Navigating between industries - Lorena Perez

00:00

Do you think that being an avid consumer of media made you a better program manager?

00:05

I think my extensive knowledge of operations made me a better program manager. The content is not really related to it. Believe it or not, operation people, they always put themselves in the worst situation possible so if anything wrong happens you're ready to react and fix the issues.

00:27

You've worked at some companies that a lot of people will recognize. [inaudible 00:00:32] 20th Century Fox or.

00:35

Yeah.

00:37

Firecom. Why media companies?

00:40

I grew up with MTV. Right, you know MTV, right? Music Television. A Friend of mine was working at MTV at the time, I dated an intern so he gave me a call, I did an interview and I got the job as an intern. I got an internship now [inaudible 00:01:01] When I started working there I was like, "Oh my god, this is the place I want to be forever. As a matter of fact, I stayed there... By the way, this is my cat, I don't know if you can see.

01:11

Hello.

01:11

But back to the interview, so when I started working there I was like, "why, this is the place I want to be." I felt everything was so captivating for me. From the music, the production, all the designers, the creative people [inaudible 00:01:29].

01:29

A young person's dream.

01:33

[inaudible 00:01:33] It was a dream. I felt so lucky that I could have the chance and from there started moving more and more into the operations and specifically the content operations in which I fit very well because I consume content. I binge watch all the TV shows. I have a subscription for every platform that you can think about. That's the reason I think I was fitting so well. So many years there I think, "I'm ready for another change and I've always been very interested in technology. As a matter of fact [inaudible 00:02:09] is not as media related, it's more technology related so it's basically applications, the development of the websites, the development of the products, of the applications.

02:21

So, yeah, I was ready to carry on growing in that field and discovering and growing professionally towards that side and that's the reason I'm working now to AI.

02:32

What came first? Was it your interest in media and your natural binge watching or was it working in media that pulled you that way?

02:43

I think it happened simultaneously because when I stared working in [inaudible 00:02:49] I was really young, like 22 or something. That thing of binge watching content didn't really exist because that's a recent event, let's put it that way. I think it happened contemporaneously, but probably, yes, I think being able to be working closely to people of production or at some point when I was working at MTV in Italy, you had to work with other people from production as well and I think it made sense. Everything together, you're glued together, it's like that [inaudible 00:03:26] and then complete each other.

03:27

Do you think that being an avid consumer of media made you a better program manager?

03:36

I don't think they're related. I think my extensive knowledge of operations made me a better program manager but content is not really related to it.

03:48

That's interesting because I think a lot of people would say that they were the first user of their product in some way as if they were the ones who were the people who they were building it all for themselves in some way that that would be really beneficial.

04:05

I would say so for a product owner, right, because at the end of the day it's the product owner that decides how the product needs to look or what features I usually would like to see. Me, as the product manager, I'm only in charge of ensuring that things happen when they need to happen.

04:22

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

04:26

And understanding, are we going to have any blockers or if we have any blockers we are going to need those mitigation plans and in order to do that, you need to have a really good operational knowledge, because believe it or not, operation people, they always put themselves in the worse situation possible so if anything wrong happens, you're ready to react and fix the issues, so I think that's what makes me a really good program manager, being able to, kind of sense when things are going to go awry.

04:57

Now that you're joining a company whose AI technology is different to content, what, I mean it must be scary, must be a complete change.

05:13

Oh my god, no I am so looking forward to it, as I said, I like the risk, I took a challenge, so this for me is going to be [inaudible 00:05:21] motivating challenge [inaudible 00:05:22] as it attracts to AI anyway because I think that you can do so many things with it. This company that I am going to, they specialize in conversational AI and I think you can do so many things with it that I am really looking forward to hit the floor and I am going to start running and start getting my training and learning all that stuff because I do think it's going to be where everyone is headed to in the next years. So for me it's not scary at all and honestly I am super excited about it.

05:59

Yeah, someone from the outside might look at your journey and be really envious because you've really been able to transition from media to where everyone wants to work now in technology and you've been able to make that transition in a way that doesn't mean you'll move back steps, you're moving forward steps. How have you navigated that transition? Like, when was the first moment you realized that you wanted to make that decision slightly more conscious and how has it developed?

06:35

I don't know really, I think after being for so long and doing the same thing you start to see patterns and things. This is again the same thing and then you consciously think I might need something else, I might need to take the next step to keep myself motivated. So probably, that's how I realized.

07:00

And how did you navigate it then? How did you make the switch?

07:08

Obviously fighting for it, going for it. I see the end goal and I go for it. I do whatever is possible, whatever I can do to get there especially in this occasion. I started looking for jobs intensively. That's how I actually knew about [inaudible 00:07:28]. Putting my CV up, applying for all the jobs that I could and with courage, putting the objective and going for it anyway that I can.

07:44

It sounds like you have such a degree of clarity and energy when you go through that job search experience that I am sure a lot of people that I am sure a lot of people could draw upon. But what is the process that you go through? What tools do you use and how do you manage it and how many companies do you talk to at once?

08:08

As many as possible. I don't like to rule out anything but at some point you narrow it down which companies you really want to work for and which ones fit better on your CV and your career path, and then you start ruling out.

08:24

Do you do that before or after you've spoken to them?

08:28

I do that before I start talking to them. I send them my CV and at some point if I have to drop out because I found a different company, then I send them an email saying, "Id like to drop out from the process." If you ask me what tools do I use, I recently started using [inaudible 00:08:45] because I was looking for more technology related roles and I think Core was a better platform for that, as a matter of fact it was my husband who told me about it because he an IOS developer and so he knew about it. A couple of people had already contacted me on Core but unfortunately I had already accepted the job [inaudible 00:09:04] so I was like... But anyway, I've also used LinkedIn and of course contacts, with my career path, as I said, I've been working with many departments, many companies across Europe and luckily I created a really extensive network. So I also sent [inaudible 00:09:27] a message like, "hey, job hunting, I am here if you need me." But LinkedIn is probably the tool that I have been using most in the past.

