Interview Questions
Founder of NBC
David Sarnoff
What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?
LSAT score, GPA, resilience
News
OnePlatform sells record $1.25 billion in ads for Tokyo
CEO of NBC Universal
Stephen Burke
2020 box office
The Invisible Man Dolittle 1917
motto
here you can
What is something you're teaching yourself?
sign language
Page Program is a.....
12 month rotational development experience, 4 assignments - business, consumer, content always serving as NBCUniversal company ambassadors
What are your career interests and goals?
As a graduating senior, I know I want to work in media and entertainment in some capacity. Based on my experience, I am interested in PR and Marketing. However, after doing some informational interviews and taking media law classes, I am also extremely interested in working in business and legal affairs as I think that department would be a good fit for my different skills in writing and strategy as well as my interest in law and entertainment.
Talk about the last time you went through a big change, how did you handle it?
Currently I am going through a huge change, as is everybody else in the country. Specifically for me, it has meant moving back home with my parents, missing my senior year of college and graduation, and entering an almost non-existent job market. It has been very difficult not knowing what the future holds but I have been trying to stay positive. Luckily I am healthy and home with a family who loves me. I've tried to stick to a decent routine and stay connected with friends by zooming regularly. I take each day one at a time and try to do things that make me happy.
Describe a time that you were given vague directions and how you responded in that situation.
During my internship this summer I was lucky enough to work from home regularly, but that meant I was given a lot assignments over the phone or through email. Once, I was assigned a competitive analysis for a financial client. I am familiar with competitive analyses but I was unsure how this company would want it completed. I took notes on the assignment as it was given over the phone and tried to clarify as much as possible and then just did my best. I did my own research online and looked up a lot of definitions for investing terms I have never heard before. I tried my best, sent it back in for review, and ended up receiving a lot of praise for my work. My entire internship with Ropeadope was conducted online with very little direction.
What is your favorite NBCUniversal property and why?
Focus Features because I am a huge movie nerd, and it has been responsible for many of my favorites- including Boy Erased which is one of the most moving films I have ever seen.
What is a risk you have taken?
Going to college without a major and hoping to figure it out along the way. Traveling to China for a month with no prior knowledge or experience with the language. Signing up for a trip to Wales by myself to go cliff jumping
What shows do you watch?
I am an avid Twitter user so I usually get my recommendations from "film twitter" and people I follow in the industry. I am a huge fan of comedies, so right now I've been watching "Avenue 5" but my favorites are "Veep", "Fleabag" and "Community".
Tell me about yourself.
I am an expected 2020 graduate of Elon University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. I've held multiple different internships in communications and marketing - even one in London! I currently still work as an intern for the public relations firm Zito Partners, where I create social media content for the managing director. I also work at our on campus movie theatre, which really inspired my love for media and entertainment. I am passionate about the industry and hope to learn more about the behind the scenes work.
Why do you want to work in media?
I consume a lot of content and am a really big fan of entertainment over all. I would love to be able to contribute to the creation of the content I enjoy so much. It is an exciting and fast-paced industry that pushes you to constantly improve, and I want to work in an industry that challenges me to be my best every day. Media is an extremely powerful tool and I want to tell stories are exciting and meaningful, and hopefully impact others the way I have been.
What is one interesting fact about you?
I spent a month in China I am a twin I am a psychology double major, and am currently working on my senior thesis paper comparing experiences of schizophrenia in different cultures.
Tell us why you want to be a Page.
I want to be a page because I am passionate about entertainment and media and want to find my place within the industry. I am excited about the opportunity to learn in all of the different rotations and connect with people who are accomplished within their field. NBCUniversal is an inspiring company and I would be honored to work as a Page.
Name a time when you had to prove your ability to someone who asked you to do something
I was asked to create a competitive analysis for a client in the financial industry. I understood the basis of a competitive analysis but had never created one before. I took what I had learned in school and applied it to this project that actually received a lot of positive praise. When I applied for my internship at the Franklin Institute I initially wanted to work as the PR intern. Instead, I was hired as the marketing intern because of my excel knowledge (certification). I was immediately tasked with redesigning the excel spreadsheets used to track email marketing campaign data. I had to prove my ability to work with excel and come up with new, more effective ways to present the data. I spent the entire summer working on this project and received a lot of positive feedback when I presented it to the leadership team.
