And we're back! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! I know a lot of people have reached or passed the halfway point, I can't believe it! This week we've got Susan Smith, Laavanya Shriram and Jaclyn Kirna talking about their internships...
Susan, concentrating in Finance and Supply Chain Management, writes from Iselin, NJ...
"Greetings from the distant land of Iselin, NJ, where I am interning in global financial planning and analysis at Ansell. Ansell makes personal protective equipment, such as gloves, suits, and condoms. They are a truly global company with operations in each of four regions: North America (NA), Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA).
So far, I have worked on some small tasks – collecting information on the manufacturing sector in different countries and on general economic conditions globally in order to predict and analyze the effect of global conditions on sales and creating bridge graphs for a presentation. I am also working to model sales forecasts and analyze growth with the complicating factor of acquisitions and the seasonal nature of the business. Remember Dr. Lei’s seasonal forecasting models? Well, I have been putting them to use! Most recently I have been collecting information on recent sales growth of competitors and distributors in order to see if the movement in manufacturing affects them in similar ways.
It has been nice to meet interns from other schools, although there is a big Rutgers contingent. Go RU. Another plus is the lunch and learns that HR has set up for us. We met the Chief Human Resource Officer who gave us an overview of the company. We also met a brand manager and learned about a new product, both how it was developed and how a market is being created for it. The Director of IT gave us a view of how the IT department interacts with and supports the rest of the business. We will also be lunching and learning with a NA head of sales as well as the CEO."
Laavanya is concentrating in Supply Chain Management and Strategy and is working in Northvale, NJ...
"This summer, I am working for RAB Lighting, based out of Northvale, NJ. In little over a month, I have had 2 dinner parties, 7-9 cakes, and above all hands-on experience in various aspects of supply chain - procurement, inventory management, demand planning, new product development and logistics.
RAB is a third generation family owned U.S. company and the fastest growing company in New Jersey too. The company manufacturers and distributes commercial LED lighting. A year ago, the company began forming it's Supply Chain department and has been a growing team since. As a Supply Chain Intern, I am mainly focussing on demand forecasting & inventory management. I feel really lucky to have found this position as I am able to rotate in each team within the SC department, helping enhance/apply all that I have learnt via RBS. Also, the coolest thing, as the entire company located in one building, I literally walk through each process or department and see how they function.
Be it working in excel to report KPI trends or applying OB concepts enabling change management during Lean events, I find learning is everywhere and summer is too short to fully absorb it. I hope to gather as much as I can here and hopefully define my career path. This is also my first experience working for a small company (well when compared to MNC's I earlier worked for) with strong culture. Today I can vouch that there is a thing named work culture fit. Though my colleagues are diverse and unique, because we all have similar ideologies it makes working together fun and easy. I feel much more confident in voicing my opinions or ideas. The entire company has a family kind of vibe, anyone can walk into any space (yep even CEO's office) without feeling awkward and have an open conversation about anything.
On a personal front, thanks to a 30 mile commute, I finally bought a car and have been making the most of it. Our classmate, Meghana Talasila, also on the same team as me, is in the same boat. So we hangout a lot and cherish our Rutgers roots. We have been exploring some hidden hiking gems in the Tristate area. Anyone interested?"
Jaclyn is a Finance
and Strategy student spending her summer working in NYC…
"This summer, I am interning in Commercial Finance at Pfizer Inc.’s World Headquarters located in midtown Manhattan. During the 10-week internship, I am working
on two teams: Global Commercial Operations and Accounts Receivable – Working
Capital Initiatives. On Pfizer’s GCO team, I have been collaborating with
leadership team members and Op. Plan leads to help prepare Pfizer’s 2016
Operating Plan and build a compensation model for GCO spend. I am also assisting GCO leadership team
members with reevaluating their monthly reporting, forecasting, and budgeting
processes based on regional needs. On
the Accounts Receivable team, I assist with DSO (days sales outstanding)
trending, reporting, and analysis and I help the team prepare and validate AR
reporting packages. During my time on
both teams, I am working to improve the efficiency of Pfizer’s reporting
processes.
I just finished week 6 of my internship and it’s hard to
believe how fast it is flying by!
Pfizer’s internship program has given me a lot of exposure to senior
executives through the various lunch & learns planned for the MBA summer
associates. This past Tuesday, we had a
summer speaker session with Chairman of the Board & CEO, Ian Read. He shared his career path as well as his perspective
on transformational leadership and it was exciting that the interns had the
opportunity to ask him questions at the end of the session. At Pfizer, the MBA
interns also work on a live case study throughout the summer. My team is comprised of 2 finance interns and
a procurement intern. In early August, we
will be presenting our recommendation to our managers and senior executives in
the company. Earlier this summer, Pfizer colleagues volunteered at Camp Sebago
(a camp located outside of NYC for inner city children). I spent the day cleaning up the campsite with
colleagues from different Pfizer locations and it was fun to watch a dance
routine that the children performed for us that afternoon. We lucked out with good weather and the lake
up there was beautiful!
It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, I was teaching 22
super energetic third graders. It’s been
a challenging yet exciting career change into the corporate world, but I’m
really enjoying the experience. The best
part is that I’m working with people who love what they do and I’m learning
something new every day!
After the internship, I have plans to travel to Houston,
Texas for a wedding and then to Austin, Texas to visit some friends (and any of
the Dell folks who will still be down there!).
As a Jersey native who loves the beach, the summer wouldn’t be complete
without spending some time at the Jersey Shore!"
Thanks for checking in and keep reading each week!
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