What Media Companies Look For When Hiring College Graduates
Description
In Chapter 5 of 13, Reflecting on his post-college years and big media and Internet job experience (MTV, Heavy.com, Fuse), musician and writer Conrad Doucette advises recent college graduate job seekers to use their youth, curiosity, and energy as strengths. Media companies seek these attributes, not industry experience, when hiring recent college graduates. Doucette found his own direction post-college during months living in London. He spends the London months listening, not talking, learning
Transcript
Erik Michielsen: To what did you aspire as a college graduate? And compared to where you are now? What change? Conrad Doucette: When I was in college I did not know what I wanted to do which I think is normal. But I didn’t know what my interest were which in retro speak I’m very happily surprise with myself. I knew enough to know that I wanted to go find others and be somewhere where I thought I would be able to figure things out. So right after college when I graduated I want to go and live in London for eight months. Erik Michielsen: How to inform and how you develop? Conrad Doucette: I was an outsider right away which is find, I’ve no problem with that but it source of forces of you to keep to be on your toes more and I think I develop much more of a— I became more than observer and a listener than a talker sort of. I saw what others were doing and realize again I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do but I realize I have to surround myself with certain elements to achieve what I want. Elements, and I mean this is the practical elements like I enjoyed the media, I enjoyed big cities, I enjoyed being around the industries that produce the stuff I love so when it turns out when England kick me out after my Visa or otherwise it would happily stay. I came back and I move to New York I had a bunch of friends bizarrely from my Canadian high school road down here. All of my closest friends are here and I just got dropped running into New York life. And it was through a high school friend that I started at my first full time job which is heavy.com which is how I got involve in web. And so it’s funny because they say that connection are everything and I don’t think it was, I’m glad I have that connection but if there is one thing I could change about my post collegiate one or two years is I always felt the city it was like it was almost overwhelming, I was happy to be here but I thought how do I— I don’t know how to do work at MTV and now that I’ve work at MTV and stuff and now that I work fuse and other big media companies I know it is snap and I know where are always on the look out for you know somewhat smart just definitely excited young people.