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INTERVIEW PREP SEESION: M&E

Jessica Katz, MBACM

M&E and Sports Business Clubs

January 2017

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Agenda

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Purpose: You will learn the skills for interviewing in the M&E industry.

• Interviewing– How To– Examples– Q&A

• Breakouts– Breakout leaders

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INTERVIEWS

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How To: Interview • Analyze Job Description and match to your resume experience

• Review summer surveys & networking notes

• Research your interviewer for background and common connections

• Prepare Classic openers

• Prepare 6-8 behavior interview stories (STAR)

• Prepare case framework

• Prepare Industry trends, have an opinion

• Prepare technical questions, if applicable

• Follow-up: say that you want this job

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Analyze Job Description

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Review Summer SurveysFind Summer Surveys in the Offer Directory on the MBACM website

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Find CareerPath Notes and Interview Questions

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Find Company Notes and Historical Questions on CareerPath

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MEDIA INDUSTRY PAGE

MBACM Site Research Tools Research by Industry Media and Entertainment Industries

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Company SWOT: Interview Preparation

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Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

PROCESS:1. Build a SWOT Preparation for each A-List company2. Find 10 sources

• >5 Analyst reports• ~1 Sr. Executive Video (>15 min.)• ~2 Articles• ~2 current/former employees• 10-k

3. Fill-in the chart4. Ask yourself how the chart relates to the role you applied to?

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Prepare Classic Openers• Why are you here?

• Why M&E? Why this company?

• Walk me through your resume. (Tell me about yourself.)

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WALK ME THROUGH YOUR RESUME – SAMPLE #1

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• Option #1: Start with the role you want and work backwards– I am very interested in joining the Corporate Strategy Group at Warner

Brothers. As I walk you through my resume, I’ll make some connections back

to this goal. Working backwards, I decided to get my MBA at Wharton because

of the program’s emphasis on Finance and being in a community with so many

students who have banking and PE backgrounds. Prior to Wharton, I was an

Analyst as Deutsche Bank where I worked on several live deals in the

consumer space. While it was interesting to be on the professional services

side, I came to realize that I wanted to move into industry and follow my

passion for media.

State role & and roadmap that you will connect resume to that role

Work backwards

IB skills applied to Corporate Strategy

TIPS

Pros Cons

• Starting point: What is on the mind of the interviewer (why you want the job and why you are qualified) and connect the dots for him/her

• Demonstrate that you researched the role and company

• You may not be able to lead with a “hook” or strongest attribute

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WALK ME THROUGH YOUR RESUME – SAMPLE #2

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• Option #2: Start by stating 3 themes relevant to the company– As I go through my resume, I want to highlight three themes that

have driven decisions I have made about my career: experience using different valuation methods, strong attention to detail, and working on teams. Prior to coming to Wharton, I was an analyst as Deutsche Bank, in this role I worked on several live deals in commodities and one in TMT.

State three themes

Work backward or forward

IB skills, TMT deal

TIPS

Pros Cons

• Highlight the three most important things about your candidacy

• Easy for the interviewer to follow

• Does not allow for sequential story telling as other options

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WALK ME THROUGH YOUR RESUME – SAMPLE #3

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• Option #3: Start from undergrad or before– I grew up in California outside of Los Angeles. After graduating from

high school, I went to UCLA where I majored in Finance at the Anderson School. While I was at UCLA, I did two internships at Deutsche Bank and Disney. After graduating from college I joined Deutsche Bank as a analyst focused mostly on commodities, but I had the opportunity to work on one TMT deal. While I liked the financial modeling and client relations in commodities, the TMT deal always stood out to me as the most interesting and engaging. This lead me to my decision to come Wharton for my MBA. At Wharton, I am an organizer for a panel at the M&E conference about M&A in the industry. My goal after Wharton is to join Warner Bros. Corporate Strategy Group.

