Day in the Life: Flex

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Hi everyone, my name is Jong Yoon Park, a first….oh, now a second-year MBA student at UCLA Anderson. I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, and this MBA is my first time to live in the US. Prior to Anderson, I worked as a strategic planning manager at Hyundai Steel, a steel business division of Hyundai-Kia Motor Group. Electric Vehicles, Autonomous Driving, and many other mega trends disrupted the entire automotive industry, so I decided to come to US and see how these new technologies really work.

Then voilà! I luckily got the internship at Flex, as a summer strategy manager to assess global automotive OEMs’ battery strategy. Flex is global contract manufacturing company, making almost everything from healthcare devices to auto components. I became quickly interested in its wide range of customers and efforts to improve to become a tech-manufacturing company. It has been 4 weeks, but I have already met my CEO herself in-person and had various advisory sessions with supportive supervisors. This is truly interesting opportunity to have a broad exposure to a wide range of industries! Besides, it is the hybrid internship, so I have already been to the office, production site, and my cozy room!

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My typical day goes like this:

6:00 am – Wake up. My morning starts from meditation and journaling to set up calm but positive tone for the day. I enjoy morning run and workout, such as gym, basketball, or golf. Since Flex has many global offices, my email inbox already got new emails around this time. Cups of tea or coffee finally wakes me up.

8:30am – To the (Zoom) Office. Whether it is remote or on-site, it is not too far for me to get to the office. When I am in LA, I simply turn on my laptop and read through EV and battery news, which you can see so easily every day. The Office has this handy, lovely coffee machine, so I prefer starting a day in the office to my home office. 😉

9:00am – Weekly Team meeting. Every Monday, everyone in Strategy Team shares their deliverables for the previous week and for this week. I am currently working on collecting updated news and information about global OEM’s battery strategy. My colleagues in San Jose Office as well as those who work in other locations, such as Detroit, India, and Shanghai give me valuable advice and feedback.

11:00am – Learning Sessions. I spend time researching and analyzing global OEM’s battery strategy, but Flex often provides me with various learning sessions. Career development advisory sessions with directors, business group leaders, and even CEO herself! From managers, we learn the culture of Flex, important acronyms, and special topics on industry trends.

12:30pm – Lunch Time. If I am in the office, I eat lunch outside with teammate. DoorDash has this convenient group order feature.

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1:30pm – Task-focused Afternoon. Refueled by lunch, I think I am most productive in early afternoons. I focus on reading vast amount of materials about battery trends and EV news. The most important point is that you have to think about the way your company add value. I think that is the most distinguishable point between school assignments and actual projects in MBA internship.

3:00pm – Daily Pulse Check. Every afternoon, I meet this handsome Texan gentleman Zach, my director, to report what I have done for today and share my plan for tomorrow. He is very supportive and insightful, so I am enjoying this daily ‘pulse-check’. Even a small talk outside my project inspires me!

5:30pm – Daily summarization and wrap up. After filling out the project template, I share the file via email with notes that show my daily progress and challenges. I include stakeholders in Detroit and India as well, to get more support and resources. I close my laptop after sending this, but sometimes there is more, based on my own pace.

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7:00pm – Overtime, but Fun. I have stakeholders in India and China as well, so I have evening meetings from time to time. I did 1am or 4am meetings for Anderson Zoom events back in Korea, so 7pm or 8pm is absolutely no problem. Indian partners are really good at data analytics and insights, so I enjoy meeting with them. On Fridays, in San Jose, we had team dinner at lovely bars, and some exciting activities like sailing!

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8:00pm Cool Down. When I come back home, I read Anderson email inbox to catch up, and spend some time in my hobbies, such as making videos, drinking beer, or drawing pictures. I go to bed around 11pm after writing a short diary.


Student Blogger: Jong Yoon Park ‘22

Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

Undergrad: Asian History & International Relations - Seoul National University ’09-’15

Pre-MBA: Strategic Planning Manager, Hyundai Steel

Leadership@Anderson: VP of International Student Relations, Anderson Student Association; President, Section E; VP of International Student Affairs, Strategy & Operations Management Association; VP of Admissions, Asian Management Student Association and Korean Business Student Association; VP of Social, Japan America Business Association

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