Navigating the Unexpected: Chazz Inniss
Thanks for listening to “Navigating the Unexpected,” the podcast series from the
Newhouse Career Development Center in which we chat with Communications industry
professionals about the career obstacles they have overcome and how they have made the
unexpected situations. I’m Kelly Barnett, in this conversation, we hear from Chazz Innis when
Chazz graduated, he leaned into the technical skills that he had polished as a magazine major in
order to give himself as many career options as possible. Chazz learned how, in a less than
perfect job market, being flexible and creative in his job search to pay off tremendously. This
conversation took place via zoom in front of a student audience, so you’ll hear some of their
questions at the end. Some portions of the conversation have been edited for clarity.
Kelly: Well hello everybody, I’m super excited to welcome Chazz Inniss to our talk today.
Chazz is a 2018 graduate of the magazine program, and while he was a student at Newhouse, he
was able to identify the skills that he enjoyed using, as well as what his real strengths were, so he
was able to translate all that training and experience into a career outside his major, and that
really allows him to focus on the skills that he loves most. So, today Chazz is the marketing
strategy manager at Group Nine Media. I think maybe a good place to start out would be you
talking a little bit about where you’re from and where you started out in your career and then we
can go from there.
Chazz: So I’m originally from Long Island, New York, probably like 40 minutes outside of
Manhattan. Basically where I kind of started out in my career, which I was very gungho about
going into the fashion industry, looking at fashion magazines, and I had, kind of, had wanted to
get a full round perspective of the industry itself. Having numerous different internships like
Marie Claire magazine, different designers, PR experience, social media experience, and I think
what was really helpful about that was it kind of gave me a whole well-rounded set of skills that
I could use in numerous different things. And one of the really helpful things about the magazine
major itself was you, kind of, you learned how to be a good writer, how to be a good editor, but
you also learned how to think, like, cross-platform per say, thinking how things work in print,
digital, social, video, even learning some newer technologies like virtual reality, audio, so you
really, kind of, gained a cross-platform perspective on storytelling and media, and really thinking
of how is the best way to kind of package up a story to this audience. What are they going to be
engaging with? What are they interested in? Skills that were actually extremely helpful that
could translate into multiple different career paths, different industries, different emphasize, just
different things you’re interested in. I was extremely interested in fashion, beauty, but I was also
interested in food and Baked Magazine and things like that, and there were student applications
that I got involved with that really kind of supplemented my experiences and more. I wanted to
take a lot of the different things that I loved doing from internship experiences and different
on-campus applications I was in, and things I loved in class, and really see how I could turn them
into a career and really, kind of, get my foot in the door. So, one of the things that I definitely
recommend you guys doing this, like, take a fresh perspective on the things you actually really
like to do from your classes. I know one of the things I loved was social media strategy and
really working on social. I remember one of my magazine editing classes was with Professor
Galleghar, and she had this really cool project where we had to kind of put ourselves in the shoes
of a different digital media brand, and we had to create a social video assets model on Instagram,
snapchat discover stories, and then also create a video based on, like, what type of content that
brand would create. And something like that really really intrigued me because I was like, wow
this is so fun, it’s able to think about the magazine experience in a different kind of way, thinking
of how I can translate those stories cross-platform, and that’s something that I love doing, and
I’m kind of able to do in my job today, and before I even jump to that, kind of like, linking those
together, finding the steps to kind of build enough experience to, kind of, give me the
qualifications to have the job like that.
So, one of the first jobs I had, right off the bat, was I was actually at People magazine, which I
was extremely extremely fortunate to be able to, like, really leverage the Newhouse Network to
reach out to alumni, and I highly recommend that. Obviously they tell you that every day, really
leverage the Newhouse Network, lean into that, but one of the things I really think that helps
with that is developing a relationship first. I think you can’t come in off the bat asking directly
for this or for that, but I think really, kind of, having a genuine interest in their career experience
and their background. I think you hear this a lot, but within the media industry, people love
having their egos stroked, they love hearing about their past success, and if you, kind of, show a
genuine interest in that, then they’ll have a genuine interest in you. I think one of the alumni that
definitely helped me with that is Sharon Canter. She was a magazine major, and she is now the
editorial director at Staurt Weissman, but at the time she was the deputy style director at People
magazine, and she actually let me know about an opening that they had there, and she brought
me in to the interview, brought me in to meet the whole team, and knew that I was interested in
fashion and beauty, and that role itself really allowed me to, kind of, explore those different
facets and kind of find what I did like. So, that was a really interesting thing because I helped the
social media director create Instagram stories, I also helped with, like, social media strategy and
things like that which really helped, kind of, put together that magazine experience from a
different perspective now, and I think one of the great things about my experience at People
magazine was kind of being at a large brand itself, but I was able to kind of see how they’re able
to translate the “People magazine experience” to different platforms. How it lived across Twitter,
how it lived on Instagram, Facebook, how it also lived on the website versus in print. It was a
really excellent perspective to kind of gain, to kind of see how am I going to translate the
storytelling to different platforms, and I think that that’s something that, no matter what major
you are, you’ll be leveraging a lot, especially in your career today. You’re going to think about,
how am I really packaging this storytelling for different platforms? Is it gonna live across
streaming platforms? Does it live on YouTube? Is it living on TikTok? And, kind of,
understanding that each platform has its own differentiators, and the things that make it really
unique that, kind of, like, you’ll have to really change your story for.
