Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: AMC application advice?

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Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-07-2010, 06:07 PM:

Hi,

With the big take over Kerasotes, AMC is finally coming to town. I am interested in getting a job with them (management), however, I can't seem to find out where to submit my resume. Their website only shows current AMC openings at current AMC theaters. How would someone express an interest and show their qualifications so they can get in the running for any potential openings? Would calling or sending a resume to the corporate office be a bad move?

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 03-08-2010, 04:22 PM:

I am not sure if this is still the case or not but at one time AMC would only consider those with college degrees for managerial positions.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-08-2010, 04:27 PM:

I read their qualifications and apparently experience can be substituted for college. I wouldn't mind going back to get a degree though.

Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 03-09-2010, 06:50 AM:

Keep an eye on their website and other employment oriented sites (they used to utilize careerbuilder.com a lot). They generally don't give much attention to blind submissions, relying more on a formalized recruitment process for "outside talent"; a blind submission to Kansas City would likely just be filed away. Your only other option would be to apply directly at one of their theatres in your area, which would probably result in a lesser position being offered than you would like. However, this would get you in the door and provide access to their in-house management development programs.

Posted by Jonathan Smith (Member # 5609) on 03-09-2010, 10:52 AM:

Do yourself a favor and get in as a projection manager if you have any experience with 35mm film.

Any unions in your area? Give them a call and tell them what your skills are and where you'd like work and they will probably help you.

IATSE "helped" theatres tear out all of their digital sH*7 and put 35mm projectors back in after a Pbgh.-area chain who was on the "technological forefront" went bankrupt.

I work at AMC, just walked in and they handed me paperwork as a skilled projectionist.

I work for AMC, Cinemark, a local chain, with paperwork pending at Regal because of the IATSE Local #160.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-10-2010, 12:12 AM:

I have plenty of experience in both projection and management. I have been trying to find out how they usually do takeovers. Some sources say that they flush out all management, other people tell me that the GM usually gets dumped and the lower management stays. Since this is a large takeover, I can't see AMC getting rid of all GM's or management. Anyone know when this deal will be official? Again, I have heard April 1st, but I really don't know for sure. I'm guessing that once AMC has control, they might be able to talk a little more about what they might be looking for, and in what locations they will be hiring. I am looking for a GM spot (yes, I believe I have the required skills and experience). I know they have some kind of GM training program within the company. That is why I was looking for hiring info as soon as possible so if I were to get hired, I could enter the program and be prepared when they hired.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-10-2010, 01:26 AM:

Todd, do you currently work for Kerasotes? I know that the Kerasotes District Manager out here is running around doing micromanaging-type things in order to "better impress" AMC when they arrive. I think he/she is more trying to save their job than anything else. Likely the DM will go away since AMC already exists out here, though I believe they only have 4 theaters. Maybe the Kerasotes DM is hoping they don't have a local DM and will want one.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 03-10-2010, 06:11 AM:

At least in the case of the General Cinema acquisition, the ex-GCC managers were re-hired by AMC at the time of the transition. Most of them left on their own accord within the year, apparently due to dissatisfaction with the new company. Most of these were replaced with AMC managers from other regions. The general feeling seemed to be that, at least from a management perspective, the transition was handled somewhat badly.

(This applies to several theatres that I know in in the Boston area; maybe someone who was involved in the Loews acquisition has more recent information about how that transition was handled.)

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-10-2010, 02:01 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
I know that the Kerasotes District Manager out here is running around doing micromanaging-type things in order to "better impress" AMC when they arrive.

Unfortunately for him AMC does not beleive in district or regional management. There is only the theatre level and the corporate office. All the Loews regionals and VP's lost thier jobs when AMC took over. They also don't "micromanage" from what I know they will fly out from Kansas City and tell you what hey want you to fix/change. Six months later they will come back and if the things they wanted fixed/changed are'nt done then they dump the GM.

They also tend to pay less than some chains and have very strict policies regarding tattoos, credit checks, and things like that.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-10-2010, 02:20 PM:

I do not work for Kerasotes anymore. I left after finding out how they did business. I am hoping that two transitions in about two years will be too much for the current management. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to be out of work, but the group that took over our theater has run it into the ground. Wallpaper is peeling off the walls, the carpets are gross, the movies get scratched within a day, popcorn is gross, mechanical malfunctions etc etc. I just want the opportunity to let AMC know that there are people out there who would love the opportunity to do the job right.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-10-2010, 05:56 PM:

Kerasotes is the company that dictates "only the base side of the film can touch any roller, excessive twisting be damned" and "You must thread the projector in a way where you dump all of the leader into a box", isn't it? I am happy that the corporate projection trainer there will likely lose that job. He clearly should have never had it in the first place.

