Jack Goodall
Listen to the interview (Approximately 1 hour) or download it.
Graduated in 2009 with a major in Music Business. Principal Instrument: drums.
Position: Marketing Manager at Starr Hill Brewery, a craft brewery located in Virginia. Jack has sole responsibility for events, branding, website, promotional videos, packaging, and the like.
Overview: A fan of craft beer since his days working at the Sunset Bar in Alston while at Berklee, Jack went straight from Berklee into Suffolk University to get his MBA through the accelerated MBA program Suffolk has with Berklee. After graduating in 2010, Jack moved to Chicago to be with his now-wife, who was in medical school. Jack got a marketing job at Wavemachine Labs, a tiny music software company, but after a year decided to leave and broaden his job search because of low pay and limited opportunity for advancement. He got a marketing job with the Chicago YMCA, working for several years and being promoted to marketing manager. In 2014, his then-fiancee finished medical school and got a job in Virginia, so he again moved. He found a communications job at the University of Virginia, but found it had too few opportunities to be creative or innovative, so started looking for a new job (while working). While planning a fun visit to the Starr Hill brewery, his wife noticed that they were looking for a marketing director! Jack applied and got the job.
You can see Jack’s LinkedIn profile here.
Choice Quotes: “One thing I learned is to be a lot more upfront with what I wanted with a position rather than just taking what I could get. It’s great (to have a job) immediately, but down the road wha does that mean? (You’re going to be unhappy and a bad fit for your position.) People are often afraid to ask those questions, not wanting to seem too abrasive, but there are ways to do it… Speaking as someone who has hired people, it’s in the company’s best interest for a prospective employee to be up for what’s coming if they take the job.”
“You have to find what YOU do really well. You need to be able to verbalize what you have to offer to a company. For me it was project management experience and a hodgepodge of marketing roles.”
“The brewery had strategic partnerships with many bands and events, and it gets us tickets. Since moving to Charlottesville I haven’t had to pay to see live music.”
Jack chilling out with his dog. He has great memories of Berklee. At Berklee I got to meet many different people. It was humbling how good everyone was with music, but I learned to network and work well with folks. The faculty empowered me to pursue many different career paths.” “Those music business classes at Berklee helped me figure out how business would apply to me in a unique way.
Jack as a Berklee student, playing drums. He still enjoys drumming. “Living in small apartments in Boston and Chicago, I didn’t have my drum set with me for a good eight years. Moving to Charlottesville, I finally have a room with my drum kit in it! It’s great to be able to go up into my room and thrash around on my drums.”
See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.