Bloomberg Media Executive Advises HPU Students About What Top Companies Want

High Point University students learned how to stand out in a competitive job market from Tracy Redfern, Bloomberg Media’s global head of culture and people operations. Pictured from right were Dr. Doug Hall, HPU’s vice president of career and professional development, as he observed a mock interview of Jackson Jones, a freshman psychology major from Columbus, Ohio, with Redfern during a Life Skills and Leadership session titled “Beyond the Resume: What Top Companies Look for in New Hires.”

HIGH POINT, N.C., April 16, 2025 – High Point University students learned how to make themselves stand out in a competitive job market from a top Bloomberg Media executive who shared her expertise during a recent visit to campus.

Tracy Redfern, Bloomberg Media’s global head of culture and people operations, participated in a Life Skills and Leadership session titled “Beyond the Resume: What Top Companies Look for in New Hires,” moderated by Dr. Doug Hall, HPU’s vice president of career and professional development. She also taught a class on adapting to company culture and shared lunch with students while on campus March 27.

How each job candidate shows up, speaks and dresses makes an impression on recruiters, Redfern said. Each candidate should come prepared to share their own story, talk about what makes them different from other candidates and what they have learned from their mistakes. Any candidate who appears flawless does not demonstrate honesty or the ability to be coachable.

“This is the first time we have four generations in the workplace, and that has made a tremendous difference in the culture,” Redfern said. “Each generation has a different expectation of how people should show up and what good work looks like.”

As a result, emotional intelligence is more important than ever, Redfern said. It’s vital to understand the expectations of the company you work for and the colleagues you work with, she said.

Redfern said Bloomberg’s recruiters decided to recruit from HPU because of the success of Ethan Parker, a senior sports media communications major who is joining Bloomberg in August. Parker represented preparedness, professional dress, drive, ethics and communication well last summer as an advertising sales media intern. He left a positive impression with a YouTube video thank-you message to Bloomberg executives he met along the way.

“One of the main things I gathered from her today was being able to take a step back, take time to yourself, reflect on what exactly you need to accomplish and take that moving forward,” said Parker, who is from Concord, North Carolina. “She mentioned her work ethic, but without having pre-set building blocks to ensure you can accomplish those things, it would be almost impossible. I appreciated her ability to stay grounded and reflect on priorities you’re trying to accomplish so those things can come forward in the future.”

What Students Learned

When a student asked for her best piece of advice, Redfern said to “stop scrolling and read something” because knowledge is power. During job interviews, she often asks what a candidate is reading to make sure they continue learning. She also asks about extracurricular activities or volunteer work to get a sense of what makes that individual unique and how they could fit with the company culture.

“If we take care of our employees and make it a place where they want to come to work, where you’ve got good work/life integration and we’re thinking of people’s well-being and making sure people are getting the development they need to be successful, we’re ultimately going to have a high-performing culture,” Redfern said.

This Life Skills Seminar was one of the continuing sessions that allow students to work toward earning a tuition-free certification in coachability. HPU students who attend four designated sessions can earn a Life Skills certification and enhance their professional credentials.

Redfern demonstrated her passion to thrive in a fast-paced field, said Tomiwa Bello, a junior finance major with a minor in French.

“She mentioned three Cs: clarity, confidence and capability,” said Bello, who is from Bowie, Maryland. “You can be confident and clear, but if you’re not capable, then those don’t matter. My biggest takeaway was what she said about accepting feedback, understanding it and acting without being defensive. In today’s world with four generations in the workforce, if you’re not able to take feedback, you won’t be as agile and able to adapt in different situations.”