What is it like to do an internship at PepsiCo -By Nishitha Gangu from SIBM Pune
I got the opportunity to be part of the PepsiCo Summer Internship Program during the campus summer placements, I could not ask for more and was excited to be a part of the leading FMCG with most loved brands across the world. Here is an anecdote of my internship journey at PepsiCo.
Amidst the tumultuous times and outbreak of a pandemic, there were many inhibitions in our minds regarding how internships will pan out. Even before the internship began, to remove our qualms the Talent Acquisition and Campus Team of PepsiCo organized a connect with all the selected summer interns to reassure their commitment towards the offers, how did their thought process advance due to the time regarding the mode of the internship and briefed us about how would they go about the virtual induction and internship. This rekindled our spirits. This is just an instance to show how much PepsiCo values their stakeholders by being pro-active, transparent, and empathetic.
An interactive and insightful induction
It was a virtual induction, but PepsiCo still ensured that we had insightful and enriching interactions during the induction week with the Senior Management: Ahmed Elsheikh, President - India Region; Aditya Sinha - Senior Director & Head of Sales; Pavitra Singh - CHRO, PepsiCo India and with the leads of different verticals like R&D, Corporate Communication, Strategy, PPGA, and Sales Capabilities. This equipped us with the broader nature of the organization working and made us feel a part of the larger family at PepsiCo.
The synergy of my mentors, guides, and teammates
After the induction week, we were assigned projects and introduced to our respective unit teams by our guides & mentors. My guide briefed me about the project. During the discussions with my mentor, we finalized my deliverables and outcomes of the project. My guide was the leading light throughout the internship, who connected me with different stakeholders to get the needed perspectives and inputs in regard to my project. He encouraged and valued my ideas and thoughts which made me more confident and inculcated a ‘can do’ attitude.
In PEP, I felt just like an employee rather as an intern, as everyone valued my opinions, thoughts and helped me in nurturing them to put them in action. I was given full freedom in learning, thinking, and working which made me feel more responsible and I took ownership and accountability of everything I did, and I did not. This not only made me more confident, but I also learnt how to prioritize things as the internship was time bound, it was a race against time. My recurrent interactions with guide and mentor moulded my business acumen and enhanced my understanding of FMCG business cold.
Learning the key factors of success
Though it is a virtual internship there was no hindrance in connecting to people in the organization, everyone was more than welcome to help out and lend their perspectives. Also, communication skills, being to the point, time management are very much crucial in a virtual set up. The fact that this internship at PepsiCo is virtual, it never became a hindrance in my opportunity to work with diverse stakeholders like Sales Representatives, Customer Executives, Sales Manager, Brand Managers, Distributors, and Partner Companies. This made me realize that Communication, Value, Time are the three things that are very much interlinked and are crucial in success, both at personal and professional levels.
Fun and beyond
We were a bunch of eleven interns, and though it was a virtual internship we still got to interact and know more about each other personally through ice breaking and fun activities conducted by the HR. Also, we had a fun virtual get together with all our mentors and guides and showcased our talents and hobbies. Apart from this, we had informal connects with our teams on Fridays. These helped in creating bonds beyond professionally.
My internship at PepsiCo was a hell of a learning experience professionally and personally. I learnt that one needs to fail fast and learn faster. PEP holds its summer interns as valuable resources, it not only nurtures, it gives abundant space to expand and tackle challenges in our own way.