It’s been four weeks! Four weeks! I can’t even believe it. The days get all jumbled together a little bit. In a good way, though.

I’m finally getting into the swing of things here. My main job is to put together a manual for software the company is making and using themselves to manage advertising. It’s an order management system that allows for input of the ad information, targeting, test the ads, track how it delivered, pull reports after delivery, send to billing, etc. It’s still getting made by the engineers, while simultaneously used by the ad/sales teams. My job is to learn how it is used and make a manual for new hires to be able to understand when and how to use each part of the system. It seems like a daunting task, but I’m working on a different section each week, so it’s not all at once. Surprisingly, it’s been kind of fun to put together.

We are also getting a few smaller projects here and there as well as getting training on all the other programs, analytic tools, etc. so that we can better understand the jobs that this team does within the entire advertising team. I’m definitely learning something new every day.

Last week, my mentor helped me connect with some people in other departments so that I could get a better idea what other departments are and how each department works together (because businesses are interdisciplinary also). Yesterday, I met with a wonderful woman on the Brand Marketing team, who so eagerly sat with me for an hour and a half. Brand Marketing has always been a field that fascinates me ever since I learned what it was. It seems like the perfect blend of corporation and consumer, of strategy and execution, creative and structure. So it was really interesting to finally hear about it in practice as opposed to in concept. Not only did she give me advice for my future, but she shared with me how she got here, what she does, what she enjoys. We talked about the importance of always asking questions, especially when you feel they are dumb.

The most rewarding aspects of my experience so far have been the people I work with, the stories they share with me, and the environment of this work space. It’s not that the work I’m doing isn’t interesting or fun, it’s actually both, but, I’m learning more from others than from the actual work I’m doing.