Rose Seyfried
Listen to the interview (approx. 53 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2010 with a major in Electronic Production & Design (EPD). Principal instrument: voice.
Position: Senior Project Manager at Eko, an internet-based company specializing in interactive video stories. (Think “Choose your own adventure.) “My job is to facilitate the production process for original content. I do a lot of talking to UI / UX designers, video editors, producers. I’m working with amazing creators and helping them achieve their vision.”
Overview: Rose finished Berklee a semester early in late 2010, feeling a bit burned out and not sure she wanted a career in music. She spent most of a year in seattle interning (unpaid) at a film post-production house while working an assortment of odd jobs for money before deciding to move to NYC. In New York, she worked part-time doing sound engineering for audio books and some freelance sound design, but “None of that was making me happy enough being poor.” and in late 2012 she put the word out to friends that she was looking for something new.
A friend put her in tough with a small creative fashion agency looking for someone who handle all the administrative work. After a very challenging year, Rose applied for and got a job with another fashion agency that put on shows. Doing a variety of roles in that small office, Rose found she liked the project manager role best, so she applied to various project manager positions. Spotting an opening for a project manager at Eko, Rose spent the weekend putting together an interactive video cover letter, and in November, 2015 she got the job! She earned a promotion to Senior Project Manager after a bit under 2 years.
You can see Rose’s LinkedIn profile here.
Choice Quotes: “Project management is a funny concept. It’s just being organized and professional for money. It’s not this one skill you have. It’s being open to being flexible and jumping from one thing to another. I like the challenge or turning on a dime and doing something new every day. Bonus that I’m doing it at a company that is doing something I’m interested in.”
“My job is production, but it’s also consultation. We’ll sit down together, go through the concepts, map out an outline. I’m managing the creative director schedule, helping with scoping of script, making sure this is going to be on-budget.”
“It’s cool that I’m doing something that is creative, though my primary job description isn’t creative. I really like that mix. I love that we’re pushing the boundaries of technology. I have the best coworkers– straightforward and laid back but straightforward but also they work very hard–they’re my favorite part of the job.”
“Part of my job is dealing with creative people and trying to speak their language. Just being around creative people at Berklee and seeing what they do and don’t like makes me better at communicating in my current job. Plus a lot of my coworkers are former musicians!”
“Be kind to yourself. There’s this weird stigma about a Berklee grad who feels like this isn’t it for me. Don’t beat yourself up about that–the world is hard enough as is. Just take experiences and there are so many different routes to where you want to go. Often you’ll take a rout and realize you want to go somewhere else.”
See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.