Start with undergrad or prior

Work forwards with your first job

Skills developed and TMT deal

Wharton

Goal of joining WB

TIPS

Pros Cons

• Provide a lot of detail• Sequential story is easy to tell and

prepare

• Risk losing the attention of the interviewer who is waiting for you to get to the point

• A lot of potentially irrelevant information

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Behavioral Questions: STAR Framework

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STAR FrameworkAssumption: past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior

“Tell me about a time that you…”

Situation • Describe the context of a specific event or situation from your past• Establish big picture and background information• Provide enough detail for the interviewer to understand• E.g., from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, Wharton

experience, or any relevant event

Task • Summarize your specific role, contribution or obstacle to overcome

Action • Describe the action you took • Use more “I” than “we” language, even if discussing a group

project or effort• Don't tell what you might do, tell what you did• Highlight your skills and expertise most relevant to the interviewer

Result • What happened? • How did the event end? • What did you accomplish? • What did you learn?

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Sample Behavioral Questions

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Category Questions

Influence Tell me about a time when you had to convince others.

Ambiguity Tell me about a time when you made a decision with limited data.

Conflict Tell me about a time you had conflict on a team.

Problem Solving/Analytics

Tell me about a time when you had to solve a complicated problem.

Leadership Tell me about a leadership experience.

Accomplishment Tell me about an accomplishment.

Failure Tell me about a time when you failed / made a mistake.

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Sample M&E Questions

• What do you think about the changes in home video re: VOD/SVOD/EST/DVD/Blu-Ray

• How would you value a company?

• Where is the music industry going?

• Why Wharton?

• What investment in TMT would you make and why?

• What are some areas of growth and development in media?

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Thank You and Follow-up

• Finish the interview by reiterating that you are very interested in the job

• Thank the interviewer

• Follow up with a brief email:

− Play back a key point you learned from the interviewer about the company or role

− State a specific topic and elaborate on your informed opinion− Restate your interest in the job− “Next time I am in LA, I will let you know…”− Send within 24-hours of interview

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Sample Post-Interview Follow Up Email

Dear Jessica,

Thanks so much for your time and thoughtful responses to my questions today regarding my application for the Sr. Associate Director position. I enjoyed our conversation and found it especially helpful to see examples of student feedback and a draft cover letter, which gave me a better sense of the role. The on-the-spot cover letter critique was actually kind of fun, and I felt very confident in my ability to draw from past experience for that exercise. I am certain that my background overall would be a great fit for the position, and I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to join your team. If you have any further questions about my qualifications, please let me know.

Thanks again,

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BREAKOUTS

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Breakouts• Film/TV: Yang Yang Liu, yangyliu@wharton.upenn.edu

• Morgan Stanley, Vistra Group• Lions Gate Entertainment, Corporate Development Intern

• M&E Investing: Justin Waite, jwaite@wharton.upenn.edu• National Basketball Association• RSE Ventures – Business Development, MBA Intern

• M&E Startups: Yvonne Liu, yvonnel@wharton.upenn.edu• Zhejiang Talent TV & Film, Warner Bros., Entrepreneurs Roundtable

Accelerator• Musical.ly, MBA Intern, Sales & Business Development

• Music: Lily Seidel, lseidel@wharton.upenn.edu• All Things Go, Booz Allen, Hopkins Student Enterprises• Spotify – Product Manager, MBA Intern

• Sports: Cory Rosenfield, coryro@wharton.upenn.edu• - J.P. Morgan Private Bank• - National Basketball Association, Graduate Intern

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Timing of Media & Entertainment Offers*Preliminary data as of 7/6/16

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Internship Offer Full Time Offer

MBA Career Management

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Recruiting in M&E: WG14 Students

Full-time

Intern

Pre-Wharton

EDU

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Career Switcher Media/Finance Media/Consulting

Adamah Cole Jenn Doran Ying Wang

MTV, Manager Disney, Corporate Finance FreeWheel, Manager

Universal PicturesDigital Distribution

Comcast CorporationCorporate Development

Warner Bros.Digital Distribution

Teach For AmericaDirector, Alumni Affairs

Brandes Investment PartnersEquity Research

Oliver Wyman (Media and Digital Strategy)

ABCNews Production

Dartmouth CollegeBA, Romance Languages

University of North CarolinaBSBA

Harvard UniversityBA, Economics and Psych

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Wharton M&E Resources Summary

Resource Description

Industry Chat • Industry Overview• MBA Roles

Navigating the Enterprise Job Search • Conducting Company Research

CareerPath

(EmployerEmployer NameNotes)

• Questions• MBACM Notes• Student Memos

Offer Directory • 2Y interns• Summer Surveys

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All resources have been developed and curated by the MBACM M&E Team

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FRP & POSTINGS

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Focused Recruiting Period (FRP)

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1st Rounds

Friday 1/20• The Raine Group

Tuesday 1/31• Warner Bros.

