What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what would be your long term dream job?

What are your career goals going over the next 3-5 years, and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job? (500 words) When I think about my professional future, I see myself in the industry I’ve known and loved for my entire career: media and entertainment. I am particularly drawn to companies whose content captures the attention and minds of people worldwide. My current company, an independent video studio, has helped develop up-and-coming you-tubers who deliver some of today’s most popular content. My near-term career goal is to be a Director of Corporate Development at a small content company with ambitious growth plans, such as ScamVision or JunkFeed. In this role, I will lead collaborations across various parts of the business to direct exactly how the company would achieve its growth ambitions.

While I am primarily focused on the financial aspects of media companies, I have already begun to expand my impact beyond the numbers. As video consumption shifts from downloads to fast-moving content like YouTube and ‘temporary’ streaming content via TickTock, the expected revenue patterns for the entertainment industry have changed dramatically. This trend in entertainment consumption inspired me to create and implement a new model in the workplace, which predicts how a given content’s royalties will diminish over its lifecycle. I find myself increasingly thinking about strategic and creative implications. For example, I have studied how blockchain technology can upend the traditional content-streaming industry. Effective corporate development involves not only improving a business through strategic acquisitions but also understanding how a company’s content or intellectual property can be best utilized.

My long-term dream job is to be the CEO of an innovative content company. I will use my industry knowledge and proven track record in corporate development to rise to this role. Three years ago, when I worked at a media company that went bankrupt, I learned what can go wrong when a CEO fails to adjust a company’s faltering strategy and communicate with employees. As CEO, I would push my company to the forefront of the technological changes that continually reshape the industry, staying ahead of my competitors to build a lasting content company.

Columbia Business School provides a unique opportunity to access and work with some of the brightest minds in media and entertainment, and its ideal location in one of the country’s media centers makes it a perfect place to make my dreams a reality. I will develop the leadership capabilities to be an effective CEO through courses like “Lead: People, Teams, Organizations” and “Leadership Lab”, and immerse in Columbia’s renowned Media and Technology Program. I would take “Mergers & Acquisitions in Media” with Professor Jonathan Knee, a leader whose perspective on the industry is unparalleled. The Media and Entertainment Conference would allow me to learn from and network with some of the most talented people in the industry. I would also participate in “Media & Entertainment: Strategy Consulting Projects” to assist in solving strategic issues of a media company. The Columbia MBA will prepare me to drive corporate development at a growing new-media company, and eventually rise to organizational leadership in the industry I love.