Career moves, career schmoves.

Years ago I worked for a big-name magazine, located in Midtown Manhattan. You'd know the name; it was on every supermarket checkout line in America. And no, it was not one of those cheapass publications that followed celebrity tan lines or the adventures of Bat Boy. This one had been around for 100 years and was rock-solid as well as famous.

Not this one either. I'm not that old.

It was a good job in a fun workplace with great people and a sense of camaraderie. 

I wanted out. 

The problem was, the head company had no interest in developing talent within. This I base not only on my own experience, but also on that of coworkers. You were what you were and you might get ahead if you were brilliant and devoted to the job around the clock. That's how my boss got her spot. But me, I would probably be in the exact same job for life. 

So, I drove to Secaucus and interviewed at a trade magazine that covered the adventures of floor products. I totally nailed it down, as they say in the floor business.

I didn't get the job.

I've thought about this from time to time over the years, and I keep coming back to a strange conclusion. You see, I was at the top of my copy game in those days, and my résumé was excellent. I was as close to being fit and still had most of my hair, and looked good in a suit. I think they were impressed by me at the interview, during which I met multiple staff members. But there was one sticking point.

They could not get past the idea that I would leave a prestigious consumer magazine to work for a small trade magazine. 

I tried to impress upon them that this was an opportunity with a company that had a rep for training and promoting from within. Further, as a guy, I was about as interested in the content of that consumer mag as I was in floor products anyway. And further yet, I would be trading a frustrating New York City commute for a much faster (if still frustrating) drive to work. That last point I didn't play up, but it was certainly part of the appeal.

Ultimately I think I didn't get the job because they didn't believe me. They may have thought I was about to lose my job at the consumer magazine, or maybe I was clubhouse poison and on my last leg there. Why else leave work at a famous magazine to go into the trades? (Never mind that the trade job paid at least as well....)

Just one of those weird lessons in life. I'm pretty honest, and like a fool I expect people to believe me. But sometimes they don't, because sometimes the truth makes no sense to them. 

By the way, don't look on the supermarket checkout and wonder which magazine I worked for. The Internet and bad management killed it dead a few years later. Not sure if the floor products magazine is still around under a different name, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least.