My Real Whirled Experience

As I finish up my last few days, I'd like to reflect on my past 12 weeks as a sales intern at Whirlpool Corporation. I've found it very helpful reading past articles about experiences at different companies when considering employment so hopefully this will do the same for others.

My experience with Whirlpool Corporation started at the beginning of my interview process. I felt the energy and excitement right away when interviewing with my recruiter, Ashley Czubak. She was not only very personable and enjoyable to talk too, but very upfront and honest to any questions or concerns. I was also tasked with creating and presenting a persuasive presentation about any topic over webcam before the beginning of my last interview in which I also received feedback that proved to be very helpful. This enabled me to implement my own creativity and selling ability which really made my interview experience with Whirlpool Corporation memorable, and really showed me their looking for top talented individuals.

As an intern or new employee, it can be very intimidating and at times even stressful when starting at a new company; new coworkers, new work atmosphere/culture, and learning everything there is to be successful in your new role from scratch. I can honestly say Whirlpool did an amazing job at making me feel welcome and comfortable in my new setting. Being away from home, your friends, and trying out new things to do outside of work to keep yourself busy on top of immersing yourself into a new company can be overwhelming, but Whirlpool surrounded me with people who welcomed me with open arms and were always available when I had questions about anything whether it be about my project, opportunities with Whirlpool, or even things to do after work. The transition was made easy simply because of the people here and anyone will realize it by just walking around Whirlpool's office buildings.

"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." -Steve Jobs

As a sales intern, I was dealt with a project that if completed successfully, I'd not only save millions of dollars, but also enable Whirlpool to make smarter business decisions when it comes to sales strategy. This project really challenged me in the sense that I had to learn everything there is to know regarding how Whirlpool does business with our trade partners to learning the specifics of my project and then taking that knowledge to eventually develop a creative solution. At times I was frustrated, but I constantly reminded myself in order to be successful I had to keep a positive attitude and exhaust all resources and I did this by having 1 on 1 meetings in which I asked key objective questions to uncover information with over 70 Whirlpool professionals from various departments. You would think that a huge company like Whirlpool, I would either receive no reply to my calendar invites or the reply, "I'm too busy", or maybe even someone not showing up to a scheduled meeting at times or somewhat often. Throughout my time here, I either received a quick response to reschedule at another time or they were more than willing to meet and throw their knowledge at me. Nobody missed any of my meetings. They really make you feel like an important individual at Whirlpool and I never got the feeling that I was an intern or temporary.

I was provided numerous opportunities to grow outside of my project during my 12 weeks. Whether it was sitting in on meetings with the marketing team while they talked about marketing strategies for upcoming product launches or new commercial releases in the next 6 months (they even asked for my feedback), attending World of Whirlpool in Chicago to see how we best market our products to potential new partners, or even providing interns a networking opportunity at a nearby Go-Kart & Mini Golf facility, in which the CEO and CFO even attended. This company exemplified that they're willing to do anything when it comes to investing in their people.

At the end of my 12 weeks at Whirlpool Corporation, I'm not only walking away with an immense knowledge regarding my project. I'm walking away with genuine relationships with both interns and people who continue to take this company to the top of their industry, an idea of what the environment and expectations should be like for a company to continue to succeed, and an experience that has excelled my personal and professional growth immensely.

Special thanks to my manager and mentor, Janet Birch, who continued to raise the bar for me throughout these past 12 weeks. Beyond being my project manager, she always provided developmental tips regarding how to work and interact in a professional setting while also connecting me with professionals in any field I wanted to learn more about.

Thank you Whirlpool Corporation for this unforgettable experience; #OneWhirlpool