Harvard Business School

A Harvard Business School Grad’s Path to His Dream Job In Music

For Rodolfo A. Diaz Cabello, music has always been a passion. Since his early MBA days at Harvard Business School, Cabello knew he wanted to explore a career in media and entertainment.

“I organized concert outings in Boston and embraced my DJ hobby by becoming our designated Section I DJ during retreats and hosting ‘Zoom parties’ for my MBA class,” Cabello says. “These experiences not only energized me, but also helped me gain unique perspectives that complemented my professional efforts.”

Fast forward to today, Cabello is now a Senior Product Manager at Spotify—his dream job. But the journey to Spotify was no walk in the park. In an interview with Harvard’s MBA Voices, Cabello shared his path from MBA to dream job and offered advice to those looking to do the same.

INTEGRATE YOUR PASSIONS

On the first day of his MBA, Cabello didn’t know Spotify was his dream job. All he knew was that he loved music. So, he decided to explore his love for music and see how his passion could integrate with his B-school experience. Cabello joined the Harvard Business School’s Entertainment & Media Club, where he worked his way up to become the VP of Music. He developed a DJ presence on the music platform SoundCloud, where he gained a deeper understanding of the problems creators face in the industry, and the limitations of current technical solutions. In his free time, Cabello even hosted panels with industry veterans to learn more about careers in the entertainment space.

“Through these events I met executives from music labels, event and music tech companies, and even top artist managers,” Cabello says. “This allowed me to have a much more nuanced point of view about the types of experiences I wanted to pursue in my summer internship and full-time career after graduation.”

In the classroom, Cabello sought out courses, like ‘The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports (BEMS),’ to give him a better understanding of the music industry.

“BEMS taught me the basics of the music industry and how artists monetize through recorded music and live performances,” Cabello says. “Professor Anita Elberse further empowered me and a group of students to gain hands-on experience in the industry through an independent project that helped launch a new pop artist in Australia.”

BUILD A NETWORK AROUND YOUR PASSIONS

Passion is just one ingredient to landing your dream job. Without a network, the path to your dream job gets a lot harder. With the help of the HBS network, Cabello was able to land interviews and navigate career opportunities.

“My classmates, professors, and the industry leaders I met through HBS were the final ingredient that empowered me to succeed in my journey to become a product leader at the intersection of music and technology,” Cabello says. “When I was searching for summer internships in spring 2020, these allies came to my rescue, connecting me to new mentors and opportunities.”

BE PATIENT

Cabello didn’t immediately land his dream job at Spotify after graduation. He had to prove he was a worthy candidate. So, he took a short-term consulting gig at a music tech company to sharpen his product skills. Then, he joined an entertainment tech company as a full-time Product Manager to truly grow as a product expert. In October 2022, he finally landed his current role at Spotify as a Senior Product Manager.

“These experiences ultimately helped me be a strong candidate for Spotify when the right opportunity arose,” Cabello says. “My friends and MBA classmates know how passionate I am about music and this role is nothing short of a dream job for me.”

Sources: Harvard Business School, Harvard Business School

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