Nestlé Intern by day, Monash student by night : Learnings & Considerations

Without realising, almost two months have passed since I started my Nesternship journey at Nestlé Malaysia. When I decided to apply for the position, I was actually confused and unsure if I was applying for the Nesternship (virtual) or the Nestlé Internship Program (physical). Me being me, I applied for both and just told myself to hope for the best. Approaching my final semester, I needed to only take three units, one less than I usually would. This gave me almost three class-free days in a week. This didn’t sit right with me and as I was considering venturing into a different path after my degree (marketing, to be specific), it was probably the best time to gain as much experience as I could.

Roughly two weeks later, I received a call from Syakirah - this actually served as the phone interview in the recruitment process. At that time, we were still allowed to go out as we were not under the MCO, and I was waiting in the car for my sister to finish working for the day. I received the call at 5.30pm, and completed the call at roughly 6.00pm. I enjoyed the interview because the interviewer asked me questions pertaining to my CV, indicating that she has actually read it. Major GREEN FLAG for me as an employer. That went well, and led to a virtual interview with my current Line Manager, Ashley, which went well too, and after a dozen phone calls confirming my availability, I started my journey as a Marketing Nestern under Nestlé Omega Plus in the Milks Business Unit in July 2021.?

My role in the team mainly revolves around managing the company’s internal communications to rally staff members to participate in the annual Nestlé Omega Plus Walk A Million Miles 2021 campaign, and to liaise with various internal and external stakeholders to ensure that everything runs smoothly, problems are brought up accordingly, solutions are provided and executed and overall, customers are happy. Though I manage most of the internal side of the campaign with my teammate Purna, our line manager allows and encourages us to join other meetings and experiences, while also reminding us to “Take charge of the project”. With this, I had the opportunity to experience SO MANY new experiences that even normal marketing students would not be able to, such as the process of creating T&Cs, participating in the test run for a new app feature on BookDoc, participating virtually in a KOL pre-recording for the grand launch and working with external media and event management companies with different job scopes. As each experience was new to me, I was honestly very excited about and learnt a lot.

Throughout my time at Nestlé, I’ve met many wonderful people who were kind beyond words, whom at the same time, were also brilliant and daring in expressing their opinions. The strength of being a TEAM is indeed very strong, and everyone is aware of their role in making the campaign a success. We discuss the problems that each of us are facing, and we also celebrate in our Whatsapp group chat every time we reach another 1,000 registrants. The team also greatly supports the Nestern’s growth and engagement, and the HR department usually organises biweekly/monthly calls for us to get together. While I wished this Nesternship could have been a physical one, the learnings I gained during the virtual experience is just as fulfilling.

Here are three of my key learnings as a Nestern:

1.Plan to succeed, but sometimes success cannot be planned

Nestlé is undoubtedly a very fast-paced organisation. Just as something ends, another begins. Working with tight timelines, it is of utmost importance for you to plan ahead, schedule EVERYTHING and execute an effective tracking system to ensure that everything planned is well on track. While this may seem tedious, the advantage is that there are no regulations on how you want to do it. Excel table of dates? Sure. Calendar reminders? Sure. Asking your team mate to call you everyday? Sure. This is something that many students may not carry out in their student lives, but it is very very very important in your career, wherever you are. Planning everything has definitely been one of the keys to the success of almost every aspect of the Nesternship, but sometimes, things just can’t be planned. You may have all these schedules and plans, but in a real working experience, there are many things that are bound to throw you off your schedule, like a customer complaint or having to troubleshoot a problem. These items may delay your plans, and when the time comes, you need to remember to be agile enough to switch and replan as quickly as possible. ?

2. Take charge of YOUR experiences and YOUR voice

Being a newbie Nestern and jumping into the project at a very crucial time, I was initially more inclined to take the back seat and wait for instructions, because the two previous Nesterns just felt so good at what they were doing! Nonetheless, you have applied and have been selected for this internship for a reason. It is now YOUR project and YOUR experience to manage. Yes, it seems very scary and overwhelming in the beginning, because that was what I felt too. Luckily, I had a very supportive line manager and fellow Nesterns that gave me a helping hand whenever I felt lost. Eventually I started doing my tasks in a way that I felt was best for the team, occasionally dropping by to ask for opinions. When I was more comfortable with that, I started participating in calls and conversations to add my own input. YOUR voice is important as you too, are part of the team now. Besides, your team leaders would love to hear from you as a Gen Z person, as we do have more knowledge on the tech side.?