Also, Kerasotes made the Cherry Creek theater pull up their carpet because the booth was dusty. Now it is worse. These are the kind of things that are going on there. AMC can't come soon enough.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-10-2010, 06:38 PM:

Agreed 100%. They seriously don't have a clue and that is the main reason I left. I also didn't like the idea of wearing dress clothes (including a tie) when I projected. After arguing the obvious safety aspects and the fact that clothes tend to get dirty around grease and oil, they eventually told me the reason they want booth personnel to wear dress clothing in the booth.

"In case there is a fire, you will need to go downstairs and tell patrons how to exit and they would be more likely to listen to someone in dress clothing and a tie rather than someone wearing a tee-shirt and jeans." That is the explanation I got. [Eek!]

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-11-2010, 11:35 AM:

I apologize for the accidental double post!

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-11-2010, 11:37 AM:

I know for a fact that when AMC took over Loews they offered the few in house cinema tech's Loews had in some areas that they could keep thier jobs if they took a drastic pay cut and gave up thier company vehicles. [puke]

What made it worse is that hey told them that hey would have to take thier AMC tests and prove they were a level whatever when at least one of those guys I know had more cinema tech experience than most of AMC's whole tech division! [puke]

Also in the Boston area they shuffled all the lower than GM managers around so that every Loews building had at least one "experienced" AMC manager.

The best thing they did IMO is they took all the Loews POS systems that were running a very updated and stable version of Radiant's T.M.S. software and downgraded them all to an ancient version that was compatible with what was installed at all the AMC houses. [puke]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-11-2010, 01:25 PM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
The best thing they did IMO is they took all the Loews POS systems that were running a very updated and stable version of Radiant's T.M.S. software and downgraded them all to an ancient version that was compatible with what was installed at all the AMC houses.

And not only that, since the AMC people paid Radiant to do the initial set-up of it to supposedly get a "customized and streamlined" installation, they ended up with lots of great features completely removed. Loews had their IT people design the setup with input from people who actually work inside theaters.

For instance, I remember being annoyed that there was no way to have the stock room be a separate entity from the concession stand WRT counts or having the tills with no more ability to do "cash-in/cash-out" (useful for tracking $$). The people who got shuffled in with me from the AMCs were like "Radiant can do that?"

And whoever came up with their names for everything from stock items to tickets in box is a moron. The medium cups were given an item name "32XXXX" but when we started receiving 28-ounce cups instead the name changed to "28XXXX" meaning that if someone accidentally entered the 32-ounce item, you'd have stock screwed up. Simply calling the item "medium cup" would solve all that.

And the tickets in box have the same problem. Senior is "RR750" or similar, with RR for reduced rate. Seriously, when I worked box for Loews we simply had buttons that just said "adult", "child", and "senior."

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 03-11-2010, 03:08 PM:

You have to wonder who dreams those things up. Another case of absentee management trying to make a simple task difficult.

Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-12-2010, 12:16 AM:

I know that when the AMC took over a small chain here, they retrained the GM and management and staff, everyone got to keep their jobs. Most managers quit within a couple of months though. This happens with every takeover I've seen though, the old managers don't like the fact that their "way" is no longer correct. A few stay, adjust and move up in the company, but most leave.

Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 03-12-2010, 08:26 AM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
They also don't "micromanage" from what I know they will fly out from Kansas City and tell you what hey want you to fix/change. Six months later they will come back and if the things they wanted fixed/changed are'nt done then they dump the GM.

That's basically their management style in a nutshell. I worked for them back when they still had a regional system in place (shortly after they had dumped their district system) and, even back then, they didn't do a lot of micromanaging. Their approach was more "if we need to constantly look over your shoulder, you aren't the right person for the job." However, they also had a very exacting operations program in place and conducted a lot of training, so the "you should know how to run a theatre" mentality wasn't without merit (this was well over a decade ago, so I don't know if this still holds true).

Having worked for some companies that do tend to micromanage their theatres, I can say that I actually prefered AMC's approach. I felt it helped to develop stronger management skills and I always prefered being allowed to run my theatre over having someone constantly second guessing me and "checking up on things".

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-12-2010, 12:17 PM:

Chris,

I really liked the way that LCE has thier radiant systems set-up. Of course there was always room for improvement and some things were frustrating (remember the LaborPro system for payroll? and running the in house written combocash program?) but all in all compared to other systems it worked ok. Having the stock room seperate was great too. I never worked with the AMC version I just noticed how "old style" the tickets looked and asked around and found out that they downgraded everything.

