Alumni Advise Undergrads How to Develop 'Innovative' Skills in the Workplace
11/12/2008
Two Brooklyn College alumni who have built successful careers in the entertainment industry returned to the Midwood campus recently, courtesy of the Magner Center for Career Development and Internships. Their purpose was to share their experiences in the workplace with nearly forty students eager to learn how to apply innovative thinking on the job.
Both Vinnie Favale, Class of ’81, and Dan DiDio, Class of ’83, came back at the invitation of Michael Sarrao, coordinator of the Willard and Eleanor Archie Professional Skills Training Program at the Magner Center. The two served as panel members for a seminar titled "Outside the Box: Innovative Thinking" in late October.
Favale told the audience that he had decided on broadcasting as a career when he spotted "a guy from ABC on campus wearing a silk jacket and thought it was real cool." After graduation he landed a job at MTV, which was then a start-up venture. "It was like working for a radio station," he said. "They just showed music videos and played music."
His next job was at another startup called Comedy Channel. After six months, the channel went bust, but merged with another struggling network to become Comedy Central. He remained with Comedy Central long enough to gain sufficient experience to take over as vice president of late night television at CBS TV, with responsibility for the Dave Letterman Show. His advice to students was simple: "Read, read, read," he said. "Learn everything you can about everything."
DiDio, meanwhile, started out at Brooklyn College as an accounting major. Soon, he said, he discovered that he did not have what it took to be an accountant and switched to broadcasting. He got a job as a page with CBS TV, then moved to ABC TV. He worked as a screenwriter, too, before landing at DC Comics, home to Superman, Batman, Batwoman and other superheroes, where he occupies the position of executive vice president.
"Be aware of the things that are going on around you," he advised the audience. "Then figure out ways that you can apply what you’ve learned to job."
Both alumni agreed that keeping on top of current affairs and events is a good way to build the self-confidence that enables executives to apply innovative thinking to their jobs.
Sarrao said that the Innovative Thinking workshop was the first of three or four such events that the professional skills training program is planning for this academic year. "We try to help students develop a different range of skills that will help them prepare for their jobs," he said.