Kelly: So, when you were talking about, you know, you’ve had all of this diverse experience,
and it’s great because you have all these different facets to what you’re able to do. Do you have
any tips for positioning yourself? You have X experience but now you want Y experience. How
do you make X look good in order to get you that internship where you can get Y?
Chazz: I think one really interesting example of that was when I was, kind of, going from one
internship to the next or kind of even putting them all together, I think one of the interesting
things that you’ll learn to do is taking little nuggets from your experience, and finding the really
actionable skill sets, actual things that you learned, and repackaging that for that new application.
One of the things I learned was that you’ll always have to tailor your resume for a new
application. It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s one of those things that kind of takes your
application to the next level because it shows you actually put a lot of genuine thought into, like,
how my skills can translate into this role. So, you’ll learn about how to use certain words to, kind
of, portray a certain skill set. So, like let’s say you were an editorial intern at a magazine, but
you’re looking to kind of go into social media storytelling. So really pulling those nuggets
because storytelling is something that really going to be, kind of, something that’s a unifying
thread throughout whatever kind of role you’re going in for within the media industry, so as long
as you’re able to kind of pull how you’ve done that in different ways from your experience, it
will, kind of, put you to the top.
Kelly: That’s great advice. I think a lot of times people get hung up on titles or departments, and
really what it comes down to is it’s skill sets, right? Did you find that companies were pretty
understanding in terms of you being a student, it was OK that you didn’t get that specific skill in
that same exact context, they were flexible about that?
Chazz: I definitely found that, but I think what they saw from that was they saw someone that
was really looking to take that skill set and, kind of, branch out. For instance, for, like, my role
that I have now at Group Nine Media, it’s a marketing strategy manager, and when I was
applying for that job, obviously my degree is in journalism and things like that, so a lot of that is
sponsored content and brand strategies and social media strategies and event production, things
like that, so it’s, kind of, a lot of skill sets that, say there’s someone more into PR or advertising,
but what they were really looking for, and I think what people are looking for in the media
industry all over, is how you’re able to tell a story. And that was one of the things I definitely
spoke to within my interview and within, they had me do one of this edit/ proposal task for them
to kind of really see how I’m able to bring storytelling to life. They’re not looking for just
someone who can list off a bunch of the skills that line up, but they’re looking for someone who
was able to list off those skills, but also, like, take it a step further by connecting it, and using it
to illustrate how their experience can be translated into something really tangible that drives
results in that role.
Kelly: That’s fantastic, yeah, we find that companies hire based on skill sets, right? They’re
hiring you for the skills that you can do now, not the major that you had. So, you talked about
how you had all these internships, you were able to maneuver from one to the next. When you
graduated, what was the big challenge to get you where you wanted to go? What was the big
hurdle you had to get over?
Chazz: I think one of the largest hurdles for me was, kind of, navigating what was next, you
know, because at the time I was working at People magazine, I was there, and it was really good.
It was a really good experience, but I was thinking what is the next step? Where do I really want
to see myself and how am I going to necessarily get there? So I definitely spoke to my manager
at the time at People magazine, listing off different things I was interested in and where I wanted
to, kind of, take my career. Also, reaching out to different alumni that I was already connected
with about what I was interested in, and what was great about what was when you have those
relationships with alumni, whether it’s like you’ve met them at a meet and greet, or they spoke in
one of your classes and you really connected with them, one of the things they really aspire to do
is help you figure out basically ways to bring your career to the next step. One of the alumni that
I was talking to was another magazine alum, who, at the time, was the associate director at
Popsugar for the role I have now, and at the time that I met her, I wasn’t necessarily interested in
that, but I was like, I knew there were little bits of it that I found interesting, and I wanted to
learn more. And she and I went to coffee, we had, like a phone call just to talk about my different
interests and things like that, and she was like, “well, I actually know a few people that might be
helpful to talk to,” and she introduced me to the associate director of social media and audience
involvement at Vogue, she introduced me to the head of digital strategy at Spotify, and she was
like, “I think these are people that are going to be very helpful for you to speak to because it’ll
help you really understand, like, how you can transit your experience into something else, or it
might even open your eyes to a career you might not have seen before.” And that was really
interesting to me because, especially talking to the associate director of social and audience
involvement at Vogue, she was also a Syracuse alum, not necessarily Newhouse, but she was a
Syracuse alum, and she was actually a political science major who ended up going into the tech
space, was at AOL for the longest time, and then made a pivot to media, and it was really helpful
talking to her because she really gave me the perspective of really looking outside of your major
and being understanding that your major isn’t who you are. It is what you study because you’re
interested in it, but there are really interesting things you can pull from that, and translate that
into the career journey you’re looking for. So, like, one of the things she was telling me about
was having another analytics career at, like, a marketing agency, and how she ended up pivoting
that and really selling herself, and how she’d be able to really tell stories with data for Vogue,
and she’s been there for a year, and it’s really awesome to, kind of, hear stories like that because
it really inspires you to, kind of, think bigger in a way about your major, about your career path,
things you wanna do, and the things you like to do as well, and I think one of the things for me,
