RealJobs: Mike Zarrilli

Given that I’m currently a Risk Analyst, which can be interesting but certainly not as blog content, there’s not too much that’s exciting to report for Thursday.  I had a call with the accountant on the deal I was working on and was able to ask her questions about the accounting changeover.  Luckily, we had a breakthrough and the puzzle started becoming easier to put together.  We should be closing the deal shortly, which I’m very excited about.  I’m also getting very excited for my move.  While living in Southern California for 8 months is an unbelievable opportunity, I’m equally as excited for the content of my next role.  Now that I’ve put in some time and have a decent understanding of the business, I’ll get to have a lot more customer interaction and go on meetings with sales reps (or originators, as we call them, because the deals “originate” with them).  As I mentioned in my first post, this is what I’m really looking for in a career.

That whole “career” concept is something that I imagine anyone reading this is pondering.  I’m often asked how I like the GE rotational program concept.  Personally, I love it, but it’s probably not for everyone.  I like it because it gives me options, exposure to different jobs, exposure to different places, and A LOT of exposure to senior leadership at GE.  They truly treat these programs as an investment (GE invest over $1 billion in training each year) and senior leaders meet with us frequently to ensure they’re getting a return on their investment.  That being said, for people who want to live in one place forever, know exactly what they want to do with their lives, or are looking for a job with the most initial compensation possible, the program route probably isn’t the right one.  The program is definitely a long-term play.  These two years are about learning, growing, and figuring out where your passion is.  For me, it couldn’t be working out more perfectly.

Hopefully if you’ve actually read this blog you’ve gotten at least one thing out of it.  If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at Michael{dot}zarrilli{at}ge{dot}com.

RealJobs: Angela Donkor

I want to address the question I raised last time about whether working in corporate America means selling your soul. It is a question that haunted me during my senior year at BC. I had volunteered in prisons, homeless shelters and orphanages around the globe and I was worried about the person I would become if I took a job at PW. Then, I realized that deciding to attend BC was the same as deciding to work at PW. BC is one of the most expensive schools in the country and yet, we are committed and encouraged to help those less fortunate. Likewise, Paul, Weiss is one of the world’s leading law firms and yet, we do more pro bono work and help the community than anyone else.

I reject as false the choice between service and excellence. The idea that you either have to work at a place like Amnesty International or Paul, Weiss because one is good and the other is bad. I think what BC and Paul, Weiss demonstrate is that you can get an excellent education and still be committed to human rights just as you can work in the best law firm in the world and still care about the world. I believe the world is safer when we have people who care about the world in corporate America than when we don’t.

Today was a very exciting day at work! When I first started working at Paul, Weiss, I was assigned to a case that was headed to trial. When a case is heading to trial, things are crazy all the time. You worked many long hours and unlike what I said in my last blog, cases that are going to trial, everything becomes urgent. This morning, I find out that the case has been settled. Contrary to what is shown on TV, most legal cases do not make it into the courtroom. Many times through the discovery process (the process of collecting evidence for a case), the parties realize that they do not need to go to trial and that they can use an independent judge to settle the case. I am really happy that the case has settled because that means I can start going out with my friends, making more new friends and preparing for law school.

Because my case was settled, I did not have anything to do today. When this happens, I email the manager and tell him that my case was settled and that I can help out another team. Lucky for me, another team needed help. It turned out that the team that needed help has members that I have worked with before. The leading lawyer in charge of that case was one of the lawyers working on my other case that got settled. We were so happy to find out that we are working together again.

One of the first things that happen when there is a new case is for the case team to meet and discusses the case. Every case has different rules about confidentiality, billing and preferences on binders etc. For us, every case is like a new class with different requirements. Our job is to learn what the case needs so we can help our clients.

Today, the lawyer asked me to make 40 folders for the case team. In the folders, I had to put the initial documents that have been submitted for the case. Once I made the folders, I was asked to scan some documents and put them in a folder for the judge in charge of the case. This might sounds simple but every time something is going to a judge, it is so important. I have to check every page of the documents and make sure it is correct. I have to name the folder right and send it another department who will make sure that we delete any confidential client information. I will be helping this team out until I get assigned a new case.

Next blog, I will talk about preparing for law school and what Paul, Weiss does to help you as a paralegal.

