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Career Paths
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Bill G., Show Host
I joined HSN as the Director of Quality Assurance for Fine and Fashion Jewelry in 1994. Two years after coming to HSN, they held open auditions for outside and internal candidates who wanted to become Show Hosts. There were 580 candidates, and after auditioning, I was called and promoted to Show Host, and 15 years later I am still here loving the job!
I learned only this past year from Mindy Grossman (our CEO), that when Barry Diller took over HSN as Chairman, he was walking through and interviewing members of the organization and we met, he interviewed me and we had a great conversation about the business. What I didn't know was that he told members of Management, "Bill Green should be a Host."
I always had an interest in Television, Sales and Entertainment. My experience in Jewelry is vast, as I worked in Jewelry for Zale Corporation 16 years prior to joining HSN. My career in jewelry began in sales. I worked in Sales and Management Training, Marketing, Insurance Replacement and Quality Assurance. Those experiences brought me to HSN where I developed our Quality Program for Jewelry. I was quickly exposed to the television sales aspect of our business and was intrigued.
Being a Show Host at HSN is one of the most rewarding careers one could imagine. Our job is to make it look easy, informative and entertaining. In reality, it is most challenging for many reasons. Mostly because we are a live Television program so there is little room for errors… and when we make them, we roll with the punches. The job takes a great deal of research about the products we present. We have to maintain a great personal and physical image, we must always be well groomed, we must dress in trend, we meet and work with a great variety of celebrities and other guest personalities, we require legal training for various products. And to be successful in our role, we have to possess a sincere, genuine, informative, natural, entertaining, enthusiastic, magnetic and down-to- earth persona. Above all, genuine personality has to come through naturally each and every day through our presentation on air.
If variety is the spice of life, HSN is the place to be! I believe that the most exciting part of working at HSN is that we are ever-changing, improving our broadcast image, cross- marketing in other media, television and magazines, drawing new celebrity personalities and always premiering products that attract viewers.
Everyone at HSN seems so down-to-earth and all share common goals! We're a “people company." All eyes internally at HSN are on the Live Show Broadcast, hsn.com and our retail catalog businesses. Focus is strong, our Merchandising Team and all Associates come from broad backgrounds in retail, IT, television broadcast, sales and customer service, internet business, and all posses a world of knowledge and wealth of experiences. Everyone seems to work so well together as we strive daily to follow our Mission Statement and to reach common goals - and we all have fun doing it!
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Jasmin A., Vice President - Programming
I was an assistant buyer in RTW [ready-to-wear] for the career separates and outerwear categories. It was my first "real" job out of college. I was so excited to join HSN vs. the merchandise training program for a traditional brick and mortar retailer.
I was going to work for this cool "hybrid" TV station/retail store while my friends were going to the department stores!
I worked my way up the ranks within merchandising from Assistant Buyer to Buyer and then to Director of Merchandising in RTW/Accessories. I then transitioned to programming as the Director of Programming in 2004. Currently I am the VP of Programming. How I have achieved my career goals along the way...hard work, dedication, flexibility and creating strong relationships within HSN.
My team and I are responsible for maximizing the company's airtime by working closely with the planning and merchandising organizations to maximize productivity and sales. Our XNP (cross network programming) team members are the communication liaisons with the Merchants, Planners, TV, Marketing and other corporate organizations managing key events and premieres.
The most exciting part is seeing HSN grow and evolve for the last 16 years that I have been here. As well as meeting some great people along the way.
Each day is different here, it's never boring and there is always something new to look forward to. The environment and the people are great. HSN is definitely not your traditional retailer...the opportunities are endless!
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Judy S., Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
I started at HSN on September 16, 1994 as Director of Investor Relations and Treasury. HSN was a separately traded public company at the time. I came to HSN after the birth of my first child, looking for a fun place to work that wasn't too stressful but also was challenging and would utilize my skills.
This role and the folks that I worked for (Kevin McKeon and Peter Kern) seemed just right for me. Of course, I quickly learned that it wasn't my nature to take a back seat or supporting role.
I progressed to many different positions through the years at HSN by being passionate about what we do here and wanting to make a difference. I have always been genuinely curious about what makes the business work and not just in my functional area, and am willing to help out wherever I can. I think that being flexible and open minded is also a big driver of success here at HSN. I went from my starting position as Director to OVP (Finance) to VP of Strategic Planning, to Senior VP (Finance). Then I took a detour as Chief Operations Officer, International prior to my current position as EVP & CFO.