I think a regional system done right is a good idea. You have someone locally (or more local than a corporate office) who can help to implement new policies/procedures. Help to manage issues such as one location having too much stock and another being short on some items. It should be a person who can get the local managers to work together as a team, and to bring the "best practices" from one location to the others. A good DM or RM should also be able to see through the BS that comes from corporate and fight for the theatre level people to get what they need. They should also be able to see what "really" goes on in the theatres day to day not just how well they clean up for that once a year visit from corporate.

Even when corporate comes "unnanounced" you know they will hit every location in a given area to maximize thier travel budget. So in reality only one location gets "suprised" as soon as the corporate people are out the door (or sometimes way before they leave) every other location in the area is getting a heads up phone call. A local DM can get past that by being able to hit different locations more often and spend more time at each one to really peel back the layers and see what's really going on.

I am sure we all know Bad DM's and RM's. The ones that never visit the theatres or micromanage to an insane level. There was one Loews RM (Who is now an asst. chef for Emeril Lagasse actually) who would sit in his office and watch the surveilance cameras for the location his office was in. If a customer dropped even one peice of popcorn on the grounf he would be on the phone to the GM before it even hit the floor! Crazy!

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-12-2010, 11:09 PM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
I never worked with the AMC version I just noticed how "old style" the tickets looked and asked around and found out that they downgraded everything.

When we switched, the tickets from the ABOs were similar to the ones we'd previously used with LCE and only the ones purchased on the regular box office were different. But they've switched styles in the last year or so since I'd quit to work where I'm at now.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-13-2010, 12:21 AM:

So, any advice on how to contact AMC about getting noticed for a potential job opening?

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-13-2010, 11:34 AM:

I would fill out an on-line application for a management position at another theatre in the area you want to work at. Management hiring goes through an area coordinator (usually one of the local GMs) who is responsible for recruiting and managing the hiring process in that area*. If you have no luck finding a place to apply on line I would call a local AMC and ask who the local management hiring coordinator is and which location they are based out of and send your resume and cover letter there.

*At least this was the case many years ago when I applied for a position at an AMC location in the Boston area.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-13-2010, 02:27 PM:

And regardless of where you get hired, there's a good chance they'll want you to move around to other theaters in the area. That's the way it was both when I worked for them in Seattle and here in Houston. All the managers I worked with would get shuffled around quite often.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-15-2010, 06:43 PM:

Last time I checked, there wasn't anything around this area. I think Milwaukee is the closest AMC theater, but there weren't any hiring. It's frustrating.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-15-2010, 07:40 PM:

You could ask the people working your local Kerasotes for what they'd advise.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-15-2010, 08:33 PM:

Or you could just wait until it becomes an AMC.

Posted by Frank Bruno (Member # 1871) on 03-16-2010, 01:21 AM:

Self-deleted.

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-16-2010, 05:00 AM:

Normally I would wait. The theater I'm looking at is in such bad shape, I'm confident that they will be replacing management. There are so many things that are done there (and not done) that it's a no-brainer. I've worked at these local Kerasotes theaters and I know a lot of the people. They are keeping an ear out for me, but a lot of them of in fear of losing their jobs so I don't think walking in and asking about future employment would be good. I'm sure that if anything happens in regards to hiring, I'd hear about it. I was just hoping to see if there was a quicker way to get my resume me. I can wait, but I am just afraid that I'll miss the opportunity to get my resume in on time.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-16-2010, 12:44 PM:

Then I'd think it best to call up someone at the nearest AMC or drop by and ask them if they have any idea on what to do, although Madison is a ways away from Milwaukee from what I remember when we lived there, but you seem to be really worried about missing the opportunity.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-16-2010, 01:14 PM:

you could even try calling Kansas City and ask for human resources. Ask them if you can send them a resume for any future positions in your area. I find that if you call first they might actually look at your package rather than just put it in the circular file.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-16-2010, 02:10 PM:

Cue the "package" jokes... [Big Grin]

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-16-2010, 02:24 PM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
I find that if you call first they might actually look at your package rather than just put it in the circular file.

LOL, I did'nt even notice that when I wrote my post! I have been doing a lot of reading about the radio industry lately and DJ's usually refer to thier Airchecks, or demo and resume as thier "Package" ie; "I sent the program director my package so I can audition for the new morning show." But it is pretty funny when you read it at first!

Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 03-16-2010, 09:38 PM:

quote: Sean McKinnon
you could even try calling Kansas City and ask for human resources. Ask them if you can send them a resume for any future positions in your area. I find that if you call first they might actually look at your package rather than just put it in the circular file.

I like this idea. I'm guessing I'll get the typical "We can't say anything until the deal is final" response, but I think it's worth a shot.