as a magazine major, I was, like, so, I really want to be in magazines, I really want to be in
media, but one of the other things to understand is, like, as you know you’re studying media and
the industry as a whole, and things are converging and even the way YOU consume media has
changed from what it was four years ago. Four years ago you might’ve been reading magazines
everyday, but now you connect with the magazine on social, or maybe you connect with the
magazine on your website, or maybe you’re even getting a lot of, like, brand influence and things
from brands itself, and it’s like really incredible to see where that storytelling you’re getting is
coming from and how they’re telling storytelling in new ways. Really, kind of, looking how
brands are telling stories for themselves and how they’re telling it in new, dynamic ways. I think
one of the interesting tidbits from my experience was like when I was at Oscar De La Renta
doing digital communications and social media strategy, our SEO did a strategy in also, like,
event production. It was kind of like, learning about what is a story that Oscar De La Renta is
telling and how, how are they telling it on social, how are they telling that through email and
digital, SEO, video content, our website itself, how are we telling that story? And that was where
I was kind of able to step in at an editorial lense from my magazine experience and think what
does a consumer want to know about it? Kind of really thinking about an inverted pyramid, kind
of giving them this grand scheme pyramid of what Oscar De La Renta is, and, kind of, honing in
as you get down the inverted pyramid on the details you want them to know. And a lot of brands
have kind of been taking on that cross platform, and I think that’s a really important skill, so
when it comes to kind of, like, delivering those new kinds of communications, kind of, telling
new stories in new ways, you’re able to just, kind of, tell that in a dynamic and impactful way.
Kelly: That’s great, you gave us so much to chew on there. A lot of what you were talking about
is the skills that you got from different internships and how you’ve kind of pivoted to make those
work for new directions. Did you ever have a time when you were unsure of what skills you
wanted to focus on? Or was there anything you did to help you figure it out?
Chazz: Yeah, no, for sure. I think, I think very early on I was, kind of, very torn about, like,
necessarily what direction I wanted to go in with those certain skill sets, and I think it really
peaked for me, like, after graduation and after, I was, I was kind of currently working at People
magazine, but I was thinking, do I want to continue going into editorial or do I want to pivot into
something else? I think one thing that was a major deciding factor for me when I was looking for
new jobs and thinking about what I necessarily wanted to do, I kept it kind of broad and wide
and I think one of the important things after you graduate is really just, kind of, like, getting the
job because one thing, getting your foot in the door, getting into the industry, you’re meeting
people, but you’re also seeing what you do like and what you don’t like. I think almost, like your
first job is important, but it’s almost like taking your internships to another level, because you’re
still able to get your feet wet in the industry and understand what you do and don’t like. So, I
think when I was coming into my next job I was kind of like OK, how? I think it’s time for me to
really take a stance on where, like, what direction I necessarily want to go in. It’s fine if you
don’t know that. I know plenty of people who, like, when it was maybe their second job in or
their third job in decided to make sight of it because you’re still experimenting and still figuring
out what direction you want to go into. One of my dreams, and I think everyone in my major at
the time knew my dream job was to work for GQ magazine, I wanted to work there so bad, and I
was connected with the director of social that I actually met through a professor who introduced
me, and we were, like, getting coffee and we went for informational interviews and it seemed
like it was going to be a sure thing, but I was, kind of, also getting the understanding that, yes,
social was something that I really found interesting, but there was a lot of bigger picture, like,
strategy things that I loved, kind of, talking about. And I was like, will I be getting that there?
But then I was also like, on the other hand, I was like OK I can go into that strategy perspective,
think big picture, but where does that editorial mindset kind of fit in? Where am I, kind of, like,
at a media company, doing what I came to Newhouse for, wanting to live my dreams, living my
little Ugly Betty life, and, like, Devil Wears Prada moment, like how was I bringing that to life,
you know? I was very torn in that, and one of the things that helped me really decide was when I
had my interviews and I was speaking to both of them, and I was understanding what direction
would be a good fit for me. And, I mean nothing is ever going to be a perfect fit or a perfect
match because that’s not the world we live in today, but I think one of the things is really
understanding your comfort level, understanding how can you actually speak to those skills
every day, is this something you see yourself doing everyday, and things like that. And this is
something to consider when you’re kind of, like, on your second or even considering your first
job, really kind of understanding like what is it that I want to see myself doing everyday because
I knew I couldn’t do copy editing every day I would,like, lose my mind. I knew, like, writing
was fun, but I was like do I want to write blog posts every day or do I want to write tweets. It
was really the thinking about what I wanted my day-to-day to be, and I think that was what I
found really interesting about the role of Popsugar was because it was big picture, but I was still
working on a very, kind of, editorial mindset because I worked with editors every day, I worked
with writers every day on like really thinking, kind of, long form features, or a different set of
topics that people would want to read from a branded perspective, finding a way to kind of
interlock those together, and I think it was a perfect marriage of things I loved to do and things I
wanted to be doing, and I think when I think about things I do every day when I work with
amazing brands like Sephora, or like Ulta Beauty, or Marc Jacobs, think of, like, cool ways that
we can tell our story from a Popsugar brand editorial perspective, and, kind of, like, thinking of
those stories and how we’re telling them on the website versus social or on video or even in
experiential, so I think it was really a kind of understanding what it is I really wanted to do from
my day to day.
