Hile Design copywriting intern John Farris reflects on his experience:

My time has come. We all knew it was going to happen, but we tried to forget. And upon the final hour I eat bagel after bagel at my desk and contemplate how to sign off wittily before they come and take me away.

Well I guess I’ll actually be walking out, hopefully without an escort (sorry about the stapler, Dave), and hopefully with my dignity intact. I am sad to see my end here—it’s really a fun place to be. And I wasn’t kidding about the bagels; I’m eating them right now, a bit of a going-away treat.

It’s hard to get too upset about leaving when I think of how much better off I am since starting in February. I now have something more to say than “I watch TV” to a potential employer when he asks me about my experience with advertising. A while back I looked at my resume and thought about what skills I could add to it since working at Hile, and I was quite pleased. I owe it all to the people at Hile for taking a chance on me and seeing what I can do. Unfortunately, nothing I did was that impressive (otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this), and I’m going to work minimum wage for the rest of my life. Just kidding—I’m excited to see what opportunities await me after the experience of working here.

I could go on and list the technical skills I’ve acquired, but that would be awfully boring. I’ll just keep it brief and simple and give the best advice I can think of for anyone in my position: Don’t be shy about approaching a company and relentlessly pursuing them until they submit to your requests. Well, not exactly, but bring some confidence to the table (especially when you don’t have much else to prove yourself with) and let them know how much you want to work with them. What have you got to lose anyway?

Editor’s note: John’s right. While we didn’t exactly “submit to [his] requests,” John’s polite perseverance—via emails, not phone calls—kept reminding us of his availability so that when we did need someone to help with a pro bono project, he was the one we thought of. Thanks, John, for all your hard work and witty writing—and when you’re famous, don’t forget your first advertising job!