The global media and technology company Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator in the U.S., as well as one of the biggest mass media, home Internet service and telephone service providers. The company has over 129,000 employees with 5000+ IT employees based all across the country, with IT hubs in Philadelphia, Denver, Washington, D.C., and several locations throughout California. By being at the intersection of media and technology, nearly all of the company’s employees have some connection to IT. Timojhen Mark, Comcast’s Senior Director of Engineering, and Matthew Coler, Senior Manager, Recruiting, gave us some insight into what it takes to land a job at one of the company’s IT operations.

How to Reach Out

All of the company’s positions are posted on its website, and it’s active on social media networks like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, as well. In addition, Comcast has a dedicated staff of technical recruiters and sourcers who approach the technology community to discuss career pursuits and the opportunities it has available.

Navigating Its Job Postings

Comcast has IT positions mixed throughout several business units. Its technical business groups are referred to as Network Engineering and Technical Operations (NE&TO) and Technology and Product (T&P). Each job posting provides a summary of the job opportunity, its requirements and an overview of daily duties and projects. Be sure to apply for jobs that would be a good fit for your skills and experience. Postings are regularly updated.

The Interview Process

The interview process at Comcast involves multiple steps, often beginning with an initial phone call with a recruiter. After that, a candidate will typically interview -- either in person or via phone -- with the hiring manager. At that point, the manager will assess your technical skills and potential team fit. The next step is for the candidate to interview in person with the hiring manager and their team. If all goes well, the manager will soon make an offer. Be prepared to talk about your work history and any technical skills you have listed on your resume. Have real world examples to share about how you’ve used a technology in the past, why you took the tack you did, and the results you achieved. Also, be sure to have a general understanding of Comcast and its work. A great resource for that, say Mark and Coler, is the corporate website, www.comcastcorporation.com.

Who Makes a Good Fit

• Combination of skills and personality. Comcast wants people who are smart and talented, but also nice, collaborative and looking to have fun.
• An Appetite to learn and inquisitiveness.
• Willing to experiment, fail, repeat and learn.
• Ready to laugh. “Our team works hard, but we also like to have fun, so be willing to laugh with us.
• A diverse and broad skill set is important, but a willingness and aptitude to dive deep when necessary is very helpful.
• In more senior positions, mentoring is a key part of the job. Candidates should be open to helping their team members learn and grow.

Available Jobs

Comcast has a variety of IT positions open now. Most are related to network engineering and software development and automation. The company has adopted Agile and Lean principals and is looking to become a culture for innovation through iteration.

Advice for Seasoned Professionals

Show progression in your career, e.g., how your roles and expertise have changed and expanded. Be comfortable explaining how your impact has grown as your technical and professional maturity has grown. Those impacts may be in automation, mentoring, process or policy development. Be prepared to discuss your skills with networks but also emphasize the evolution of network technology and automation. Comcast calls itself a software company, so it looks for engineers who can code, script and develop tools and even technology that will help keep its network robust and capable of all the activity that takes place on it each day. As a company that seeks to provide content anytime, anywhere and on any device, Comcast obviously operates on multiple types of platforms. Its newest, X1, moves applications off of the traditional set-top box and into the cloud. “The possibilities are endless and we are looking for folks who can help us to continue innovating,” the company’s representatives say.

Advice for New Graduates

• Show your personality and inquisitiveness.
• Supporting a website or technical experimenting on your own time goes a long way.
• Be eager about finding new ways to contribute.
• Don't be afraid to say "I don't know."