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Where in the world is Kieley Best?

I am in Cheyenne, Wyoming for my second week of the One-Week Job Project at Sierra Trading Post. (In case you missed it, I was on vacation last week and am a week behind Amanda and Michelle.

If you haven’t checked out their blogs, take some time to read about their adventures. Both of these girls are super sweet and have lots of great insights to share!

This week is unique since I am not confined to one department within Sierra Trading Post. Unlike the roaster job, it’s more difficult to jump right in on the jobs here since they require more experience and training. With 650 employees at the headquarters, there is lots going on! In case STP (Sierra Trading Post) sounds foreign to you: they’re a company that sells excess products, closeout deals, and overstock items on their website. Even if you’re not into the outdoor gear they specialize in, they’ve got home goods, clothes, shoes, and gadgets!

Here’s a recap of what I’ve been up to the past 2 days:

E-Commerce Department

Justin, King of the World (aka "Online Marketing Manager")

Justin Johnson, Online Marketing Manager, gave me a short tutorial about the basics of using WordPress for blogging. STP is constantly tracking how many people visit their website, view the blog posts, click on email ads, and more. Justin explained to me how the company uses Google Analytics (free!) to gauge how many times people view each blog post and where readers are located.

In the E-Commerce department, I have been mainly watching how Naomi interacts with STP customers on Facebook and Twitter. It’s amazing how posting a simple status on facebook about a STP contest can generate a lot of excitement! To learn more about the E-Commerce jobs, I sat in on the marketing meeting. The main thing that stood out is that they are very goal-oriented. Each member of the team is expected to make a certain amount of money based on how much money they invest in their projects.

For example, Bert, Search Marketing Manager, spends money to ensure that when people search for certain brands & products on Google that Sierra’s links will be close to the top of the list. If STP is not making money from Bert’s work, then he’s just wasting his time! With measurable goals, it helps everyone in the department to stay focused and ultimately, to make money for Sierra Trading Post!

Fulfillment Center:

As a regular STP customer, I frequently receive boxes and brown paper packages from them in the mail. Before taking a tour of the fulfillment center, I assumed that processing and shipping was a boring procedure. I could not have been more wrong!

Darron, Receiving Supervisor for Sierra Trading Post's Fulfillment Center

Naomi and I got a fantastic tour by Darron, the receiving manager for the fulfillment center. Sierra buys products from hundreds of vendors that are received, stored, taken off shelves by order fillers, packed, and finally shipped to the customers! The receiving section is called “the warehouse” and is full of boxes of items that have just arrived from vendors. If the product is already individually packaged, it will be stored until an order comes in to be filled. If it’s a box of bulk t-shirts, they are sent to a section to be packaged individually. After an order comes in, the order fillers collect the items from the shelves. After the items are packed into boxes and receive their shipping label, they travel down a chute to be sorted into different trucks. I was like a little kid at Disney World during the tour since the process is very fascinating. I loved seeing how the machines work and the fact that there’s a personal touch since people fill orders, operate machines, and pack the boxes.

I was very impressed by the efficiency of the fulfillment center. Darron went into great detail about their energy-efficient skylights, the water pipe drainage system, and their high-tech machines that get the job done! The fulfillment center uses machines to expedite packing and shipping, but there are great people who work to send out the clothes, shoes, and other items people order. It was great to hear Darren speak so highly about their employees who are committed to both speed and accuracy.

That’s all for now! I will blog more later this week to share more!

Email me with questions, comments, and feedback here: bestweekjob(at)gmail.com

-Kieley

I am working (technically “interning”) with my absolute favorite company this week! Since I took last week off for vacation with my family, I am just now starting week #2. So you’re probably wondering about the company I’m at…

Sierra Trading Post!

Headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Sierra Trading Post is a fantastic company that sells outdoor gear, home goods, shoes, and more, at insanely low prices! Over the past years, I have ordered from their site and have always dreamed of going behind-the-scenes!

This week I will specifically be in the E-Commerce department, but I will also be spending time with the photography department, merchandising, and even get to tour the warehouse where all the items are stored!

