Marketing internship in FMCG companies

[yourplaceormine]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi, you need to be mentally prepared for a tough challenge ahead in the job market if you would do that, as I believe you may graduate at an odd time.
also, many people get the opportunity to take on such internships in fmcg marketing or other roles of which will put you in good stead to get an interview for the Ma Program in fmcgs. since there are so many people with such experience, I can vouch that competition for Ma Programmes in fmcg is far too stiff and only very few make it back into the Ma Programmes. ( I can say this as I did an fmcg marketing internship too).

hence, the main deciding factor in such competitive Programmes really boils down to your performance in the Ac more than anything ( as too many students have sufficient experience to qualify for the interview rounds). you would really need to consider whether you can leverage on such experience to position yourself for these Programmes in future. it's def a good internship to qualify you for interviews in future but you will need to think if you will be able to secure a final placement by excelling in the relevant interviews- hr looks at a lot more than your experience.

honestly the number of people who secure a final role in Ma Programmes like Unilever,loreal, diageo, gsk other Ma Programmes in visa and Mastercard is too few. it is definitely worth the try though.

I would like to advice you to try a summer internship in the fmcg companies actually as it would be less risky. but then again, if you are able to secure 2 fmcg internships ( this 6 months one and another summer one), it would enhance your profile as well. j&j is a great brand name to have.

but like I said, at the end of the day, it's what you Make out of your experiences and how you display it in the Ac that's gonna count. it will be a tough road ahead to secure a TOP notch Ma Programme position, but it will be worth a try. if you don't have any brand names in your cv when you apply for such an Ma role, securing an interview will def be much tougher.

( I did marketing internships in fmcg previously too

Overall, As someone that has taken internships in FMCG companies before, would you then recommend taking up this internship opportunity?

Originally Posted by yourplaceormine

How much different is the L'oreal MA program if you were to compare it to others such as those programs from Unilever or gsk for example?

I actually applied for a 6 month internship role with L'oreal, but could not attend the interview as I was overseas on exchange. I am aware that they recruit twice a year for this internship - Would this internship be more or less valuable than one in J&J?

I work in the industry and I can safely say that Loreal pays below industry average for their MA program.

GSK also doesn't pay as well.

The MA program at Unilever pays the best followed by P&G. I have no knowledge of J&J since it wasn't offered last time but I believe it has a much bigger brand than L'oreal.

Originally Posted by yourplaceormine

Hi there, thanks for your posts! I am aware of how stiff the competition is for the MA programs, but as you have mentioned, i'm still willing to give it a shot. I'm not really a FCH kind of student, therefore I am definitely not in an ideal situation, that's for sure. I currently do not have a brand name on my resume, even though I have done 2 internships under my belt, which is also why I am seriously considering taking up this internship, as I am aware of how important a brand name could be.

You also mentioned that graduating at an odd time could be challenging, why is that so? I was under the impression that graduating at an odd could actually be an advantage as the number of fresh grads hunting for jobs could potentially be less saturated. Would you be referring to the MA programs? Do all the MA programs only recruit once a year?

hi, yes I did mention that it would be challenging. so I suppose you would be graduating in December? while some FMCG companies and Ma Programmes interview around November, many also interview around February including Unilever, gsk, Heineken, diageo etc. you will definitely be under to pressure to find a job that matches up to your expectations as compared to someone who would be graduating in May-June. I have had friends in similar situations, and while it may not seem pressurising at this point, it would be when you are graduating as you cannot remain unemployed for too Long after graduating. moreover, most of the grad Programmes will only allow you to start in June/July. you may have to consider that as well.

in terms of whether I finally recommend this- may I know when you plan to graduate? if you have an extra summer left, try to leverage your portfolio and internship experiences to secure an additional summer internship which could lead you to securing a full time role (eg Unilever, p&g). this would lower the risk for you.

personally, my FMCG internship helped me to secure interviews with many of the FMCG companies' and for Ma Programmes as well. if I were you, I'd go for it. you are still young and should take the opportunities you receive now as it will help you later in your career my advice would be to basically apply everywhere else too by leveraging on this experience (as I have not heard of j&j giving return offers for marketing..) btw, j&j should be better for learning compared to loreal as it should a regional role involving strategic planning and execution whereas loreal would be more of operational marketing and execution.