Kelly: Yeah you have to lean into what you know and build on that in a different direction. You
talked a lot about being open and being creative and eyeing, kind of, all the possibilities, but a lot
of times in a job search, you have to put limitation on yourself in a good way, right, put
parameters on search to make it doable, otherwise your job search is, kind of, overwhelming.
How did you balance that? How do you balance being open to possibilities, but also not giving
yourself too much bandwidth to feel like you’re overwhelmed?
Chazz: Yeah I think the best way I kind of do that, like I was saying earlier, is really, kind of,
lean into what you think you can possibly be doing everyday and whether that’s like copyediting
or social or video production, kind of, leaning into that, but be open to how you’re doing it. For
instance, like, whether you’re going to be, like, a social media producer for, like, a media
organization or website or something, or if you’re running social for a brand or you’re working
for it at an agency, kind of thinking about what it is necessarily you want to do, and being open
to, like, where you do it. I think that’s one of the really important things, and really thinking
about, like, how you’re going to be doing it, whether it’s, there’s a lot of branding. I know that
there’s hiring for like social media fellows, but there’s also a lot of agencies that are hiring for
like social media strategists, so lean into what you really like to do and the experience that you
gain. That was one of the things that I really wanted to figure out and really lean into, so when I
was applying for jobs, and I narrowed it down to, like, social media or digital strategy, kind of
leaning into the direction that took me, and I think when I was applying for jobs I tried not to
overwhelm myself because it was, like, the summer after college, but also understanding that I
was working at People magazine and really figuring out the time and figuring out a balance, so,
kind of, keeping it, probably reaching out to someone for coffee or, like, an informational
interview or touching base with another alumni I had connected with. Those are really helpful.
Kelly: So you mentioned how you were thinking GQ, GQ, this is a sure thing, this is where I’m
gonna be, and then it kind of wasn’t a sure thing, so there’s some unknowns there. There’s some
stress. How did you cope with that mentally? What did you do to stay motivated?
Chazz: Yeah, so that’s definitely the hardest thing, I think finding ways to, kind of, stay
motivated and not be crushed by like the sea of application you’re gonna do, and I think one of
the really helpful things was from one of my professor and they were like, “you’re going to hear
a whole bunch of no’s before you hear a yes, or you’re gonna some yeses from places you didn’t
necessarily want to hear from.” But, I think really, kind of, like, motivating yourself that
wherever you end up, it’s really going to be the right fit, and if it wasn’t then, then maybe later or
maybe it might have been the time now. And I think that was one of the healthiest things, and to
be fully transparent, when I was applying to GQ and everything, went through the interviews and
everything else, and I was like this is the time, this is it, but it necessarily didn’t work out, and
that’s fine. You know, there’s a lot of things that aren’t necessarily gonna work out the way you
plan them, but I think having the, kind of, belief in yourself and understanding that, like, where
you end up it’s gonna be the right fit for you and it’s gonna be a lesson that’s gonna show you
something for the rest of your career. Whether it shows you the work environment you want, the
work environment you don’t want, the things you love to do, the things you don’t want to do, or
it teaches you what kind of boss you want to have, or let’s say it teaches you what type of
responsibilities you want to have, and I think one of those things is to really keep motivated is
like, you’ll definitely find something, it does take people different times, and I think one of the
really healthy things, and I tell every person who graduated after me, I always tell them this, do
not compare yourself to what everyone else in your major is doing or who you graduated with
because it will just send you down a deep, dark hole. It will just make you, it’s just not fair to
yourself and for your own mental health because everyone has their own journey, their own
wants, their own dislikes and things like that, and things they go for, and everyone’s different,
and everyone’s experience with the industry is different, but I think really kind of keeping
positive and focusing on what the things are you want to do and how you’re gonna get there I
think is really gonna help you in the long run there. I think speaking to different alumni and one
of the things I definitely wanna say is alumni are busy, and before when I was a student I was
like why can’t they answer me?! Now doing it I’m like, when I have a thousand emails a day,
I’m like oh my god, but definitely speaking to some alumni. They’re going to give you really
helpful perspective, and also a real perspective on how it is and how it is to find something, and
that’s why I really want to reiterate kind of like be open to so many things because I think like
one of the things about the industry today is it’s way less rigid on, like, what your experience
needs to be, way broader understanding of what kind of makes a good candidate holistically for a
role, and I think they’re really, kind of, opening their mind to, kind of, how people are able to tell
a different kind of story with their experiences as well.
