In Belo Horizonte, Campos directed the literary supplement of Folha de Minas and worked in his uncle's construction company. He went to Rio de Janeiro in 1945 in order to meet the poet Pablo Neruda, and ended up staying. In Rio were already his best friends from Minas—Sabino, Otto, and Hélio Pellegrino.
Campos worked as the literary editor for Folha de Minas in Belo Horizonte and later joined his uncle's construction business. He moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1945 to meet poet Pablo Neruda, who he ended up befriending there. In Rio were also his friends from Minas—Sabino, Otto, and Hélio Pellegrino.