I am currently the CFO of HSN, Inc. which includes both of our divisions, HSN and Cornerstone. I'm in charge of accounting, financial planning and analysis, tax, treasury, investor relations, strategy, affiliate relations and payroll. I really love my job as I get to interact with many different folks from all areas of the company. It is very challenging as well. We have so many different businesses wrapped in one: distribution, fulfillment, call centers, merchandising, creative, TV, internet. Really keeps it interesting, especially from a finance perspective.
Without a doubt, the people and the 24/7 live nature of the business are exciting. The fact that we can decide to change what we sell in real time without having to stock the store makes the business so unique and as a result, I think this trickles down to all that we do. And the combination of the different types of folks that work here really make it fun. I am never bored and also busy. I truly believe that we make shopping a different experience through all that we are doing and not only are we the first and original home shopping network, we are the most innovative. I have loved participating in our transformation!
The people and the culture at HSN are amazing…truly unique individuals, warm, welcoming and fun with a passion to win and be the best we can be. A great place to build a career as we have so many folks that have moved up the ranks and into various positions. And of course, I love the shopping and our discounts! I love to tell folks what all I'm wearing that I got at HSN, or how much I love my huggable hangers, Wolfgang Puck and Andrew Lessman!
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Gary R., Vice President – Sales & Service
I was hired as Operations Manager for the Sales and Service Center back in May, 2000. Responsibilities of the position include working closely with multiple departments as well as a team of specialists to ensure our centers have minimal disruption in taking care of the millions of customers that reach out to us every month.
It was during my time in this position that I began to be exposed to a great culture, with countless opportunities. When I was hired at HSN, I remember being impressed (and I still am) that "the sky is the limit." That is, although I had a solid background in call centers, opportunities were available in all areas of the company (from Merchandising to Live TV, from Quality Assurance to Fulfillment, and everything in between.) And, although the knowledge that all types of opportunities were available was exciting to me, my love for the call center world has kept me actively engaged for nearly a decade at HSN. And while our company absolutely provides opportunities through advancement and a variety of job functions, to achieve personal career goals takes planning, hard work and dedication on the employee's side. Besides my initial position as Operations Manager, my career path has included Sr. Operations Manager, Director of Operations which included responsibility for Workforce Management (scheduling of all internal and outsourced agents to meet the needs of our customers) as well as my current role of Vice-President.
Although my career has continued to evolve, for me the core purpose has remained the same: seeking and executing on ways that continue to raise the bar - by working on the tasks that create the mindset that HSN is the retailer of choice for our customers. As Vice President, my staff and teams execute on this purpose by being active participants in the crucial part of their role of calling out the ideas, steps, and actions we can take to generate improvement. When creative people participate in the process of continual improvement, there is excellent buy-in when it comes time to implement the changes that take us to the next level. In short, it's still all about the people. When folks are engaged at their jobs, this passion carries over to the interactions we provide our customers. This is so true at HSN.
Sure, HSN has been a leader in e-retailing for over three decades. However, a leader doesn't maintain its position by doing the same things day-in and day-out. The world around us is always changing and HSN recognizes that. So, it is the desire to improve as well as the smart, hard work that the entire HSN team engages in to keep up with this constant change that is extremely exciting to me.
If you like working with great people, you'll love working at HSN. If a vibrant, 24x7, constantly-in-motion environment sounds exciting to you, then you'll love working at HSN. As part of the HSN team, your "voice" gets heard and you can participate in creating exciting change. If you like working for a company that is passionately focused on customer satisfaction and connecting with each and every customer - from Show Host to Customer Care Representative, all the way through fulfillment of every individual, special package we send out… then you'll love working at HSN. Indeed, I do.
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Leatha W., Supervisor, Customer Care
I was honored to be one of two supervisors hired directly from outside the company into this position (before then this was an internal promotional position only). At that time, supervisors were held with the responsibility to motivate, educate Team Members on upcoming info-commercials, and gate calls as needed.
The supervisors & Team Members welcomed me with open arms and made a point to show me the ropes. While at first Team Members were apprehensive they quickly caught on that I was here to support their success and motivate them only to contribute their very best. I'll always fondly remember my first Team at HSN.
Most of the moves I’ve been fortunate to take part in within HSN have been lateral opportunities which have expanded my call center knowledge to supervise/manage across Mail Order -Catalog/Outbound/Continuity/Inbound/WAH sales applications, in addition to coordinating ad hoc projects. Going to areas where there's a need & dedicating oneself to giving back where there's the greatest need seems to work best. Positively look at every challenge as an opportunity to grow, know, and give something back!
