Most Important Skills for a Producer at a Big Tech Company
Sib, a producer at a Fortune 100 tech company, emphasizes the importance of "communication, critical thinking, and being organized" for success in their role. The ability to "ask questions" and understand "the why" behind tasks, not just "the what," has been key to their career growth, leading to improved efficiency and problem-solving, as evidenced by their creation of a helpful manual for a new tool.
Communication, Critical Thinking, Organization, Problem-Solving, Project Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sib Santos
Producer
Fortune 100 Tech Company
California State University, Chico
n/a
Business Management & Admin
Technology, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Communication and Marketing
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Communication: This includes concise and consistent verbal and written communication, such as leading calls, writing emails, and using tools like Slack effectively. The ability to communicate the importance of tasks to the team to maintain organization and efficiency is crucial.
2. Critical Thinking: This involves understanding the "why" behind tasks, not just the "what." Asking questions and analyzing situations allows for better problem-solving, process improvements, and more efficient workflows.
3. Organization: Staying organized helps one prepare for tasks, avoid getting flustered under pressure, and ultimately, helps manage a busy workload effectively. This can take many forms depending on the individual’s style and preferences.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
I'm going to keep it pretty basic. The first thing that came to mind is communication.
From my agency experience, I used to juggle even more different projects, clients, and tasks. I'm really grateful to be in a spot where I value concise, consistent communication and critically thinking about what's needed and when. This includes leading calls and written communication, whether it's an email or using tools like Slack.
When we're in a busy period, I often put together a bulleted list of what needs to happen and when. It sounds simple, but my team's feedback is that it's super helpful. Everyone is working on different pieces and might have their head down on something that we actually have more time for, while another piece needs immediate attention. This helps the team stay organized and work more effectively, knowing what's coming.
So, communication, critical thinking. I think asking questions is part of critical thinking – thinking through the "why." This has been a thread through my career. Especially when you're starting out, you have a task, want to do it well, and move on to the next.
Of course, tasks need to get done, but understanding *why* you're doing something and taking a moment ultimately helps you do the task better. It helps you understand needs more. Sometimes the "why" is just to get the task done, and that's valid.
But when you ask "why" and understand the reasoning, you might be able to suggest a better way of doing something. Or, if it's a recurring monthly task, you can set it up in a way that helps with the current need and makes the monthly process smoother, leading to a better result. So, critical thinking is really important for my day-to-day.
I was explaining that I didn't really do localization work before. Now, I understand a lot about how it's done, though I'm not doing the translating myself. I can answer many questions about how a specific function works in a tool called World Server, which I'd never heard of before.
This is because I've taken the time to ask questions, receive questions, and dig into how things work. Now, when someone asks a common question, I can just send them a manual we created, which helps them use the tool better.
So, critical thinking and just staying organized, whatever that looks like for everyone, is crucial. Being organized helps you show up prepared and not get flustered. When things are busy, it's easy to get flustered without a system for organizing yourself. Therefore, communication, critical thinking, and being organized are key.