Michala, congratulations on your new job with Pepsico!
When we asked Michala how she obtained a job offer:
“I went to a conference for sales and marketing students that is hosted by the National Sales Network that is focused on recruiting minority students. I was interviewing with Pepsico for a sales position because I have a sales minor, probably should get a sales internship, you know? So halfway through the interview, I thought it was going great and decided to tell the recruiter that I really loved the company and would be happy to work with them in any role, but would really prefer a marketing position. I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t spoken up. About a month later, the recruiter in charge of internships reached out to me asking me to interview for a marketing internship in the New York office. The Interview went really and fortunately, I was chosen as one of the interns! While I was an intern at Pepsico, I learned a lot because of the way they set up their internships. It’s super focused on building our research skills and teaching us the Pepsico way of storyboarding. It’s super important if you’re applying that your resume is true and up to date on your experiences, because that is what they use to decide your projects. My project was focused more on creativity and social media, because it reflected my strengths shown on my resume. It was perfectly made for me. My big ask for the project was how to create a more engaging customer experience with the Brisk brand. During my time in the internship, I had a ton of research to do and interviews with a lot of employees. I met and spoke with a lot of people who helped me throughout the internship, and later became my advocate for being hired. I also developed a great relationship with my manager, and that was one of the really big reasons I was hired. Of course, he doesn’t make the final decision, but he did get to weigh in on the decision. Having all those people in my corner, as well as having a great relationship with my manager really helped. On top of that, my presentation went really well. All of that was what made them decide to give me the offer! I’m so excited for the role I’ve been offered in the company. While I don’t know yet what brand I’ll be working with, I do know that the first 5 years are a rotational program where I’ll be working on a brand and have the opportunity to work on some different marketing teams! I’m not sure what will happen, but I know it will be great!”
If you’re interested in a job like Michala’s her best piece of advice is this:
“Stay on top of them! When you’re going after a company that’s big, they’re looking for someone who is actually interested and does their research. It’s easy to say ‘oh yeah! I know Pepsi. I’ll go work for Pepsi.’ But it’s not Pepsi, its Pepsico. And that is the differentiating factor for a lot of the interns who got in. We knew more about what the whole company offered. We knew a lot of the brands, what they’re doing overseas; do your research and don’t just act like you want to be there because it’s a cool name you can put on your resume. After I had my interview, I didn’t hear anything for 3 weeks. Of course, I was excited about it, but I was wondering ’did I get it? Did I not get it?’ I think what helped me get the yes was that I was emailing everyone I knew to contact to find out if they knew anything about the decision. Being persistent and staying on top of them set me apart from other people applying for the position. So do your research and follow up, follow up, follow up!”
Congratulations again Michala, best of luck at Pepsico!
If you want to connect with Michala, link with her on her LinkedIn
