Creating Impacts as a P&G Intern
Written by Ashlie Dhugga & Joana Kim
As recruitment season for internships is upon us, along with the actual application process of resume-making, interviews, and networking, there is a key question to ask yourself: what makes a good internship? And taking it one step further - what impacts can I make as an intern in a certain organization? Well, for whoever is seeking answers to such questions - you’re in luck! In this article, alongside P&G, we will be speaking to and sharing testimonials from current and past P&G interns. These insights relate to significant topics present across all the different internship experiences: Culture, Mentorship/Support, and Impact/Work.
We will introduce past and current P&G interns who will give us a helpful Insider look into the company culture at P&G, how mentorship and support is exemplified at P&G, the impacts that they hope to create and have created, and the first-hand details - from application tips to navigating work-from-home. So without further ado, let’s meet our P&G interns:
Rana Al-Fayez, IT Business Analyst
Graphic Credits - Jaskiran Kallah
What is your position at P&G?
As a Digital Technologies Intern, I work as an IT Business Analyst on the Analytics & Insights Team, where I drive insights from data for the Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws operations!
Maliyat Nahar, Brand Management Intern
Graphic Credits - Jaskiran Kallah
What is your position at P&G?
Last summer I was a brand management intern at Procter & Gamble and my role mainly consisted of developing marketing plans to grow the business and using historical data to discover trends and present recommendations.
Ava Tamizifar, Account Executive Intern
Graphic Credits - Jaskiran Kallah
What is your position at P&G?
As an account executive intern or sales intern as some might call it, I worked very closely with the account executives to work through and give recommendations on my 5 rocks. For these rocks I would look for opportunities and give recommendations on how we can help the business and the category grow.
Culture
As a post-secondary student, adjusting to a new work environment is a big change; you have a completely new set of responsibilities and routine to get accustomed to. One thing that may help you in your transition is to familiarize yourself with the company culture that is in place. The idea of company culture refers to the shared ideals of the organization that are enacted everyday in the workplace through behaviours and interactions. At P&G, emphasis is put on ensuring that there is an impactful company culture for all employees - interns and management alike. Every employee interaction is meant to be positive and insightful, allowing for the company to flourish and continually enact their ideals.
In your opinion, how important of a factor is company culture when seeking internships as a student? Or, how important of a factor was company culture for you when you were seeking an internship?
Rana: As a student navigating the recruitment minefield in the middle of a pandemic, I am intimately aware of the temptation to take the first opportunity that comes by – even if you know the culture may not be the best fit. While I obviously don’t advise outright turning down or avoiding such opportunities with no viable backup plan, I have learned not to underestimate the value we inherently bring and how that aligns with company culture. For me, I would say that the most important factor for me when seeking an internship was whether I would learn something new and important. Throughout my undergraduate career, I slowly began to form an idea of what ‘the perfect company culture’ would look like to me, and could then benchmark what I learned about various organizations against that idealised image. Explore and seek opportunities, but make sure to set your standards high and trust your gut– ultimately, you convey to the world how highly you value your time and talents!
Maliyat: When picking my internship, what drew me in the most was the culture of kindness and growth that the company had. As a student going into my first ever internship, it was scary. However, everyone was always so willing to help and take you under their wing - that culture held through throughout my internship.
Ava: Personally, company culture is a very important factor because as for me that's what differentiated all CPG companies and other Sales positions. The company culture is like a person’s personality, and if you can't connect to that personality you wouldn't enjoy going out with them or put in great effort into being friends with that person - which is why I chose P&G, because I could connect with its culture. They have a very open and supportive culture, and no matter their role everyone finds time to help you out and provide you with resources.
Mentorship & Support
Every person, whether it be an intern or a person in a management position, needs support from their peers. Being supported can mean different things to different people. For many, support becomes synonymous with mentorship. An example of mentorship in a corporate setting could be a senior employee walking an intern through their roles and responsibilities to help them with their transition into the company. At P&G, interns can be assured that they’ll have support in multifaceted ways - both through direct mentorship and also through open means of communication between interns and other employees.
What does mentorship mean to you? And in what significant ways have you experienced the impact and importance of mentorship/support at P&G?
Rana: Over the past four years, I have been fortunate enough to witness the power of mentorship, and am so excited to have been welcomed into such a rich mentorship culture at P&G. Having been on both sides of the spectrum, mentee and mentor, I believe that the basis of a good mentee is founded on great communication and listening, being an advocate, and keeping an open mind. My first few weeks at P&G have been exciting, invigorating and at times, overwhelming, and knowing that I have a whole network of fellow employees supporting and rooting for me has made a world of a difference. My conversations with my manager and Buddy as part of the New Hire Network gave me the confidence and support I needed to make it through these first weeks of transition and new experiences. Their unwavering confidence in my abilities fortified me with the resilience required to keep persisting and overcome challenges.
What does mentorship at P&G look like?
Maliyat: At P&G, mentorship on paper is provided by your managers and an assigned Buddy that is able to help you throughout your journey. However, as you make connections and friends you are able to gain mentorship from a variety of individuals and learn so much.