RealJobs: Rosie Guerin

Wednesday morning was devoted to Tony Kushner. He is nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for “Lincoln.” You know him, of course, from his Tony, Pulitzer, Emmy-award winning play, “Angels In America.”

The segment producer, Neil, requested we cut and prepare the trailer and three clips from the film. Generally speaking the clip files themselves come from the movie studios or we access them via an electronic press kit. We download, then import into the editing system of choice — Avid primarily, occasionally Edius. Neil also asked for clips from a few past interviews Charlie did that referenced Lincoln. (We prepare them all and sometimes they’re all utilized, sometimes not.) For archival material we generally request tapes from our warehouse. Charlie Rose has been on the air for 21, going on 22 years, so archiving is essential.  Our website is a goldmine of interviews from years back, and we’re now on Hulu. I digress.

When Kushner clips were done I spent some of the afternoon on administrative stuff, then it was time to tape. It was a fantastic segment (very few have as eloquent and elegant grasp of language as Tony Kushner), I took a quick photo after, and we wrapped for the day — taping, at least.

The Oscar show, which I have mentioned before, is a longer-term project that I am working on with Yvette, Torrey, our editor, and our director. It is an arduous process that requires significant planning and orchestration. This year, the portion of it that will be on-camera, Charlie’s script read, will be shot in a studio that is different than our usual spot, which requires even more forethought.

At the end of the day on Wednesday, we met to discuss the show, progress we’ve made, what sorts of graphics we’ll want, and the production schedule. It ended up being a longer meeting than anticipated as we toured the new set, talked about camera movements and monitor placement, and brainstormed. As I say it is an on-going project so it lives at the back of my mind, and the collaboration continues day-to-day.

 

I’ll sign off with a word about internships. Two words, actually. Do them. I’m stating the obvious when I say I wouldn’t likely have gotten this job had I not been an intern. The internship at CR introduced me to many of my current colleagues, for one, and the dynamic of the workplace, for another. After I finished my internship here I continued to romanticize the idea of working in public television. By way of an electronic introduction to a colleague of a cousin (and assistance from the BC Career Center) I ended up with an internship in the pledge department at WGBH. I loved it. I rode my bike there a couple times a week between classes and work, and learned even more about television from the masters of public TV.

I encourage my brother, who is in college at the moment, to pursue internships he is interested in, or even thinks he might be interested in. That’s the beauty of an internship, in my opinion — you don’t have to be sure about anything.  It’s “real life” work experience, responsibility, accountability.  But most of all, it affords you the ability to pick and choose what you like and don’t like about a particular job (and sometimes career field), and when you’re released into the wild, that knowledge (sometimes it’s even just a gut feeling) is invaluable.

Thanks for reading. I’ll leave you with a couple more photos. I mentioned live shows yesterday. We did a live show – half our team in New York, half in Tampa, FL – for the Republican National Convention. Here, in a long shot, our brand new Secretary of State, John Kerry, speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina:

And President Obama and the First Family after his speech:

RealJobs: Will Watkins

What I actually do

So far in these blog posts I’ve talked a lot about life in Hollywood and all the things that take place outside of the office, but for today I’m going to talk about what goes on during the workday. As an assistant, there are three main things (among a million other small things) that I am responsible for: phones, submissions, and scheduling. Put together, these three things give a good overview of how a writer or director books a job.

Phones are simple but very important. If my boss needs to call someone, I make the call. If someone calls him, I answer. I listen in on every call, and it’s my job to know what each call we make is regarding. If we call someone and they are not available, the industry term is to say we “left word.” If they call back a few days later, I have to be able to tell my boss what the call was about, where the person works, and any other information that might be useful. I also take notes on every single phone call, and it’s crucial that these are very thorough and detailed. Today my boss asked me the name of a writer who had been hired on a certain project. We had been given this information over a month ago on a call, but I had it in my notes and was able to tell him. Most of our calls are to pitch writers for projects. Once we connect with an executive and pitch the client, the next step is a submission.

Let’s say we call an executive about a super hero project the are developing. It just so happens that our client has a great super hero screenplay they wrote, and so we say we want to send it as a sample. My job is to draft the submission letter, which is usually a paragraph or two about the screenplay and the writer. I then send the screenplay to the executive, and keep track of what we have sent out in a grid for my boss. Every Monday (and throughout the week) we go through our outgoing submissions and follow up with the executives to see if they have looked at the material yet. If they read the screenplay and liked it, the third step is setting a meeting.

