came to the writen application, I did every single answer in the Copper "voice" instead of just the initial paragraph. 3. I've been maintaining my online presence carefully for the last few years. I didn't do it specifically for this position, but I knew that people would be looking at my facebook and my blog and everything else, and I made sure that when they looked, I was the best person I could be. My first project with the mountain was making this video with the wonderful Forrest Miller our photographer/videographer. So yeah, I guess I work in the Ski Industry now. Not just as a lift opperator or in a ski shop, but in the Marketing Dept. at a top ranked resort. It's pretty amazing and I'm getting experience that I know only a handfull of positions could offer. So now I sit here, on my day off, looking out the window and watching hundreds of skiers come down the mountain. I can see the SKY shutes off the back side of Breckenridge. I'm watchinging them work on the half pipe that will be open in 2 weeks. I'm going to go ski in a few minutes. I can't imagine my life being any other way.
My first "public" run of the 10/11 season.... 4th chair behind ski patrol and the incredibly rad 88 year old Frank. With the marketing director and manager. Photo by Forrest Miller.