Ava: When you start as an intern, you are paired with a Buddy from the New Hire Network - these are P&Gers who have started as a full-time recently, and many have been in your shoes as an intern themselves and are open to sit down, share their experience with you and even guide you through your projects by giving you honest feedback so that you can excel at your role. At P&G, my biggest mentors were my managers who pushed me to be my best, and gave me constant feedback every step of the way on how I can improve and also recognized my strengths and encouraged me to use those skills more.
Impact & Work
As an intern, it makes a significant difference to know what impacts you are creating for your specific function and the organization overall. P&G curates opportunities for their interns to create these impacts and go above and beyond in learning more about the business, connecting with others (amidst a virtual environment this year), and growing vital skills.
What kind of impacts do you think you have created/are you working towards to create as a P&G intern in your specific function?
Rana: I am so excited to be working and learning at the intersection of business and technology in IT at P&G. The projects I am working on have real impact – not only on the business, but also how customers interact with our products. The level of autonomy given over such significant business problems just goes to show how much P&G trusts their employees.
How has your time at P&G impacted/furthered your professional and personal development as a student?
Maliyat: P&G has taught me immense skills with utilizing data and being able to strategically solve business problems. I have a much different approach and vision in how I handle certain projects now. The value from an internship is beyond anything a textbook can teach you.
How can interns make an impact in a large corporation like P&G?
Ava: As an intern, from Day 1 you are trusted to analyse and give feedback on million-dollar businesses, and personally as an intern, the recommendations I gave were not only presented internally, but I also got the chance to present to the buyer, sell my recommendation and was recognized within my team for the value I was able to bring. One aspect that was very valuable to me was how much trust my managers had in me and my recommendation. You are also given the opportunity to positively impact the company culture by hosting fun team activities.
What are some ways you have managed to stay engaged and connected with your co-workers in a virtual environment?
Rana: It has definitely been necessary to be intentional about staying engaged and connected with my co-workers in this new environment, and P&G has been wonderful about providing opportunities that make this so much easier. With limited ability to observe, formulate impressions, and interpret in-person experiences, I found that I have to make more of an effort to compensate with constant and thoughtful strategies to connect with co-workers and the IT community. The P&G New Hire Network is so big and active that it’s almost impossible to go a week without being invited to some fun virtual or in-person event. Just last week, I attended a New Hire Network picnic and met more people in one day than I have over the entire summer! To connect more personally with my own team, I’ve found it especially helpful to arrange for lunch networking sessions with my fellow interns, where we can just use the time to chat, make friends and learn from one another.
Maliyat: Making sure to book meetings with co-workers at least once a week to catch up. It’s so beneficial to your mental health and really helps you make connections despite being in a virtual setting. Additionally, as the pandemic eases up, make sure you make plans with co-workers to your favourite restaurant or even attend the intern/team socials that P&G hosts.
Ava: I would have weekly meetings with my team to chat, destress and get to know each other with a fun activity, aside from events hosted for interns to connect with each other. I would also have regular connects with my managers. We would start our calls by briefly talking about our days and how we are doing personally before jumping into work content.
Tips & Tricks to Recruitment
Recruitment season can be tough, but these P&G interns offer beneficial advice, solace, and tips/tricks to help anyone out with their application for an internship at P&G. And where’s there to receive better advice from than those who’ve experienced the P&G recruitment process - from application to offer - firsthand?
While reading the words of experience from P&G interns, how many P&G brand names can you recognize in the following headlines?
Now to the question that many of us are curious about...do you have any tips and tricks in applying for an internship at P&G?
Rana: Master the CAR (Context, Action, Result) format. This is how you will be assessed at every stage of the application process – from resume, to interview! Don’t be shy to brag or highlight your specific contributions, and always make sure to drive your response home with outcomes. P&G puts their focus on outputs, so demonstrate that you align with this thinking by offering examples where you achieved an outcome, or went above and beyond to reach a target.
Maliyat: Make sure to use the CAR format. It may seem like the simplest thing, but perfecting it can take some time. It's also important to not just say your actions, but also explain why you took those actions. Lastly, mock interviews are your best friend.
Rana: As cliché as it is – be yourself! Along the recruitment cycle, it is so easy to get caught up in LinkedIn profiles and networking sessions and feed into the temptation of comparing yourself to current or past interns. Unfortunately, it's not very helpful nor productive, and can very easily spiral into a dark place (trust me, I would know). Authenticity > Everything.
Ava: Do your research about the company and what about the company and the role interest you. Attend networking events and connect with the people. They will not only remember you, but it’s a good way for you to see if P&G is where you want to be and if you fit within the culture.
Recruitment season doesn’t have to seem as intimidating when you know what you are looking for! P&G offers various resources in ensuring that you can learn more about the company and its application process through their events, along with testimonials from their interns providing insight into the value of creating impacts in the company throughout your internship there.
If you want to learn more about applying for a P&G internship, make sure to register for P&G’s info session, hosted on September 30th at 5:30 PM ET. Check out the link and further details here. With P&G’s applications due on October 15th, it would be a great idea to attend this info session which can help answer any P&G-related inquiries you have!