To go back to the super hero example, if the executive liked our client’s super hero script, then I would set a time for our client to meet with the executive about their super hero project. If this meeting goes well, there will probably be a series of other meetings (all of which I will set) that will hopefully culminate in our client getting hired and paid to write a screenplay.

Those three things are the basis of my day to day, and that’s what goes on all day everyday, but for several different clients on a multitude of different projects. There’s no individual task that’s very difficult, but the challenge comes from the sheer volume or calls, meetings, and submissions that I handle on a daily basis.

RealJobs: Alexandra Faklis

Things tend to pick up rather than slow down at the end of the week at Huron.

Today started out with a Research Services Team Meeting. We discussed the financial goals and performance of the team , announced the new business that Huron recently won, and reviewed changes to federal regulations that affect our clients. About an hour later, we moved into another bigger team meeting where our company discussed changes to the performance management process.  We have a formal process for performance reviews, and the importance of being one’s own career advocate was emphasized.

I had about 45 minutes between meetings, so I focused on more reconciliation work for my client on the east coast. In my next meeting, we discussed the outreach progress of an internal initiative related to benchmarking different offices within the University. We’re working to secure participation from 30+ institutions across the country in this benchmarking effort, and the team I’m on is responsible for coordinating all that outreach.

I went out to lunch with my peer contact (a new hire that we are paired with to help welcome to the company), and then it was back to more meetings.   I’m on another internal team that coordinates our quarterly Higher Education Book Club. This book club meets once every three months to discuss relevant books/articles related to our industry.  It’s a great opportunity to connect with colleagues and stay abreast of the issues that are affecting our clients. We decided that we’ll be surveying the book club participants to inform our planning for the rest of the year, and I spent part of the afternoon designing that survey. I also worked on an amendment and updated budget for our current client.  And, finally, I was ready for the weekend!

Thanks for taking the time to read these posts – hopefully it’s given you a glimpse into consulting. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

RealJobs: Rosie Guerin

Tuesday night President Obama gave the State of the union address in Washington, and we would tape a live show of post-speech analysis at 11pm. We’re not often live, and when we are, as we happen to be a relatively small crew, it’s all hands on deck.

Prior to Tuesday we had two of our guests lined up, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. She would be joining Charlie from a studio in Newton, MA. (Her name might be familiar if you’ve read anything about LBJ. More recently, she has been in the press thanks to the multiple Oscar-nominated film, “Lincoln,” which is based on her book, Team of Rivals.)  Walter Isaacson was also booked (author of the most recent autobiography of Steve Jobs), and would join Charlie at the table.

I happened to be Mr. Isaacson’s contact and would make sure he arrived at our studio, made it to hair/makeup, and was situated at the table before 11. Part of my day was also spent coordinating travel for our other two guests, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, who would join us live via remote from Washington. Our line producer is the one who will book a studio (or in this case, multiple studios) when we have guests off-site. It is a multi-step process with various things to consider:  when a studio is available and at what price, what time to open the satellite window, how to establish that the guests will be able to hear Charlie in studio and vice-versa, and many other things that are outside of my realm of basic understanding.

I’m afraid, however, that I’m getting ahead of myself. Rewind to the morning.

I arrive to work everyday around 9:30. I knew heading in I would be cutting clips first thing because our first segment of the day was with Carolina Herrera (this week is Fashion Week in NYC), and two composers she worked with on her latest show, Tom Hodge and Javier Peral. Following them was a panel on the state of the economy with the author/scholar of Catholicism, Garry Wills.

Cutting clips was a duty I inherited at Charlie Rose by sheer virtue of the fact that I know how to edit. My first job out of BC (that I began in August after graduation) was at the local CBS affiliate in Portland, Maine. I worked there for a year, lived at home, and cut on Avid Newscutter everyday. I knew from the beginning the job would be a stepping stone, but living at home, saving money, spending time with my parents, becoming a faster editor, learning to run prompter, learning my way around a control room … worth it. And then some.

Cutting clips at CR means working with the producer as he or she decides what outside media they want to have prepared for Charlie to “throw to” during the interview. In Herrera’s case it was footage from her runway show, and a quick and simple montage of three designers who had been on the show in the past years (Ralph Lauren, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford) talking about the significance of fashion.

