Monday, July 23, 2012
(Final blog already, where did this summer go?)
I came to Dwellworks expecting an opportunity; instead I became part of an experience.
Dwellworks went above and beyond what I thought an internship could be like. I have never been in a corporate environment like this before, so I was unsure of what to expect, especially from all the intern horror stories I’ve heard before.
Here, unlike those stories I am not retrieving coffee or pushing papers all day long. No, I am part of a team as are all the other interns, and everyone else who works here.
Marketing, although constantly swamped with projects is probably the department with the most spunk, hands down. The department of 3 is sassy and fun and because there is always something to do there is no time to be bored and there is constantly room to learn through projects and assignments.
Speaking of assignment I have done and am doing so many I believe I’ve lost track. I have written articles, worked on numerous internal documents that will eventually be released to everyone, had great times collaborating on what to do on certain projects and then there’s BPI. The Business Process Improvement team came to marketing for help, and I was put in charge of sufficing their needs. Nearly two months later I’ve worked on a pin-up, stickers, a poster board, a prezi, and a bunch of little BPI projects. BPI also demanded teamwork from the intern poster board project with Meagan and Abbey and my collaboration with the BPI team, making sure I was delivering what I needed to. The end result was pretty great and it prides me to see my work being viewed by others. Going along with the internship portion of this program working together to make the video also forced us to work together and complete a rather outrageous but fun Dwellworks video! There was also MAGIC training, which was great as well.
There are numerous other marketing projects I’ve worked on like Project Polite and the branding guides but everything has common ground. I’m learning how to write for business, ways to gather information and plug it in and of course Teamwork. Without teamwork the marketing department wouldn’t be the awesome place it is. This program overall is completely amazing and has done wonders not only to my writing and teamwork skills but has helped boost my confidence in this type of atmosphere. Basically, this internship has been both a great opportunity but an even better experience.
I have a few more weeks to go on my internship yet and l believe it’ll be just as a great as the past two months.
Stay Gold,
Amanda Hess - Marketing Intern
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Hello, Hello!
This week was pretty hectic in marketing, though the time between Monday and Friday did seem to disappear which could be either a good or bad thing!
So as everyone knows the BPI launch was on Thursday, and I was so excited to see it all come together so well. The time I’ve spent working on the pin-up, the car stickers, the presentation, and the other surprises you have yet to see, was all worth it. I gained invaluable experience and had a great time working together with the BPI team to make the presentation a success. Though, there are still three weeks in BPI July to look forward to!
The weeks I spent on BPI material weren’t reserved just for the other team members; I had a FUN time with the other interns too! The girls of Cleveland headquarters created the fabulous New York driver’s board! We all pitched ideas for what monuments to use, how to do different areas, what colors, fabrics etc to incorporate. Nothing like getting to do arts and crafts with others while also being productive!
Although there are a few loose ends to wrap up for BPI it looks like my job there is done.
As I stave off the tears remembering all the happy and frustrating times I’ve spent on BPI material I turn back to the Marketing department.
This week has been very much a blur. Branding guide updates as always, lots of one-pagers to be done, as well as other projects. The intern video is also a major force to be handled but I’m sure the Cleveland office will create a terrific presentation, even though we couldn’t go with our original concept.
It’s hard to believe that we’re going to be wrapping up the main internship projects next week and that it has been two months since most of us started. Let’s look forward to the upcoming weeks and do our best on our presentations!
Also, remember to submit ideas to the BPI page! Doesn’t matter if we’re interns, just get your ideas in and you could win a prize!
Have a great week all,
-Amanda
Friday, July 6, 2012
Hope everyone had a fantastic day off! Even though the lightening and desperately needed rain was coming down hard in the evening it was a glorious day in NE Ohio.
So, with this week bisected with the always glorious Fourth of July, events have been a bit discombobulated.
However, work still must be done, especially on all the actual internship projects. For the big video values project the Cleveland HQ group is getting a rough outline of what we’re going to be doing, using our teamwork and throwing out quirky ideas, then finally deciding on one; it’s going to be SUPER fun.
By the way, get ready for BPI month everyone! This is also something I’ve been somewhat helping out with this week. Putting the final touches on the big presentation you will all see next Thursday (which I must admit it’s pretty amazing). We (the girls of HQ) have also felt the trials and tribulations of finding a box for the New York map and sending it out, but it should be to New York by BPI Roll-out Day!
In addition to all that, multiple projects have popped up in marketing. There were a whole bunch, that I felt came out all at once. Although they were smaller projects it’s still great experience to work with all this new material. Also this week I got to sit in on a revising session for a one-pager on Valuation Services. I found there is a whole lot of discussion and debating that goes on when creating such things; and even another project sprouted from the call. More one-pagers!
Anyway, have a fabulous weekend everybody! Go find a pool and get ready for yet another heat wave!
-Amanda
Friday, June 29, 2012
Hola All!
On one hand it felt like this week would never end. On the other it ran by like an Olympic sprinter. Although it’s been a whirr of continuous projects, seemingly for everyone, there are a few events that stuck out!
