The internship process can be extremely stressful! However, having a method to cope with stress and being prepared to answer key questions can help you in securing that dream internship! A student who has her method on lock, and actually gets excited when she hears the word “interview”, is Shiyue Xie MBA 2026. Read on to learn about her journey in the application and interview process, as well as her internship overall as a Shopper Insights Intern at PepsiCo!
Interviewing and Waiting…
Finding an internship is so overwhelming! Especially if it’s the “perfect” internship that seems like it was made just for you. There are so many steps and things you have to do with absolutely no guarantee that it will work out in the end. For some people, this can be discouraging and appear almost impossible; however, done right, it doesn’t need to be so nerve wracking. In fact, it can be fun and exciting! One of my best methods to combat stress and feel confident is to block off time and build internship preparations into your schedule. Something that is so simple, but so important! This could be setting aside a couple hours over the weekend or thirty-minutes every other week day. By doing this, you will be dedicating a consistent set amount of time to go over interview questions, practice your answers, find your perfect S.T.A.R story, and sharpen any other areas you need practice in. One of my favorite ways to practice is using ChatGPT to generate interview questions. Once I have those queued up, I record myself and watch it back to see and hear where I can improve. Once that allotted time is up, it’s important that you actually step away and do something for yourself, which could be making a nice meal, taking a bubble bath, or reading a good fiction book. These acts alone will help you build confidence and understand yourself and your professional career. Regarding the interview itself, it’s crucial to have your unique selling point. This is something that will really show your passion and thus show your character and work ethic. This can be anything that you yourself founded, spearheaded, or contributed to. For example, my unique selling point is that I have experience running my own business. This fact alone is unique to myself and provides me with a lot of areas to elaborate and show off my skills.
PepsiCo Intern!
The day I received my PepsiCo internship offer, I was ecstatic! The validation after putting in so much work during the application and interview process is such a rewarding feeling. After the initial excitement passes, the preparation begins. Even though you don’t know the exact project you’ll have, it is still helpful to sharpen your knowledge and prime yourself for what you could see. For me, this meant reading articles about shopper insights at PepsiCo, listening to podcasts about marketing, watching Youtube videos that would foster a deeper understanding of the role, and more. This turned out to be extremely helpful because my team was small, about 5 people, and we were responsible for providing recommendations for PepsiCo brands and retail partners. This required a lot of high-level thinking from everyone on the team, which I loved! I also found it helpful to meet with individuals at the office, ask questions, and maintain that connection even after the internship ended. I feel like I had built a great relationship with a lot of people, so it created a sort of foundation that I could go to whenever I needed support or had follow-up questions.
So, key takeaways? Block off time, and use that time to better your understanding and prepare you for the next step. Additionally, surround yourself with the right support and make sure you use it! Asking questions and staying curious will help you in so many ways! Lastly, love where you are!