After clips are exported (I’m in constant communication with our line prod, Torrey, and the producer to ensure the clips are in order, they’re firing, and they make it down to the control room), I head down to the control room myself with my camera.

I sit next to Yvette in our control room during taping. In this case with the three segments we were down there for about 3 hours. Our director, technical director, camera operator (we use robotic cams), sound engineer, the segment producer, Ross, our production coordinator, and Torrey, are all there during taping. We communicate via headset.  My job as we roll is to run the chyron which is the graphic that appears as a “lower third” font identifying the guest when he or she is speaking.

As each segment wraps, I badge into the studio and photograph Charlie with the guest(s). It’s one of the highlights of my job and I’m thrilled to be able to do it. I’ve always loved photography but never thought I would have a camera put in my hands the first month at CR.  I assure you I’m an amateur, but it is a growing passion. I’ve been lucky enough to photograph so many fascinating people including Hillary Clinton at the State Department, Dame Judi Dench, Mahmoud Admedinejad, the president of Iran, and this man-of-many-talents, Tyler Perry:

We went live at 11 and had a good show. A few minor cuts and scrapes leading up to it (a problem with the feeds led to a last minute studio change and last minute re-routing of our Washington guests), but everyone made it to where they needed to be and we made it through.

These are long days, but I enjoy the adrenaline rush of going live. We wrapped at midnight and I headed home thinking about the many Tony Kushner clips I would be cutting the next day…

RealJobs: Will Watkins

Tuesday was another very busy day, I got to the office at 8:30 AM and didn’t get home until 10 PM, but I had a lot of fun in between. As I’ve mentioned in all my other posts, networking is everything in Hollywood, and for that reason I make an effort to meet two new people for drinks every week. Some assistants do more, some do less, but I find that twice a week is a manageable goal and it allows me to steadily build a good base of contacts. Last night I met up with an assistant who works at the production company of a major actor. We discussed each others companies, shared our backgrounds, and talked a lot about the process of developing a project around a star. Since he works at a company that produces projects specifically for one actor and I work at a company representing writers and directors, this was a great topic and I learned a lot from our conversation. While we were meeting under work-related pretenses, there is never anything formal about these types of meetings. One of the best things about working in entertainment is that you constantly get to meet new people, and Hollywood is full of recent graduates who are eager and ambitious to move up.

After our drinks wrapped up, we both walked to a nearby restaurant where our mutual friend was having a birthday party. While this was more social of an event, you can’t put twenty Hollywood assistants in a room without it turning into a networking spree. I met a bunch of assistants, agents, as well as a few aspiring writers and directors. The party was a lot of fun, and I’ll be following up with a lot of the people I met to get to know them better and learn more about their companies.

Anthony DiCosmo

It’s been a busy week so here’s a recap :

Monday:
I worked from our NY headquarters in Times Square.  That’s where my office is.  In the US, we also have offices in Santa Monica, Burbank, Chicago, DC, and Bentonville, AR. The NYC office is our global headquarters for Viacom, located on 44th Street & Broadway.  There are 26 television networks domestically under the Viacom umbrella, including Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Spike TV, LOGO, and BET, to name a few.  Over the past 8 years, I’ve worked with Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, TeenNick, SpikeTV, and TV Land.  Each network has a very different demo, identity, and culture.  Shuffling around a bit has been a great experience in learning how each network approaches content development and engagement.
Tuesday:
I hopped a flight to Portland for a Wednesday meeting with Nike. Really interesting flow.  My colleagues and I shared insights on the daily life, interests, and mindset of a 10 yr old, and what “Play” means to them.  Nike shared some of their insights on play and sports as well.  If this is of interest to you, you should check out their most recent research called “Designed to Move” at www.designedtomove.org.  Nike’s global headquarters is in a town outside of Portland called Beaverton.

They call it the Nike Campus for a reason.  It’s comprised of a huge cluster of buildings, all named after different iconic athletes.  Portland is a really nice city.  Super-trendy, industrial lofts, clean– but a little too dreary for me.  It’s always overcast.  Best part about visiting Nike:  The employee store on campus.  Everything is 50% off, and a great spot to find super-rare kicks and apparel.

