Being a Marketing Majors in any B-School, Internship at a FMCG company especially in Britannia is a dream come true for any candidate. On October 6th, Britannia came to the campus of NMIMS Bangalore for the first time to offer Internship and all of the marketing majors were visibly excited!
I honestly did not have a great start for the summer internship season. I was not selected for the first 3 companies and was rejected in the final Personal Interview Round on all 3 occasions. "So close yet so Far" was the one thing echoing through my mind during that time and I was disappointed. But when I saw my name in the shortlisted list of 30 candidates for Britannia Industries Limited, I decided to give it my all. Being a FMCG company, I saw their website in and out and prepared some normal sales related interview questions. I had done live Project in the field of sales in a company and I knew this would be helpful in explaining why a CSE graduate in B TECH is fit for the role! I knew for GD, they may give General or current affairs topics so I read through newspaper and also browsed through common topics like traffic problems, pollution in India etc. I also prepared for general PI questions like "why Britannia" and "why sales type of questions". Finally when the D-day came, I had a strange happy feeling as I had no expectations. I was laughing and making jokes with my friends when we waited for GD round. I was that relaxed and perhaps it worked in my favour. My GD topic was "Traffic problems in Bangalore" and among the 10 members in the panel, I was the only 1 selected! Now came the PI round, where I was continuously faltering. But I knew somehow I wanted this. I remembered my parents, and went ahead. After initial interactions, I was asked why sales after having an engineering background. In response, I started talking about my live project in a startup in the field of sales where I personally learnt a lot and all the hardships I faced and then I saw that the interviewer's interested shifted towards me.Some technical questions like How distribution channel worked in FMCG works were asked and I sailed through those questions as I had prepared for it. After the interview, 6 of us were made to wait and out came the panel with the 3 names..My name was second out of 3 selected and I was delighted. I felt like being in the top of the world but I knew I had to up skill myself throughout first year since being a fresher I have no work experience. I did live projects in different domains ranging from B to B marketing, retail operations and did courses on digital marketing and Adwords so as to learn different avenues and be ready for the best 2 months of my life..My summer internship for 2 months in Britannia.
Just 2 weeks prior to the start of my Internship, I was intimated about my location- and it was Burdwan, a district in West Bengal. I researched a lot about the place as I had to spend 2 months there. I was nervous since it is rural area and I never experienced living here but was really excited at the same time.
Then came the time we were invited to Britannia guest house in Bengaluru. Once I entered, I was greeted with a hamper and a t-shirt and given a spacious room just like a 5 star hotel. I met new friends from different colleges across India and after several interactions, I understood that all of them are really good and that they possess great skill set. For the first day, we had to go to the Britannia office and there all function heads gave their presentations signifying how interoperability among different functions helps Britannia thrive and sustain excellence for 100 years. For the fourth day, we were taken to Bididi factory. When we entered, we could smell fragrance of freshly baked biscuits. We saw how biscuits were manufactured, and when we tasted them, it was so fresh!On the final day, all of us went for a IPL match , and all 25 of us had the time of our lives. Then came the day I had to leave for Burdwan,where after a flight to Kolkata, I took a bus till there. There I was informed that my scope in terms of regions expanded to Durgapur, Katwa and Asansol!
A beautiful town Bardhaman was, where I had to spend maximum time since most of my work was centred there- lot of temples and I also saw the rural markets where I had to work. Most peculiar thing that all markets in West Bengal are open from 8 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon. after which people take a nap and they reopen again after 6pm. So I had to start from my room at 7 in the morning and used either bus, travelling with salesman on his bike and local train as travel means, something I had never done. I was nervous, but everyone- from my mentor till all salesman assigned to me, helped me in whatever I needed and cleared my doubts about my project and I was extremely motivated to work and enjoy the process.I understood the nuances of rural market slowly, how they function, how those retail outlets stock our Britannia Products and keep them at front. I interacted with our rural preferred dealers and undertook measures to increase their sales and drive their revenue. In between all this , I travelled through all of Burdwan and experienced the beauty of rural areas. Green trees, rural haats, clear skies and beautiful ponds- Lot of beautiful memories. But, there were lot of hardships along the way. Natural elements like heat and rains took a physical toll, loneliness and lack of contact with outside world took a mental toll.Despite all the hardships that came along, I was always motivated to give my best irrespective of what happens. In our mid review, my presentation for the work I had done was not upto the mark. I was dissapointed but was encouraged by everyone to work even harder. And with persistent hard work, sales increased and along with that, new products at different price ranges were introduced and the deliverable given to me started getting realised. Eventually, after 6 weeks, all regions were covered, all wholesalers visited, sales increased , new SKU introduced and my mentor was happy with my task. But one thing was still left to achieve.. To be the best intern.
After consultation with my mentor and guide, I was ready for my final ppt. I gave an impactful presentation showcasing my achievements. And the next day, I get a call telling that I was selected in top 8 out of 25 interns and had to give our presentation to the top function heads this time! I was excited but extremely nervous. I still remember having cold feet but I thought this was an opportunity of a lifetime to learn, I gave my best , but I couldn't win. But the presentation skills I learnt (16 words per slide and to sustain extreme cross checking),leadership(I led a team of 3 salesman, 3 ASE and 3 PSM) and number crunching skills helped me grow not only career wise but also becoming a better human being.
For people wanting to intern in Britannia, read lot of marketing and sales related concepts especially from kotler. Read about distribution and supply chain in FMCG companies and also be up to date by reading news and current affairs. Visit their website and learn in and out about their product and their website.
Finally , a special thanks to my mentor Mr. Biswapriyo Roy, who helped me not only understanding the nitty gritty and intricacies of my project but also helped me stay motivated when the chips were down . He helped me with my presentation and was instrumental in me being in the top 8 Interns.
I will conclude by saying never take any pressure in life, love what you do and enjoy the process. You will get where you want in the End!