When Dana Brooks visited Pittsburgh to interview for a position with Comcast’s Keystone Region, she wasn’t sure if leaving Apple to take a job as a senior human resources manager at Comcast would be the best fit for her expertise in talent acquisition for technology brands. But right away, she knew Comcast was different.
Dana’s recruiting and talent management experience included leadership development strategy, workforce planning and retention. While Comcast saw Dana as someone who might be able to build retention, recognition and engagement programs, she wanted to make sure that any career move would be to a company that shared her values while allowing her to create and innovate.
We wanted to get to know Dana better and find out more about what Comcast’s recruitment process was like – from our newest recruiter.
Living in a Bubble
“I grew up in the 1970’s in San Francisco, which was the time when hippies, the Pan-African Movement, and increased immigration all intersected with social injustice. I thought the whole world had that kind of diversity! As a child, I didn’t know that there were things happening outside of my bubble; I never experienced ill treatment based on race or gender.
I didn’t know I was a nerd but I played the flute, went to band camp at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and attended Catholic School through high school. We had a “jazz household,” without television and visited the library across the street often.
How She Got Her Start
When I was 13, I fell in love with a pair of Famolare shoes. My grandfather asked, “So how are you going to get those? You better get a job.” I took a paper route and I’ve been working ever since then.
Dana’s Journey to Comcast
My mom was a court reporter, activist and model and introduced me to fashion. I studied at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and worked for a buyer at I. Magnin just as the dot com boom was starting in the early 1990’s. A friend suggested I become a tech recruiter and the next thing I knew, I joined Boston Consulting Group. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t worked in the tech industry; nobody had much experience and I learned everything I could.
I was the only woman on my team, supporting recruitment teams for Silicon Graphics, Levi Strauss and Oracle. This led to positions with Anderson Consulting, MTV Networks and Citibank as well as a contract position with SiriusXM. After a few years in New York, Apple recruited me to serve as a human resources manager responsible for developing, supporting and implementing human resources strategies and initiatives that aligned with the business priorities and goals during their New York City retail buildout. It was exciting, working with employees who are authors, artists, and musicians – the most authentically creative people – working in a space where they could provide service to others.
We Believe in Greatness in Everyone
Comcast called me and said they were looking for a senior manager with recruiting and talent management experience who would focus not only on recruitment, but retaining, recognizing and engaging our people to do their best work. This sounded interesting to me because I believe that connectors that help people realize their potential are what make companies great.
I’d never been to Pittsburgh before and wasn’t sure what to expect. Some of the questions I had were: Will I feel heard and advocated for? Will the company align with my values and principals? Would I meet anyone who looked like me?
The interview process was unlike any I’d experienced: after debating with friends whether to wear my hair natural, I was surprised to meet with a panel of senior leaders who were all women of color. One of the first things Toni Murphy, Comcast’s vice president of sales and marketing said was “your hair looks beautiful.” I knew then that the interview was going to be fair and good and these leaders were listening to what I had to say.
Comcast’s commitment to diversity and inclusion isn’t just a tagline but a part of who we are as a company. It’s not about checking a box. Leaders take the time to look around the table and see who’s missing and what perspectives need to be heard to help us make the best decisions for our customers.
Attracting Diverse Talent
There are nuances in attracting diverse talent and my interview panel was a reflection of that. Since joining Comcast this summer, I’ve visited operations throughout Comcast’s Keystone Region as well as our corporate headquarters in Philadelphia and see representation of people of color, military veterans, LGBTQ and differently abled employees throughout the company.
Creating great teams and helping them feel supported is an important part of what we do. Comcast’s talent team believes that our job is more than recruitment; we want to be known for elevating someone else at all times. We all go hard for each other.”
Learn more about Comcast’s values and culture and how to grow your career and create extraordinary experiences for our customers.