[yourplaceormine]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi, yes I did mention that it would be challenging. so I suppose you would be graduating in December? while some FMCG companies and Ma Programmes interview around November, many also interview around February including Unilever, gsk, Heineken, diageo etc. you will definitely be under to pressure to find a job that matches up to your expectations as compared to someone who would be graduating in May-June. I have had friends in similar situations, and while it may not seem pressurising at this point, it would be when you are graduating as you cannot remain unemployed for too Long after graduating. moreover, most of the grad Programmes will only allow you to start in June/July. you may have to consider that as well.

in terms of whether I finally recommend this- may I know when you plan to graduate? if you have an extra summer left, try to leverage your portfolio and internship experiences to secure an additional summer internship which could lead you to securing a full time role (eg Unilever, p&g). this would lower the risk for you.

personally, my FMCG internship helped me to secure interviews with many of the FMCG companies' and for Ma Programmes as well. if I were you, I'd go for it. you are still young and should take the opportunities you receive now as it will help you later in your career my advice would be to basically apply everywhere else too by leveraging on this experience (as I have not heard of j&j giving return offers for marketing..) btw, j&j should be better for learning compared to loreal as it should a regional role involving strategic planning and execution whereas loreal would be more of operational marketing and execution.

Thanks for the reply. If I were to take up the internship and take a semester off, then I would graduate in December 2017, which would mean that I will have another summer period for another internship.

As you have mentioned, the MA programs only recruit at a certain period of time once a year, therefore if I were to graduate in December, what other options are there for me to cover the following 6 months? Another internship? Or some type of short term employment? Also, given the fact that the MA programs are extremely competitive, in the case that I do not make it through, would jobs be scarce during the December period?

Also, not entirely sure whether the J&J role would involve regional stuff, however would it make a lot of difference if it does not?

[yourplaceormine]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I work in the industry and I can safely say that Loreal pays below industry average for their MA program.

GSK also doesn't pay as well.

The MA program at Unilever pays the best followed by P&G. I have no knowledge of J&J since it wasn't offered last time but I believe it has a much bigger brand than L'oreal.

I hope you don't mind me asking but since you work in the industry, how is compensation like for marketing roles in the various FMCG companies (both normal roles as well as for the MA program)

From what I see on the J&J website, there is only the Finance LDP in SG steered towards bachelor degree holders, the others require a masters. Would you happen to know if they have a Marketing LDP for bachelor degree holders?

FMCG do not segment it as "marketing" roles versus "non marketing" roles. It is simply MA/Grad program vs direct hires. All MA functions within Unilever are paid equally, and it's about 5k base pay. Compare this with a direct hire who would be earning anywhere between 3-3.5k.

This is similar with P&G and Loreal, and I suspect most other FMCG giants here.

To be frank, I am not too familiar with J&J because they have been rather low key and don't do much campus recruiting. In Singapore, the FMCG companies that recruit the most are Unilever/P&G/GSK/L'oreal while Coke and J&J mainly stay on the sidelines as you might have noticed. Even Heineken is pretty silent, as they don't do on campus activities.

Originally Posted by yourplaceormine

I hope you don't mind me asking but since you work in the industry, how is compensation like for marketing roles in the various FMCG companies (both normal roles as well as for the MA program)

From what I see on the J&J website, there is only the Finance LDP in SG steered towards bachelor degree holders, the others require a masters. Would you happen to know if they have a Marketing LDP for bachelor degree holders?

I think what the other poster said earlier is largely correct. A huge part of whether you get into competitive MA programs is dependent on your performance on the actual day. Having a FCH only helps you get through the initial screening stage. Once you get into the AC, its how you perform that matters.

