I loved that the focus of Org Comm was to understand the role that communication plays in relationships, organizations, culture, etc. I knew that I wanted to go into marketing and while business is a more traditional route, I thought that understanding how to communicate with people in a variety of environments/capacities would help me understand how to market to different audiences. And, if I’m going to be totally honest, it required less upper division math classes.

Skills that I picked up in college that apply to my career today are definitely public speaking, verbal and interpersonal communication as well as multi-tasking and networking.

I learned that while I could work in high-pressure environments, working directly in the epicenter of a talent agency wasn’t for me. Even though it wasn’t the best cultural fit, I liked the appeal of the business itself and I did want to work with the entertainment industry somehow. Understanding what you don’t want to do is almost more valuable than knowing what you do want to do. From there on out, I looked for opportunities that intertwined with entertainment, but were grounded in a different industry or field.

I loved that internship. Being part of an organization that is such a great catalyst for change and in touch with real women’s issues was so rewarding. This internship helped me realize that being involved in social change was important to me and that I could take that value and apply it to any future work environment. Even if I didn’t stay in the non-profit sector, I could still speak up and be a voice for social issues that affect women in the workplace—for myself and for my colleagues. I feel so grateful that one aspect of my current job is working on Pandora’s Giving Back and Community Outreach Initiatives.

Definitely working at AOL. When I started there, I took a bit of a step back to gain experience in digital advertising (which was a fairly new industry at the time) and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I learned from the ground up all aspects of digital marketing and media planning. I threw myself into my position as a Sales Associate and quickly got promoted to Sales Development Manager and then a Senior Manager of Brand Marketing & Sales Dev for some of their high-profile entertainment brands (like TMZ and Moviefone). I was lucky to have a series of amazing managers who saw my drive and helped me grow as a marketer and a leader. I wouldn’t change a thing about my career path.

I believe that being creative and “on top of your game” means understanding trends, but also understanding relevance from a variety of different perspectives. Part of that is research (blogs, articles, social media, etc.) and the other part is experience.

When I first started working, I went to events (concerts, movies, art shows, festivals, conferences, etc.) networked and met new people, had conversations and shared best practices, etc. I still utilize this strategy, but since I am now a mom, I don’t have as much free time to attend as many events as I used to. Now, I make sure to attend events that I know are worthwhile, I research trends and I tap into my team and colleagues for their insights and experiences.

The way I made this change seemed to happen so randomly, but now that I’ve been in this role for a year and a half, I can’t imagine doing anything else. When I was leading Event Marketing, I had just had a baby and was on the road almost every week—and most of these were live produced shows, which meant long days and nights and then catching up on your “day job” during flights. 

While I loved my team and the work, it wasn’t sustainable for me as a new mom to constantly be on the road. One time, when I was in Vegas for an event, a co-worker talked me into going to Zappos HQ to take their culture tour. I was so inspired by the creativity and care that went into making their workplace meaningful and fun that I jotted down a bunch of ideas of how to make Pandora more culturally-connected and I took my ideas to the VP of HR. I had studied corporate culture in college and realized that I could take the marketing skills I had learned over the years and apply them to promoting Pandora the company and make it an even better place to work.

Six months later, I switched to HR and with the help of some amazing leaders, created a new team focused on building out Pandora’s Talent Brand Strategy, Employee Experience and Culture. I essentially use the same marketing tactics I did in my previous role, but for a different audience (It’s “B2E,” or Business to Employee Marketing). Every day, I wake up inspired and motivated. I also feel grateful that I get to help make Pandora an amazing place to work for my work family, while also getting quality time with my own family at home.

My favorite part of the experience was being at the epicenter of what was going on in celebrity and entertainment news. I would work part-time at AOL’s offices and part of the time at TMZ HQ and was often working out of TMZ when big stories would break. For example, I was working out of the TMZ office when we broke the story that Michael Jackson died and it was crazy to be part of the madness when that story hit. 

It also was really rewarding to be part of a brand that was such a pioneer in the news space. At that time, most entertainment news shows started as TV shows and then extended their brand to a website, but TMZ was one of the first-ever websites to gain popularity online and then develop into a TV show. I think what I learned about myself as a professional was how important relationships and cross-functional collaboration are.

I worked for AOL who was a joint partner with Telepictures on TMZ, but I had to work within two different company cultures and carry out the interest of two separate brands while finding middle ground. I learned that without establishing solid relationships and being able to capture the ear of both my bosses at AOL and the leaders of TMZ, I was not going to be successful in my job.

I’m a huge fan of Instagram, both for my personal and professional life. I love the idea of storytelling through visuals; it’s very reminiscent of the days that print media ruled the world. Since much of what I do now is focused on marketing Pandora to candidates ranging from college students to experienced professionals, we mainly utilize LinkedIn, Twitter and Tumblr, depending on which audience we are trying to reach.

I learned right away that while I loved the entertainment industry, I wanted to contribute to it in a meaningful way. I love people. Figuring out what makes them tick and how I can relate to someone, even if they are the complete opposite of me. I also love to laugh. I believe that working in such a fast-paced industry, you have to be able to laugh at yourself and with others. Humor is a huge coping mechanism and it helps everyone through hard times. I think my ability to connect with others and to not take myself too seriously has helped me succeed in entertainment. 

I would say that the skills needed to break into the industry are passion, perseverance and a sense of humor. To succeed in the entertainment industry, you need to work hard, prove yourself, figure out your own style and make your own mark. And don’t forget to laugh!

Spending time with my family, cooking, yoga and going to see live music with my husband. I think date nights are essential for any working parent. My husband and I have a date night once a week and being able to connect together outside of work, just the two of us, is crucial for staying focused. As long as I have quality time with my three favorite boys (my husband, my son and my cat), I have no problem throwing myself 100% into my work Monday through Friday.

I believe strongly in collaborative teamwork and very open communication. I have always managed small but scrappy teams, and by identifying each team member’s strengths and then collaborating and sharing the collective work of the team, you can double the output. While each member of my team possesses a certain expertise, all of them can contribute to culture, engagement, recruiting or giving back projects.

I also think that to be an effective leader, you have to enjoy managing people. It’s hard work. You have to want to invest in people and help them grow. I believe the best relationship and team dynamics are had when the team can communicate openly and provide direct, on-the-spot feedback to each other. You also need to make sure that you have fun and make work enjoyable. Otherwise, what’s the point?

I wake up looking forward to knowing that every day is going to be different. One day might be focused on social media and building out a campus strategy, while the next could be focused on planning a community giving back event and a way to reward tenured employees. Not one single day is the same and I love that.

Next up for my career is to continue to make Pandora an amazing place to work and help attract the best talent to the company. I want to disrupt the corporate culture and talent brand space and continue to tap into innovative marketing strategies for recruiting strategy, employee engagement and company culture.