The Work At Home (WAH) Program at HSN is just fantastic! I'd say its one of the best programs HSN has offered to support the call center's operations area. The people within this program are very talented professionals that come from different backgrounds, yet all have one common goal to exceed and make their contributions known for the good of the organization. Many who are in the program are professionals who have needed to either leave the work force due to personal illness, illness of a loved one, to care for elderly parents, child care, supplementing income, or replace/redirect their profession once held in real estate sales, etc. Representatives within this area just have a wealth of knowledge and the contributions they bring to the table are enormous. I can't say that I've ever seen more motivated & excited individuals ready to just jump in and take on their position with so much passion to be successful at what they do. We have indeed found the "Voice of HSN" that can touch our customers and keep our customers coming back to HSN again and again. There couldn't have been a better time in history for this program to have graced this place - doing something good for those in the community to better "work/life balance," and can also economically provide something that can offset costs associated with the usual work commutes, etc.
Next to being fortunate to work amongst the most "beautiful at heart" people I've ever met, I'd say change and opportunity to change has been the most exciting part of working at HSN. I can't say that any year has ever been the same. There's always something exciting happening that has a new twist! To work here you gotta be ready to grab it and know what to do with it to deliver results.
It's unique! If being amongst truly good people that sincerely care about their work & contributions excites you and being able to see a company continue to grow - I'd recommend you put your application in and start knocking hard to join this place, because "there's no place like... HSN".
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Bethlee M., Senior Vice President, Quality and Partner Relations
My first position at HSN was as the Vice President of Performance Support Services in the Sales & Service Center. I had the privilege of working with some incredibly talented people (many of whom are still working in the call center!) to build the infrastructure necessary to drive and support high performance interactions with our customers.
Together, we created a state-of-the-art training facility and curriculum; built a Quality organization and process; launched the Product Studio; established the Sales & Service Communications team; and, designed and developed the Voice of the Customer processes to "saturate" HSN with our customers' perspectives. My mental model of career progression is one of "movement of self." I believe that each of us owns the responsibility to move ourselves forward in terms of growth and development - and, "forward motion" doesn't always mean that one has to climb the proverbial ladder to be successful in one's career. For me, my career progression has been a direct result of: learning from others who think or approach situations differently than me; skinning my knees and getting back up; openly sharing my point of view; and, being passionate and driven to meet both individual and company-level goals.
I am currently serving the organization as the Vice President of Quality Assurance (QA) & Product Information (PI). I work with a team of highly committed professionals who work in support of our customers and the HSN brand. The QA team works diligently to ensure the products we sell to our customers meet our quality standards. The PI team writes product descriptions for our hosts, hsn.com customers, and sales & service representatives focused on inspiring and educating our customers about the products we offer.
What excites me most about working at HSN are two things - the people and the pace!! I enjoy being surrounded by incredibly creative, courageous, and committed people who work together at lightning speed to bring the best product and service to our customers!!
I would recommend HSN as a great place to work because you can make things happen; be exposed to diverse people and work content; and readily "hear" the voice of our customers everyday!
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Katie L., Merchandise Planner, Business Planning and Integration
My first position at HSN was as a Merchandise Assistant. This position was pertinent in my career at HSN because I was able to learn all of the ins and outs of corporate retail.
After quickly mastering the MA responsibilities, I decided that I would like to learn about the Planning side of HSN. I was promoted to the role of Associate Show Planner in the Jewelry Division. In this role, I was able to learn the fundamentals of financial planning and inventory management, as well as show planning. Six months into my role as Associate Show Planner, I was promoted to a full Show Planner position. During my years as a Show Planner, I was able to work more closely with vendors on their product lines and learned to execute their vision for the shows. I also worked on an exciting new business to the jewelry world called Moissanite. My years spent as a Show Planner only furthered my knowledge of the HSN Planning world. My accomplishments were recognized and I was promoted to the role of Associate Merchandise Planner. This was an exciting role because I was able to apply all of my experience up until this point and take full responsibility for my business. I manage my categories from start to finish, from working with the Merchant team on placing the buys, all the way to the writing of the shows.
I was recently promoted to the position of Merchandise Planner for Footwear and Profile Brands. I work closely with my merchant partner on selecting the best items for the season that will help us to achieve the financial goals that I create. I also work closely with my Show Planner to help ensure the vision and goals for our department are successfully executed. It’s amazing to watch months and years of work transform into live television!
The most exciting part of HSN is that every day brings a new challenge. There’s never a dull moment here and every day really is different from the next!
HSN is a place where you can learn and grow in many different aspects of the business, find your niche and take it from there! It’s fast paced, it’s exciting… there’s no place like HSN!
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