Kelly: Yeah definitely, and I think that’s one of the greatest things about our industry and it’s
only getting better is that transferable skill sets, like that’s what they see and they see your skill
sets and transferable, it’s OK that you got them in one area, let’s look at how they could be useful
here, so that’s great. And I also like how you brought up you’re going to get a lot of no’s before
you get a yes that’s just kind of the nature of the beast with this. Did you ever take that
personally, that you were getting no’s or learning curve for you at all?
Chazz: Oh my gosh definitely. I am, I am, I am a crybaby, I literally, it was rough. It was rough
city. I think that was a thing, and being fully transparent, it’s gonna, it’s gonna hurt, I think,
especially when it’s necessarily a role you’ve been, like, working towards for a while or like
you’ve been trying to, like, building up in your head of what your life was going to be once you
get this role, and I think that’s one of the things that’s kind of the most crushing about it, but I
think one of the healthiest things you can do, and I think I said this earlier as well, is really
knowing that if something doesn’t work out it’s for a reason. It might not have been the perfect
work environment for you, it might not have been, honestly also one of the things about living in
New York, it might not have been the best commute for you, it might have been the best work
neighborhood. I know that’s something I think about heavily now after working in a different
part of the city and also wherever you’re going to be working, the neighborhood you work in, the
lunch available, or, like, you office and things like that, those are really weird things you don’t
think about when you’re in college, but really are in your mind when you’re applying for jobs and
things like that, or, like, the benefits. It might not have been, there’s so many reasons why it
might not have been the best fit for right now, or you might not have been the right fit for it, but
that doesn’t mean you’ll ever not be the right fit. You know what I mean? Because you might not
have had the necessary skill set to kind of fit there at that time, but that doesn’t mean in a years
time, or two years time, or even four or five years time that that door will not open for you, and I
think that’s one of the things to really keep yourself, kind of, a healthy perspective in the media
and also for your own mental health and being kind to yourself is really understanding that just
because something doesn’t work out doesn’t mean that someone had like a personal vendetta
against you. I think it’s kind of just understanding what is a fit for the time, sometimes a role,
sometimes people see who can I invest time into to, kind of, have stay at this company? Who
seems like they’re really passionate about what this company’s doing, and can actually, like,
grow with the company? I think that’s one of the things, and I think also coming from a person
that’s, like, hired before, really having that kind of perspective in mind when you’re thinking
about someone that you want to hire is, is this someone that’s going to be able to grow with the
company? Is this someone that seems like they can be here for a minute and, like, contribute, to
like changing company culture or being part of the fabric of what this company is? Do they
embody the company brand values and things like that. There’s, like, a whole bunch of different
perspectives to take, but understanding that the hiring process is never a personal thing, even if
you do know the person, it’s never ever a personal thing, and really trying to not take that to
heart, I think, is one of the things. And it’s gonna take some time. I think you’re not gonna leave
this and think, oh well I didn’t get it, great, dust it off. That’s not gonna happen today, it might
not happen tomorrow, but I think having that understanding in your head moving forward I think
will help you.
Kelly: Yeah, and I think it’s really easy to lose sight when you’re getting nos of the fact that this
is really a business decision, right? It’s not you, it’s just they have to think about what’s best for
business, and we actually hear from a lot of alumni, very similar to what you were saying, that
they’re grateful that things didn’t work out. It doesn’t feel like that in the moment, but looking
back they’re like, wow that wouldn’t have been the right direction for me, so sometimes it’s a
blessing in disguise just don’t realize it in the moment, so.
Chazz: Yeah, and just a quick follow up, on that like for instance, like, one of the roles I didn’t
end up getting, literally two months later the companywent through a round of layoffs and the
person that got the role ended up getting laid off, so it’s just like you never know. It could be like
a very, like, silver lining to everything, and I think a lot of times, they always say this, when one
door closes another one opens, and I think having lost one opportunity, it really opens you up to
being ready for the next one.
Kelly: Absolutely. Yeah, I definitely agree with that. Thinking back to you starting out early in
your career, if you could go back and tell little Chazz in 2018, what would you go back and tell
him or what do you wish that you had known that you know now?
