My advice to my juniors for all of these rounds would be, to be honest and speak about what they are passionate about. For the interview specifically, I would suggest backing theoretical knowledge of the subject with real-life examples to show that you are aware of what is happening across the world and have an analytical bent of mind. To answer behavioural questions like ‘Why I want to join L'Oréal’, it's important to know about the company through a thorough Research. The Pre-Placement Talk also helped me know more about the company and understand how I would fit in.
The Internship
I was thrilled after securing a summer internship role in the marketing department of one of the top FMCGs in the country and even more so when I found that I would be working in the Maybelline New York team. However, as the internship’s joining date was approaching, all my visions and hopes of physically going to the office, interacting with my co-workers and making my first internship memorable were dying down. I was sceptical of how the internship would be. But, when the D-day finally came, the situation turned out to be a lot better than what I was expecting. We had received several communications from the HR team that irrespective of the situation, the internship would go as planned and that is exactly what happened.
The Induction
The first day was the induction where the senior leadership welcomed us and addressed our queries. We were also immersed in work operations and culture of L'Oréal. Keeping in line with the importance L'Oréal Group gives to sustainability, there was a separate session organised to give us an idea as to what they are doing to make their products and processes more environment-friendly.
We also got the opportunity to interact with our co-interns. There were ice-breaking sessions and our campus manager, Mrs Nandini Bhalla, encouraged us to participate in activities together and get to know each other so that our experience is not hampered in this front.
Focus on holistic knowledge
The best part about my internship was that not only did I learn a lot about the project but also about Maybelline and L'Oréal as a whole. We were given insights on how the brand grew, the different strategies employed, how advertisements are created among many other things which overall gave me a better understanding of how brands function.
As part of the internship, weekly sessions were organised to help us understand L'Oréal better. For these sessions, Senior leadership spoke to us about different functions in the business and their professional journeys. Even the Managing Director of L'Oréal India took out time to talk to us and know about our projects and recommendations.
The Silver Lining
My project required a lot of planning and ground-level execution. Due to the abnormal situation, it was not panning out as I would hope it to because e-commerce wasn't functional for makeup then and this was upsetting. However, in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise. I was lucky enough to experience something rare. We often hear that to be relevant, brands need to be agile and adapt to any situation thrown at them and this is what I saw in real life, how such big brands behave in unnatural situations and alter their strategies to be ahead of the curve.
The Project
My team entrusted a lot of faith in me and gave me full ownership of my project even without meeting me physically. Initially, I was sceptical of suggesting my ideas for the project since it was not completely in line with the team's expectations, but when I saw how open they were to new ideas, I got motivated to work even harder.
My mentor was a constant pillar of support throughout my journey. Despite her busy schedule, she would help me every time I needed her guidance. Instead of spoon-feeding me, she would guide me in finding the solutions to the problems. I was given the freedom to make mistakes and proceed with my project the way I wanted to. As a result of this, the knowledge I gained was far more than what I would have otherwise.
Being in a virtual setup, I used to put in extra effort to do most of the work by myself which also helped me learn a lot of new things. Since we could not just walk up to someone to clear our doubts, I would schedule meetings and prepare points of discussion for the same in advance. This helped me improve my time management skills.
Flying Solo? Not really
Despite not going to the office, not only was I able to talk to people in my team, but also to people from other teams and my co-interns. Everyone was extremely helpful, all I had to do was ask. As co-interns also, we helped one another to the extent possible and learnt a lot from each other as well
An Enriching Experience
Even in such a different setup, L'Oréal made sure that my Summer Internship was memorable. The learnings from the internship and the memories made will be cherished by me for life. My experience was definitely “worth it”.
Key Takeaways
- It is important to be agile and know how to adjust in different situations.
- Optimism and positivity go a long way in helping one make the best out of even the worst of situations.
- Be it working in the office or work from home, as long as you are passionate about your work, things do work in your favour.
- Before stepping into the internship, it isn’t essential to know everything, what’s important is to be open-minded, hardworking and be willing to learn.
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