RECORD COMPANY
Human Resources And Support Staff: Senior Vice President • Vice President • Director (human Resources)
JOB OVERVIEW
Human resources personnel manage and oversee employee relations, including employee negotiations, orientation and training, benefits and compensation, and performance management. David Gilbert is responsible for the traditional functions of a human resources director, such as salary planning, hiring and training staff. (At BMG insurance and financial benefits are handled by another department.) He is involved directly, or through an attorney, in negotiating new and renewed contracts, and in negotiations to end contracts early. Under his direction at BMG Entertainment are specific regions for the label, the Latin division, music publishing worldwide, classics, and a small group of New York based international staff.
PREREQUISITES
You must have a knowledge of, or experience in, human resources; an understanding of compensation, training, benefits, and organization development, and the ability to work in a constantly evolving environment. You should have the ability to be diplomatic and work with a variety of personalities. Good negotiation and communication skills, combined with a passion for music, are essential.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
“Because I deal with people all over the world, I could choose for my day to never end,” says Gilbert. When he isn't on the road for the company, he usually arrives at the office at 7:30 a.m. to make calls to Europe and Asia. Each day he spends at least a couple of hours on e-mail. Throughout the day he may deal with a contract on a salary issue, or provide information for a report in New York or Germany. He makes time for strategic planning, reviews hiring needs and salary budgets, and conducts an interview or two. He also meets with colleagues to get up to speed on any information he might have missed while traveling, which takes up 50 percent of his time.
CAREER TIPS
“Know human resources from a technical standpoint. Be comfortable with ambiguity and chaos. Learn to be comfortable having to make decisions without having all your ducks in a row, not having all the best information in hand. Know that you are going to make mistakes and get over it, but try not to make the same mistake too many times.”
Learn about the structure of a record company and the music industry so that you have a general understanding of the business.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
Study human resources in school to gain a working knowledge of business and legal issues, then take whatever entry level position you can find in a human resources department to gain practical experience. Look for paid opportunities, or for internships in human resources, at a music company.
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“There is a certain amount of office politics, but that is not unique; I don't think the music industry has a monopoly on that.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“Variety—the variety of the music, the variety of the people, the variety of situations that I encounter. I like the pace, which is fast.”
DAVID GILBERT, VICE PRESIDENT HUMAN RESOURCES, BMG ENTERTAINMENT
David Gilbert grew up with a love for music, and spent ten years learning piano, but had no idea he would one day work in the music business. After a childhood of bouncing around the country wherever his father's aerospace engineering career took him, Gilbert graduated college in the mid-1980s and took a job as personnel director of YMCA in Taiwan. “When I got on the plane I couldn't even use chopsticks, let alone speak the language.” Two years later in 1990, after a crash course in Mandarin, he found a position with Levi Strauss working in human relations (HR) over the Asian/Pacific region, based out of San Francisco.
After an assignment in the Philippines, Gilbert found himself in Singapore in 1997. While at a Levi's event, he was approached by a headhunting agency that told him about a music company with a regional HR position to fill. Gilbert was hired by BMG Music in the summer of 1998 and relocated to Hong Kong, finally able to combine his early enjoyment of music with a job. Originally the company planned for him to work three years in Hong Kong before returning to the United States, but their needs changed and he was posted to the New York office after only a year.
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