Chazz: If I could go back to 2018 Chazz like right now, I think one of the things I would
definitely go back to him and say was, be patient with yourself, you know, don’t feel like you
have to, like, have, like, this running sprint into exactly what you need to be doing. Everything is
a process, it is fine if it’s like a slow crawl or slow burn into what you want to do. I think it’s,
there was such a thing for me, myself, it was such a rush and I need like I need to have this job
now and I need to be doing this, what I’m doing, and think the other thing is that I compared
myself so much to everyone in my class, and I was like I need to be this by January, so by the
Glavin trip I could be this to everyone in my class, and don’t worry about that, don’t think about
that because it literally does not matter. It may matter for that one day, regardless of what your
classmates think of you or anything, it’s really your life and really thinking what you can do the
best for your life, and I think that’s a perspective you have to go into. Not worrying about oh my
gosh this person from my TRF 205 class, now working at Disney, and I’m working at a local
radio station, but, like, the difference between that is, honestly, sometimes starting small you get
way more experience than starting at a bigger company, and there’s way more growth
opportunity, and you can also kind of take a lot of those skills to take to a bigger company in a
bigger role. So that’s something to think about, don’t be afraid of starting small, don’t be afraid of
starting local because, honestly, honestly, it takes a lot of nurturing to kind of get to where you
want to go in your career. You can’t just end up throwing yourself small fish in a big pond and
expecting to become a shark one day, that’s definitely not how this works. I think it’s really kind
of understanding how you can kind of take the experience you have, how it can supplement you,
how it can help you grow. That’s definitely something I would have told Chazz. I think I
definitely would have told him, “be gracious, thank-you notes are a thing, send them to people
they love them,” I kept every thank you note and they’re hung on my desk, they’re all on my
desk, and it’s really important to focus on maintaining connections. I think really when someone
gives you a piece of their time, it’s really special and I think being really thankful for that is, and
grateful for that, is something that I would definitely tell you guys to kind of pass on or really
kind of utilize when you’re talking to alumni. Everyone’s insanely busy, and I think, like, really
taking the time out to thank someone, it really shows that you really want to have a dedication in
them and really help them in their career.
Kelly: I love all that, thank you. I have one more question, then I went to open it up to other
people because I know they have questions. Just because we were talking about your route to
where you are now just so you can see the full arc, can you just talk to us a little bit about what
you do now in your role?
Chazz: Yeah, yeah, for sure. So, Group Nine Media is like a family, like a larger family
company, so it’s similar to a Herbs or a Conday . As you guys know there was a whole bunch of
different, like, digital media acquisitions and mergers and things like that, so Group Nine Media,
I was at Popsugar beforehand, and Group Nine Media acquired Popsugar, I think past October
and it just, kind of, officially went through in January. So, Group Nine Media is Thrillist, Now
This, there’s the Dodo which is like this animal for social brand, Seeker which is like, also video
first science brand, Thrillist is this food and travel brand, and Now This is, like, a social news
brand, so I worked for that family brands all across the five brands, and I come up with
sponsored content, video strategy, event production, event strategy for branded or sponsored
situations and things like that, so it’s sponsored content. So I run the luxury, beauty, self care
wellness personal convertibles, but clients all the way from like Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Marc
Jacobs, and sometimes even like Pampers, Curology, Dial, but it’s really kind of thinking how
we can, how we can use brand dollars to tell really impactful storytelling, so for instance, one of
the ones that like you’ve done in the past was when is Ulta Beauty had a campaign, and it was for
their fall, their gorgeous hair campaign, so we created this campaign called Hairmana, and was
all about telling women personal hair journey stories, and how their culture influences their own
hair stories. So it was a collection of personal essays from women all across the country, and
them just writing about their heard hair journey, their relationship with their hair, and it’s also
sometimes coming up with, like, crazy cool, like, innovations, so one of the things we came up
with for Sephora was a makeup forecaster where you can put in your zip code, and it will tell you
the weather, but according the weather it tells you what makeup to wear that day and where to
buy it, how to combine that into a fully comlex look, tailored to the weather in your area. Things
like that, and different video campaigns. I work on a lot of brand development projects, so like
Popsugar playground, which is our large ten-fold event series, a lot of brands in digital media are
looking for different events, so like Infatuation has, like, EatsCon, Vogue obviously has the Met
Gala, things like that, but it’s climbing to have these sponsored opportunities within these larger
brand development tentpoles, it’s about getting the brand out there in concrete ways. For
instance, we have a clothing line with Kohl’s, we’re also going to have a clothing line with Old
Navy soon, so it’s really coming up with, kind of, this 360 perspective for all these brands and
how to, kind of, get them in different ways, like whether through video or through tangible
ways or individual ways like experiences or merchandise and things like that, so it’s a really, it’s
a really interesting job that, kind of, combines all the different facets of my experience, into kind
of bring brands to life in, kind of, new and impactful ways for an audience.
Kelly: That’s really cool. I mean, from what we learned about you today, you can hear how you
took little pieces from everywhere, you know, we hear about your interest in fashion and beauty,
we hear about storytelling, and, you know, so many other things, and we can definitely see how
those things apply to your role now, so thank you for that. I do want to open this up to questions
for you.
Student 1:Hi Chazz, my name Guias, I’m a graduate student, broadcast and digital journalism and
an international student, so my question is really about as an international student, how do I
position myself to the job market here? What you think, and perhaps Kelly can also help.
