I still remember that day, when the batch was informed that Nivea is visiting the college campus for summer internship interviews. Being a sales and marketing enthusiast, I was happy that a well-known brand is visiting the campus but at the same time, like any other MBA student, I was confused. Students of NMIMS Bengaluru were full of anxiety and every marketing student was nervous and preparing for the selection process of Nivea. It is a dream company after all for any MBA marketing student.
Selection Process of Nivea - It was not a unique selection process. The team from Nivea gave a short introduction about themselves and the company. After that, they announced that there would be a Group Discussion (GD) round which would be followed by a Personal Interview (PI).
Key Learnings for GD & PI -
I would like to share my experience of GD & PI, and I hope this will help all aspirants to prepare for the selection process of any FMCG company in future -
1. GDs in marketing domain are aggressive in nature, but here there is a caveat - being aggressive doesn't mean that you can speak anything.
2. It is required to maintain your calm and composure throughout the GD round, irrespective of how aggressive it is.
3. Always try to involve your group members in the discussion and use knowledge of FMCG sector.
Shortlisting matrix -
No Applicants - 70
Shortlisted after GD - 8
Selected for Summer Internship (After PI) - 2
After the stringent selection process is over, the results were announced, and it was shocking! Nivea selected only 2 candidates out of 70 applicants for their summer internship programme. Being one of the two who were selected for the same was like a dream come true for me. It was a huge opportunity to learn and gain experience of working in FMCG closely.
Summer Internship Experience - My summer internship location was Delhi. I was happy and motivated as I know the city and also my home was nearby. On my first day in Nivea in Delhi, I was given a feel of sales! It was a challenging workplace, whomsoever I met there was having more than 10 years of work experience in sales. I was nervous and sceptical. I was made to sit in the conference room and I was waiting for my summer internship guide. The Regional Sales Manager (RSM) North, called me and we had a firm handshake. I was given a complete induction about Nivea and its operations across the globe. A whole induction was conducted for 2 days where I learnt about this brand, their target market and its evolution!
Now I was expecting that I would be told to work in various areas of Delhi and was excited to go ahead with that journey. But the beauty of FMCG is that it's dynamic & spontaneous. Thus, in addition to Delhi, I was assigned Haryana, Punjab & Chandigarh as my territory for 2 months.
Now, for a trainee who has never done sales before, it was a huge challenge. I was shivering! I was about to give up! It is not easy to do sales in a hot summer when the temperature is around 40*C. However, with the support of my family and friends, I decided to go for it.
I was assigned with three major projects during my stint of 2 months with Nivea.
Projects -
1. Reach 3.0 DSRs Deployment across North India.
2. Indirect Distribution Expansion. ( Conversion of Sub DB towns To Direct DB)
3. Super Stockist - New Town Opening.
I worked very hard, travelled from one city to another very frequently, interacted with a lot of distributors, retailers and sales representatives. And believe me, they teach the ground reality of FMCG! Never miss a chance to learn from them. They are the backbone of this industry and will teach you lessons for life. It took a lot of hard work, dedication, perseverance and self-motivation to deliver as per the expectation of the company. And finally, I completed all the three projects before the deadlines. I was feeling good! I was feeling confident!
It was my last week at Nivea - my stint was about to end. I still remember that afternoon, I was tense and nervous. I was thinking what would be the end result of all the hard work? Would I be given an opportunity again like this! And all of a sudden, I received an email from HR department, that I have been selected for a PPI (Pre Placement Interview). Man! I will never forget that day! but I knew that the destination is still far, the journey is not over.
I was informed that I would have to give a Powerpoint presentation to the Sales Director and he would give the final feedback. Based on this feedback the results of PPI would be announced. I prepared a powerpoint presentation with the help of internship team and finally, I presented in front of Sales Director. The final review went flawlessly and the Sales Director told me that they would be happy to implement these recommendations in the near future. My stint was over! I packed my bags and left the office, there was a sense of fulfillment and pride, that I delivered and delivered it with quality!.
I started with my second year of MBA at NMIMS Bengaluru, though I was busy with the routine lectures and assignments, I was anxious for the results of PPIs. It took almost a year and finally, Nivea announced the results. I received a call from placement coordinator at NMIMS saying I have been offered a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) by Nivea. I was on cloud nine! I cried! I laughed! It was an amazing feeling! All my hard work was paid off by Nivea! It's an amazing company to work for! It's a dream come true! And someone has rightly said, " Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations".
I joined Nivea as "
Territory Sales Executive"
Few suggestions for aspirants! -
1. Please be very sure before joining FMCG industry, it requires lot of
hard work and
self-motivation.
2. Have complete focus on
learning, nothing can substitute that.
3. If you are a
people's person, this is a right industry for you.
4. If you love travelling, you will enjoy working in FMCG.
5. I always heard this - "I
t's difficult for girls to work in sales!" I don't believe that! Girls go ahead and get it! Show to the world that you can also work in sales! Don't hesitate!
To all aspirants - If you have the passion to work in FMCG and if you are ready to work hard, this industry will welcome you with open arms!