PepsiCo is one of the leading American multinational fast moving consumer goods companies which has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of snacks and beverages

Making It There:

I began searching for a summer internship around mid-July. Initially, I was more inclined towards research internships at some esteemed foreign university. I started by preparing a cover letter, CV/Resume, Statement of Purpose and an excel sheet tabulating all the details of the professors related to my field of research. I finally received a confirmation letter from a professor by August end after sending over 50 mails. Unfortunately, my application didn’t get financial support through the DAAD-WISE scholarship.

In between this internship search process, I decided to apply to companies in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector to get a feel of what a corporate internship would be like.

I chalked out a list of companies, prepared an excel sheet and sent over 40 mails. I started applying for the corporate internship from early October through the career portal on the website for any internship program, through LinkedIn connections and through mailing. Most of the companies also release a problem statement to offer an internship to the pre-final year students. After the completion of all the formalities including resume shortlisting, telephonic discussion and the in-person meeting, my dream came true and I ended up getting an internship confirmation mail from PepsiCo by march end. My grade point average along with an experience as an intern in Defence Research and Development Organization, Ashok Leyland, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and the Robotics Tech startup gave a huge boost to my application.

Meanwhile, I also got selected to the Summer Research Fellowship Program (SRFP) and got an opportunity to work as a research assistant at Indian Institute of Science Bangalore.

Life at Pepsico:

In PepsiCo, I worked in the Global Value Innovation Centre which works on disruptive innovations and carries out research studies on recent technological advancements. My project work was focussed on developing a solution for the consumers based on IoT concepts. It included the patents study, research on filtration and network technologies, conduction of failure mode and effect analysis. I also designed a process flow and suggested solutions to meet challenges that we faced. Competitor analysis, market study, deducing inferences from the data, consumer behavior, and the suppliers shortlisting was a small segment of my project. Discussions with the suppliers and stakeholders, presentations and internal meetings became a part of my 8 weeks internship.

Interestingly, I was not only limited to the Global Value Innovation Centre. PepsiCo provided me with a number of opportunities and organized induction programs with the operations team, supply chain team, R&D team, digital marketing team and many more. Moreover, I also got an opportunity to visit two manufacturing locations including the bottling plant and the snacks plant. This internship also enabled me to meet Arjun Vajpai, the third youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, for having a discussion on one of my ongoing projects. Along with sharp mentoring from higher management authorities, PepsiCo also enabled me to visit to two to three product design shows and exhibitions.

I had a number of light moments, fun parties and get togethers with people at high positions in PepsiCo, which made my internship a cake walk.

Summing It Up

There is a lot you gain working in the FMCG sector, namely: the scope to make and broaden your networks, an understanding of market behavior, and exposure to management internships.

PS: The art of writing a cover letter, presentation of resume, projects done and the CGPA plays a vital role in shortlisting procedure. Skills, company related information, and communication skills are the deciding parameter in an interview round. While preparing a cover letter for mailing, one must be precise and mention the achievements of the person/company for whom you apply. Rather than writing too much about yourself, one paragraph must be dedicated to the work/study carried out by the professor/company. Resume is enough to showcase your skills and the capability. Timely follow ups are an integral part of the mailing.

Wish you all the very best!