Most Important Skills for a Technology Sourcing Manager at Netflix
Nicole, a Technology Sourcing Manager at Netflix, identifies communication, attention to detail, and organization as crucial skills. The role demands "corralling a bunch of different people" and negotiating "high dollar contract deals," necessitating strong communication and meticulous attention to detail to navigate complex negotiations and manage multiple projects effectively.
Communication, Negotiation, Attention to Detail, Organization, Project Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nicole Panzovski
Technology Sourcing Manager
Netflix
UCLA 2016
UCLA Anderson MBA
Economics
Arts, Entertainment & Media, Technology
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Excellent communication skills (verbal, written, email, and instant messaging) are crucial for coordinating with diverse teams and stakeholders.
2. Exceptional attention to detail is necessary for reviewing complex contracts and identifying potential risks in high-value technology deals.
3. Strong organizational skills are essential for managing multiple projects, prioritizing tasks, and efficiently retrieving relevant information under pressure.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
If I could list the top three skills, the first is communication. You have to communicate with lots of different people: internal people, external people, executive leadership. Communication is really huge, not just verbal, but email and Slack communication as well.
It's about keeping the team along for the ride. A strategic sourcing manager's role is almost like a quarterback or a farmer. You're corralling a bunch of different people, trying to get them through one goal. To do that, you have to communicate effectively and quickly, or projects will spiral. This happens often, so communication is one of the biggest skills.
The second skill, I think, would be attention to detail. I'm working in very high-dollar contract deals. You need to be able to look through the details of what a deal might encompass and identify potential pitfalls. Technology vendors or people we work with negotiate deals in their best interest, and Netflix negotiates deals in its best interest. That's my responsibility, in partnership with my legal team. It takes attention to detail to be able to do that.
The last thing would be organization. This isn't just about responding quickly or having a clean email inbox. It's more about pulling information from documents and your own mind on the details of a problem, especially if you're doing multiple things at the same time. This is key to being successful, mostly because when you're dealing with multiple deals, the lines blur, and the terms start to sound the same. Being able to stay organized and pull the right information at the right time is really important.