09:36

Got it. And when you get to the point at which you're talking to companies and your got that pros and cons list, what kind of questions and insights are you trying to gain from the interview process in order to make decisions?

09:51

I think it's important for me to understand the role properly when they introduce the role to you. I think its very important that the company makes you feel comfortable during the interview because that means they're probably going to make you feel comfortable through the whole process and even when you start working with them. Its really important for me to understand the details of the job, what it requires because the last thing that you want to do is get into a job that is way too big for you. Because if its too big for you, you're probably going to be underperforming, that's going to affect the that way you work, that's going to affect the way that you motivate, how motivated you are and so on so I think that's probably one of the things I want to know from the beginning. Understanding from them if I'm able to do that job or not.

10:56

I think its really important as well especially now-a-days that the company offers good mental health tools for it's employees. Or they cared at least for the mental health of its employees. I think that's extremely important now-a-days. So that's also things that I take into account. Companies that allow you to have that balance of work and personal life, especially remote companies or during this Covid issues that we are having at the moment, because as difficult as it is sometimes you can't really be from 9:00 until 6:00 in front of the computer like you would do if you were going into the office every day. So having that balance, knowing that I can take a break of whatever time I need and the company understanding that.

11:57

Do you ask questions to understand that or do you just know it through the conversations?

12:03

No, no, I ask those questions, like, "what are the time schedules [inaudible 00:12:08] and do you use applications for free, like Headspace, or things like that? Do you offer [inaudible 00:12:17] like Yoga lessons or you know, that kind of stuff.

12:17

When you get to that point of which you are making that call, how do you make sure you that you don't make it in an emotional state but you do make it with your heart?

12:36

I don't know how to answer that question honestly. There is nothing wrong with being emotional. I sense, we are humans. We have emotions. We act every day based on emotions. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking that decision a good decision based on an emotional feeling.

12:57

Do you think you've ever felt an unhealthy emotion during a job interview?

12:57

Stress.

12:57

Yeah.

13:04

Do you ever go to a job interview feeling super relaxed? I don't think nobody does so, that's one thing for an example. You always go like really stressed.

13:15

Your way of coping with that?

13:16

I do breathing exercises, some meditation, I think it was [inaudible 00:13:22] sent me an email saying, "just be yourself, have confidence" I can't really remember the quote that she said, but she said something like, "be confident on your [inaudible 00:13:34] and what you've done and everything will be smart." And I try and keep that in mind because at the end of the day I don't have to sell myself. I am just going to have a conversation about my job experience and that's what I am trying to keep in mind when I have a job interview. I'm not saying it is easy, its not easy and the stress is always there, but it helps thinking that you don't have to sell yourself, you just have to talk about your experience, what you've done, what you haven't done, that's it.

14:04

So why do we feel like when we go into an interview process we need to sell ourselves so heavily?

14:09

Because we care. Because we don't applying for a job if we don't really have an interest in working for that specific company, don't we? So we care. I want to cause an impression. I want that person to leave the meeting thinking, "hmm, I like what she said, I like her experience that her profile, I think she's going to be a good fit for this. That's the reason that we want to sell ourselves.

14:33

Probably even scarier to be the truest version of yourself in an interview because people can really see you for who you are.

14:42

True. If you're a good person, you shouldn't be worried about those things. If you're a good worker, you work for your best. If you have been a good employee [inaudible 00:14:51] You shouldn't worry about that.

14:53

Whenever someone interviews [inaudible 00:14:56] I always try and start by saying Thank You because whenever you go through and interview process, you give a part of yourself in that interview process to the other person in some ways the more authentic parts of you that you give, the more authentic they more painful they are or at least they feel like you're giving more than if you were just trying to sell yourself really hard somehow.

15:29

Yeah it could be.

15:30

Mm-hmm (affirmative) Does your own definition of doing your best work inform how you go about finding it?

15:38

So in my case, I think so because, as I said earlier, it give more [inaudible 00:15:43] to see people happy with the work I've done and to have positive feedback, that's what keeps me motivated. So I think its tied together, you do the work, you get positive feedback, then you carry on doing it, and now even better, so they intertwine. [inaudible 00:16:01] then you carry on doing it because you feel that you are doing well, people feel that you are doing well, so carry on like that all the time.

16:09

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

16:11

So that layers on top of each other as it goes? Do you have a working definition of what it means to you to do your best work?

16:19

I would say, that I was always giving my 100% to what I am doing. You know, if you're going to do it half-assed just don't do it because if you do a job at 50% or 40% or even 60% its going to fall through the cracks at some point. You will feel it, people that work with you will feel it as well, so that's for me what it means, my best work. Ensuring I am giving 100% if you're not giving 100-200%, its not worth doing it.

16:59

Does that mean that you optimize for environments where other people are giving their hundred percent too?

17:09

Absolutely, absolutely. I like to empower all the people so especially when I started working, when I have new starters working in the company, I have been always the ones trying to involve the people. Sorry, my cat is again on the desk, okay off you go. As I was saying that whenever, I'm always the unofficial onboarder so the onboarding body. I like to empower people by transferring my knowledge to other people because I always think that the best we all know it, the we are going to do collectively as a group.

18:02

I'm so excited for you to do your best work next up [inaudible 00:18:05] and thank you for detailing how you have made this transition through.

18:12

No Problem, anytime.

18:14

Media company to AI company. I can't wait to hear how it goes.

18:20

Okay, thank you so much for having me today [crosstalk 00:18:26].