The first was to moderate a blog, much like the Absolutely True Diary blog we did in Dr. Patton's class. I had to read through several hundred comments, and reply to them. I got to log onto my mentor's account which keeps in contact with many small business owners and people who UPS, frequently. I replied to all of their responses on the blog, to maintain the relationship with the online consumers. Then Sara, my mentor, gave me a job to research display screens. When you walk into places like Pei Wei, you will see the menu is no longer a sign made from materials such as cardboard or wood. Instead they have LCD displays. I did not know much about these until I started researching them today. The results from the research actually amazed me. These signs are so easy and beneficial for many companies, including UPS. All of the messages are easily changeable and they can even send messages directly to your costumers phone. Another benefit is that it is theft proof, shock proof, and even weather proof! It is truly an amazing product and will be my internship project for the duration of my internship!
Like I said, I did not get a chance to go into the workplace yet, however I will update this blog when I get the chance to tomorrow. I did get an overview from my mentor explaining it is very business casual. Very few people wear ties, and most just wear jeans. However, I am planning to dress to impress. I will be out dressing everyone in the office. I will wear nice dress shoes, slacks, a nice button down and a tie, for my first day of work. At least my attire will impress people. I did go into work today and my first impression was good! The thing that strikes me most was that no one had a full suit on. This is a cooperate office, and most of the dress was just a nice button down and slacks or khakis. I was honestly expecting nicer dress, but I like it because it is very comfortable. All my colleagues were super welcoming and friendly! They all greeted me with open arms and said if I needed anything it would be available.
My Mentor told me about a couple of the colleagues I will be associating with during my stay at UPS. Two individuals truly stuck out when she told me about them. First being a man who works next to her at the office. She tells me he is very serious and gets all of his work done without talking to anyone else. I got a bad vibe from this, not because he is a hard worker, but because I will be working next to him as well and I am afraid he will not appreciate my humor. The second person is also a hard worker, but also my mentor's boss. My mentor told me that she was extremely intelligent and that it is going to be a treat to work with her. I am much more comfortable and excited to meet her because I like to think of myself as smart also. I think it will be a great environment to work in and I get my own cubical which is awesome!
The thing that strikes me the most about the job that I am doing is probably how much research has to go into a project before even starting it. The project that I am working on now involves a lot of accurate research that will ultimately benefit the company or lose it millions of dollars. So it is a lot of pressure but I am excited about it.
I am both excited and nervous about the project I have been given because if it ends up failing, then the business could potentially lose a lot of money. I am also nervous about the types of people I will be working with. My mentor is extremely funny and out going but I am concerned about the others in the office. I have no idea if they will be as nice as Sara, I guess I will just have to wait and see.