What I learnt from my internship at Drools Pet Food Division -By Abhishek Sharma from MANAGE Hyderabad

Drools Pet Food Division understands people’s enthusiasm for pets and the significance of a sound and nutritious eating regimen for them. Their group of nutritionists and veterinarians from the U.S.A. have guaranteed and made unrivaled quality nourishment, explicit to the developing needs of pets. Not simply that, their broad research has additionally guaranteed a consistent taste, the better ability of absorption and retention over the products of Drools. Thus, doing an internship at Drools Pet Food Division appeared to be in sync with my interests.

As a Veterinarian, I wanted to pursue my internship in this sector i.e. Animal Husbandry. Drools Pet Food Division IB group was the first company that arrived at our campus. I performed well in the selection process and got selected.

What is the selection process for an internship at Drools Pet Food Division?

The selection process for an internship at Drools Pet Food Division had the following components:

1. Shortlisting of students by the organization
2. Essay Writing
3. Group Discussion
4. Technical Interview
5. HR Interview

The selection process started with the shortlisting of students by Drools after they came to their campus. The first stage is essay writing which is followed by a group discussion. Those who survive these two rounds then have to go through a Technical as well as an HR interview. The interviews are quite tense and ask a lot of questions related to the role you are offered.

What did I learn during my internship at Drools Pet Food Division?

My role during the internship at Drools Pet Food Division was for Sales and Distribution and Market Research. I mostly worked on the ground level with my sales staff. I came to know a lot about the Marketing world. Like, how and what all procedures various companies used to increase their sales. Soft skills were an area that I greatly improved on. Be it my communication skills on how to talk to retailers, distributors, customers to get the beneficial data or my analysis & observation skills like collecting minute pieces of information from stakeholders, I learned a lot here. 

It was here that I came to know about the Structure Conduct Performance of Industry (Pet Supplements). Also, about who all get the market share of the organizations in the market. The most important thing I learned was how to deal with the situations i.e Travelling, booking buses, filling data, sleeping, maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Overall, I got a first-class experience of what my life would be like in the near future in these few months.

For my internship at Drools Pet Food Division, I visited the cities of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It was pretty exciting and adventurous. My first review meeting was at the distributor's place where all the salesmen and senior leaders had gathered. This is where I learned various important things. Drools Pet Division has a lot of growth opportunities. I would love to be a part of this organization if given the opportunity. It has 15-18% of the market share and is giving competition to Pedigree and Royal Canin. The way their employees work with full dedication inspired me greatly.

What are some key takeaways of your internship?

Some key takeaways that I learned here include-

1. How to make a proper plan for the internship.
2. Making a proper presentation according to the company’s standards (tiny details like font size, 5*5 or 7*7 format).
3. Teamwork is the key to success (Every day I had to travel with the sales team).
4. To be a better worker.
5. How to handle the work-stress effectively and efficiently.

Mention some of the interesting incidents that happened during your internship?

Every incident during my internship at Drools Pet Food Division was interesting. But some of them were unforgettable.

The best one was when I visited my salesmen on the first day. We had gone out for lunch and I was confused as to who was going to pay for lunch. At the time of payment, he went to wash his hands and I was left stranded. After this incident, I clarified everything with my guide.

The first time I called my guide, I had great expectations from him. I had pictured him telling me very important things. So, I actually put the call on the recording. I waited for him to pick up the call. When he finally did, all he said was “Abhishek, I will call you later."