Home

10%

The Dream, Internship

"Since when did backing down make us successful people?" - my baby sister

By AnhPhuong

March 25^th, 2018

In july, 2017

I joined P&G as part of the Dream Internship program.

The internship alone was the second biggest challenge I have experienced in my undergrad years, which in turn equals to the second largest learning opportunity. Prior to the internship is a seven-month process started way back from P&G CEO Academy in November 2016. Not only was the application period an exciting professional challenge, it also accelerated my emotional maturation through the interview journeys and the reflection period after the internship has finished.

Seven months of application and three-and-a-third months of internship later, I was brought to the moon with an acceptance from the P&G folks. And now, finally started to breath normally again, I want to share with you my story, and occasionally the stories of my peers in the program that summer.

So, what is it like at P&G?

THE gists

ONE // Interns matter and do projects that matter.

Our Dream Internship batch welcomed three interns, two in Sales - Mon & Tran, one in Marketing - myself. We were all given major projects that directly matters to P&G's business. From Day 1, I was briefed with a project so big I thought that it was a mistake. "Who the hell thought this would be a good idea for an intern?" My mates in Sales were tasked with the same kind of things. Interns weren't there to do paperwork, join mid-execution, nor make barista-duties, we were there to solve big challenges and transform in the process.

To finish our respective challenges, we were expected to initiate as confidently and to go as in-depth as any new hires. Consequently, what we were aided with in order to deliver were real business analyses, all the consumer knowledge at P&G, training from Nielsen, brand knowledge from global team and insightful coaching from my seniors: my manager Hao, and my buddy Minh. The learning experience was unparalleled.

Interns are expected to initiate as confidently and to go as in-depth as any new hires.

Direct training and knowledge is the-given-half. The other half, one that made all difference, is our own effort. I personally interviewed over 40 people for my project. Tran visited over 50 convenience stores for her project. And Mon visited over 150 wet markets, which equals a couple hundreds of stores. At the end of the day, I realized those interviews were the most valuable lessons that I had learned. Rarely is there an opportunity in Vietnam for students to get real insights from consumers at such scale. Mastering consumer interviews is an articulate task in and of itself.

TWO // WELCOME TO THE BIGGEST STAGE FOR MARKETING.

Working in mass consumer goods firms like P&G is equal to dancing on the biggest stage for marketing. You get to talk about what's happening and what's next to consumers every part of Vietnam and directly involved in the making of that force of energy. What we're earning and buying is undoubtedly the fabric of our lives, and I feel a great warmth thinking my every day work is leaving a positive footprint to Vietnamese everywhere. They are mothers like the one I have, uncles and aunts like those I love, brothers and sisters like those I hang out with.

P&G is definitely not the only company that is trying to do the same thing. During my assignments, I worked with partners like Ipsos, Nielsen, Kantar, and Saatchi & Saatchi, and observed other FMCG firms as competitors and fellow marketers at the same time. It was a truly immersive, well-rounded, and exceptionally authentic experience in Marketing.

The Dream, Internship

Three // Get ready to be Proterized real hard and real fast

Huyen Anh, the HR manager, our biggest touchpoint with P&G during the application process, and an unofficial coach, was the one first mentioned the word "Procterized" to us three. It's the process of how someone starts to show certain qualities that is uniquely P&G and immerse in the organization.

Tran, Mon, and I joined town halls, had lunches with mostly everyone, say Hi! to our directors in elevators and the Starbucks downstair. Everyone just assumed we were employees. So we witnessed a period where the organization changed, new friends changing assignments and moving to other parts of the world, the brand team pitching to regional and global team for the fiscal year. We learned abbreviations and acronyms, practiced abbreviations and acronyms, and then spoke abbreviations and acronyms like mother-tongue in the span of a few weeks. We learned to joke in English and bettered our vocabulary. Very quickly and suddenly, from things that are as apparent as the language to things as fuzzy as the comforting Downy smell down the hall, we were let in as a P&G people, we were Procterized.

the work

I got onboard to P&G with one simple objective: bridging the gap between being a student and being a beginner in the profession. I wanted a real working experience and boy, did I get much more than I asked for.