3. Team > Boss

As a joke, the team and some external partners would call our line manager ‘Boss’, because very literally, she is. Most things need her approval, and she is the leader keeping track of us all, which we acknowledge. However, everytime we say that, she never fails to correct us, saying, “I am not Boss, I am TEAM”. This is indeed a short but strong and impactful sentence. It shows evidently her leadership style, and definitely everyone in the team was more relaxed at any point of time due to this TEAM relationship that we share. Everyone gives their 101% together as a team, which was and is still extremely beneficial to ensure the success of the campaign. I believe this is an exemplary trait to follow, and look forward to being able to demonstrate a similar leadership style in the future.?

While I definitely am enjoying my time as a Nestern, I cannot deny that it is often very taxing on me as I am still studying too, and have a bulk of research-based assignments to complete within the next few weeks. Nonetheless, many people had been surprised at the notion of my simultaneously doing my Nesternship and studying, with many juniors and peers alike wondering if they could or should do the same thing, in order to enhance their employability before they graduate. Many have, too, asked me about my experience in both the application process and Nesternship duration. I’m not a know-it-all, and there are definitely many things that I cannot speak for, but here are some of the considerations that would help you if you are still deciding to pursue an internship while studying.

Here are my suggested three key considerations:

1.Do you have the capacity to balance both your studies and internship?

For me, I was taking one less unit, and had more free time to pursue other things, such as the Nesternship. If I were taking four units as usual, I would not even consider it. Why? This is because I understand myself well enough to know that I do not have the capacity, and may ultimately end up performing badly in both my studies and internship. While it is always good to be ever curious and strive to gain experience and knowledge, the real question to ask yourself is if you have the capacity to execute both items properly. Consider this thoroughly, as your bad performance may end up affecting your fellow group mates or company reputation.?

2. What is it you wish to gain out of this internship?

Many students are inclined to pursue an internship due to how great it would look on your CV. There’s nothing wrong with that, but how about the quality of your experience? Will this internship give you what you aim to learn, or will this internship give you better insights into the future career path you want to pursue in the future? For me, my goal was to experience a marketing-related work environment so that I can decide if this is something I want to do for life, as a career. My previous experience interning in a science lab made me realise that I did not enjoy being cooped up in the lab, and would prefer something more outgoing. Sometimes, you may find that the learnings you wish to gain may be more suited elsewhere. For example, if you want to enhance your entrepreneurial skills, you can maybe try participating in a startup bootcamp. Or if you are looking to gain coaching skills, how about a peer mentoring program? Don’t limit yourself to internships only, as there are definitely more options available that may fit your interests.?

3. Are you ready and willing to ‘sacrifice’ personal time and sleep for the experience?

During the day, you would spend most of your time attending virtual meetings, completing your internship tasks and attending your classes. At night and on weekends, you would be doing your assignments, as these are the only times available for you to work on them. The ugly truth is - there will be weeks, or even months that you may not have a rest day. You will wake up tired and maybe even question yourself if it’s worth it. Are you okay with that? Are you willing to go through the trials and tribulations to make the most of your journey? If the answer is yes, go for it. Regardless, this is definitely no means to disregard self care and regulation. We all need personal time sometimes.?

This ends my sharing about my Nesternship experience, as well as regarding my dual life as an intern-student. These opinions are fully from my perspective and are in no way affiliated with Nestlé Malaysia. I have a remainder of 6 weeks left in my Nesternship duration, and I am absolutely excited to see how the campaign pans out and the new experiences I’ll gain in this short duration. If you have any further questions or would just like to have a chat about the Nesternship program and experience (or tips, if I may), feel free to drop me a LinkedIn message! I’m happy to help and I wish everyone the best :)

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