Ashni Raythatha

Shampoo, check.  Toothpaste, check.  Before, shopping used to be an easy and fairly mindless activity.  However, after working in sales at P&G, one can be sure that a once simple experience will never be the same.  Now I cannot even go into a store without reading the flyer, noticing new products and observing interesting displays.  The everyday products that we buy from stores seemed to me to just conveniently and magically appear on the shelves.  After my 4-month internship in sales, I realized that getting a small packet of Gillette Pro-glide blades or a tube of Covergirl Lashblast Mascara from the manufacturing plant, to the shelves in a store, is an intricate and fascinating process called CBD (or sales)!  In CBD, you are given a business to manage and it is up to you to use the various resources and tools available in order to make it grow!  As an intern, I got an opportunity to analyze and create a solution for a major issue at a large retailer that may result in substantial increase in sales.  At the end, I was able to sell my initiatives to the customer and also share my findings with senior executives in the company.  Not only was I given so much autonomy on how I wanted to conduct the project, but P&G gives their interns meaningful work that has a direct impact on the business!

The work was very interesting and together with the people and the amazing corporate culture, I really looked forward to going to work every day, even if it meant getting up at 6am every morning!  I loved getting to know everyone around me and P&G really focuses on building a strong community.  My manager and team guided me throughout my internship and were always willing to take the time to help me out anytime I needed their assistance.  Since P&G is a “grow from within company” they really care about the development of their employees and interns!  This past year the company took all of their CBD interns to a national sales meeting that was held in Orlando, Florida.  In addition to the work, there are so many social events, volunteer opportunities, sports teams and diversity networks that employees can get involved in.  For the interns specifically, there is a network that plans events such as lunch and learns, go-karting, an intern prom and other fun events.

In such a short time, I learned much more than I ever could have imagined. My experience at P&G was awesome and I can confidently say that I loved the work I did, the people around me, and the company as a whole!  If you are looking for a place that will continuously challenge you, value you, and at the same time allow you to have a great time along the way, then I encourage you to take the time and apply to Procter and Gamble.