Working Girl-Susan

Today I'm featuring Susan. She is one of the most honest bloggers I know. She isn't afraid to reveal herself; her progress, and her trials. So if you don't already follow her you really should. 

My lovely cube at work :-)

Hi I'm Susan (aka NCSuz) and you can normally find me over at my little blog- 30 Before 30 List.  I started my blog back in 2008.  I was 28 at the time and was going to use the blog to track my adventures marking things off my 30 Before 30 list.  Now I am 31 and I am still working on a few things I have left on the list (apparently 2 years was not long enough to accomplish all my big, audacious goals!)  But one thing I have been able to mark off?  #3- Get a job I love!

What do I do? I am a web content editor for Lenovo.  Never heard of Lenovo?  Don't worry, you are probably not alone, but you will.  Right now we are the #2 personal computer manufacturer in the world with our sights set on taking over the #1 spot in the next few years.  We aren't as big in the US as we are in other parts of the world, but we are getting there!

So what does a web content editor do?  Well I work on the eCommerce and Merchandising team for North America.  I mainly focus on our US eCommerce site.  My job is to make sure the content (words, specs, images) we are using accurately reflects what we are selling on the site. 

This means changing out content when new products launch or old ones go end of life.  We are a world wide company so some products or features we offer in other countries may not be offered in North America.  So I have to "localize" the content.  Most of the time I am just editing the content our World Wide web team sends me but sometimes I am creating brand new content.  For instance I might write content for a promo page we are developing.  Or I might develop a landing page to feature some of our best sellers. 

I also manage some of the merchandising tools we use on the site to make it easier for our customers to shop.  I manage our PC Finder tool, which asks you questions about which features you want in a computer and what you want to use it for and then recommends some computers based on those choices.  I also manage the tool that allows you to narrow down what you are looking for based on price, color, hard drive capacity, etc.

I also get to work on other cool projects like working with the social media team to promote different tools we create or promotions we have or redesigning the look of our pages.  I work a lot with designers and programers.  I absolutely could not do my job without the other members on my team.  And I love that.  It can be frustrating at times when you just want to get your project done, but you are waiting on others, or you disagree about a particular design or functionality but overall I love it. 

On a day to day basis you can probably find me chatting with team members about a project we are working on or frantically trying to figure out how to fix something that has gone wrong on our site, in a planning or brainstorming meeting, editing content in our content management tools, reviewing metrics or sales numbers to figure out what is working and what's not, learning about the next product or new technology we are going to launch, giving feedback on content (videos, words, images, etc.) created by outside agencies, or on a conference call with a vendor discussing a tool or service they are providing.  Basically our job as a team is to make it easy and attractive for you to buy a computer through our site.  So I spend my time doing some of the things that contribute to that end objective.

I work for a great company, an awesome team, have a great boss, and get to work on some pretty cool things.  All of those pieces are important to really loving my job.  Everyone always says find a way to make money at something you are passionate about and then you will love your job.  Well, I am here to tell you that is not the only way. 

- Find a company you love, that treats their employees well and values them and one that you can really stand behind their products and/or services.  (Ironically Lenovo is a Chinese company.  And there is such a stigma to non-American companies here in the US.  But y'all this company has treated me, as an employee, better than any of the American companies I have worked for.  Not saying American companies are bad.  Just saying it is becoming a global economy and American companies aren't the only ones that treat their employees well.  Just because a company isn't American based doesn't mean they are bad or that they will ship you overseas or that you are not a "loyal" American. So don't rule them out.)

- Find a boss that cares about your future.  Someone that will champion for you with their bosses and that really wants to develop your career and see you grow.

- Find a team that works as a team and that you enjoy being a part of.  You aren't going to love everyone you work with, but when you know you have to work together to get things done, it makes you work out any personality differences.  NO ONE can do it all on their own forever so you have to know how to work with others.

- Find a job doing something you find interesting.  I love the web (obviously- most bloggers do).  And I love shopping online (what girl doesn't?).  That helps me love my position.  And even in my personal web time I am constantly finding things that inspire me or give me new ideas for what I do at work.  Am I passionate about those things?  Only because they are my job now, but not going in to this position.  And am I passionate about computers?  I like them, but I am by no means a computer nerd and sometimes don't understand half of the new technologies.  It doesn't have to be a passion or obsession to be something you love. And also understand there will ALWAYS be parts of your job you will hate and/or dread. I think that's just part of life.

- Fun perks help a lot.  We have a gym and cafeteria on campus.  We get to do fun team building outings like paintball and indoor skydiving.  In fact I am on the Marketing Events Committee that helps plan our social events- everything from Christmas bowling parties, to ice cream socials, to VIP parties at a local music festival.  I love that they encourage the work hard/play hard spirit on our team.

One last bit of advice for younger working girls out there- I didn't step in to this job straight out of college.  I had to work hard to get here and it has been a bumpy road.  I majored in marketing, but my first job out of college was in a call center taking orders for a catalog company at $8.50/hour.  But I loved the company.  Within a year I worked my way up to the Marketing Department.  But I spent years doing the "grunt" work.  Running numbers, placing orders, doing paperwork, things that make you want to slam your head against the copy machine and leave you wondering "why did I go to college for this?"  I even was laid off from a job back in early 2009 and had to take a completely different job than what I had been doing at over a 30% pay cut for a year, but it turned out to be the biggest blessing.  No matter what you are doing now, learn from it.  Strive for that next level, but master what you are doing now and learn the things you will take with you throughout your career because I believe every job you do has something important to teach you!

Thank you so much Suz for sharing with us. Every time I visit a product website I now think about it differently. I never thought about how much work goes into rotating products in and out. This is why I love this series, opens my eyes.