During the 2022 Summer Intersession, senior Nicholas Cristante completed an internship with PepsiCo. Read on to learn about his experience!
If you’re interested in doing your own internship but don’t know where to start, make an appointment with your Career Advisor by going to Handshake.
What was your internship? I completed an internship for PepsiCo as a Sales Management Intern over the summer in Stratford, CT.
Why were you initially interested in this internship? I was interested in gaining experience in sales to diversify my work experience, as well as gain experience working at a large and well-known company.
How did you find your internship? I found this internship with help from Mary Santoro! She helped me learn how to search for these open internship opportunities, as well as how to properly follow up with hiring managers to show my interest in the position.
What did you do as part of your internship? In this internship, I got the opportunity to own customer-facing projects tied directly to business performance. More specifically, I built relationships with Dollar Tree and Dollar General managers in the surrounding area. This was all in an effort to sell-in more Pepsi displays and products. I was able to assist the company in increasing case sales in these stores, and helped increase total revenue in these markets by 36%.
Has this internship helped you work towards your future career goals? If so, how? This internship has helped me gain the necessary experience in customer service, effective selling, statistical data, brand development, and teamwork. These are skills that I can bring to the table for a future employment opportunity.
What was your biggest lesson/takeaway from the internship? I learned a lot about myself from this internship experience. I learned how much I enjoy the people aspect of an organization. I gained an understanding of PepsiCo’s priorities and challenges, and would be interested in having the ability to influence the future of the company from the HR side.
What advice would you give to someone interested in a similar internship opportunity? Some advice I would give to someone interested in a similar internship opportunity is to try your best to come out of your comfort zone. You never know what you may or may not like, and an internship is a great way to explore what is out there. And if you need help searching for an internship experience, I strongly recommend seeing Mary Santoro in the CCPD. She has so much knowledge and expertise to offer, and was extremely helpful in my internship search process!
