Meet Gloria Jiang
Hi! My name is Gloria and I am located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada where I was born and raised. I recently graduated from the Ivey School of Business at Western University where I obtained my Honors in Business Administration degree and Sustainability Certificate.
Why I Chose Plative
During my education, I learned about consulting skills and the booming tech sector so I wanted to gain more experience in the technology consulting field. I also have a passion for sustainability and wanted to incorporate that into my work.
The Ascend Analyst position was therefore a match made in heaven for my interests! The Ascend Analyst program teaches analysts about Netsuite’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and prepares analysts to work with clients from a variety of fields such as manufacturing, technology, and nonprofit!
What Does a Typical Day Look Like as an Ascend Analyst?
8:00-8:30 am – Wake Up
At around 8:00 – 8:30 am I wake up for my day. A huge perk of working from home is that you don’t need to wake up at 6:00 or 7:00 am every day to commute to work. You can also wake up earlier to do some morning workouts without having to wake up at 5:00 am or stress about getting to work on time. Some days I like to go for a morning walk to start off my day and then have breakfast with a cup of OJ before I start work!
9:00 am – Start Work
At 9:00 am, I start work by checking my emails for any new updates or messages that I need to respond to. I then prepare for the meetings that I have for the day by reading up on the company information, the statement of work, or our slack channels to stay updated and understand the deliverables that we are working on.
9:30 am – 12:00 pm – Shadow Client & Internal Company Calls
From 9:30 am to noon I shadow some User Acceptance Training (UAT) sessions where we show clients how to use their newly configured NetSuite environment. I also may shadow some one-on-one sessions with clients such as sessions that teach them how to utilize the NetSuite Administrator functionalities.
I also shadow internal testing calls where our team tests all of the configurations that consultants on the project have customized. I follow along as they test each script created to ensure that they are functioning as intended and fix any bugs that are found along the way.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Meet with my Senior Manager and Onboarding Buddy
Once a week I meet with my onboarding buddy who has been through the Ascend program before me! His experience is of huge help as he understands exactly what I am going through. He shares notes and tips he learned during his onboarding period with me to help me with my certification preparation or answer any questions I have about the client work that I have.
I also meet with the Senior Director of my team once a week as he was my initial manager during my Ascend program. Despite me joining a new team under a new manager, he continues to support Ascend Analysts by continuing to have weekly check-in meetings with us. He provides us insightful tips based on his decades of experience and wisdom, helping us analysts to constantly feel supported during our training and onboarding process.
From my onboarding buddy to my senior director, I always feel supported by all of my team members. I feel comfortable to ask the questions I have to anyone at Plative as they are all patient and willing to share their expertise with others.
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Short Break
Some days I have some free time which I utilize to take a short break! I’d make a smoothie or grab a snack from the convenience of my home or play some brain games on my phone to stimulate my mind. I also take the time to feed and play with my foster cat whom I get to spend a lot of time with since I can work from home. The flexibility of working from home also allows me to complete some chores during the day such as cleaning my desk area or dishes in the kitchen!
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Sync Up with my Manager and Pod members
Once a week, I also meet with my pod members and my manager. I really enjoy these meetings as I get to meet other consultants and know them on a more personal level. Our weekly pod meetings are more informal and we get to talk about our interests or what we will do on the weekend which makes my work day a lot more enjoyable. It’s nice getting to know what my coworkers like to do outside of work!
During these meetings and weekly check-ins with my manager, I always have the opportunity to bring up questions or concerns. It is very easy to communicate with any of my team members and I know that I can rely on my team and get support from them whenever I need advice.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Study Time!
In the early months of the Ascend program, analysts undergo rigorous training to learn the NetSuite ERP system. I underwent a month-long training camp where we had roughly 6-hour training days every day of the week with consultants from NetSuite to learn in-depth about the NetSuite environment.
Connect
So, that is what a typical day of my Ascend Analyst experience looks like. Please feel free to contact me if you have any more questions or are interested in learning more about the Ascend Analyst position at Plative!