2nd Rounds (TBC)

The Raine Group• 1/27 in NYC

Warner Bros.• 2nd round – in LA mid-February

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POST FRP Plans – Job Board Postings

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Internship Offers and Postings 2016

A+E Networks NBC Universal, Inc.

Catalyst Sports & Media NBCUniversal

Comcast Cable The New York Times Company

Comcast Corporation Quantumrun

Creative Artists Agency Sony Music Entertainment

Disney ABC Television Group Sony Pictures Entertainment

DramaFever Televisa

Electronic Arts, Inc. The Chernin Group

FlyWheel Sports The Daily Beast

Funny or Die The Garces Group

Legendary Entertainment The Raine Group

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. The Walt Disney Company

Lionsgate TripAdvisor

Media Rights Capital Viacom Inc.

National Basketball Association Washington Nationals

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NETWORKING

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How To: Network

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• Company List

• Contact Map– SPIKE: FY, SY, Alumni– LinkedIn– Personal

• Timing: when to start?

• Email

• Meeting

• Thank you

• Follow up

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Top Resources for Creating Your “Hit List”

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• Dream employers (the ones you already feel an affinity for)

• Wharton Resources

– CareerPath (Active and Archive)

– Offer Directory

– SPIKE Community

– Wharton career treks and industry conferences

– Industry chats

• Commercial Resources

– Industry-specific sites (e.g., Crunchbase, Greyhouse Guide)

– Reading news and trends

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Prioritizing your list – “individual weighted variables”• Strength of alumni network

– # Wharton MBAs

– # MBAs

• Posted MBA jobs (e.g., CareerPath or Company Job site)

• Functions = Your Qualifications

– See job descriptions and LinkedIn profiles

– E.g., IB for corp. dev. , Consulting for strategy

• Geography

• Size of company (# of employees)

• Motivation

– 5-pt scale interest to work at X company31

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Prioritizing your list – “weighted variables” (cont.)

Grading Company

A • Disney• Universal Studios• Sony Pictures Entertainment• Warner Bros.

B • Hulu• Netflix• Viacom• HBO

C • The Raine Group• Activate Media

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Create a Contact Map

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• Goal: Identify contacts connected to each of your target companies

Last First Type Company City Title Email Notes

Smith JenWharton Alum Disney Hong Kong Manager jen@ 6.19.12: Talked on phone about Disney

Zhang Phil UVA alum YouTube SF Director phil@ 8.30.13: Had coffee chat and discussed…Brown Jon Personal Hulu LA VP jb@ 9.29.13: Met at Adam's wedding…Park Min Other Comcast Phila. Sr. Finance Analyst park@ 10.1.13: Talked on phone about…

Types of Contacts ResourcesFellow Students (FYs and SYs)Alumni

• Wharton• Undergrad• Penn• Other Top MBAs

Recruiters• CareerPath• LinkedIn

Personal networksCold contacts

Resume Book SPIKE Community Offer Directory LinkedIn Undergrad Alumni Database

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Timing

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Getting busy people to take action via email

1. Fewer than 150 words

2. No mention of jobs anywhere (subject or body)

3. Connection goes first

4. Generalize your interest

5. Offer specific availability

6. Maintain control of follow up

Source: Adapted from The 2 Hour Job Search, Steve Dalton

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Sample emailHi XXX,

I'm a Wharton full-time MBA in Philadelphia and found that you are pursuing an

EMBA on the San Francisco campus.

