This year the QUT Business School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations (AMPR) in conjunction with the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), invited motivated and enthusiastic students to participate in the "2018 AACS Website Challenge".
The AACS was seeking to refresh their website and offer this as a platform for communication with members. I was required to conduct primary and secondary research to provide a report highlighting key recommendations that will ultimately lead to the re-development of the AACS website.
Having just a month to interview the key stakeholders and craft a report, along with tons of university assignments and work commitments, it was something that most of us would not want. Why make our lives hard right? Well, for me honestly it was hard to complete this competition, however, now I realize that participating in such activities open a gateway of opportunities and it is critical to do something extra in the competitive technology-driven world.
I was able to spare a few hours a week and I started analyzing the current interface of the AACS website. I surfed it thoroughly and looked for information, and at a glance, I realized that it is hard to navigate and search for information. With this finding, I was able to know what the main issue AACS is currently facing with their website.
Accordingly, I designed a comprehensive questionnaire which primarily focused on the navigation of the website and some new features that I proposed. This questionnaire was then used to interview the key stakeholders of the AACS which helped me to start writing the report.
Honestly, I was not able to give enough time to the challenge as university assignments and exams were just around the corner. However, I did not give up and submitted my report. Luckily, my report was selected as one of the leading submissions and I was able to win a $1000 cash prize from the AACS.
As I mentioned earlier such challenges open a gateway of opportunities, but how? Just after I interviewed one of the key stakeholders: Convenience Measures Australia (CMA), I received an offer from them to work on a similar project they are about to start.
Bottom line, no matter how busy we are, such challenges are the best way to make new connections, enhance our skill set and most of all a great asset on our resume's.
Stay focused and work hard!