Jessie is one of my friends from Chapman who moved to New York after college and has been loving it! She is an entertainment aficionado and has worked at some major film and music companies! If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to her directly with the contact info towards the bottom of the post!
Name: Jessie Juarez
Age: 26
City: Brooklyn, NY
Company: Sony Music Entertainment (SME)
Title: Executive Assistant (EA)
Time at Company: 6 months
How did you hear about the position and what was the interview process like?
A recruiter reached out to me via LinkedIn to see if I was interested in this role. I had a quick screening call with the recruiter, then a video call with someone else from our HR team. Finally, I had a video call with my now boss. I didn’t feel the need to negotiate because the pay was much higher than my previous job and had much better benefits.
What past experience do you think helped you land your current role?
I was an Administrative Assistant at AMC Networks, which means I was basically an EA for three executives for three years. This previous job definitely helped me land my current role, but prior to that I was also an Administrative Assistant and front desk receptionist at Chapman University which also helped me gain experience for these roles.
What tasks does your job entail?
The first thing I do when I get to the office is check my emails. As soon as I leave the office the day before, I don’t look at my emails to try and keep a healthy work/life balance. Usually, I’ll have 2-3 emails from my boss asking me to schedule meetings. Then I’ll work on those if I know they’ll be easy to schedule. If it’s a meeting that will take longer, I might push it off later or have to email other assistants and wait for their replies. I’ll also check my Slack messages and see if there is one from my boss also giving me tasks to do for the day. Sometimes he prefers to chat for a quick minute to tell me in person, but it depends how busy his mornings are. Next, I’ll catch-up on any other tasks I might not have finished from the previous day(s). These can be independent tasks such as working on expense reports, booking travel, ordering supplies, and other tasks might involve collaborating such as following up with assistants regarding meetings. Right now I’m in the midst of planning a huge in-person conference for our 80+ employees in our department. So it’s been way busier than normal with booking hotel rooms, answering flight questions, catering, planning a mini golf event, scheduling dinners, and a ton of other tasks I might not even be aware of yet. Lastly, I don’t want to forget to mention, but I do take lunch usually around 1:30pm either in our cafeteria upstairs that is buffet style, with pizza, burgers, and sandwiches as options as well, or if it’s Tuesday, in our kitchen space eating our weekly free catered meal.
What are the skills needed to be successful at your job?
Organization is the #1 skill needed for this job. I not only need to keep myself organized, but my boss literally depends on me to keep his day to day on track. Critical thinking, flexibility, and fast problem solving are also needed especially when last minute schedule changes arise, which they always do. I use both GSuite and Microsoft Outlook for my job, as well as Concur for booking travel and expenses. My team also uses Slack heavily.
Who do you directly report to and does anyone report to you?
I report to the Chief Product Officer of Sony Music.
Do you work from home, office, or hybrid?
Hybrid, 3 days in the office and 2 from home but my boss is really chill if I ever need to work an extra day from home. Hours are 9:30am to 5:30pm with a 30min lunch.
How many vacation days do you get per year?
I have unlimited time off.
What do you do to help your work/life balance?
I rarely ever look at my work emails after I “clock off.” I do have my work email notifications enabled on my phone but always clear them away after work hours. In the evenings and on the weekends, I like to watch tv, go to the movies, hang out with friends and during these times work rarely ever crosses my mind.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love that I work for the company that has the record labels that my favorite artists, Beyonce, Adele, Harry styles to name a few, are signed under. There are posters of them all over the office and their music videos are constantly being shown on our screens on each floor.
What has been your proudest moment at your job?
It hasn’t happened yet, but once our conference in May is complete I know that will be my proudest moment.
Have you worked anywhere else in the past?
Before SME, I was an Administrative Assistant at AMC Networks for 3 years.
If people want to connect with you and learn more, how can they reach you?
You can find me on IG and Twitter @jessiethejet
Last Fast 5 with Jessie Juarez
- Last tv show/movie: I watch a lot of TV so easier to go with last movie, best movie of the year, The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Last book: Small Game by Blair Braverman
- Last concert: Tennis, which I got free tix through my work!
- Last restaurant: Hi Life Bar & Grill, had my favorite cocktail (Champagne with Elderflower Liqueur) and very yummy loaded potato skins
- Last vacation: Orlando, FL in Feb to go to Disney World and Universal Studios, which IMO Universal was funner…
Thanks for sharing, Jessie!
RECOMMENDED
Job Feature: Kameron Backstrom, Marketing Asset Manager
Job Feature: Nikki Nguyen, e-Commerce & Digital Manager at Celebrity Fashion Company
Job Feature: Yael Egnal, Senior Manager of Development
