Day In The Life: Meet Nielsen Membership Process Leader Cristina Maria Abreu

Cristina Maria Abreu
Membership Process Leader, Nielsen
Tampa, FL
Twitter: @nielsencareers

6:00am: My phone alarm rings – time to start the day. I scroll through emails and check my work schedule. I have just enough time for a bike ride before heading to the office. Exercising helps me clear my mind and stay present. I live in St. Petersburg, also known as the Sunshine City, so I relish being outdoors year-round.

7:00am: After my ride along the beautiful waterfront, I have breakfast – some oatmeal and a green shake. Next up: Outfit prep. Florida’s awesome weather means I can wear a dress to work regardless of the season.

8:00am: I’m out the door for my hour-long drive to the office. I spend half of the ride catching up on the phone with my mom, who’s based in Louisiana.

9:00am: I arrive at the office, a.k.a. the Nielsen Global Technology and Innovation Center in Oldsmar, FL. Our friendly receptionist, Robin, greets me in the lobby before I make a quick coffee stop at the café. At my desk, I confirm meetings for the day and check emails. Nielsen measures what consumers watch and buy. As a membership process leader, I work closely with our membership representatives as they recruit potential Nielsen family homes to participate in our TV and consumer research. This means helping improve their day-to-day work processes, focusing on talent development, engagement, grassroots brand awareness efforts, and working on client deliverables.

9:30am: I check social media to see what’s happening in the world. There are around 2,500 people working in our office, so there’s always something going on, from client visits to hosted events. We also have more than 40,000 associates worldwide.

11:00am: I hop on a call with membership representatives to address today’s tasks. We also chat through grassroots brand awareness efforts to help educate people about Nielsen. As the daughter of Cuban immigrants, I didn’t grow up with Nielsen as a common household name, which makes me especially passionate about finding opportunities to connect with our local communities: whether it’s neighborhood centers, sports leagues, or church events.The opportunity to share what Nielsen is and why it’s important to participate in our ratings is one of my favorite parts of the job.

12:00pm: Lunchtime. I grab a wrap from the onsite café and eat with my colleague, Amy. We discuss outreach success. I love it when we get a household to participate in our panels. It always puts a little extra pep in my step for the day!

1:00pm: Back to my office for calls and meetings. A colleague pops in to say hello and ends up taking a seat on my bean bag chair. After catching up on our weekends, we discuss upcoming initiatives and budgeting.

2:30pm: I step away from my screen to do a quick lap around the floor. I run into our field associates who are in town for new-hire training. Then it’s back to cranking through my to-do list. I’m working on a few items for the Women in Nielsen (WIN) employee resource group I co-lead. We recently partnered with the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida to host girl scouts from across the Tampa Bay area at our Nielsen campus. I’m writing up a quick recap of the event, which involved teaching the scouts everything from how to make lip gloss to how to manage a budget.

5:30pm: I wrap up for the day and head to a meeting with the Junior League of St. Petersburg. As the co-chair of the Issue-Based Community Impact Committee, I use my leadership skills to address issues faced by our local community with sustainable solutions.

8:00pm: Back at my place, I make pork lettuce wraps and chicken noodle soup. Confession: I don’t love cooking, but I’m trying to get into it. After eating, I chat with my boyfriend before checking in with my team one last time for any updates. Since I have team members working evenings, I always try to stay informed and see how I can be helpful.

10:30pm: I try to go to sleep but of course get sucked into a few last social media updates, staying up a bit longer before finally calling it a night.

Nielsen is a Jopwell partner company.

Images courtesy of Cristina Maria Abreu/Nielsen.