A&T Alumni Dexter Mullins, Netflix’s Internal Communications Manager, spoke to Crosby kids about his successful career in the media & entertainment industry. Mullins, whose been in the industry for over a decade, shared gems for having confidence, setting boundaries, and building technical skills.
Mullins credits his successes to his strong work ethic, strategic planning, and his flexibility.
“Part of the reason I’ve done so well is I never boxed myself in,” Mullins said. Mullins original career plan never aligned with internal Public Relations work.
He gained the foundational tools for his versatility at A&T where he was an Editor for the A&T Register and yearbook. He furthered his education at Columbia University, where he secured his first post Graduate job at NBC.
From there his career path blossomed through major media corporations including CBS and Al Jazeera America, where he has helped build TV networks from the ground up.
“I don’t take the time to think about the stuff that I’ve done and it’s kind of wild looking back,” Mullins said.
With humbleness, Mullins rarely takes the time to recognize his own accomplishments. Like everyone else, he experiences imposter syndrome, which he describes as feelings of inadequacy among peers.
“If I had a dollar for every time I was like how did I get up in this place I would never have to work again. It happens in every workplace,” Mullins said. “It’s not my job to make other people feel comfortable with me occupying space.”
And with that as he reassurance, Mullins explains how he navigates through his career with confidence in communicating and setting boundaries. A healthy balance between saying no and taking initiative was essential to climbing the latter as a Netflix employee.
“Part of how I ended up getting promoted to Manager is because I was willing to do extra work within reason,” Mullins said. “Make sure that your core day-to-day job is what’s being done first.”
Mullins spoke highly of the Netflix culture, which he says is transparent and open. His opinions and suggestions to the rising generations of Journalists were reflective of that.
Mullins labeled the generation with tendencies of laziness and followed with positive reinforcements with an emphasis on maximizing technical skills.
“Your writing is never going to not be important; I probably write 4 or 5,000 words a day,” Mullins said. “There are people who’ve put in the work who are more than willing to help you but you’ve got to come at it from a place of respect.”
Mullins’s inspiring career is still on the rise as he is only in his 30s and plans to advance his portfolio. For what’s next, he mentions writing his script for his pilot and an undisclosed show that will soon be debuted to the public.
