Reflections/ Week 4 27th- 31st January
Friday, January 31, 201411:24 PM
Week 4 was a fun week.
Many of the Pestle & Mortar staff took turns to be take off for the Chinese New Year holidays. Although our online sales was still coming in big numbers, the team eventually got the hang of it and the absence of our colleagues on holiday was not anything we couldn't handle. I was given 2 days off work to return to my hometown. I was really surprised that my supervisor would be so kind and thoughtful as at first I told him that I didn't mind working the entire week. His response to that was that 'blood runs thicker than water'. I was constantly reminded everyday of how lucky I was to be working in such a cool company!
Fun with the colleagues as the Chinese New Year holiday mood approaches.
This week I followed my bosses for a trade show. A trade show/ trade fair/ trade exhibition/ expo is an exhibition so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study the activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities. The trade fair that I attended was highly exclusive and not open to public. I was not even supposed to come in the first place but my supervisor pulled some strings and got me an invite.
I have to admit, it did feel pretty cool to hang out with all my bosses and be the only intern there. I took the opportunity to get to know them better and ask them as many questions. All 3 bosses were happy to educate me and even introduced me to many influential people in the retail business. I met with representatives of Adidas, Nike, Reebok and many other MNC brands.
The trade show was for athletic footwear brands and carried out in the headquarters of Royal Sporting House. We were not allowed to take pictures of anything and had to meet with each brand representative personally in a private room. The room would showcase their upcoming collection that is to be sold to the public only at the end of the year. There would be a brand representative present, and he or she would introduce to us the collection and show us any new developments and innovations that they added to their product. Pestle & Mortar is then given a week to decide if they would like to order anything for them. Even if Pestle & Mortar makes an order, they are not assured if the product would be mass produced yet as a certain quota needs to be met by the accumulative orders of Malaysian retailers. When we got back to the office, I was put in charge of placing orders for the shoes in behalf of Pestle & Mortar.
We also had a photo shoot of our Holiday Delivery 2 Collection scheduled for Saturday. I was given several responsibilities for this shoot. They included
- Confirming the time and venue with our outsourced production company.
- Calling up the talents and ensuring that they will arrive at set on time
- Getting the sizes of each talents and confirming their payment details
- Finalizing the wardrobe for each talent
- Ensuring that wardrobe is in good condition and sent to the production company
- Getting props for the photo shoot
The Pestle & Mortar team brainstorming on the wardrobe for each talent.
As the photo shoot was carried out on a Saturday, my boss told be that it was optional for me to come. I had problems with transport that day and did not make it but I made calls to ensure that everything I was put in charge of was settled. Some photos of the Pestle & Mortar Holiday Delivery 2 product shoot are below.
Week 4 Overview
Relating what you learn with your experience
I feel really blessed to have been brought a long to the trade show. That had to be the highlight of my week. I spent the entire day with all 3 of my bosses and speaking to them made me understand Pestle & Mortar as a whole much more. Knowing how young all 3 of them are and how much they have done really encouraged me to do better for myself. Seeing how they all enjoyed work was also an eye opener because people have always told me that having a job you actually enjoy is close to impossible. Watching my bosses as living prove, I too wish to obtain a job that I can look forward to in the future.
Observations
During the trade show, I observed how my bosses made collective decisions. I realized that at times personal preference could get in the way as each of the bosses had their own sense of styles and liked different designs but, they were reminded that they had to choose what was best for the company. They ended up choosing designs that they felt would go most in line with Pestle & Mortar's upcoming collection, even if it meant that it was not their personal preference.
Key Learning
One of my regrets this week was not being able to make it for the photo shoot. At first I thought it was not a big deal as it was optional for me but as I pondered about it a little longer, I realized I passed on a good learning opportunity. Also, this could have been the only chance I had to be part of a Pestle & Mortar Photo shoot. I told myself that if any other opportunities came up, I should always take it. My main lesson for week 4 is that I should never stop learning and take every opportunity as if it was my last.
Development & Growth
The first month of my internship came to an end and reflecting back,
I'm really thankful to have interned with Pestle & Mortar. Although
it is a young company of only 4 years, the working culture of the
company is something that I really appreciated. Having interned in
company with a strict corporate culture before, this was definitely a
breath of fresh air for me. I learnt that I work well in a laid back
environment and was very self driven whenever I was amongst self-driven
people.
In addition to personal growth, my first month saw me learning a lot about the retail business. My bosses and colleagues constantly helped me through and answered my many questions. They were also patient with me and I was trying out many things for the first time. My boss pointed out that I was a fast learner and that I showed commitment to every task that I was given. I'm glad that they could see this strengths in me.
Key Achievements
I would think that my main achievement this week is how I carried myself during the trade show. I had to constantly remind myself that I was a representation of Pestle & Mortar and had to be at my best. I met people who had high ranks in companies and spoke about their business and the Malaysian economic situation with them. My goal at the end of the conversation was for whoever I was talking to ask me for my contact for future endeavors. I had in mind that these contacts could be used to my advantage.
Challenges Faced
The challenges I faced during week 4 had to do with office politics. I got caught up with the office gossips and because of that, it affected my work. I was constantly worried to mess up or step on anyone's toe because I didn't want someone talking behind my back. I have the habit of over thinking which resulted into me being very bothered whenever any topics related to me came up. I went to Danny, the Retail Executive , to share with him my concerns as we shared the same faith. He gave me very good advice and encouraged me to give my best in everything I do. He also explained that it was only human nature for people to talk about you but it is how you responded to it that mattered. The talk with Danny brought some peace to my heart and mind.
❤"Reflections/ Week 4 27th- 31st January" was Posted On: Friday, January 31, 2014 @11:24 PM |
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