Analytics Manager Mike Carrillo knew little about what he wanted his career to look like when he joined Core Digital Media as a senior marketing analyst eight years ago. He held a few analytics positions at previous companies and knew he liked working on product launches and advancing the skills of his team members, but that was about it. Then he got a second schooling at CDM.
“I always tell new hires that CDM reminds me of college because of all the digital materials, hosted classes and other resources focused on development,” Carrillo said.
After a few years working at CDM, an online marketing and consumer acquisition company, Carrillo picked up plenty of expertise working across over half a dozen verticals like education, insurance and lending. Eventually, Carrillo was promoted to lead marketing analyst, and he realized it was time to reflect on where he wanted his skills and interests to take him next.
He decided that leadership was the place for him.
“I came to understand that my strengths of patience, strong domain knowledge and the desire to help others excel were a good foundation for leadership,” he said.
Carrillo applauds CDM for giving him the flexibility he needed to discover that he wanted to manage a team. He’s also thankful for the resources the company gave him to succeed in his role, like 360-degree leadership reviews and classes on time management and having tough conversations with his team. Below, Carrillo shares more about how CDM helped him shape his career path and what his overall leadership philosophy is.
What opportunities were most impactful in your journey between roles at CDM?
Having flexibility. I didn’t have a career plan outlined when I came to CDM. Being Latinx and living in South Central LA my whole life, my focus was on graduating from college and getting a high-paying job so I could make my way out. I knew I loved working on new product launches, learning and guiding my fellow analysts and team members. CDM and its inherent flexibility gave me the opportunity to work on new products, which was fun because it kept things fresh.
Later in my career at CDM, I came to understand that my strengths of patience, strong domain knowledge and the desire to help others excel were a good foundation for leadership. So with the support provided by the culture and people team, I jumped at the opportunity to manage a team.
What was the most significant challenge you faced transitioning to leadership?
One was understanding that my team members are at different stages in their careers and each have different developmental focuses. Another was learning that active and clear communication with my team is paramount to preventing miscommunication, no matter how small or insignificant I feel an update may be.
To set me up for success, CDM asked that I participate in a 360-degree leadership review, where folks across the company that I interact with the most provide anonymous feedback on what they believe are my strengths and weaknesses. With the culture and people team’s help, I developed a leadership action plan to improve myself and my team. I feel like I’ve grown so much after completing it, far more than even the last few years combined.
You’re rewarded for the quality and impact of your work, not how much of it you can take on.”
How would you describe CDM’s leadership philosophy?
CDM’s leadership philosophy values open communication, trust in team members and continuous self-improvement. As a leader, I believe that if you’re open and communicating with your team about what you or senior leadership is trying to solve, and they’re provided the proper tools and encouragement, your team will feel empowered to find solutions. And my team finds solutions often because they have a better understanding of the day-to-day business trends than I do.
Regarding continuous self-improvement, I always tell new hires that CDM reminds me of college because of all the digital materials, hosted classes and other resources focused on development, courtesy of our culture and people team. A few examples of classes include Crucial Conversations, Presenting with Confidence, Situational Leadership, Emotional Intelligence 101, Delegate to Elevate, Storytelling with Data, LinkedIn Learning, Excel, and SQL.
What were some of the biggest challenges you experienced working across a wide number of verticals?
I’ve worked on education, insurance, lending and credit cards, and we have advised companies like stockx and fathead. They were all focused on targeting consumers at different stages in their lives. Trying to take on too many verticals at one time and understanding the differences in our approach to target consumers was a challenge. I spoke with my leader about pulling some verticals off my plate to focus on the quality of my work over quantity.
With the experience you now have, what career advice would you give yourself on your first day at CDM?
As a person of color from South Central, I would tell myself to seek out Black, Indigenous or people of color (BIPOC) mentors early on, either inside or outside of CDM. And although there aren’t enough BIPOCs in the tech world, there are groups out there that can help, like Techqueria and Street Coders.
I would say, “You belong here and you’re just as smart as everyone else in the room, even if others don’t look like you and seem to know more. They know more likely due to experience or access to information that you don’t have, not because you’re not smart enough. Also, you’re rewarded for the quality and impact of your work, not how much of it you can take on. Do fewer things, but do them better and seek out honest feedback. And with so many different personalities, emotional intelligence is key, so continuously focus on trying to improve yourself personally and professionally.”
