An Introduction... or a Conclusion

It's interesting to look back at my experiences as a Marketing Intern, more than three years ago. I hope that you've found here what you were looking for.

If you'd like to read more about my misadventures, I invite you to visit my current blog at www.julieminevich.com.

it's magic

Just like David Copperfield, I can do something magic, too. Specifically that of disappearing and reappearing.

I really don't remember why I stopped posting during the summer. I can imagine I got burnt out. I was working almost 40 hours a week, going out almost every night and probably fighting with my mother constantly.

At the end of August, I returned to school for my fall semester as a junior. I took a variety of classes - Introduction to French Literature, Business Writing, International Economics, Business Law - and only one that had anything to do with Marketing: Consumer Analysis.

Now consumer analysis is, understandably, very important to those in the Marketing field. I wrote a analyzing the commercials during Apprentice, I wrote a paper analyzing generational values, I wrote a paper analyzing different ad campaigns and their marketing approach... (See where the analysis comes in?) But really, did I learn anything worthwhile that I'll be able to apply to the real world? It's doubtful. Not that I'm complaining or anything... I got an A in the class.

Well, now I'm back home. I've been doing projects for three different start-ups; all are places where I've been previously employeed. I working mostly for the company I worked for this summer, plus doing small things for the two others on the side... and I've got lots of interesting stories to share!

More to come...

Out of Office: Auto Reply

Thanks for your e-mail. I will be out of the country and unable to check my e-mail from Thursday, July 7th through Sunday, July 17th. Please contant my colleagues if you require timely assistance.

Best,

Julie

Some One
Marketing Director
sone@somecompany.com
(781) 123-4567

Another Person
Marketing Coordinator
mailto:aperson@somecompany.com
(781) 123-4578

meltdown

As I mentioned, last week it was just me and the VP of marketing in the office. By thursday afternoon, I had pretty much gone through my list of "things to do", so I decided to visit my old job on friday and help out there. That was my first mistake.

They are doing a new type of training in a couple weeks and I usually handle cover artwork creation and editing (grammatical and spacing) the manual itself. Because of the fourth of july weekend, our goal was to get the manuals to the printer, cover and all, by noon.

I arrived at about 10:00am and started frantically trying to get everything done. I use an old computer, and at one point, when I was opening up the manual document - 80 pages, full of heavy pictures - the computer froze. I went to restart the computer, but when it was shutting down, it froze. So, I pressed the power on button to get it to restart that way. Imagine my horror when I got a blue screen saying something was really wrong (don't remember exactly what- the registry?) and to get the administrator.

I was literally shaking when I walked over to get our network administrator. It brought back all the memories of being a little kid and breaking the laptops my step-father gave me to use (which he brought home from work and were probably not doing well anyway). Anyway, the administrator, who is a really nice guy, but who I'm afraid to ask for help, told me that the data on the computer wasn't lost... so I relaxed, a tiny bit.

But, let's put it this way- my boss was not a happy camper (completely understandble). My boss had herself admitted that she does not handle stress well. I, on the other hand, being a college student, finishing assignments last minute, and dealing with my mother, have learned how to be cool, calm and collected in a stressful situation.

Friday before fourth of july, everyone trying to get out of the office, and having this crisis was very bad timing. The computer I used at work had all the company's website stuff on it, all the special application, Adobe Suite, you get the idea...











Long story short, the manuals and cover were done by 8pm Friday night. The computer is now up and running. Hopefully, my boss will be in a better mood next time we talk. Hey, at least it was an interesting day, and as I told my boss (who was not amused), it makes for a good story.

acting your age

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with two of our sales guys about how if I got arrested for rioting, it would be totally worth it.

On a side note, I understand that rioting is both disruptive and destructive. But, I think of it as a giant pep rally, something we didn't have in high school. As a former high school cheerleader, I love school spirit and it was one of the biggest things that attracted me to Maryland. My school has cracked down on it so much that it's become almost nothing more than students running to the "downtown area" and chanting phrases like "ACC champs!", "Fuck Duke!", and "over-rated!". Yes, we stop traffic, yes, there are people who light fires, and yes, it costs the university money to staff the police officers and then clean up afterwards. But, I don't think the university is doing anything to help the situation. If there was a designated place for students to go, like frat row, we wouldn't crowd the streets, we'd celebrate together on that field. They could block off a space for fires, and that way keep everything in check. Students would still have a sense of being wild and crazy, without doing damage to the town's property.

Anyway, after I made the comment that rioting would be worth getting arrested, one of my co-workers told me that I needed to mature a little (or grow up a little? something to that effect). That's where he's wrong. I need to stay as immature, as young, as possible.

I'm nineteen. This is my summer. Most of my peers are spending their summers sleeping until 12 or at summer camps or waitressing. I go to work every day, I dress like an adult, I try to sound like an adult. There's no one here under the age of 25... Most of my friends go out partying with their co-workers; that's something I wouldn't ever thing of doing with mine. I spend my days talking about networks and tradeshows and collateral and leads and websites and analysts and partners and territories... you get the idea.

In some ways, I'm missing out on being "my age". So, if my thinking is a little immature, that's because it's supposed to be!

cat and mouse

me (12:24:35 PM): "wehn the cat's out of town, the mice come out to play"
my friend (12:24:49 PM): when the cats away the mice will play

I hope everyone enjoys my version of the saying. Good thing I have friends like Andrea who also sit online all day to help me figure out what I'm trying to say. I was telling her that my boss and the other person in my department are both out on vacation today and all of next week, so I feel like I should somehow take advantage of this situation. The thing is that I'm really lucky and work independently even when they are here, so it's not a major change. But still, it's that same feeling as when your parents go out of town and you are dying to have a huge party because you can, but people aren't around, or there's something else going on. And it feels like a wasted opportunity. As a result, I'm updating this from work, which isn't something I would usually do, so at least I'm doing something.

The other thing that's been making me laugh recently is the AIM and internship relationship. I have friends who are scared to sign online, and others who literally just sit at work and have conversations all day. I'm somewhere in between. I believe in the philosophy of, "it's better to ask forgiveness, then permission". If they have a problem with it, they'll let me know. At my old job, everyone was always online and it was a good way of communicating rather than sending a thousand short e-mails. Here, I just found out one of my co-workers' screen name yesterday... It's a little embarrasing when a IM pops up while someone is at my cubicle, but hey, it happens.

my life

work. food. gym. west wing (and a few stupid shows). sleep. partying on the weekends.


this is my life this summer. when did i become boring?