Doug Guttenberg
Listen to the interview (approx. 39 minutes) or download it.
Graduated in 2009 with a major in Music Business. Principal Instrument: Bass Guitar.
Position: Production Manager at TheLab., a multifaceted advertising agency which does advertising campaigns, images, and websites for clients. Doug manages 9 people who handle the website production end of the business.
Overview: Graduating in the middle of the awful 2009 recession, Doug had no job opportunities, but he was in the mailing list of Birthright Israel, where he found out about a very affordable 10-month Masters degree program administered by NYU but set in Tel Aviv, Israel. 10 months of studying, and successful gigging, in Tel Aviv, Doug got his degree. He and his girlfriend (now wife) moved back to New York in 2010 and looked for jobs. He didn’t have much luck sending out resumes, but a good high school friend worked for TAG Worldwide, another advertising agency, and personally introduced him to the president of the company, which led to a job doing photo production for advertising. In 2014, after 3.5 years, TAG was acquired by another company and Doug felt undervalued, so he pursued new opportunties. The president of TheLab had contacted him on LinkedIn, and Doug wrote him back, which led rapidly to an interview and a job in the web production department. Hard work led to his promotion to manager, Doug’s current job, after two years.
You can see Doug’s LinkedIn profile here.
Choice Quotes: “As a manager, I have the ability to see what everyone’s doing, but I try not to micromanage, as I’ve been on the other side of that. I mostly deal with issues, problems, and questions that come up. I also help with internal strategy and with getting new clients.”
“When looking for a job, talk to the people you know. It really is about who you know what gets your foot in the door. An organization puts up a posting and gets SO many hits. Use your connections the best you can! If you really like how a job works, follow up with it–it’s easy just to get lost in the shuffle. Once your foot is in the door, you’ve got to work hard and do the absolute best you can.”
‘ The first thing I learned was print production. There was a ton of terminology and various codes I had to master! I asked a lot of questions and learned everything about that. Learning is a lot of what gets me up in the morning–it’s awesome! These days I’m learning more about web programming, and about being a manager.”
See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.
Doug as a Berklee student. “The Music Business program at Berklee gave me a great background for business, especially Stephanie Kellar’s Business Communications class, which helped me a lot with my writing style and how to convey information efficiently. I send on average 200 emails each workday, so that’s an important skill to have!”
Doug with his son. Doug was in a band, Deathrow Tull for years after moving back to New York. They gigged a lot and even did a month-long tour (Doug thanks his former employer for their flexilbility on letting him take time off work.). However, the birth of his son put a temporary end to that. Doug still plays music a lot, subs-in with a high-end wedding band and looks forward to getting more heavily back into performing music in the years to come.
Doug at work. Doug found his career path quickly and has been promoted multiple times. His advice for others: “Ask all the questions! Find someone there who’s passionate about what they’re doing and learn everything they know. Do that and the sky’s the limit.”