One major task this week was of course to do the roadmap for BPI, and boy was it crazy. Meagan, Abby and I laboriously poured our combined talents and hard work into this poster. (Along with a generous amount of glitter and glam) It’s rather chaotic looking, but isn’t New York in general chaotic? Working together has been lots of fun: taking a field trip to the steel yard, being excited over the water fabric Aleks found for us, and working swimmingly together on the roadmap! And indeed it came out as a grand example of modern art and the power of teamwork, as I’m sure everyone sees by now that teamwork is vital to success on projects like this.
The roadmap has taken up a huge chunk of time the last few days but the rest of the time has been filled pretty well too with additional projects. This has included a Dwellworks’d out pin-up for Detroit / NYC, continuing revisions on the philanthropy policy guide along with the PowerPoint, and working on a few other marketing / editing projects that tested my weak skills working with PDF as well as . I’ve never really worked with PDF files before so it was quite the adventure!
Another hot topic of the past few days is Prezi.
If you don’t know already Prezi is like PowerPoint, but with no boundaries. Although there is linear progression the creative opportunities are boundless.
To see more on Prezi go to:
Fantastic example of what Prezi’s capabilities are:
Try it out for fun sometimes. It’s free to use so there’s no worries about that and seeing the zoom in action is pretty great. Just be aware it can be incredibly time consuming.
It’s been a fantastic week full of projects, teamwork and developing new skills!
-Amanda
(Next week is going to be INTENSE here in marketing, just saying it now)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Hello Everybody!
It’s hard to believe many of us have been here over a month already, but it’s not so difficult to understand just how much we’ve been accomplishing and learning.
This week started off with the “finale” (tentative) of my work with the BPI team, which was a great experience. I really loved working with Aleks, Jack and everyone else involved. Be excited for BPI month in July everyone!
I’m sure the BPI roadmaps will turn out spectacular as well! New York’s is going to be Dazzling.
In other headline news: Policies
As I stated in an earlier post, I was nominated to work on the Dwellworks’ Philanthropy Committee Policy Guide. At first I thought it wouldn’t be horribly difficult and then I realized just how many sensitive factors go into creating something akin to this. Business writing in class and doing it in real life isn’t a terrible differentiation but there’s still a noticeable jump, especially in incorporating the company’s philosophy and tone.
MAGIC (Making a Great Impression on the Customer) was fantastic as well! Meeting the Warrensville Office was fun and the activities were pretty engaging. I typically despise talking to strangers on phones but I feel much more confident in my ability to converse professionally and more level headed now.
I know I feel more Magical, I hope everyone else does too!
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Amanda
Hey all!
Stickers are usually entertaining and fun to stick to paper, objects and people. They can also be incredibly frustrating.
I cannot say exactly why I was making stickers and labels just yet, but my goodness. Yes the whole caboodle was wrapped up but it took much more time than I expected. However, even though it was a bit trying scrapping designs and having to rework others extensively, it was really fun.
Hope you like the designs come July!
This week has also featured ‘The Branding Guide’ and continually adding to and subtracting from it. The Branding Guide is accompanied by the Service Line Sheets which are in construction. From these past few projects I’m learning quite a bit about each division at Dwellworks and everything that encompasses them. I have also come to understand that just the right amount of details, streamlining, grammar and formatting are four areas that are regarded as highly important.
This week’s matinee involved helping organize Suzy’s desk area, it was an exciting experience!
Week 5’s conclusion is brought to you by the philanthropy committee and BPI. As I have been nominated to, I will be working on creating a policy for philanthropic events and the guidelines between the Dwellworks Associate and Dwellworks when it comes to charity. Currently I’m gathering information to start this project. From the meeting we also gathered a lot of great ideas to help the community; I’m down for helping the Cleveland APL and the Centers for Families and Children Produce Market.
Today will close out with the Business Process Improvement meeting with all you other lovely interns. BPI is pretty cool I must say.
Have fun working on your roadmaps everyone!
-Amanda
ps. Congrats to Dwellworks for being in the TOP 40 best places to work for in NE Ohio!
ps. Congrats to Dwellworks for being in the TOP 40 best places to work for in NE Ohio!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Hello all!
There’s a lot to be done so the past week has flown by ridiculously fast.
I don’t want to ruin any July surprises as BPI month creeps up on us but the last week I’ve been working on a few FUN documents you will be seeing soon enough. It has been super fun designing and then re-designing these projects. I went into marketing so I would have some sort of creative outlet in life and so far this project has been real great in serving that purpose and a fantastic way to get BPI’s name and ‘ideas’ out there. Also due to all this I am finally getting back into Photoshop, although I will forever hold Paint as my number one image making/ editing program.
I’ve also worked on some other projects: branding guides, write ups, and spending over an hour trying to print out a card and tie ribbons on a plastic egg with Aleks, another awesome employee at Cleveland HQ Dwellworks. Lessons were learned through this fantastic hour long ordeal and we have agreed to not do that again.