Describe a time that you failed and how you handled it.
I worked as a camp counselor for many years, and for the last few I was the senior counselor in charge of an entire bunk. I was the final decision maker for the group and was ultimately responsible for all of the children. Each morning before we left for activities I counted all of the children to make sure they were present and following the group to the right location. One day, I miscounted and left a child behind. I did not realize she was missing until my boss found me about half an hour later and told me she had been waiting for us at the bunk all morning and had been stung by a bee. I felt horrible and apologized profusely. I spent the rest of that week checking in on this child and attempting to prove to her it would never happen again. After this horrible mistake, I double if not triple counted all of kids before and after every activity. As awful as I felt during this incident, it was good moment for me because it taught me the importance of working diligently on every task, no matter how easy it seems.
If you were the president of NBC what would you do differently?
If I was Steve Burke or Jeff Shell I would focus on acquiring the streaming rights to all shows created by NBC. When I did my senior thesis paper for my communications degree I looked at the cancelation and subsequent renewal of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. One of the main things I learned from that research was that it is very lucrative to own the streaming rights to a show you are airing. The main reason FOX canceled the show was because they weren't able to get any revenue when people streamed the show. And because NBCU owned the studio that produced B99 and the streaming rights it they acquired it. So, if I was president I would definitely focus on acquiring the streaming rights to shows aired on the network. Maybe instead of Peacock with such a overcrowded market. If I was president during this time I would try to create TV live events that bring people together. One of the purposes for the creation of NBC was for people to be able to share experiences. Now that everyone is stuck at home is this even more important. I understand that new tapings can't be held and new shows can't be produced but NBCU should focus on creating an experience around what is airing to create shared moments. Now that streaming is taking over and movie theaters are disappearing, I would focus on creating that feeling of shared connection with live tv shows, or even regular tv and movies. Similar to how Tiger King brought everyone together, with more separate services being offered NBC should focus on its content being the must-see event.
What would you hope to achieve at NBCUniversal?
If given the opportunity to work at NBCUniversal I hope to discover what area of the business is the best fit for me and to contribute meaningfully in that role. I also am very excited about learning from the current employees and building meaningful relationships with those in the top of their field.
Name a time you didn't get along with your boss, how did you handle it?
Luckily in my short time working in corporate jobs I have been lucky enough to get along with my supervisors and I usually work one-on-one in close relationships. So, the best example I have goes back to high school where I did not agree with the different requirements for girls on our co-ed track team. Me and my best friend argued with our coach that it was unfair for the guys on the team to be allowed to run with no shirts but we were not allowed to run in sports bras. I was proud of us for standing up for what we believed in and getting the rule changed.
Challenge you had to overcome.
My biggest challenge has been myself- not knowing what I wanted or having the confidence to really pursue it. It took me over 2 years to decide on my majors, and it wasn't even really a decision because I chose 2 that are very different. Once I finally decided, I really struggled with finding an internship because I was undecided on my future career path and lacked a strong focus. Once I made the choice to work in some capacity in media I lacked the confidence to tell others because of how competitive the industry is. However, once I decide to do something I want to be the best at it. So, I've worked really hard in school and the internships I have been lucky enough to obtain and continued to push myself to land my dream job. This is why I am so passionate about the Page Program, because it will allow me to explore multiple areas of the industry I am so excited to work in. This past January I worked as a sorority recruitment counselor, which meant I facilitated the recruitment process for my assigned group of 30 women. This process is extremely stressful, and my role was to guide the young women through their experience. Recruitment is also meticulously scheduled. On the last day, there was a significant scheduling error which stopped the entire process back for an indefinite amount of time. Without knowing the cause of the problem or the plan for a solution, we were sent out to inform the women about the scheduling delay. These women relied on us to be their guides, and we had to give them advice without knowing ourselves what was going on. It was difficult to try to comfort girls during an already extremely stressful situation without knowing how it was going to play out. This experience forced me to learn how to think on my feet and put on a brave face regardless of the situation. I think it has prepared me to work in a fast paced, ever-changing industry where you might not be given all of the details.
Biggest strength
My curiosity. I like to learn about as many different concepts and disciplines as possible, which means I am willing to do the menial tasks if it allows me to learn more about different departments or industries. I am constantly striving to learn more, which is why I am so excited about the different rotations within the page program.