Thursday:
I hopped a flight to Houston for NBA All-Star weekend.  I have a number of meetings and functions scheduled for the next few days, mixed with a bit of partying.  Sounds dope, but I still have to keep up with work at the office, so I’ve been on conference calls all day today (Friday). I promise to send flix from the weekend.  For now, here’s a few pics from the office.  The views are sick!
Cos

RealJobs: Tom Sullivan

It is Friday and it was a long week that was filled with setting up visits for clients who are flying to Washington, DC during the last week of February and the first week of March.  The grunt work of setting up meetings is part of being an effective lobbyist.  However, the work makes me feel as though I am an event planner (which I am), not a policy expert.

Once my clients get here, it is like a military operation, with several meetings going on at the same time, with clients crisscrossing the Capitol to get from one meeting to the next.  Our goal in my lobbying group is that any client who travels to Washington should leave here exhausted.  And, we will certainly accomplish that for the folks who are coming here in two weeks.

A great part of my job (and every job since I moved to Washington, DC in 1993) are the “pinch me moments.”  During those times I feel remarkably blessed to live in work in the nation’s capital.  For instance, I continue to get goose bumps when I walk into the U.S. Capitol – because of its history and importance to the United States and our democracy –  and that’s the way it should be.   Here is a picture of the Capitol I took on a day recently that was unseasonably warm (the groundhog didn’t see his shadow, so Spring will come early…).

This week, most of the policy discussion centered around President Obama’s State of the Union address that took place on Tuesday night.  It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of policy discussions and events that happen before and after work hours.  However, the true joy I have in life is not at work, but at home.  For instance, Tuesday night was my oldest son’s first Cub Scout meeting.  Seeing his face made me forget all about the clients coming to Washington in a few weeks J   Here’s a picture that says it all.

RealJobs: Sofia Mohammed

Hello Good People,

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and my scholars showered me with lots of love and gifts! While fist pumping with excitement about my chocolate covered strawberries, Girl Scout Cookies, hand-made cards, and Jolly Rancher Heart Shaped Lollipops (my favorite…by the way), I couldn’t help but reflect about my journey of building meaningful relationships with my scholars.

I love the type of relationship I have with my scholars. For the most part, they appreciate the great lengths I go to make sure they are on the right path. They also have, however, a “love-hate” feeling toward me. I push them to their limits and I don’t let them opt–out. I go in hard on them when they miss assignments, have sloppy handwriting, come to class without a pen/pencil, or don’t write their proper heading on assignments…which annoys them and causes them to roll their eyes (and probably cuss me out under their breath). Yet, they proudly talk about how their Math binder is their most organized one and joke about making a textbook out of all the work from it. The same scholars who roll their eyes when I “sweat the small stuff” are the ones give me hugs in the hallway, want me to sit with them at lunch, invite me to their birthday parties, and even want me to call my mom (who lives in Ethiopia by the way…) and put her on speaker-phone so that they can say “hello”.

The depth of my relationship with my scholars gives me the additional fuel and affirmation to realize my vision. I want my scholars to begin college readiness through developing exploratory mindsets where they achieve academic success on a mastery level; think, act, and plan in a neat and organized way; and participate in meaningful opportunities outside of the classroom. These traits will allow them to take charge in pursuing top tier education. One of my biggest challenges, however, is how to not lose faith in the vision. How can I get a scholar who hasn’t been able to understand that 4 quarters equal a dollar, to tell me the discount price of a given item?  How can I stay motivated? How can I direct my frustration with the reality of our educations system to further empower my scholars, rather than lose hope?

I approached this challenge by working relentlessly to increase my effectiveness and change my scholars’ outcomes. I reached out to professionals who have more experience and expertise. By “reaching out,” I mean crying out of anger/frustration in my Assistant Principal’s office and demonstrating the need for urgency in helping my low performing scholars. By “reaching out,” I mean prompting the Special Services team to do thorough observations of my classroom so that they can help me put a system in place to help my challenging class.  By “reaching out,” I mean constantly strategizing with my TFA manager to invest scholars and open up their mindsets about the future. By “reaching out,” I mean meeting with former middle and high school teachers (who are now Principals and Assistant Principals) during holiday breaks so that they can give me the encouragement, love, and words of wisdom I needed to keep pushing forward.

So…I am grateful for the relationship I have built with my scholars not only because they hook me up with sweet treats, but because their love pushes me to sharpen my craft as an educator. Their “academic imperfections” get me angry enough to wipe of my tears and fight for my vision. Their frustration with their setbacks prompts me to be creative, to push limits, and to improve my efforts with a sense of urgency that is unmatched elsewhere.

More to come…