Welcome to the Career Design Talks Interview Series where I speak with successful professionals across industries to uncover their unique strategies and lessons learned on their journey to building a successful and fulfilling career.
Eli Cherenfant is an Agent/Executive for CAA Executive Search, a division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world's largest sports and entertainment agency. CAA is known for representing some of the world’s most talented and successful artists, athletes, and brands.
Today, Eli is focused on identifying outstanding, hard-to-find executive talent and placing them in high-profile roles at organizations, ranging from professional sports teams to global media companies. Prior to this role, he was an attorney at a litigation firm in Boston with an eye toward becoming a sports agent.
In our interview, we discuss how he spots talent and what stands out to him as a recruiter and how he grew his career from being a lawyer in Boston to a CAA talent agent in Los Angeles.
Key Takeaways
Everyone has a resume but the best talent has a reputation. They are well-known in their industry for doing great work.
Stay committed to your career goals, learn as much as you can, and let people know what you want to do.
Learn to manage up. Seek out the decision-makers in your company, get on their radar, and share your goals with them.
The best opportunities come from your network.
Q: What should people know if they want to catch your attention?
A: You have to be out there, on the scene. Resumes don’t do it for me. I’ve seen great resumes, but then I meet the person and they aren’t as impressive. In this industry, it is important that you have good references and are known. I also take note of who is doing good work. When I read that someone has just closed a big deal in the newspaper, I want to know who really did the deal. Often times there will be a handful of people working on a deal, but generally, there is the key executive that made it happen…and that is the person I want to know. The best-known people are constantly networking, taking coffee, breakfast, lunch, and dinner meetings, and are attending big and small industry events.
Q: Why do companies hire you to find talent for them?
A: Organizations hire us to find the not so obvious talent who are outside their industry. Clients are looking for something different. They don’t just want to hire someone doing the same thing at a company in the same industry. They can do that themselves. And because of who we are, our network reaches all areas of sports, entertainment, and global brands. We have relationships other companies don’t have. Also, when a company is investing a lot of money in hiring an individual to lead their organization, it’s to their benefit to utilize all resources. We will make sure no stone goes unturned. We are proactive. We are constantly in the market and know who is who. We don’t wait until there is a need to fill a void. Additionally, we have the benefit of seeing the organization from the outside-in which gives us a strategic viewpoint when identifying top talent and how they’ll fit into an organization. At the end of the day, it’s a collaborative process and we work with our clients to find the right person for the job.
Q: What is your career story?
A: I went to law school in Boston with the goal of being a traditional sports agent. I focused my classes on contracts, employment, and sports law. At the time, I had friends who were making the transition from amateur to pro sports and I was intrigued by the business side of it and the relationships with the agents who were trying to sign them. I saw what the agents were able to do for my friends and I was fascinated by that world. I started to build relationships with the agents so I could learn more about what they did. I interned for an agent in Boston that represented professional soccer players. The more I learned the more I knew it was what I wanted to do.
But when I graduated from law school, I didn’t get a job at a sports agency. Despite all my networking, there weren’t any opportunities at the time. I started working as an attorney at a litigation firm. Luckily a year later, due largely in part to all of my networking, I got a call from CAA’s New York office to come in for an interview. I was accepted into their executive training rotational program and worked in a variety of departments from Business Affairs to Licensing to TV.
I continued to network with executives in the sports department and told them what my goals were. I made myself known. If I didn't, I knew I could get lost in such a big company. One day they approached me about a new division they were building called the Executive Search and I was skeptical at first because I was so focused on being a sports agent, but soon realized the division would still allow me to utilize my skill set and I would still be “agenting.” I met the head of the division and we really hit it off.
While I wouldn’t be representing athletes, I saw this as an opportunity to continue to use my skill set and it fast-tracked my progress to move up in the agency. Typically, it takes 5-7 years to become a sports agent where you have to start in the mailroom, then become an assistant, then coordinator, then finally an agent. With this opportunity, I would be the first employee in this new division and would be part of building it from the ground up. Having gone to law school, I didn't want to spend more time waiting to do what I wanted to do so I said yes to the role and haven’t looked back since.
Q: How do you intentionally think about growing your career?
A: I think about this a lot. I love what I do. I work with great people. I have access to world-class leaders. I get to learn about new companies and see them from the inside. I often ask myself what my tangible skill set is and what I have to offer. I see my strengths as having relationships in high places; I understand how companies function, and I know how to build a team from the ground up. At the end of the day, I am a salesman, I know how to pitch, sell, influence and motivate. My work keeps me excited and enthusiastic. I get to help people find their dream jobs.
SUMMARY
Big thanks to Eli Cherenfant for sharing his time and knowledge with me during this interview. He made it clear that if you want to stand out in the job market you have to be good at what you do and well-known in your industry. What are you doing to build your professional reputation? How does your work get noticed? Do the right people in your company and industry know about you?
If you want help growing your professional brand sign up for a free 30-minute consult here.
CALL TO ACTION
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mo Chanmugham, Esq., CPCC, ACC is a former entertainment lawyer turned executive career coach and the founder of MGC Coaching. He helps ambitious professionals who are feeling stuck gain the clarity and confidence they need to create more fulfilling careers.