Interview with Randy Harris

Randy Harris is a colleague of mine from California. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and majored in communications with a focus on new media. He now lives in NYC and is working for a start-up that created a mobile app. He is a perfect candidate for me to interview because he is a good role model and provides a good example for a communication major looking for a job during college and after graduation. I am interviewing him about his new position at the start-up.

Me: Randy, what were your career plans after graduating with a communication and new media studies major?

Randy: Living in Los Angeles I had a lot of different opportunities and resources to explore future careers. During my time at LMU I gained learning experience working at the school radio station ROAR NETWORK. My time at ROAR gave me real experience for my next job I would have, little did I know it would be where I'm at now.

Me: What are you specifically working on now and how do you like it?

Randy: Well I moved back to New York, where I'm originally from, after graduating. I started applying for jobs in the media industry. Funny enough I met DJ Skee through networking and a mutual friend of mine introduced me to DJ SKEE.  We really hit off and I am now helping him launch his app.

Me: What was so unique about meeting DJ Skee and having such a great opportunity?

Randy: We emailed before we met and I sent him my resume which included my past work at the ROAR radio at LMU. He was delighted to see that I love music and we got to e-mailing about his new app.

Me: Can you tell us about this new app and how you are involved now?

Randy: Through e-mailing we had a lot in common in music, I really love hip-hop and keep up with my music blog on hypem.com. We had a few meetings, exchanged ideas and he has now hired me as his new associate for his upcoming app DASH.

Me: Can you give me more on DASH?

Randy: Dash is the future of radio music, it is short for dashboard, like in your car except this app can play on your mobile and mp3 devices. Facts are that over 97% of people listen to the radio and it is often rather repetitive. This new app DASH is different because you have a more variety in the different music for your depending on your taste. You can select artists and songs and based off those DJ skee has programmed it to be similar in taste. It's also free, which everyone likes.

Me: How do you think being a communication major helped you prepare for a career in the media world?

Randy: I think being a communication major has helped me both attain my current job though networking but also in the office. Being used to working in radio has helped the transition into working at start-ups tremendously. I hope from this experience I can move up to higher places.

Me: What would you recommend to other communication majors?

Randy: I would encourage them to use all the recourses they are given through their university and opportunities they offer for students and graduates. Always stay persistent when applying for jobs and never give up. 

Interviewing Randy really gave me a lot of insight for my future plans. New media seems to be the future of my generation.

Xo,
Melody