Chazz: I think, um, one of the things definitely is, at my company per say, we work with a whole
bunch of people from all across the world, especially Group Nine Media, it’s actually a global
company, so we have offices in London, and on the Popsugar end we also have subsidiaries in
like Sydney, Australia; Middle East, and I think one of the things I saw directly is like taking
tidbits of your time and tailoring it to what you want to do. I think really kind of speak to that,
and really, kind of, find ways that you can take experience you have whether from your
experience back home, or your experience here on campus, and things like that, or just a school
project, and how you can tailor that to really helping with, kind of, different projects they have at
these different media companies. And, for instance, one of the people I work with, her name’s
Emily, she’s from Australia, and I actually have this other co-workers, who’s actually originally
from Zimbabwe who actually just, like, recently joined our team, and I think what’s really
helpful, especially being from an international perspective, is that you can bring a different
perspective to things and bring a different kind of background to different storytelling, and I
think that can really supplement you work experience by offering, kind of, this new perspective
in a kind of new way the way someone might not think of coming from America or a different
state for a local, kind of, organization. I think really, kind of, lean into that because I think you
have a really important value-add that you can bring to the table that others might not have, that
really goes for everyone here, really, kind of, think about what is your unique value proposition,
like, what you’re really bringing to the table. Whether that’s a different perspective or a different
experience, and really kind of lean into that. For me, being born in 1996, I’m either the youngest
millennial or the oldest Gen Z, and that has worked for me, so I say milk it, milk it, milk it as
much as you can, so all of you really find those kind of unique kind of value propositions of
things that make you stand out from an application or a unique perspective to help you stand out
with the kind of storytelling you want to tell.
Kelly: The only thing I would add on to that is just reinforcement of the idea that media
companies these days, you know, they know representation of different people and different
perspectives is important, so that is definitely something I would highlight from what Chazz said.
Among all the other good advice, and then a resource that you can use as if you are on
Handshake there is a resource linked through the resources section called Going Global and you
can use that to research on if sponsorship is an issue, um, you can see which companies in this
country have provided sponsorship and that sometimes to be a good base for your research to
move toward those companies that would be open to a hiring an international student. Other
questions?
Student 2: So you just mentioned what matters is what really matters is what you do on a
day-to-day basis. What does your typical day look like?
Chazz: So, what’s, you’ll probably hear this from a lot of people, but it’s actually true, no day is
the same. I’ll have, like, different brands that I work with all the time, I mean I do have set client
lists that I do work with on a regular basis, but there are new brands that pop up that I have
experience working with. Like, one random one that I just started working with a newer skincare
brand called Curology, and I think you guys have probably seen them on, like, ads on Instagram,
or ads on TikTok or whatever, but we’re really trying to find new ways to work for these brands,
but one of the things, like, every day, I mean from the jump I have different kinds of strategy
meetings with my team where we’re thinking about, like, new innovations for Group Nine
storytelling that we’re like, thinking of, kind of, bringing to life for a brand, or new kinds of
programs we’re bringing to life, like a program for back to school, or a program for summer, or a
program for Mother’s Day. We just had this massive campaign for Samsung, which is like a
major client for us, and they’re actually sponsoring all of our Mother’s Day content, all of our
fitness and all of our wellness content, and really kind of kind of thinking of like new ways for
brands to kind of get involved with, like, the Popsugar story or the Now This story, so I mean it
really kind of differs day to day. One day I’ll be working on a social media series on, like, IGTV
for, like, one brand, and then the next day I’ll be working on, like, how do you create like this
shampoo line for Aussie or another way of, like, really finding, like, new ways similar story but
in a different light, so it really kind of shifts day-to-day, but one of the things I would say is it
keeps me on my toes, it keeps me super super super creative, and, kind of, really , kind of, keeps
me inspired, kind of, think of new ways to tell different stories.
Student 2: Thank you.
Chazz: Of course!
Kelly: Let’s go to Emily next.
Student 3: Hi I’m Emily, I’m also an advertising major. My question is what you would advise to
students who, you know, want to stay updated and educated, and keeping busy and doing
something meaningful during this time? What would your advice be?