Across the hall of expectations, P&G wants you to be management-ready after the internship role. Therefore I was not shelved from any of the real things that an ABM had to do on their job. I was given a real project of substantial scale, which was to be launch that October in the South. It was one of the haircare team's biggest initiatives in 2018, and involved all aspects of FMCG marketing that one can think of. From the thinking and talking parts: strategic planning, analysing Nielsen index and market trends, qualitative and quantitative studies to find consumer insights, pitching to my managers and leadership team, etc. To the thinking and acting parts: going to a near hundred of supermarkets and small stalls, talking to random pedestrians in parks and in the building lobbies, making claims, visuals and testing them, working with other teams like R&D and legals from other P&G subsidiaries.

The Dream, Internship

They were not all rainbows and unicorns. Some part of the job I could get started right away, and some other parts that was similar to moving mountains at first. Fortunately, it was not like everything came at me at once, I was slowly warmed up to it.

It was a truly immersive, well-rounded, and exceptionally authentic experience in Marketing.

And even though my manager and buddy always generously give me all the credits, "guys this is the girl tasked with this ginormous project", the actual results were possible because they thought everything through, planned out everything and made sure I was given space to fail and eventually reach a destination somewhere near what they had in mind.

Which bring to the part that is closest to my heart:

THE PEOPLE

If the Dream Internship was my novel, the characters inside made it such a good one. From Day 1, I was welcomed by everyone's smiles and handshakes, people from all the teams and functions.

I reunited with c. Lan Phuong from Ung Vien Tai Nang 2015 on my first day, she sat me down in one conference room and gave me all the know-hows around the office and the work before I even got a chance to ask her for help. C. Han, an ex-intern from the batch before mine, caught me working late one evening and took me to noodles. A. Khoa, haircare team's finance analyst, was always coming by my desk asking the progress of my project and how he could help. The morning before my presentation, he sat me down in his desk and heroically got some calculation done for me. Talks with him refined my proposal and even inspired great ideas which I brought into my final offerings. Maya, who went out of her ways to help me and Mon in so many ways notwithstanding her own workload alone, was a treat to us interns' hearts and sights.

The interns and several new hires were all hearts and helps. Talked to Clover for hours to learn the sales' team standpoint in selling Head & Shoulders. Partied and karaoke with Nga, Tran, and Mon. Visits to Mon's market activation. And walks around Le Duan Str.

Buddy Minh and Friday treats.

Movies with Minh, Maya, Truc.

One night after work.

Going home from Bui Vien.

Karaoke Saturday, Nga, Tran and Mon.

"Co Gai Den Tu Hom Qua", second date with Truc!

Finally, Hao, Minh and Truc, how could I even begin to tell you guys about them. When I look back across all the pieces of joy and turmoil happening that summer, they were everywhere. Minh took me to a welcome dinner and frequently let me see him work, thus understand the daily job of an ABM. Truc was not just a mentor but a friend, whose patient observation and kind storytelling frequently rocked my project to its core. Hao is impossible. Me saying anymore about him reveals too much of the sentiments I experienced under his guidance and care.

After the internship, I asked him: "Why did the team let an intern in on this project? Aren't you afraid I'm just gonna waste your time?" He answered a-matter-of-factly, like it has been on his minds times and times before:

“Every strategy is a choice you have to make. It was between delivering the project on our own and building the people. There is no way you could do both — so for me, it was an easy choice to make.”

All and all, it's hard to find better people. Especially as I'm writing this piece, I have been here and there, encountered different masses of them. The more I look back the more I cherished and missed P&G dearly. If you enjoy the excitement of FMCG but frequently find unnecessary aggressiveness distasteful, I cannot recommend a better place where people really care and help each other grow.

Hao's hand-writing.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

"Long AF" - Tran

Tran candid response made me laugh aloud when I asked her last year. It was December, Tran, Mon, and I were in a Hanoi pub sipping delicious liquids, cozying up as a band plays just as sweet. Mon and I had to agree, especially when our application process was even longer than what Tran experienced. Started from P&G CEO Academy in November 2016, my application ended with a final interview in May 2017. The waiting period was excruciating, but the dots in between all but made up for the gaps. Perhaps you've past all the tests and wondering when your turn would be. Don't worry you're not gonna be overlooked. You just have to wait.

It was at this very table, where I embarked on that remarkable journey: spending 3 hours in the most beautiful cafe editing my CV and finished the digital test.

