He’s a photojournalist who left corporate life, and then went back. Here’s what he wants you to learn.

**Anthony Quintano is a successful photojournalist and videographer. He was the first Community Manager at NBC News, and went on to run digital teams at ReCode, the TODAY Show, and the Honolulu Civil Beat. He is currently the manager of storytelling at TD Bank, in addition to being one of the most prolific creators we know. We’re so glad he agreed to an interview with us where he shared his career path – including the bumps in the road – how his health has become an important focus, and how he manages to keep his creative juices flowing outside the office. Most of all, he shares some sage advice for all of you.

What follows is a lightly edited and condensed version of our conversation.**

Were you always a photographer?

I didn't have access to a professional camera when I was younger. I used to have disposable cameras, film cameras that I tinkered with. I liked taking pictures, but I never really identified it as a passion when I was a kid or younger, because it was just kind of a cool tech toy for me. I never actually took any formal photojournalism class. I learned from working in the field and working with journalists. I followed their advice, I followed them on social media platforms and I would just make sure that I was documenting what I saw. Working at NBC News is where I really developed my passion for going out and capturing news.

How did you get your job at NBC?

Through Twitter? (laughs) I actually used Twitter while I was freelancing at CNBC to connect with other employees at NBC to hopefully get hired full time. I saw a tweet from one of the NBC employees that he had gotten hired as the Director of Social Media for NBC News. As soon as I saw his tweet, I tweeted him. We ended up meeting and he looked at all my media that I had created on my online platforms and was really impressed with the versatility that I had from knowing how to edit video, digital photography and basically being a one-man band for production. I think that appealed to him because it's everything that he wasn't. He was a strong writer, he was a strong journalist, but he wasn't a visual journalist. And he saw that in me and actually brought me on as the first Community Manager for NBC News.

That launched you into many other positions you’ve had since. Which was the most rewarding?

The most rewarding was working at Civil Beat. It was a small nonprofit, a local newsroom in a place where a lot of the residents there relied on the news and information because it's a small island. There were a few TV stations, and there was one big newspaper. There was some investigative reporting that was needed in that state. And that's where Civil filled a hole. They weren't really driven by metrics or clicks or viewership. They were really driven by the community impact that they had from the government passing bills because of a story that they had covered, from positive outcomes from story coverage that they've done to help the community. That is really where I saw an impact.

Was there a story you worked on at Civil that you’re particularly proud of?

I was lucky enough to document a volcanic eruption in 2018. And a lot of people relied on my coverage to know what was happening because the media was cut off from getting into the volcanic eruption. I just so happened to be trapped there. And we got a lot of feedback that the live streams that I was providing were really an important resource for the community, not just on Hawaii, but even for the mainland to know what was going on. They even mentioned me on the Senate floor. Senator Mao mentioned the work I was doing. I don't think I could top that.

You then went out on your own for a year or so, tell us what happened?

There was a lot of time when I was at NBC and Recode, where I was watching these creators exploding, whether it was photographers or videographers – or both – going out on their own and working with brands and traveling. And it was just really intriguing to me and I thought, well, I can do everything that they can do. Why can't I go out on my own and do my own thing?

A lot of what I learned during that year was that it's not easy to go out on your own. I give a lot of credit to the people that go out there and create their own content and run their own business, because running your own business and creating content are two very different things. The people that are able to do it all on their own, I admire them. I'm not one of those people because I'm not business-minded at all. I am a visual artist, I'm a visual journalist in that sense, and that's where my skills are. And I learned I have a lot to learn to really make it work.

After you decided to go back to corporate life, did you have a hard time getting back in?

I wasn't breaking through the traditional application process when looking for jobs. I wasn't getting callbacks, I wasn't getting anything. Over and over again I was told when I was at NBC, when I was at Recode, that I was so talented that anyone would be lucky to have me, or “ it's amazing the skills you have.” I had the work to prove it, and I struggled to understand why I wasn't able to find work. It's not like I was getting rejected. I wasn't even getting the opportunity to interview.

One person had told me in my life when I was trying to get help through my connections and friends, she told me that “I don't know where to put you, what would you want to do?” And I was like, “I wanna do everything. I want to be able to shoot photos, shoot video, create content, and help people with various projects with my various skill sets.” And she said “But I don't know what job you would fit under. I don't know what department you would go under.” It blew my mind that it was this difficult for someone to understand the value that I brought. I almost provided too much value. I've actually gotten a few recruiters who have told me, you know how to do too much. That confuses recruiters and people looking, and that's really frustrating.

You got your job now through a connection, right?

I was lucky. A connection identified a person who would be open-minded to talking to me about the role directly. Every job that I've gotten was either somebody who knew the work that I was doing because of what I post on social media, or it was because somebody knew my work and had mentioned my work to them. That is my entire career of how I've gotten full-time jobs. Honestly, I warn people to not rely on just applying for jobs. You should really spend your time in your career making connections, building relationships, because that's what's gonna get you the job you want, not applying for jobs.

If someone reading this is having a hard time breaking through, or getting another job, what advice do you have for them?

You really need to stop doing the same thing over and over again. It's not just simply applying or having a portfolio. You need to market yourself. You can't just sit there and apply for jobs and hope that you're gonna get it. The people that are publishing their content on social platforms, or have a full fledged website showing off their work, and showing their ability to build an audience. You can't just write what your ability is in a resume or a LinkedIn post, you need to show that ability. A lot of people think that they need to wait to get into that job in order to be able to do those things, which is totally not the case anymore.

Let’s talk about your life outside of work for a minute. You recently had a health scare. Has that changed your outlook on life?

Yes. This recent medical incident is not the first time I've been worried about my health. I was diagnosed with type two diabetes in 2015, that was a shock. It’s almost like dying in a sense where everything flashes before your eyes. I have an opportunity to change things. I used to think I could drink however many energy drinks I wanted to drink. I could eat whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted to eat, just to make sure I got through the day. For some reason, doing my job was always the priority over what I was putting in my mouth or how much sleep I was getting. These were all factors that I was not paying attention to. The great thing now is I actually work for a company who thinks all those things are much more a priority than the job itself. I'm able to maintain and start a healthier lifestyle while working and take care of myself while it's not too late. I'm getting to the point where my doctors have told me it's now or never. And so that scares me because my father passed away at the age of 55. And I’m 43. And I am scared that when I reach roughly that age, if not sooner, that I'm gonna suffer the same fate that my father did.

How have you been focusing on work/life balance?

In the last two jobs that I've held I've emphasized how important it was to have a quality of life and to be able to continue my passions. Life really gets in the way of your passion sometimes. But I think I've learned that I need to have a stable job, but also that stable job needs to give me enough room to be creative on the side. Luckily the job I have now is very supportive of my free time and that free time allows me to create the content I want to create.

What other parting advice might you have for our audience?

When it comes to my career, I had no plan. My main goal was to work and to work as hard as I could and to show people that I'm a good worker and good employee. I've since shifted that mindset. It's not so much proving that I'm able to do my job, but it's now a matter of impact of doing good with the work that I can do. One of the things that I feel like it's important to me in my life is to leave something behind. Whether it's helping somebody, changing somebody else's life or leaving something that'll help make other people aware of what's possible. I'm constantly trying to do quality work and finding impactful storytelling that will help somebody along the lines. Also, in your career, don't feel pressure to label yourself or to define yourself. We always feel like we have to put ourselves in a particular box in order to the proper title and the proper career path. In the end, you need to feel whole yourself.