Besides eggs, this week has featured a trip to China Sea Express Restaurant, a visit from a client, (they were super nice) and currently I’m working on updating and expanding the company branding guide along with reworking the robust DC article.
If you live in Ohio-land enjoy the beautiful sunshiny weekend! Everyone else I hope you have a lovely weekend as well!
JA mata ne!
-Amanda
Word of the Week: Robust
Friday, May 25, 2012
What better way to wrap up the second week at Dwellworks than an absolutely gorgeous, supposed to be near 90 degrees, blue skied day. In fact, almost every day since the start has been gorgeous, cold sometimes but gorgeous none the less. This fits the company’s sunny disposition perfectly. The lax and fun atmosphere is also quite astounding; I worked at an amusement park and it wasn’t as fun as Dwellworks. Hundred percent serious here.
I probably wasn’t the only one surprised by the crazy 5th birthday party last week! Here at HQ we had a blast from the past and became five year olds for the day with delicious kid food, Toy Story 2, and a rocking piñata. However I see Cleveland East got Justin Bieber to visit them, you lucky dogs you!
Even though I’m from Cleveland Headquarters and not the Cleveland EAST office, this picture is far too great to not post. There’s tons more where it came from too which will be up on the intranet soon. I love compiling all these birthday pictures and stories!
Look at him stylin' that snazzy Dwellworks shirt!
Thus far, the roller coaster has been rather wild but it’s on a smooth steel track so it’s a-okay. Although there is a continuous flow of articles to be edited, blogs to be made, and research to be done the learning experience is immense and my manager, Suzy is pure amazing. Even though the marketing department is being dumped with work like a never ending stream, she powers through it while also helping me out when I have questions. I’m looking forward to meeting Matt too, the missing member of marketing next week; the marketing corner won’t seem as empty.
Now to the main portion of the supposed committee decision post. As I am in marketing and would most likely have to write about it in the long-run, and the fact I have experience with many charities and volunteering, I thought it only right to join the philanthropy group. Although joining them all still seems appealing. I also, crave the satisfaction you achieve from helping others. The joy in a child’s eyes as you teach them about camping to a fat abandoned Rottweiler sitting in your lap; it’s an awesome feeling; making people and animals happy. Super excited to start working with everyone on saving the world too. Because we’re all heroes’ here at Dwellworks right?
Summer is pretty amazing so far, how is it for all you other interns?
Chow (ciao) for now,
Amanda
Friday, May 18, 2012
Hello everyone! My name is Amanda Hess and it's a pleasure to meet you. This little blurb will chronicle the trials, tribulations, but mostly jubilee of the marketing intern at Dwellworks!
Currently I am attending Baldwin-Wallace College (soon to be university) and I just finished up my junior year; can't wait to head into the final stretch. The reason I chose Baldwin-Wallace is that it has a wonderful business division and the teachers and people I met during the tour were absolutely fantastic.
My major is in both marketing and management because frankly, I enjoy both fields. Marketing has always been a passion of mine; it incorporates management, organization creativity and always staying one step ahead and this, to me, is exhilarating. The management major part is simple because it really does go hand in hand with marketing.
Even though it's only my first week I can already see that Dwellworks is an innovative and fun company that holds armfuls of learning opportunities. I hope to understand the structure of what office life is really like, as well as what really happen in marketing. Management positions and not just what's taught in class. I also wish to discover how to make an idea into reality and what I need to do to make a company look great from a larger business standpoint.
For fun I hike and run in the local metro-parks with my dogs and explore the literally, hundreds of trails. I also volunteer at the dog shelter nearby and make sure the dogs get plenty of walks and love before they go off to their forever homes. My adoration for watching movies, television and reading books is also immense. The feeling of finding a hidden gem is an ocean of boring clichés and overused plot lines is spectacular. I could never get enough of it!
Currently I am attending Baldwin-Wallace College (soon to be university) and I just finished up my junior year; can't wait to head into the final stretch. The reason I chose Baldwin-Wallace is that it has a wonderful business division and the teachers and people I met during the tour were absolutely fantastic.
My major is in both marketing and management because frankly, I enjoy both fields. Marketing has always been a passion of mine; it incorporates management, organization creativity and always staying one step ahead and this, to me, is exhilarating. The management major part is simple because it really does go hand in hand with marketing.
Even though it's only my first week I can already see that Dwellworks is an innovative and fun company that holds armfuls of learning opportunities. I hope to understand the structure of what office life is really like, as well as what really happen in marketing. Management positions and not just what's taught in class. I also wish to discover how to make an idea into reality and what I need to do to make a company look great from a larger business standpoint.
For fun I hike and run in the local metro-parks with my dogs and explore the literally, hundreds of trails. I also volunteer at the dog shelter nearby and make sure the dogs get plenty of walks and love before they go off to their forever homes. My adoration for watching movies, television and reading books is also immense. The feeling of finding a hidden gem is an ocean of boring clichés and overused plot lines is spectacular. I could never get enough of it!
Summer is going to be a blast here and I'll keep you all updated on what's doing down in the marketing division at the Cleveland Dwellworks office!
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