Top 5 Lessons I Learned Recruiting for Cartoon Network Studios
There recently was an article released by Bloomberg about Cartoon Network Studios that brought back a lot of memories for me. A lot of people don’t know that I had an amazing opportunity to lead the artistic recruiting team at Cartoon Network Studios a few years ago (before its merger with Discovery). And let me say, it was one of the most amazing places to work!
One of the things I loved most about being an artistic recruiter was being able to take my experience as an artist and add that to the job. Being an artist allowed me to understand the language and skills required for the job from first hand experience.
Being an artist also meant, I had applied for some of the very same types of job when I was graduating from college and change things I didn’t like. One thing I hated about applying for jobs online was the black hole of submissions. Never knowing if your email was received since most of the time you didn’t hear back.
Everyone is super busy and recruiters get slammed with dozens of emails a day of folks looking for a job. So I know it’s a big ask for them to reply to everyone. But I also know the mental toll it takes on someone to get the courage to email the abyss and never hear back.
So when I was recruiting, I wanted to make sure we circled back with every artist that emailed my team (even if it was with a template reply - I wanted to you know we got your email!). It was a super small thing, but I felt like it was an owed courtesy.
But the best part about my time at Cartoon Network Studios was getting to meet some amazing artist, speaking to tons of students, reviewing hundreds (if not thousands) of portfolios, and developing CNS Academy (a storyboard trainee program). Animation is what made me fall in love with art, so I wanted help as many artists achieve their dreams of working animation as I could.
I observed a lot during my short time recruiting and I wanted to share with you the top 5 things I learned:
It was bittersweet when I left, but working at Cartoon Network studios was an honor and I’m eternally grateful to my former boss, Brian Miller, for giving me the chance.