As we continue to highlight non-tech jobs in tech, in this post we feature Lynn Antunovich, talent manager at AVI. Lynn obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Acting, making her an ideal person to spotlight in our “non-tech jobs in tech” series. She worked as an executive assistant while acting in New York City.
She then worked remotely as a recruiter for a mortgage firm and later for a boutique recruiting firm looking for engineers in the Philly area. This transition from acting to tech recruiting eventually landed Lynn at AVI.
As talent manager, Lynn handles all HR functions at AVI. While this may not seem like a technical role, she does need to have an understanding of the technical requirements attached to job roles to help attract and retain top talent for the company. In addition to recruiting, Lynn is also heavily involved in onboarding and offboarding employees, as well as being responsible for benefits, personnel issues, and event planning.
When Lynn initially joined AVI, she was brought on purely to assist with recruiting, but she saw a need for someone to carry out additional HR functions. She stepped up to the plate and suggested she tackle these tasks. Lynn acquired a number of skills in her previous roles that help her as a talent manager—time management, working with teams, prioritization, and how to deal with different personalities.
She has been with AVI for more than 3 years now, and has found her acting background comes in handy in more ways than one. She studied human behavior as an actor, learning what drives people, how different people pursue their agendas, and how people overcome adversity in pursuit of a goal. Acting gives Lynn unique insight into people and their needs. Her specific experience with improv acting also comes in handy in unexpected ways as talent manager!
If Lynn pursued a different path out of school, she may be spending her time on stage these days, but we are so glad to have her front and center as talent manager on the AVI team. She brings a versatility and a strength to the company that helps us find and keep the best and brightest team members.
