Over a month ago, I found myself in the San Francisco-based Whiskey Media office eager to prove that I was worth them taking me on as a future intern for the Fall of 2011. This was the final stop of a journey that had lasted over a year. Even though it did not work out for me, I am writing this to tell you guys about my story, discuss what a future internship applicant can expect, and help you learn from where I went wrong.

Like most people who follow Whiskey Media, my first introduction to idea that they were taking on interns was Matt Kessler. Sure anybody would be jealous of the position he got in, but imagined he got the gig through some agency or a random notice on a college bulletin board or something (it was only later that I learned that he had done a lot of community stuff). He was followed by Steve, and I thought, good for them, but I could not even come close to even being considered for something as they must be picked from some source that I did not know about.

It was only later on that Ethan put up this notice calling on the community to apply for internship at Whiskey Media. While I normally live in Berkeley (which if you do not know is about 30 minutes by subway from San Francisco), at the time he posted that I was studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia. Still, I submitted a resume and Ethan said it would be a good idea to contact him in the Spring (it was August 2010 at the time) for applying for a Summer 2011 internship. He also mentioned that living in the bay area was a plus.

This was where I probably made my first mistake, as him saying that made me think I had a good chance. I then started imagining if I got the internship what I contribute to the sites without being invasive. I was getting ahead of myself. When I returned to the Bay Area/United States, I let Ethan know that I had returned. But when I first contacted him I titled the PM “Update”, which I should have taken into account that Ethan would look at that title and delete it as it says nothing about you are writing about.

As the New Year began, Kessler and Steve had left, and for the longest time Whiskey Media was sans interns for several months. This made me concerned that Whiskey Media had canceled their internship program for good. All I could do was stay tuned to Whiskey’s programming and Ethan’s Blog on Giant Bomb for updates. Finally, what I considered to be Spring (April) had arrived and I submitted my resume again. This time Ethan wanted an interview in person. The problem this time was that I was at Southern Oregon University finishing up my final quarter of my undergraduate studies in Video Production. Another mistake I could have made was that I should have been better available. He told me to let him know when I had finished.

However, while waiting for the quarter to be finish, this post showing the Summer internship lineup appeared. While I was excited for those who got chosen, I franticly wrote Ethan, worried that I had missed my chance. He assured me that openings were still available for September-December. So now I was applying for Fall instead of Summer, which was fine with me because it would give sometime between graduating and the beginning of the internship to rest and gather myself. As the quarter and my college experience drew to a close, I contacted Ethan and we arranged to meet for an interview the Friday after I got back.

So here I was about to go into my first out of college interview. I believed I had two things going for me: I lived in the bay area and not only did I major in video production but I had directed live television programs for the college television station. I was standing at door of the building where Whiskey is housed (they share it with several other companies). I pressed the button and it just kept ringing. I felt awkward, like I was supposed to do something else to get in that I did not know about. Finally, someone from another company answered the door and asked why I was there. I told him I was interviewing with Ethan Lance at Whiskey Media, and he directed me to Whiskey’s door within the building.

Just like that I was that I was there. This is the place I had seen over and over again in videos. I was near people I idolized for years and all I could think was, “Don’t say or do anything stupid!” Finally, Ethan showed up and we exchanged greetings. With all due respect to Ethan, I get the sense that he not the best at time management. In addition to scheduling four interns to work for Whiskey Media at once, we had previously arranged for our interview to be at 2 pm but he asked me if we had scheduled our interview at 2 or 2:30.

After getting that settled, he showed me briefly around the place before we decided on the bar for a place to conduct the interview. In some ways the interview was difficult because I wanted to make myself appealing to what Ethan was looking for, but at the same time getting across what I hoped get out of an internship at Whiskey. If I was to get an internship, in my ideal world, I would have loved to learn more my about my field of video production from Ana, Joey, Drew, and Vinny. They do my favorite work that Whiskey puts out.

During my interview with Ethan, I could sense an intenseness as if he were testing me to see what I was made of. The same was not true when Ethan stepped out, and Daniel entered. My conversation with Daniel was more laid back. Ethan’s interview was more what I would want to be doing at Whiskey, whereas Daniel’s interview was more about what my interests were. Though it was laid back, he did have a few surprises I was not expecting. I knew vaguely what I wanted to say, but when he asked me what would be a good gift for premium members (like me) who are contributing another $50 in September as part of their yearly subscriptions. I had to think for a little bit. I do not remember what I said but it probably could have been more creative.

Half way through the Daniel section, a wild Kessler appeared. This was unexpected even for Daniel. Kessler briefly joined the conversation. He asked me if Giant Bomb was my favorite Whiskey site, on account of I was wearing a Metroid T-shirt. I told him that while Giant Bomb had gotten me into Whiskey Media, it has been fun getting to know the other sites as well. I also mentioned that I was really excited about Screened.

The three of us chatted for a while then Kessler and Daniel left and had to get back to work. Ethan then returned and said that while he had to get back to work, I was welcome to stay for the Happy Hour. However, he told me not to disturb the staff, and to only talk to the interns. I took him at his word and was super quiet so as to not bother anyone. I am still not sure if this was the right thing to do. On the one hand, they do have work to do and I would not want to cause problems, but on the other hand I recently called Radio Dave last week and he said that that is just a scare tactic that Ethan uses. So in playing it back maybe I should have been livelier. I mean I was sitting next to Kessler when Dave comes up to him and assists him with whatever he was doing, and I do not doing anything. I do not even introduce myself to him for fear that I did what Ethan told me not to do. I still have no idea.

Anyway, I got to see this Happy Hour live, which was a ton of fun especially since I got to partially see how it got done. Ethan had to leave early, but I asked him when I would be hearing from him and he said the following week. However, the following week came and went without a word. I should have seen that that was not a good sign, but in my mind I thought that maybe they were still talking it over. Until finally, on the next Tuesday I got the message that I was not right for them. I had suspected this was case, but at least now it was official.

So where did I go wrong? I probably will never know, but I have my guesses. I probably should have been more willing to go the extra mile and be there to interview when he originally asked. I probably should not have gone so heavy into the video production on my resume because they probably were not looking for video production people. But mostly I should not have planned so far ahead and gotten my hopes up. I did not think that while we only see the people who get the internship, there are probably hundreds of people who get to the interview stage who do not end up getting to be an intern.

Am I disappointed? Yes, for sure I am disappointed. I thought some of the ideas of what I would do there were pretty solid. For example, I had an idea of how to frame the intern videos differently. I would be a reporter who has gone undercover as an intern without Whiskey knowing and the videos would be the reports I file. I thought it was a pretty good idea.

However, mostly I am disappointed about the missed learning opportunity. While I can not speak as to why most people apply to be an intern at Whiskey, I assume it is because most people think it is a fun place to be. I was hoping to be an intern as Whiskey as a chance to learn more. Whether it be how websites work, or more about video production, I just wanted continue to learn despite college being over. Oh well, one can not win them all, and if nothing else it is a good learning experience for applying to other internships or jobs. And if nothing else by not getting the internship it means I do not have to play Farmville for my job. So score one for me.

Update (3-15-12): In light of the announcement of Whiskey Media's split and relocations, I would like to add that I am truly thankful to have gotten a chance to visit the Front Street office when they were there. It is something I will always remember. Good luck to everybody who worked at Whiskey Media.