Work is Universal

Jumping from one studio to another is commonplace in the entertainment industry, although I always thought I would retire from Warner Bros. During our discussions about relocating, the only hang up I had was my job at WB. Don't get me wrong, my family and friends are important, but I was already living far away from family, and I hung out with friends once or twice a month. The way I was approaching it was my job is something I do 5 days per week and will continue to do for the next 25-30 years.

I recall when we finally decided to do it, it was bittersweet at first. I felt guilty, like I was betraying my friend. One of the first things I did was tell my boss, Robin, what we were going to do and our tentative timeline. The last thing I wanted was to leave on bad terms and leave them in a lurch. To my surprise, although in hindsight I should not have been surprised, she took the news well and was quickly encouraging me to do this or that and suggesting ways to perhaps convince the company to let me work full-time remotely. She was fantastic and I couldn't have asked for a better boss, friend, and mentor. It was a huge relief for me because she really was the sole person who helped me get on that team and into management. It changed my career path and frankly, our lives for the better. So, knowing that Robin was supportive was a major deal to me personally.

Next, we expanded the group to include my Executive Director, Arelys. Another person who is amazing at her role and had always been supportive of me. Just like Robin, she was supportive to hear my news, sad of course to lose a resource and someone who I would go so far to say they enjoyed having around for my personality.

Both Robin and Arelys are amazing people. Very smart, professional, joyful to be around, both have great senses of humor, direct feedback; I really could go on and on with wonderful things to say about both of them. If I could work for either one of them again, I would in a heartbeat. I'm grateful to have had the time with them that I did, both taught me a lot of valuable skills in diplomacy and navigating corporate culture.

Back on topic, once we had a plan for my exit, the next logical step was to find a new job. Other than internal jobs at WB, it had been 11 years since I looked for a job outside the studio. I applied to many different jobs but tried to keep them close to the same line of work that I was doing at WB, which was a combination of operations, facilities management, and office services.

Marzz waited for a bit to apply because she knew that her type of role, executive assistant, was in high demand, and that once she applied, she would land at least an interview, if not a job, very quickly. She was spot on! Once she applied, she got call backs and soon it was to Disney and after interviewing she knew it was the role that she wanted and luckily, Disney also knew that she was the person they wanted. Hence why Marzz moved early and began working back in April 2022. We had to get it "cleared" by the lender, but they were fine with it and in fact, her base salary was higher, so she passed with no issues.

Me on the other hand was having trouble getting any call backs for anything. I must have re-wrote my resume and cover letter in full, several times, thinking it must be me that was the issue.

Finally in August I got two calls for interviews. One was with Spectrum and the other was with Universal Orlando, both for facilities manager positions. I felt that both interviews went well with the recruiters and a second interview was setup with the management teams which I would report to or work with as a video interview.

The Spectrum one, they had technical issues, so could not do a video call. That was funny to me, and I felt was an omen that perhaps that wasn't the place for me. However, I needed a job, so was not dismissing it. I thought the interview still went well, and it sounded like a decent role, perhaps a bit boring because it was overseeing just one call center.

The Universal Orlando interview was a video interview, and I felt really good about this one because I had them both laughing at one point, I felt I bridged the gap between my current role and what they were looking for by providing examples of my experience. We ended the call and although I felt good, I was still nervous because I really needed something, and time was running out. Worse case, my plan was to move without a job and work just anywhere, doing anything, until I could get on me feet.

I received a call from Universal Human Resources a week later and he, Jake, had good news for me! He said they liked me, and they wanted to make an offer. He gave me the details, and everything sounded great, except one item and it was a big item. No, not salary, that number was actually good, in fact, higher than my Burbank salary! Instead, it was that this offer had an end date to it, Dec 2024. I asked why, and he told me that the justification for the creation of this position was based on capital funding for a specific project, therefore, even though I would be a full-time, regular employee, the end date made it almost like I was a project hire. Jake proceeded to tell me that the department I would work for has said they intend to keep me past that, but this was a technicality. I asked if they could remove the end date because it caused an issue for me with our lender, which was, because it had an end date, in the lenders eyes I would be unemployed in 2 years, therefore a risk, so they would not accept it has a new job, which meant one of two things. Either I could turn down the job (not a good move), or accept the job, however, I would need to retain my WB job through closing on the house. You see, once you close, the lender doesn't really check on your employment, another technicality really.

I give credit to Jake; he did try and get them to re-write the offer, but they just couldn't do it. I then asked if I could start in early October? This would allow the house to close, which keep in mind, the closing date had changed so many times up to this point, we weren't going to count on it until we were in the office signing the papers. But at this point, our closing date was September 21, so if I could start this new job first week of October, it would give us a week to move in and get somewhat settled before I would need to start work. Remember that this discussion for this job was taking place in late August. Jake didn't think early October would be an issue and told me no worries and he would confirm soon.

Well, when Jake called back, I could hear it in his voice that he had bad news. My first thought was that they resend the offer because they didn't want to wait that long. Luckily it wasn't that bad of news, but it did have to do with my start date, they needed me to begin sooner. The way I had it planned was we would close on the house Sept 21, I would be working remotely for WB at that time and would continue through Fri Sept 23, so I told Universal that I could start that following Monday on Sept 26.

Fortunately, this offer was accepted, and I signed the job offer. It was a relief to know that I would have a job lined up once I moved and funny that it was for Universal Orlando, rival to Disney World, where Marzz would be working, but also rival, as a film company, to Warner Bros. At the same time, it was familiar. We used to visit Universal Hollywood and our former roommate works there, but funny enough, neither Marzz nor I had ever visited Universal Orlando.

I've now been here about three months, in fact, Christmas day will be my 90-day mark. My new bosses are both nice and knowledgeable about facilities and office services. I really get along with my senior manager as his work history is very similar to mine and I also think we have a similar approach to work and life. My co-workers are cool, everyone was welcoming and thus far, whenever I have needed something, they have helped me.

It has been a long time since I was the new guy, but I think I'm fitting well, but still so much to learn. The biggest challenge for me is the pace. Here in Florida, the pace is slower than in Cali. It's like there is no sense of urgency for anything. It's hard to describe sometimes, but I'm finding it difficult for me to find my rhythm. I hope I find it soon as well as I hope my workload picks up. I know that's a weird thing to want, but I truly do. I'm a work horse at heart, and I'm in my element when I'm running on all cylinders. Right now, I'm still in the learning period, still in the pit. I can't wait to hit the racetrack. But I do see potential for long-term career growth here and as a company, they're stable. We shall see what the future holds.