Name: Andrea Sanmiguel
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Degree/major: Mass Communications in Journalism with a minor in psychology and a certificate in European and Latin American studies
Where are you working? Title? I working with NBCUniversal Hispanic Group and I am a Marketing Coordinator
How did you get your job?
When I was in my senior year at Florida International University, I was applying for jobs left and right in New York (my dream city). After a job fair that I attended in the Biscayne Bay Campus, I had stopped by the NBC desk and fell in love. I thought that would be a great place to work and applied to different opportunities within the company, but months went by and I did not hear a thing. I graduated in the Spring 2016 from FIU with the dream of getting into an International Relations route or a Media route – fortunately enough I was able to do both. I received a call from the United Nations asking if I would like to intern with them in New York. I bought my flight and headed to New York that summer. I had the most amazing experience and knew that this was the place I wanted to be.
I returned to Miami after 6 months of being in New York and hoped to head back. After a month, I received an email from a marketing job in New York doing something completely different from what I was used to, Digital Investments. I had no idea how much it took to be in Digital Investments but it definitely prepared me for where I am in now. After a few months, I got a phone call from my current boss saying if I was interested in the Marketing Coordinator role… needless to say, I had to jump on it. After 3 back-to-back 7:30 a.m. interviews, here we are. It was a dream come true and it’s still so crazy that I’ve just completed my 1 year anniversary on June 5th.
What was your greatest fear going into your first job and how did you face it or overcome it?
One of the things I always say is “I’m little Colombian girl from Kendall. How the heck am I here?!” I always doubt why I’m here because this is 30 Rockefeller Center, where shows like “Saturday Night Live,” “Friends,” and “Seinfeld” stem from. My favorite newscast is here and so many people that I admire started out here. So it’s tough to wrap my head around it and understand why they chose me. I think the way I overcome it is by telling myself that I am worth it. They saw something in me and knew I can take on these responsibilities and flourish. After I get out of my own “insecurity cloud,” I’m ready to take on any challenge that comes my way. Everything takes time and I have to be okay with making mistakes and learning from them. I’m nowhere near perfect and no one expects us to be. I highly recommend just taking things day-by-day and being curious about wanting to learn and grow more.
What surprised you the most about your first job?
The biggest surprise would be… that someone gave me a badge to walk around this place? Who would let me past security!? Haha! Just kidding… I think the most surprising thing to me is, being that it’s New York City and it’s a very tough out here, EVERYONE that I work with is my second family. I’m the only one from my family that’s living in New York, so it gets pretty lonely sometimes. However, my co-workers have become my family and they are what keep me going. Therefore, the biggest surprise is that I have made a second family in one of the toughest environments you can ever imagine.
What advice do you have for those beginning the job search process?
The best advice I can give someone is to invest in yourself. You are worth it and worthy of everything you set your mind to, but you have to work hard for it. Learn from your mistakes and if you have a goal, never stop reaching for it, because one day, you’ll get it.
What does a day on the job look like?
I come in every morning with my pink book bag, coffee and heels in hand (I am not Carrie Bradshaw, I cannot walk in heels throughout the city – I’d die). Sit down at my desk, say a prayer for a good day/patience, open up my email and write down my to-do’s for the day. Once I get going, I go into our in-house system and crunch out daily reports that reflect our marketing elements. The biggest thing I worked on so far was the World Cup in Russia. It was all hands on deck!! We did 24-hour shifts (making sure our marketing {commercials run}). I worked with my team in Miami, as well, to coordinate the timing of meetings and how we were going to run down the month-long tournament. All in all, World Cup run downs, daily reports, writing bi-weekly newsletters, and preparing for Upfront meetings have been some of my main focuses nowadays.
How does your job connect back to your coursework?
When I was in school, I worked in media and at the Beacon (FIU Newspaper) so I get to do a lot of writing and analysis of information that’s been given. It ties into some of the things I’ve done at FIU and my extracurriculars have definitely prepared me to be where I am now.
How has your transition from school to work? How do you balance your time?
It was somewhat of a challenge since I had been in school for most of my life. There was a point where I was like…wait… there are no exams, no deadlines, no anything? I’m now an adult, this is what I’ve studied my entire life for, and the time has come. Although I had done internships and worked since I was 17, once you have hit the finish line, transitioning to work is surreal. However, once you start, you get the hang of it and learn how to be an employee and a team player to an organization or the people you work with.
What’s been the coolest thing about your job so far?
The coolest thing about my job is working in New York in one of my favorite buildings of all time. When I was 15, I traveled to New York for the first time. It was when a huge blizzard hit and no one was on the streets. So I got to see New York for the natural beauty and electricity of it and one of the places that I got to see was 30 Rock. As soon as I saw it, I turned to my mom and told her that I’m going to work there one day…I guess dreams do come true.
