Hi! I’m Aditya Ranjan. I have specialized in Marketing, and I interned with Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages as part of my Summer Internship. Prior to this, I had worked for seven months in an IT company.
FMCG is an industry that I always wanted to be a part of. It is lucrative and stabilized, and hence it is no wonder that many marketing students aspire to be a part of it. My main reason for choosing Coca-Cola was its big and established brand name.
I was part of a product development team there, and was involved with new product launches during that period. There is a common misconception that when you opt for a profile in Sales & Marketing, that you are required to go out in the field and do actual selling. This was absolutely untrue in my case. Apart from a few market surveys, my job mostly involved strategizing out of the corporate office.
In a company as large as HCCB, approachability is sometimes an issue. However, there was a well-established mentor and guidance system in place. My guide and my whole team were always ready to help me. Due to the busy nature of the jobs there, the challenge lies in fixing appointments with them. If as an effective person, you are able to do that successfully, people are more than willing to lend a helping hand.
Since HCCB shortlists a large number of people, the interview was high pressure and highly competitive. You are not expected to know the intricacies of sales and marketing, however one should be logical when answering domain related questions. Apart from that, brushing up on communication skills and current affairs is a must, to be able to crack both the GD and the PI.
One should also try avoiding clichés and try and keep their answers differentiated. For Example, if the interviewer asks your biggest strength, you wouldn’t really stand out if you mention – ‘hardworking’. The key to selection, in my opinion, is to sound eager, keen and confident.