The Department of Mass Media and Strategic Communication has been hosting several speakers during the Spring 2022 semester as part of the “Career Series,” designed to encourage students and show them a glimpse of a career life after graduation.
One of these speakers was Scott Williams, who serves as the president and CEO of Discovery Park of America.
A graduate of the University of Memphis, Williams holds many titles and accolades besides his current position. Some of these positions include serving as the former president and COO at the Newseum, and the former vice president of PR and marketing for Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Williams described his career life as a “pinball machine,” bouncing around everywhere much like the ball in the machine bounces against the props inside.
“I just got into perpetual motion. Every internship I could do, every job I could do, every chance that there was something that I could get involved in that related to what I was in, I would just jump in there and try to do it,” Williams said.
While examining a newspaper, Williams spotted a job opening at Elvis Presley Enterprises and faxed in his resume. The problem with this was that he was already employed at Baptist Memorial Health Care. Torn between a job he did not really want to leave and a job interview he was embarrassed to skip, he offered this piece of testimony to encourage those who may face similar job interview struggles.
“When you start going on interviews and when you start meeting with people there are going to be times when it just feels like about eight different lines all come together and you are where you are supposed to be, and so I just had that feeling. I went ahead and I accepted the job at Graceland, and I was there for 12 years,” Williams said.
Among these excerpts, Williams also told students stories such as his job interview at an ad agency that did not end in his favor, the importance of being able to write, and how Discovery Park was established.
After covering his expansive work career, Williams left students with advice to improve their writing and to dress appropriately for and act appropriately during their job interviews. His parting words expressed what he felt was most important but most forgotten among graduating students entering the job field today.
“Be that person that gets their work done and then goes to their manager and says, ‘Hey I’m done, what else can I do?’ Make yourself the most important person in the organization by doing the most work. Be that person who says they will stay a little late, or be that person who shows up early,” Williams said.
“I think that those are things that are kind of lost nowadays for some reason.”