CV SUBMISSION AND ONLINE TEST

CV submission, online logical reasoning and aptitude test took about 3 hours, which permitted my presence in the P&G CEO Academy. I cannot help you with the aptitude test for I don't understand it myself, I just chose what felt right to my judgement and experience.

What you can prepare, hopefully, is a good enough understanding of English so you don't mess up chances that could have justly belonged to you. If you're in your freshman or sophomore year, elevate your IELTS game. About the CV, I've had dozens and dozens of CV drafts during my 4 years until I finally have my "it" CV.

Some ready-to-go materials to prepare for the offline tests, I recommend reading my HRCers' work, listed below.

Begin - Kinds of Aptitude Tests: https://hrc.com.vn/thong-tin/chinh-phuc-ngay-4-dang-aptitude-test-pho-bien-nhat-thi-truong-tuyen-dung-hien-nay.html
Dig in - Numerical Reasoning: https://hrc.com.vn/thong-tin/chinh-phuc-1-numerical-reasoning-test-tham-hoa-cho-nhung-nguoi-khong-hoc-gioi-toan.html
Dig in - Diagrammatic Reasoning: https://hrc.com.vn/thong-tin/chinh-phuc-2-diagrammatic-reasoning-test-hoa-mat-toi-mat-voi-tu-duy-logic.html

the interviews

The interviews were an honest peek into the P&G experiences. My first interview was with Hao, who became my direct manager. The supposed second and third ones were bundled up into a single interview but with two seniors: Clark from CMK and Sanjay a former VP. They were standard questions with a twist and on the rock. They all started off breezy and then deep dived into corners of your naive soul (if you let them).

My advice? Prepare and don't prepare. You can easily look up popular interview questions, situational judgement so-and-sos to warm yourself up. But also don't over-prepare them, sticking to a script gives you the impression of insincerity and also with a little bit of nerve you will screw it up.

The most important thing you can do is reflect on your past experiences, remember how and why those events made who you are today -- and believe who you are today will fit with P&G in the future.

What if I tell you can prepare for these kinds of interviews a few years in advance? Spend your university life telling great stories. Forget whatever prizes that seems luxurious and tempting, be devoted and committed to impactful stories and meaningful lessons. I had never come close to mentioning any of my awards or prizes, and fortunately not even my GPA. Hao, Clark, and Sanjay asked me "Why did you set this and that objective for your website, what was the thought process?" "Have you ever had to make choices under a budget? How and why?". I was blessed with the rich experiences out of two years in HRC, and helping my sister with her English schools -- lesson-filled work, actual work, work that you owned and was responsible for and kept you toss and turn at night just to wake up all the more motivated in the morning.

This girl story, one of many in P&G's Day 1 series, was so similar to mine. She too handled break-ups and family businesses at the same time when she was "managing insane budgets, [she was] leading large teams".

"So there's this drive and this hunger to constantly raise the bar. There are still days when I wake up and pinch myself.”

the end.

Recently I was given two hours to talk with 1st-and-2nd-year student in Ho Chi Minh City about Marketing career paths. Somebody asked me what was it like, the P&G Dream Internship. The moment her question finished, my answer slipped out immediately, 'it was the best internship you can get in Vietnam for Marketing'.

People at P&G are too smart to disqualify you for lack of first impressions. They, however, will know if you're lack of depths to offer. That is not what I tell myself to keep absorbing life and refine my judgement, to be better for the company.

If you're young into your 1st and 2nd year, hopefully this blog will help you set your eyes on the right target, an FMCG firm with values. If you've past the 3rd year curb for the internship, I trust you to constantly trace your roots to workplaces that really suit who you are.

You're gonna spend the rest of your life working. Might as well have some fun out of it. Don't jump at the first company that you find, keep cherry picking to really choose one that fits you!

The Dream, Internship

before you go ..

If this post has helped you in anyway, I would love to know how did it help you in the comment! If it did not, feel free to send me a message about your situation with P&G internship.

Subscribe to read more of my stuff! Nice to meet you, friends.

© 2026 AnhPhuong

Danang, April 2023

Shake your microscopic boat a little

Bali, March 2023

August 22^nd, 2021

Singapore, 2021

My review of Pixar's Soul

Don't love one thing, love everything, and pass it on.

What can we do?

as a fellow human, what can we do?

Loading, please hold on.