Queens Man Completes 100 Jobs In 2012

By MEGAN MONTALVO

Dave Herman, who worked 100 jobs in 2012, completed job No. 100 as a correspondent for NBC’s “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly.”

As revelers flocked to Times Square in celebration of the annual New Year’s ball drop, one western Queens resident was relishing in the wish of a lifetime.

  On Dec. 31, Dave Herman dared to accomplish the most unthinkable of resolutions – complete his 100th job by the end of 2012.

  Ranging from a social media marketer to a street musician and almost everything in between, Herman’s final job of the year ultimately led him to a gig as a New Year’s Eve correspondent on “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly,” broadcast on NBC.

  Though the 27-year-old New Jersey native had been a frequent viewer of the TV special on NBC, never did he think he would actually have the shot at making a national televised appearance.

  “It all started with an idea,” Herman said. “I was doing a lot of freelance gigs towards the end of 2011, and I thought it would be fun to make this goal of doing 100 jobs in one year.”

  After completing a page program at NBC in Oct. 2011, Herman said he found himself working a series of odd jobs to make the rent in the Big Apple.

  “At one point, I found myself working five different jobs at once,” he said. “It was at that point that I came up with the idea to work 100 jobs in 2012.”

  In addition to having an affinity for change, Herman said he wanted to prove to himself and others that he had the networking chops and talent to live up to the goal.

  “I’m sure some people thought I was crazy at first,” he said. “But, I thought if all else fails, my goal will at least show prospective employers that I have versatility and am great at multi-tasking.”

  Shortly after forming his goal, Herman took to the internet to blog his journeys in job land, some of which included tales of asking famed writer R.L. Stine to hire him to conduct an interview at a reading of his two most recent books – “Wanted: The Haunted Mask” and “Red Rain.”

  “I pretty much reached out to him on a whim and asked him if he would consider giving me a job,” Herman said. “After sending him a few of my sketch videos, he seemed interested and said ‘Okay.’ The funniest part was that after he agreed to hire me, he said ‘What exactly would I be paying you for?’”

  Herman pitched the idea of conducting a video interview with the author, and Stein became job No. 78 on the list.

  While working with Stein and Carson Daly were among his favorite jobs of the year, Herman said that other highlights of 2012 included being hired as a model for a Bacardi magazine ad, which became job No. 41, and an appearance on the Today Show, where he was allowed to make a televised plea to NBC executives for job No. 100.

  “It’s so funny how everything came full circle,” he said. “What started out as a love for all the NBC shows led to a job in their page program, which led to an appearance on the Today Show and then lastly, a gig as one of their correspondents. I couldn’t be happier.”

  Though Herman’s current full-time job as a brand ambassador is expected to be more on the long-standing side, the modern day Renaissance man says he looks forward to continue using his creative skills as an improv comedian at the Upright Citizens Brigade and other comedy venues throughout the City.

  “The one thing I hope people take away from my 100 jobs project is that everyone has the potential to do whatever it is that they want to do,” he said. “The whole idea is to never settle.”

  As for his resolutions for 2013, Herman is working on a project called “10,000 Kevins,” which seeks to get 10,000 people named Kevin to sign a petition to get Kevin Bacon to take him to dinner and raise one million dollars for Bacon’s charity “Six Degrees.”

  Those who are interested in following the project may visit www.10000kevins.com.

  Reach Reporter Megan Montalvo at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 128 or mmontalvo@queenstribune.com.