Photos submitted by Sierra Trading Post's customers for the weekly "Share Your Adventure" Photo Contest

After sipping a fabulous french vanilla latte’ from the espresso bar at Sierra Trading Post, Naomi Berg gave me a tour of all the departments of the company. Naomi is a wonderful lady who works as the social media manager for the company. Social media includes Facebook, Twitter, and other sites that revolve around online interaction. I learned that social media is very effective for STP to communicate with their customers, receive feedback, and to promote their amazing sales!

I was seriously in heaven meeting lots of employees during my tour. Everyone was so welcoming and interested in hearing about the One-Week Job Program. It’s great to be at a company that “gets it.” By this I mean that Sierra is a company that is unique and open to cool things. While some companies might shy away from hosting an intern for only a week, Sierra Trading Post jumped at the opportunity to host me for the week. I love variety so this job will be unique since I will get to experience different departments within the same company. Unlike my first week that was solely roasting, this week I’m branching out!

To give you an idea of how many departments are at Sierra, here’s a list of a few:

• Merchandising (buy items that STP sells, decide when to run sales, and pick items for catalog)
• Photography (take photos of retail items for website and catalog)
• Customer Service (provide help to Sierra Trading Post customers via phone and email)
• Human Resources (manage all the employees, process benefits claims, and make sure STP has the best team possible!)
• Creative Services (design graphics for mail catalogs, web banners, and other creative projects)
• Copywriting (write creative descriptions of each product for the catalog and website)
• Order Fulfillment (collect ordered items from warehouse and ship them to customers)
• Quality Control (try on clothing items to determine their fit)
  

I so look forward to learning more about these departments, their people, and serving Sierra Trading Post in whatever ways that I can this week.

This journey has just started and I am so beyond stoked to have this summer adventure! Here is something I keep thinking about as I’ve travelled the last three weeks:

Travel is more meaningful when you meet people along the way. It’s nice to visit new places, see new sites, and try new foods, but traveling is a much richer experience when you take time to meet people! I am loving my jobs so far, but not because of the tasks I get to try or the location of the jobs; I like this program because I am building relationships with people all over the United States!

I honestly do not know what to expect for the rest of this week at Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne. I anticipate lots of learning, asking the employees lots of questions, and taking advantage of the retail store (aka “Kieley likes to shop for outdoor deals”).

Thanks for reading!

Email me with feedback, questions, and job offers here:

bestweekjob(at)gmail.com

Cheers,

Kieley Best

Hi friends! I plan to blog tomorrow with a summary of my week at a Dude Ranch in Wyoming! For now, check out this video that I filmed during the all-day trail ride earlier this week!

-Ki

The View in Cody Wyoming

Hey everyone!

Long time no blog!

After wrapping up a incredible week as a coffee roaster, I flew over to Wyoming for a unique adventure! I am currently in Cody, Wyoming on vacation with my family. The day after I found out I got to be part of the One-Week Job Program, I got a special email. The email was from an outdoor retailer called Sierra Trading Post. It explained that I had won their Wild West Getaway trip for the week of July 4th. I hated to take a break for a week, but who could turn down an all-expenses paid trip to a dude ranch! The sweet thing is that I got to take my parents and my brother too.

The schedule here is pretty packed with family meals, 2 trail rides daily, swimming, excursions, and hiking.

Riding my horse named "Dusty"

My family and I arrived in Cody on Saturday night and woke up early Sunday to get a spot downtown for the 4th of July parade. The parade was mighty festive and I enjoyed seeing peoples’ pride about their town.

I will be back to the One-Week Job Program next week. What’s next you ask?

I’m flying across Wyoming to Cheyenne, home of Sierra Trading Post’s headquarters. I’m not going to say what my job is yet so check back next Monday to find out!

Hope everyone is having a splendid summer and enjoying life!

Blessings,

Kieley Best

Have questions or job leads for me? Email Kieley here: bestweekjob(at)gmail.com

I have had a few companies back out last minute and am looking to work in the interior design field, culinary chef field, or something with photography. Please contact me via email with details if interested.