What is your production experience?
My experience is more in public relations and marketing than production, however I am familiar with many production tools. I have experience using Adobe Premiere to create and edit video projects both for school projects and jobs. I have also filmed, edited, and uploaded a fundraising video for one of my past internships, so I am comfortable with production roles.
Cable
NBC Sports NBC News Telemundo Golf Olympic Channel Oxygen USA SYFY MSNBC CNBC E! Bravo Universal Kids Universo The Weather Channel
What are your favorite NBC channels?
NBC- SNL, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine USA- grew up watching Psych, Monk, Burn Notice
Sell NBCUniversal to investors in less than 2 minutes.
NBCUniversal is more than a media company. NBCUniversal tells stories that shape the world in moving, informative, and entertaining ways. Through funny but poignant sketches on SNL to inspiring Olympic coverage, this company is significantly responsible for the way people learn about the world. NBCUniversal content as impacted me greatly, and I think it has impacted others just as much.
Tell us about a team you were part of a group, but not the group leader.
Pi chi!!!
Discuss something that sets you apart from everyone else?
Something that sets me apart is my different majors. Instead of doing production focused degrees like most people who apply for this program, I actually studied strategic communications and psychology. So I did a degree focused more on marketing, advertising, and PR and also a degree in psychology. I think this gives me a unique perspective and skills that others don't have. I have completed strategic communications campaigns from research to strategy to design for real companies. I have also worked on branding and writing across different mediums. And, studying psychology has given me insight into how people think and why they behave the way they do. I have taken different social psych and neuroscience classes that have expanded my knowledge of human behavior and the brain. I think studying these two different fields gives me a unique perspective and set of skills that differentiate me from my peers.
Could you describe a situation where you were disappointed with yourself or the work you did? How did you deal with that disappointment?
There was one small moment that really stuck out to me when I was interning in London. my supervisor asked me to return at a certain time and I completely forgot. I was disappointed in myself for not completing such an easy, menial task. I apologized immediately and worked to prove myself. It forced me to take actual responsibility in my role and realize that even though I am just an intern I am expected to be my own person in the job. I have brought this mentality into all of my subsequent positions and have enjoyed taking on more responsibility in each new role. When Molly took over my role in AOII
2019 Box Office
Us Glass Downtown Abby Good Boys Yesterday Green Book Last Christmas CATS Mary Queen of Scots The Dead Don't Die Blackkklansman
Name a time you didn't get along with your coworker how did you handle it?
When I served as panhellenic delegate for my sorority I was an ambassador for my organization to all other Greek organizations on campus. One my main jobs was to organize teams for other organizations fundraising events. One day another girl who had severed on LC before and new how the position worked decided to take it upon herself to create a team for an event and asked other women to sign up without my permission. The reason it was my job to create these teams is because they cost the organization money and someone had to monitor the budget. I felt very disrespected by her actions and embarrassed in front of my organization. I immediately spoke with the rest of LC to make sure they knew I was handling the situation and also to get their support in the future. I also immediately sent out a message to the entire organization reminding them that it was my job to handle these events and the reason why I hadn't created a team yet was because I wanted to make sure we had the money. I made sure not to mention this one girl or make her feel uncomfortable but I reasserted the importance of my role to the chapter. I also spoke with this women separately so she understood the issue and not to do so again. It was a minor disagreement but it was very public, so I learned how to respectfully handle an issue between coworkers publicly.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Working in entertainment either helping to promote tv and movies through marketing/pr or helping to create shows in the business and legal affairs department
questions
affects of coronavirus on olympics, business decisions, production - planned change of CEO Steve Burke to Jeff Shell cats?? impact of One Platform What trait or characteristic would make a person most successful in this position? The culture of the company? What challenges does the company face, does the person in this position face? Do you have any questions or areas of concern for me?
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
strengths: curiosity, willingness to do the small stuff, fast learner (ability to teach myself) -taught myself photoshop to make edits for bands I like -taught myself sewing, sign language weaknesses: taking responsibility for my work, confidence in my role/ideas - spoke with London advisor on how to fix that
Why do you want to work at NBC?
the message you put out with the content you create is very powerful to me, and I would like to help share that message - The Good Place -Community - 30 Rock - Brooklyn 99