Monday 1st August- It was time to start my first placement in Media Edge Comunicaciones Chile (MEC). I woke up extra early as I had to check out my hostel room, put my bags in the luggage store room and take the bus some 5 miles across the city towards the mountains. And what an experience taking the bus was. As the bus pulled up empty, people pushed past to try and get on first as though they were going to win the lottery if they sat down first… the old people had no chance of getting a seat. Within 2 minutes the whole bendy bus was full, and we hurtled down the main street just missing several cars, buses and pedestrians. Several times everyone flew towards the front of the bus as the driver attempted to stop at bus stops and to avoid collisions. An hour later and just on time I arrived at work. I met the manager I was meant to be working with, had a quick tour of the building, met a few people and then started the laborious job of filling forms in, before being shipped off to a new manager.
The view from the office is amazing. Floor to ceiling glass windows give a panoramic view of the snow-capped Andes- just awe inspiring. Despite not facing the windows, I can see the reflection of the mountains from my big office desk but often find myself staring at them instead of working!
So my new department is MEC Interaction and in particular digital media (basically anything on the internet including Facebook and Twitter). My manager Rodrigo gave me a quick insight into the area and I realised how much I am going to have to learn but it seems exciting and an invaluable experience for the future. I also realised that the 50pounds I thought I was getting a week, I’m only getting each month, so it’s time to tighten the belt on spending!
So after lunch and meeting some more people, my computer was finally set up and I got my first project to complete in 24 hours! I had to research the best uses of social networking by universities in the UK and the USA, so that we can develop some of the ideas to help one of our clients here in Chile. Soon enough 6:30 came round and I got the less hectic bus back to the hostel to pick up my cases, say my goodbyes to some great people I met there and finally at 9:30 move into my new apartment (apartment blog will follow soon- with pics!).
Tuesday 2nd August- Now living only 2 miles away from work, I decided I would walk in the freezing cold. Taking the wrong road I arrived a little late for work but there was only one other person in the office anyway. It would seem people can turn up to work up to 30 minutes late and nothing will be said- I may need to remember this for the future :D I was meant to start my e-learning today but my email account wasn’t set up, so I carried on with the presentation on universities and presented it to my manager, who then said it was so good he wanted me to show it to another manager working on that account. To be honest I do not really think it was that good but… So what happens when you finish one presentation? You get another! This time I had to research the digital marketing methods of consultancy companies in Chile so we can help our client to grow their client base through effective advertising. I had to analyse potential possibilities and locations of where we could publicise the company through digital media. A complete lack of information on the competitors’ marketing strategies, meant I had to dig deep, research the values and mission of the firm and basically create my own strategy for them. Not pleased with my progress I headed home to finally unpack my cases after living out of them for 2 weeks and head to buy some food, from the even more expensive supermarket.
Wednesday 3rd August- After an even colder walk to work (it had been below freezing all night) I carried on with my presentation. Getting a bit bored I whacked on a bit of Adele to keep me going, and had a quick catch up on Facebook! The best thing is that I have to use Facebook for my job, so it looks like I’m “working.” After lunch I presented my findings which totaled a mediocre 10 slides of what I considered rubbish and what would be nothing new to my manager. But he commented that a couple of my ideas they had discovered for the first time too, and the next thing he said surprised me completely! “We’ve got a meeting with the client tomorrow; can you go through your presentation with them?” Well I tried to say I didn’t think it was a good idea, but we will wait until tomorrow to see if I actually present it or not! So here I am now with free time till home time catching up on bits and bobs, and writing this blog. I think I will really enjoy just chillaxing in the department tonight after some very busy days! I’m not sure what the rest of the week will bring as I’ve got to wait 4 more days to get my work email address which will allow me to complete my online training and start my proper job- apparently the delay is caused by the American office! Says it all really… but a few of us managed to have a laugh over it at lunchtime and I feel I’m starting to bond with some of my colleagues. All in all the future looks bright :D
hey lewis! this is chris, you're old hostel pal haha sounds like you're off to a pretty good start with work! you're already meeting with clients! whaaaat? haha good luck! ill try visit this blog as much as i can :)
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