I saw that you work at XXX and I'd like to talk with you as I’m very interested in

content distribution. In the past year, I've been learning a lot about the sector –

following XXX and I am currently doing an independent study on the future of

cable tv.

I know that with work and the EMBA, you may have very little spare time.

Would you have a couple of minutes to chat in person anytime this Thursday

3/26? I'm also available at most times this Friday 3/27 and on the afternoons of

Mon 3/30, Wed 4/2, and Fri 4/4.

Thanks in advance for your time. I look forward to meeting you and will follow

up next week if these options don’t work.

No mention of jobs

<150 words

Connection first!

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Generalize interest

Offer specific availability

Maintain control of follow up

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More email best practices

• Append LinkedIn profile to signature

• Make your subject line matter (know your audience)

• Weak: Wharton MBA • Strong: Quick chat? Wharton MBA interested in Content

Distribution

• Time of day matters

• Follow up

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Do Not…

• Begin all paragraphs with “I” and “My”

• Ask the contact for a job

• Spam or write to multiple people within one email

• Accidently cut and paste the wrong name

• Attach your resume, it is too much information for first email

• Write too much– people will be reading on mobile devices

Email Mistakes to Avoid

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Information Meeting Goals

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• Build your network– Hopefully you will meet people who will champion you– Invest in a long-term M&E network in LA and NYC

• Determine if the company is a good fit for you

• Learn “material” that you can use in an interview

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Keeping up with trends…

• Deadline –Hollywood and media news & analysis

• The Hollywood Reporter – Online and print trade magazine

• Variety – Online entertainment trade magazine

• Business Insider – The Wire – Blog focused on media and business

• Billboard – A well-respected trade magazine focused on music

• Box Office Mojo – news, analysis and comprehensive box office tracking

• Mediabistro – daily digest every day “Morning Media Newsfeed”

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Research for Informational Meetings

• External – SWOT analysis (Business Source Complete - Lippincott) – Headlines on employer website– Google employer headlines and informational interviewers

themselves

• Internal – The Big Three (aka “Your Pitch”)

• Tell me about yourself - most commonly asked in informationals

• Why do you want to work in this industry? • Why do you want to work for our organization?

Source: The 2 Hour Job Search, Steve Dalton

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Meeting1. Prepare for this meeting as you would a “real” interview.

2. Make small talk. Assess if this person is more “relational” or “task oriented” and lead meeting accordingly.

3. Be prepared to lead the discussion. Lay out an “agenda” of what you would like to discuss.

4. Ask questions which allow you to understand what projects the division is focused on.

5. Be a good listener. Interact with the content the alumni is sharing.

6. Advice and career path questions are appropriate. If the meeting goes well, it is also appropriate to ask for other colleagues to speak with (i.e., referral) and/or job search resources they find helpful. Ask about how hiring works and advice for navigating the application and interview process.

7. Be appreciative and thankful for the meeting. Look to develop a relationship beyond one meeting.

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Thank You & Follow Up

• Follow-up with a targeted thank you note

• If the exchange is valuable, be sure to periodically connect and stay in touch

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SAMPLE THANK YOU EMAIL (POSITIVE IMPRESSION)

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Subject: Thanks

Larry-

It was great to catch up with you on Monday. I appreciate your time to talk about ways to support MBAs in the M&E job search. I especially appreciated your feedback that many MBAs do not know enough about their own alumni network. I have already started mentioning that to students in my advising sessions this week.

Have you heard of the Wharton professor Adam Grant? He is doing some really fascinating management research about the styles of giving, taking and matching. I think his framework is really applicable to the M&E networking job search. I’ve attached an article that overviews his book. I thought you might like it as you certainly seem to be a Giver in his framework.

Best,Sam

Thank for time

Replay specific insight & how it is useful

Give to your contact

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SAMPLE THANK YOU EMAIL (NEGATIVE IMPRESSION)

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Sam,

Sorry to cut things short last night--and thanks for staying up so late. Very valuable discussion!

Sincerely,

_____________________________________________________

Sam, thank you so much for your quick review and feedback--I really appreciate it!

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(Spent 1 hour talking to friend of a friend about working at Penn, no follow up)

Vague

Vague

Nothing