Chazz: It’s actually something that I’ve been doing a lot while I’ve been in quarantine and while
work is slow, I think one of the things is really keep up-to-date on your industry per say, whether
you’re, like, looking at different trade publications. I think one of the really helpful things for me,
I’ve been actually subscribing to, like, various media industry newsletters or different industries
that I’m curious about whether its beauty or fashion. Really subscribing to those newsletters and
keeping up-to-date on how the industry is changing, different insights, different cultural-wide
spaces that are gonna influence how we consume content, how we really think about things, and
I think one of the other things I think everyone should be doing is when you’re on LinkedIn, I
think follow the different companies you’re interested in because they’ll all post updates on jobs
that they’re looking to hire people or for initiatives they’re bringing to life, and really also taking
a genuine interest in like what a company’s doing. I think one of the companies I’ve been
following on LinkedIn is TikTok, and they’re really, it was blowing up, they’re hiring people,
and just kind of all the efforts they’ve been doing with the coronavirus. I think just with what’s
happening right now, really kind of think about like what companies are doing, and also think
about how you’d want your company to respond and really, I was thinking about how my
company had a very swift swift response with everything, and I mean thank God I was safe from
layoffs and everything, but I think really how your company handles this whole process really
shows like what kind of experience you’re going to want from your work experience and I think
lean into that. Subscribing to some industry newsletter which can be helpful, follow your favorite
companies on LinkedIn, also start learning a lot of those different Google skills, like Google
Analytics, Google AdWords, and, like, things like those might really help give really tangible
skills that you can speak to on your resume. I think being in a role that I’ve had for over a year
now, well technically over a year almost two years because we just got acquired and everything,
I think one of the things is when your in a role you’re doing the same or similar things every day,
you almost forget that you should continue to keep learning. I think definitely once you guys get
into a role don’t automatically think it’s, alright that’s what I’m doing and I don’t have to learn
anything new anymore. Continue to learn new skills because if you get set in your ways at one
job, let’s say another job is completely different, then you’re lost, so continue to learn and
continue to learn different skill sets, different ways of thinking, maybe pick up a language, could
be fun, DuoLingo is fun. I like DuoLingo. But, um, really, kind of, thinking of new ways to, kind
of, tell a story from a different perspective, challenge your own form of thought, watch, like I’ve
been watching a lot of shows, but a lot of shows on YouTube, actually, weirdly enough as
opposed to Netflix, Hulu, and things like that because I think one of the things I realize also is
that also is a lot of people, a lot of YouTubers have really an interesting storytelling that’s
different. You see a lot of miniseries that start off on YouTube and turn into actual shows, For
example, Insecure , which is on HBO, used to be a miniseries on YouTube and now it’s a show
on HBO, so it’s really interesting to learn about these things, learn about different forms of
things people are doing, or really doing a deep dive into TikTok, more than just for fun and
really understand how your generation is telling stories differently than everyone else is whether
that’s on Instagram or Snapchat. I think one of the most interesting, like one of the really
interesting TikTokers I’m following is Bowman Martinez, bowmanizer, he does these really
funny, kind of, his life almost as if it was a reality show. And I think that it is a really really
interesting concept to lean into, on how the next generation is deciding to use media to entertain
themselves in a different way, that brands are actually listening to. If I could tell you how many
meetings we have where someone mentions, “OK, so what are we doing on TikTok, how are we
gonna get it there? What are we gonna do?” We actually met this agency called Movers and
Shakers that does only musical based commercials. If you told me a year ago I would be working
with a company that only does musical based commercials I would’ve told you, “What are you
talking about?!” But, because of the influence that the app TikTok has, there’s a lot of new niche
formats of storytelling coming up that normally wouldn’t have been something that people would
have even taken a second look at a year ago or a couple months ago. I think it’s a really
interesting thing to see going on.
Student 4: Hey Chazz, you kind of started to answer this a little bit in your previous answer, but
I’m curious now like this job market is somewhat in limbo, there’s layoffs like you were
mentioning earlier, it’s a little unsure as to when jobs are going to start, and things like that. Is
there anything that we can do or produce or work on that would try to set us up for when those
jobs do start, and I have a blog, but, like, not a blog. You know what I mean? Like, is there
something we can do to use our skills and, like, refine that for a media company to, like, look at
and admire once we come out onto the other side of this?
Chazz: Yeah, no, for sure. I think, like, you’ve definitely heard the blog advice like a bajillion
times. I think definitely start massaging your portfolio, getting that really into a certain place, and
I think, I think one of the best things you can do right now is really, kind of, like I said, learn
what people are doing, learn how you can differentiate yourself, but if you are able to create
content, created in a unique kind of way, that’s obviously work appropriate, obviously, then I
think definitely lean into that. Like, I think one of those healthy things to do is I think definitely
lean into, you have all this free time, I think really lean into with this time you have now to have
fun with creation and concentration and things like that, and whether you’re able to experiment
with different kind of platforms, I think, maybe all of you have a TikTok, I think, lean into the
embarrassment of it, it’s fun, it’s fun to play around with it. I think every brand is trying to figure
out what to do with it, so I think if you can really start establishing yourself on it or like playing
around with and getting an understanding of it, I think that is something that’s really gonna
differentiate you on an application because one of the things everyone, no matter what industry is
hungry for, no matter how many people are like, “oh no, TikTok is for, like, those young
eleven-year-olds,” they’re all hungry about it because they see how well it’s doing, and I think
that’s one of the things to really understand is really understand how you can bring that similar
media magazine experience to TikTok in an impactful way that’s organic, and I really think that’s
one of the things to really think about. I think you don’t have to necessarily just be creating blog
content for the sake of creating blog content, like having a blog is really important, having a
website is also important, and I think shows a plethora of things you’ve done, but I think also
understanding the kind of like media environment currently and everything going on currently
kind of developing a perspective on how you can help in a big picture way and really because
where we are, I think we’re at a crossroads in the industry right now. I think everything after is
going to be vastly different, so I think all of everyone’s thought processes have to change, and by
taking this time to really develop and really hone in on that process is something that’s going to
be really important for when you start looking for jobs when they come up again.
Student 4: Awesome, thank you so much.
Chazz: Of course.
Kelly: Fantastic, well thank you so much Chazz, we really appreciate your time.
Chazz: Of course.
Students: Thank you!
Chazz: Have a good day, guys.
