- Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos advised young professionals to be dependable in their roles.
- He said the trait is becoming a “lost art” and there’s an “entitlement” among younger generations.
- Sarandos started off as a video store clerk and rose to co-CEO of Netflix.
Ted Sarandos has a message for the younger generation: Show up.
The Netflix co-CEO shared one of the most important career lessons he’s passed on to his own children, in an episode of Skims boss Emma Grede’s “Aspire” podcast that aired Tuesday. Sarandos said the advice could be applied to many young adults hoping to level up in their field.
“The most important thing in any job, in any role, is that you can be depended on,” Sarandos said when asked what advice he gives his two children who work in the entertainment industry.
It sounds simple enough, but Sarandos said it’s becoming a “lost art” among the younger generation of professionals who’ve built up a sense of “entitlement.” Those who people can count on to show up when they’re supposed to, he said, will go far in their careers.
“It’ll get you into rooms that you probably wouldn’t have gotten into before,” Sarandos told Grede.
Representatives for Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Sarandos has firsthand knowledge about grinding from the bottom of an industry to the top. He got his start as a video store clerk renting out DVDs in Arizona. Years later, he met Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings and is now at the helm of the company alongside co-CEO Greg Peters.
During his time running the video store, Sarandos said he treated it like a business school course and film school wrapped up into one. He learned what went into customers’ movie choices, studied films, and carried out business duties as well.
He made the most of the experience, and it seems to have paid off.
“You owe it to the world to show up,” Sarandos said.
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