Paramount

Product Management/Data Strategy Intern

September 2017 • New York City, NY

What I liked

Product Management is typically a tough role to get into for college students as it requires a few years worth of experience in product or otherwise before you can enter. I was fortunate to land this role as I worked in Viacom under another role over the summer. 1) Viacom as a whole is a very relaxed company, and the floor I worked on was gorgeous. There's great food in the cafeteria, great vibes, and great people. 2) The boss who I work with provides me a lot of autonomy. While my previous role at Viacom had a lot of face time, my current boss handles a lot more types of responsibilities, so he only has time to meet with me about once a week. Even so, he's been really amazing at giving me meaningful projects and work. There's a lot of trust that goes around, and I get to work with him, and subsequently, present these thoughts on his behalf to other VPs and SVPs. 3) Product Management is a really fun role in general because you essentially act as the flight controller for a particular product. You are the lead and you work with various talented people to try to create the best possible project. The biggest thing for a role like this is having empathy, as you need to know how to reach software people, business people etc. 4) Surprisingly, Viacom is becoming more and more technological, and this means the things you work on and learn will continue to be relevant.

What I wish was different

This role has been pretty amazing overall and I'm planning to continue my journey with them next semester. There is probably only one thing I would change, which unfortunately, is unlikely to change as it is just an industry issue, rather than Viacom: 1) Compared to a product role for a company like Google, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft (etc.) or other tech companies, the products/services you build within the media space will never quite be as wild or innovative. It's still really amazing, but the TV entertainment space runs on relatively tight budgets compared to tech companies, so the products you build are also much more grounded. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's just something to know. 2) Something to know is that outside of rotational programs where they plan on hiring a set amount of interns every year, companies DO NOT extend a full-time offer. This does not mean you won't be hired by this company: in my case, I was able to ask to work with a different team within Viacom this semester, and was recently asked to extend into the spring. (Summer-Fall-Spring) However, this just means that you'll have to wait for a spot to open up around your graduation time.

Advice

Most of the other interns I work for within this space are grad students, and it seems to be quite tough for undergrads to get into initially. If this is a role you really like, I recommend trying to go for it, and accepting any role within Viacom. It's much easier to internally transfer than it is to get in from the outside. -> This means you have to NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. Do coffee chats, attend a bunch of intern events, etc. I will definitely say this is much easier to do during the summer as you are there much more frequently, and the summer program of events is honestly amazing. Good luck!

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Creative Advertising Intern

June 2018 • Los Angeles, CA

What I liked

I loved Paramount's internship program. They brought in guest speakers every week, had movie screenings on the lot, and had a ton of awesome networking events. I also loved the department I was working for. I got to have many incredible learnings experiences, including covering desks, shadowing at media vendors, and sitting in and assisting with creative meetings. Everyone was super helpful and always willing to answer my questions.

What I wish was different

The hardest part about the experience was driving up to LA from Orange County every day. I wish I had been able to afford an apartment up in LA, because the drive was very challenging.

Advice

Ask lots of questions and never say no to learning opportunity!

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Junior publicist

August 2017 • Chicago, IL

What I liked

The staff here is amazing. They give you a ton of responsibility, but if you can handle the workload, it is an amazing experience.

What I wish was different

Advice

TIME MANAGEMENT. This internship asks a lot from you, try your best to allot a day or two a week to primarily focus on this as your job.

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motion picture financial reporting intern

June - August 2017 • Los Angeles, CA

What I liked

The program was extremely organized and I was able to meet many people in the industry. In addition, they treat their interns like employees and your work truly gets considered and discussed by executives of the company.

What I wish was different

I wish I had gotten to see other departments more closely at Paramount.

Advice

Be willing to help other SFA's on your floor at all times.

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Market Intelligence and POS Tracking Intern

June - August 2018 • Los Angeles, CA

What I liked

It's really an amazing experience to get an inside perspective of the entertainment industry. Although all of your work is within your specific department, you get to learn about the different parts of the business through a weekly speaker series. I never knew how complex the process is from film idea generation at the beginning to home media distribution at the end. The people at Paramount are also amazing!