To go more into detail on the the various FMCG MA programs:

Unilever: I'm not too sure about the numbers they hired for 2016, but 3-5 would be a safe bet. Unilever don't do intern conversions, instead they "fast-track" one intern and one only to the final AC stage. So out of 12 candidates (2 AC rounds of 6 each), 3 - 5 would be chosen

P&G: P&G does not have a MA program per se. Instead, they prefer to convert their interns to full-time hires. They also typically have a open-house around March for graduate roles (one just ended not too long ago)

L'Oreal: I haven't heard good things about the MA program, or even about L'oreal itself. The program itself is 1 year (far too short IMO) and from what I know pays well below market.

JnJ: Like you rightfully mentioned, no MA program at the Bachelor's level.

Mondelez/Nestle: No MA programs for Singapore. I'm not too sure about their graduate roles, haven't been keep track of them that much.

GSK: Not too sure about this program. But from what i know, pay is average.

Diageo: Same as GSK, not too sure about this

Heinenken: VERY VERY competitive. From what i know, despite the requirements stated, this caters mainly to MBA holders.

As for timeline, typically most programs start their first round resume submission around Sept - Nov. First round interviews (phone/video) is in Dec, with the AC to be held early next year.

Having said all that, only you can best decide whether taking this LOA is worth it. You don't have an FCH, that's okay. But, how does your resume currently look? Discounting the difficulty of the AC itself, the challenge and hence the dilemma (correct me if i'm wrong) for you is on whether you currently have a stellar resume to pass the first 2 stages of resume screening.

My advice thus hinges on a few factors
1. Where are you interning this summer? I see that you have done 2 internships. Brand name IMO is not that important, more than your job scope. Its how you sell the job that you did that really counts
2. An alternative route might be to consider getting into Unilever/P&G internship programmes, which is much easier. From there, you can work towards getting converted (P&G) or fast-tracked (Unilever)
3. If you are not confident of your current resume, then I would say to go for the JnJ role. Its a good brand name, and would definitely aid your bid for MA programs. I don't think you should worry about off-cycle employment opportunities, there are always available. Graduating in Dec and starting in July is also pretty good, you can take some time off for yourself before becoming a wage slave.

Just my length 2 cents.

[yourplaceormine]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

FMCG do not segment it as "marketing" roles versus "non marketing" roles. It is simply MA/Grad program vs direct hires. All MA functions within Unilever are paid equally, and it's about 5k base pay. Compare this with a direct hire who would be earning anywhere between 3-3.5k.

This is similar with P&G and Loreal, and I suspect most other FMCG giants here.

To be frank, I am not too familiar with J&J because they have been rather low key and don't do much campus recruiting. In Singapore, the FMCG companies that recruit the most are Unilever/P&G/GSK/L'oreal while Coke and J&J mainly stay on the sidelines as you might have noticed. Even Heineken is pretty silent, as they don't do on campus activities.

I find that to be true as well, although I have seen J&J down for a campus activity once. Their MA program (if they have it) is not well advertised, unlike Unilever for example. With regards to direct hires - are they paid equally regardless of job function? (eg. marketing VS finance) and would progression typically be much harder for direct hires as compared to those in the MA program?

I agree with the above list but I graduated one batch earlier and to be frank, I haven't heard of Heineken much.

I am not disputing the fact that it could be very competitive but relative to those that I have listed (P&G/Unilever especially), it does far less campus recruiting and engagement.

Btw, you're right, GSK pays less than 4k. I have a friend working there and she said it is somewhere around 3.5k +.

Originally Posted by yourplaceormine

I find that to be true as well, although I have seen J&J down for a campus activity once. Their MA program (if they have it) is not well advertised, unlike Unilever for example. With regards to direct hires - are they paid equally regardless of job function? (eg. marketing VS finance) and would progression typically be much harder for direct hires as compared to those in the MA program?

The MA programs, even though they're all called MA programs", are pretty different across the FMCG giants.

Speaking as to what I know, Unilever accelerates you to management the quickest, and you will get your M grade at the end of 3 years.

P&G rotates you around every 2 years or so but from what my friends tell me, they don't specifically state when you will be promoted to the next rung.

I can talk about other programs but essentially, you can and should read up more about each individual program. Don't be deluded into thinking they're all the same. Some pay very well, some pay average. Some promise international rotation, others don't. Go network and ask your seniors or clarify during the interview stages.