HITS

Getting one’s foot in the door in any sector can be difficult and that is certainly the case with the media and entertainment (M&E) industry.

The Women in Technology Hollywood (WITH) Community Engagement Committee sought to make that process easier for young M&A professionals by hosting “Boundless Brilliance and Women in Technology Hollywood,” an “Entering the Workforce” webcast panel on Sept 13 via Zoom.

The webcast covered tips from a college recruitment level, a human resources and hiring manager perspective, featuring executives from Sony Pictures at each of those three levels.

Discussion topics included how to stand out while in school, whether cover letters are necessary, how to set yourself apart in a resume, what recruiters screen for and what are hiring managers focused on.

Noting that she’s been with Sony for the past 15 years, April Schneider, executive director, IT, TV Distribution and hiring manager, said she hires a lot of people at the company. “We have a very large team. I’m constantly bringing fresh enthusiastic, new blood on to their team who can contribute and have some diverse experiences to bring to the table. Additionally, I am used to doing mock interviews for different universities, usually University of Notre Dame.

Even at her previous employer, she did “a lot of campus interviews as well so definitely this is right in my wheelhouse and I’m hoping that whatever we have to provide to you today will be helpful,” she said.

Noting that she does most of the “behavioral soft skill type of interviews when I am performing mock interviews,” she said “one thing that I like to do is I have kind of a sample bucket of concepts that I’m looking for in a candidate.” That bucket can include creative thinking, quantitative analysis, strategic thinking, teamwork, written communication” and more.

“I have questions that will basically draw out the person’s experience [and] see if they have the capability” required for a specific position, Schneider said.

“We have a big team. Sometimes one of the most important skillsets I’m looking for is an independent self-starter who will tell me when they’re done and ready because I don’t have the time to babysit,” she added.

 Moderator Miriam Sharman, business enablement, Digital Media Supply Chain and WiTH Community Engagement chair, asked what young job seekers could do early on to start resume building.

Responding Robert Maxwell, VP, IT, TV Networks, College Student Identification at Sony, said: “As a person who’s growing up now in the technology space, you have really high standards for technology and you’re able to catch on extremely quickly to concepts and ideas.”

All adults have to do for young employees today is provide the “proper guardrails and mentorship can go a long ways towards, getting you ready for a career,” he said.

He also recommended that young job seekers head online to LinkedIn Learning, noting it has many “categories of learning all over the map,” adding: “You can learn the deepest technical things, [such as] user interface design, and then you can go all the way to business forecasting, finance, social skills – all that kind of stuff.”

There are also “extension courses you could take at universities and things like that,” he added.