What I Learned from Turning Down an Interview with Covergirl at 23-Years-Old
- Julia Flaherty
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
In 2017, I packed up and moved back to the Midwest after living alone on the East Coast for a couple of years. At 21, I made the trek with my grandparents and dad to a place where I didn’t know anyone except my new boss and a few co-workers.
It was my first big step into adulthood, and while I had dreamed of independence, I never expected the reality to come with some heavy challenges. The job I had moved for wasn’t working out. The pay was too low to sustain the apartment I was renting in New Jersey’s Bergen County, and I feared I would soon be unable to afford the insulin and blood glucose testing supplies I needed to survive with type 1 diabetes.
Luckily, I found a new role at a fragrance company that I loved. However, the uncertainty of the job’s stability left me looking elsewhere after a year, and in the span of two years, I’d had three jobs.
I was worried I’d let my parents down after many unexpected job changes, but the city moved fast, and my job market looked very different from theirs.
The Reality of New York City Life
The next step in my journey finally took me to New York City. I had the opportunity to work in the Flatiron District for a social media and entertainment publishing company for several months. Still, I never made it into the city as I had imagined. I thought I would find an apartment in the city, but it wasn’t in the cards because I hesitated to live with strangers. Commuting four hours a day was exhausting, and it didn’t take long to realize that city life wasn’t fulfilling me as I thought it would.
I had thought I would thrive living far from home, but the effort ultimately exhausted me more than it energized me. Being shy, I found it challenging to make meaningful connections. Despite meeting a few awesome people, I still felt a profound loneliness. I never expected to feel so isolated while surrounded by so many people navigating in and out of Penn Station.
Tove Lo became my greatest confidante as I plugged into her each morning and evening, waking early as the day's first stop and arriving home late as the last one. I was in autopilot mode, and I burnt out fast.
Learning from the Experience
Though it wasn’t what I imagined, I don’t regret the experience. I’m proud of myself for taking the leap. Looking back, I realize how much I learned about myself and my limits.
After returning home, I found myself with a modest following on social media—almost 20,000 followers across my Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts and thousands of visitors to my blog, Miss Trend She, monthly. I didn’t see the value in those numbers then, and I regret deleting those accounts. I was too scared to take a chance on myself in this capacity and had more business acumen to gain.
I struggled to embrace my inner confidence and power.
If I had taken a break instead of walking away from the online communities I enjoyed, I might have had a different path. However, I felt somewhat traumatized by what I perceived at the time to be one of my most significant failures. I found myself grieving the loss of a dream I had for over ten years.
Who was I now, I wondered? I had defined a lot of my personality by this aspiration. Now, I had to re-evaluate.
And then, I got an email that made me question everything all over again...
Navigating Internal Conflict: My Change with Covergirl
During this period, I found myself in deep internal conflict. The burnout I felt from isolation, awful dating experiences, and the loss of a long-held dream weighed heavily on me. I tend to feel things deeply, and this experience was one of those that felt hard to bear.
Then, I saw an opportunity that reignited my hopes. Was there a path back? A second chance?
Covergirl was looking for a new social media coordinator, and the position included the chance to interview celebrities like Zendaya. I applied, partly out of a lingering hope that I might return to New York. It was a unique application process: I had to post an engaging Instagram photo featuring Covergirl's products.
I thought I had a small chance, but I was surprised and torn when Covergirl responded with an interview invitation.
I debated the decision with a few friends. The interview would require me to fly back to NYC, which meant confronting the very feelings of failure I had tried to leave behind. I wondered if I was truly ready to face the city again.
Turning Down the Interview: A Hard Decision
In the end, I decided against the interview. While part of me regretted not pursuing the opportunity, I felt unsure of who I was at that moment. I wasn’t ready to jump back into that world—especially not without clarity about what I truly wanted for my future. I questioned whether I should go back to school and pursue a degree in nutrition to expand my giveback to people with diabetes.
Looking back, I realize that this was a pivotal moment. I turned away from something that might have been great, but I also allowed myself to choose a path that felt more aligned with my evolving goals. The fear of failure, of not being enough, was real, but so was the understanding that I needed to pause and take a breath before making life-altering decisions.
The conclusion? Neither of these ideas came to fruition. Instead, I worked part-time for a local publishing company for about a year while I figured out the next step. My journey ultimately took me to a consulting firm where I operated as a content, social media, digital, and email marketer for about four years.
Then, when the pandemic hit, I felt called to work for a non-profit, where I took a brief detour in project management and marketing operations.
Coming Full Circle: Digital Marketing and Social Media
Today, I have finally returned to content, digital, social media, and email marketing—functionality I adore as an entrepreneurial spirit. Now, I examine my past experiences with social media strategies, content creation, and influencer marketing management from a fresh perspective.
I recognized I was more knowledgeable than I ever gave myself credit for because many people along the way led me to believe that if I didn’t work for a big-name company, I wasn’t worthy of calling myself an expert in these fields.
During my early 20s, I didn’t fully understand the value of my work, but today I see the impact. I know how to talk about it. I’ve come full circle, and while strategies may have evolved over the years, the essence of what I did still holds significance.
What has also come full circle is my self-belief. (It only took 10 years.) But today, I refuse to compromise my passion. Life is too short, and I’ve finally found a way to integrate the two things I love at work: health and wellness, and online marketing.
Today, I own my passion. Today, I know how to advocate for myself in the workplace.
What I’ve Learned: Pause, Reflect, and Forgive Yourself
If there’s one thing I’d tell those starting out in their careers, it’s to pause and reflect. Don’t rush decisions. Give yourself time to explore your options and allow space for clarity. Allowing yourself to go through things will help you learn more about yourself. It’s important to connect with others along the way—especially if you’re shy, as many of us are looking for the same connections.
Also, forgive yourself. Mistakes are inevitable and part of the process. I’m proud of the person I’ve become through life’s ebbs and flows. While I sometimes wonder what could have been, I am content with where I am now. In life, there will always be many paths we could have chosen.
Ultimately, it’s not about what happens to you but what you make of what happens.
Where I Am Today: Full Circle
Now, I’m back in the digital, content, and social media marketing world in a role I love. I live in a cozy and close-to-home place, surrounded by family, friends, and two pets who bring me joy every day.
New York will always be a part of my story, and I’m grateful for my opportunities there. When I visit now, it’s almost as if I’m hugging my younger self. It’s a city of dreams that I’ve learned to value as a beautiful piece of my story.
And when I reflect on the opportunity lost with Covergirl, I remember the many I've gained over the years since then with fierce gratitude for the journey.
