As if navigating a career in the media and entertainment industry wasn’t already challenging enough amid consolidation and contraction, now the pandemic has made it even more difficult, executive recruiters said while speaking Oct. 7 at the SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit, presented by Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH).
“There’s been a lot of change,” according to Bill Simon, global sector leader for media and entertainment at executive search firm Korn Ferry, calling this a period of “great uncertainty and a lot of challenges.”
The world has stopped in terms of various industry sectors and sub-sectors, with the theatrical exhibition business and live events including concerts and sports all coming to a “screeching halt” when the pandemic started, he said during the Professional Development track breakout session “How To Navigate Your Career In a World of COVID, Contraction and Consolidation.”
However, we’ve seen, in the past couple of weeks or so, a willingness on the part of companies to start talking about the hiring of people for key positions again, according to Simon.
Before the pandemic, we were in a period of M&As and other consolidation in the traditional M&E sector, with streaming one of the few bright spots for the industry, along with production, he said. Production came to a screeching halt also during the pandemic, although it’s starting to come back now – albeit in a stop-start manner, he noted.
The pandemic has sped up a lot of the trends we were seeing even before COVID-19, according to Fran Pomerantz, founder of The Pomerantz Group recruiting firm. That includes the demise of brick-and-mortar retail, she noted.
Whether they like it or not, M&E companies will have to hire people to fill digital roles as these trends continue, she said.
One thing that is needed during these challenging times is strong leadership that can actually lead, Simon noted.
Remote work has changed the thinking and approach of just about every company and even the notion of what the workplace is is changing, he said. And he doesn’t think anybody knows exactly what it will look like in a few months, a year or two years from now, he added.
Simon had always worked from his Los Angeles office five days a week, but he has not been in his office in more than six months, he noted. Even if his company opens the office again with a reduced capacity, he probably won’t go to the office more than one or two days a week after being spoiled by the convenience and cost savings of working from home, he said.
He also predicted there likely won’t be as much business travel anymore, even after the pandemic is over. And that creates an additional challenge for those building careers in their 20s and 30s especially, he said. After all, there isn’t as much interaction between people in many sectors anymore, making it harder to establish long-lasting relationships.
In the past, people often met others at conferences and went out for drinks and dinner, spending time together and getting to know each other in the process, he pointed out. There will be different rules and expectations in the new normal, he added.
However, Simon said he was optimistic the next generation will figure out ways to establish long-term relationships, albeit in a different way than people have until now.
Having a social media presence has become more important than ever because it is one way in which people can get to know you on a professional level, Pomerantz noted. It is important to “beat your drum” to let people know who you are, but without beating people over their heads while doing it, she said. For those who don’t like writing — or are bad at it -— reposting on social media is a good option, she said, adding you don’t have to do it all yourself.
When it comes to deciding whether to take a new job or not, meanwhile, it is important to get your foot in the door, especially now, she said. Amid the rise in contract work, startups and other companies may be able to provide health insurance even if they can’t pay you, she noted.
Whether it is through social media or other means, it is crucial to be visible while seeking opportunities, according to Simon. People tend to find their next jobs through friends of friends more than other means, he said, noting most people don’t even get a response from job board listings they apply to.
He strongly suggested looking beyond the most obvious 5-10 companies during a job search and also recommended that job seekers be more flexible. He also suggested that everybody make sure everybody in their network knows what their interests are and what they’re looking for, and that they track companies they are interested in joining to see if they have job openings.
It stands to be a “trying time going forward” and it will be “choppy” for the next couple of years probably, he predicted.
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be great jobs available – just that there will be fewer of them and they will be harder to get, he said, predicting there will be “constant change” for years to come. Those who are able to become successful will have great careers, he told viewers.
He urged people to not feel like they have to be trapped in a job and they should leave a position if they want to. After all, the old days of staying with one company a long time are long gone, he said.
There are plenty of new companies out there, along with divisions of companies who have been around for a while, who will be hiring, presenting opportunities in a highly competitive marketplace, he added.
The session was moderated by Valerie Hull, an associate in executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles’ Los Angeles office and a member of the global Healthcare & Life Sciences and CEO & Board practice.