My internship journey at Mondeléz -By Aishwarya Londhe from TISS Mumbai

These are unprecedented times for all of us and being a part of an organization, which cares for their interns as their employees is truly a blessing. When we heard that our internship at Mondeléz is going to be virtual, it was a bit disheartening for me because I was really looking forward to this experience.

For every management student, this is an opportunity to meet industry leaders and have fruitful interactions with them. This is also the time when we get a chance to meet students from other B-schools. All of this is a crucial part of the learnings we get from summer internships in addition to the project. Also, on a lighter note, an internship with Mondeléz without a ‘Dairy Milk’ and ‘Oreo’ seemed incomplete.

Let's begin with the induction

With all these apprehensions, I started my internship. We started with induction and in the first session, we played a game which was an ice-breaker for us. There were some fun questions that were asked and we heard some of the wackiest answers. It boosted up my confidence and gave a sense of belongingness, which was truly very comforting.

During the induction, we were given information about different functions and categories in Mondeléz. Learning about the success stories of my favourite brands like Cadbury, Bournvita, Oreo, Eclairs, etc., was a lot of fun. The entire induction session was very well organized and I want to thank the entire team who worked for our seamless onboarding.

After the induction, we were allotted our projects and were introduced to our respective project guides and mentors. I got an opportunity to interact with my guide, mentor, buddy and many other stakeholders who were involved with me in the project. The entire team is very welcoming and warm. I would specifically want to mention this because it is the Mondeléz culture which enables such smooth conversations. 

Virtual meetings in times of Corona

I have realized in this one month about the importance of ‘Company Culture’ when it comes to progression and experiences employees get as a part of the organization. Because of this open culture, it is very easy to reach out to senior leaders from top management. During such a situation, when all employees are extremely caught up with their own work, they are happy to take some time out for interacting with interns and helping us in whatever way they can.

We have a weekly catch-up call with our fellow interns to know about what others are working on and how we can learn from each other’s projects. This activity is very helpful for building companionship which I felt was missing in this virtual internship scenario. In addition to this, we are in constant touch with our guides and mentors. We get continuous feedback from them to improvise our work.

The challenges and the learnings

There are different challenges also when it comes to working from home. There were days when I felt low on energy. I had a constant dilemma about my work - whether or not my efforts are in the right direction. And these, I believe, are some of the common hurdles everyone is facing. But eventually, we will have to adapt to the new normal. Being in office/ workplace gives me a lot of positive energy. And it is a big challenge for me to keep up that energy while working from home. My secret formula to deal with it is ‘Chair Yoga and Black coffee’.

The most important realization that I have had in this lockdown period is that ‘At the end, the only thing that matters is how resilient we can be in such unprecedented situations.’ I read lots of messages which talked about learning new skills and following your passion during the lockdown period, which is true. But along with that, it is equally important to come out of this situation with a positive mindset and a healthy body.

Such an internship experience is very unique in itself. I want to cherish it and be open to new learnings and I'm really thankful to the entire team of Mondeléz to give me an opportunity to be a part of the organization. I hope that I will get to learn a lot more in the remaining month of my internship at Mondeléz.