Hey, my name is Kevin Lu and I am currently a third-year student studying at the University of Auckland for a Bachelor's degree in Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Operations and Supply Chain Management.

Having worked at GWF has been such a privilege for me to grow as an individual and to understand more about the career choices that are available to me. What was great about working at GWF was the degree of freedom they gave me to do my work. I had the freedom to ask a lot of questions and travel around the different sites to get an insight as to what happens out on the fields. This was actually one of the factors that contributed to my decision to change one of my majors from management to operations and supply chain management. The freedom also enabled me to manage my tasks on my own and if I needed any support then I could ask anyone from around the office. This really honed my time management skills as it often meant balancing a few projects at a time and then completing them within the given timeframe.

GWF also gave me the opportunity to collaborate and work with not only those within GWF, but also other companies that are not FMCG companies. Most of these were marketing agencies so it was interesting to see the type of work that they did as well.

Being able to work and be surrounded by a bunch of professionals across different disciplines has really opened my eyes in terms of what the job market has to offer right now. My mind was quite narrow before starting the internship as I thought that roles like marketing were all about advertising and communications, but in reality, there are multiple facets for just that one role e.g., brand managers, digital marketers. What's also fascinating to me is the transition from working with students at my own startup business at the university compared to working with adults in a professional environment. Accountability for your own work and clear-cut communication were essential in the professional environment as opposed to working students who may never answer their emails!

My biggest takeaway from GWF was less so the technical skills of marketing but was more the soft skills that I gained during my time. Skills such as time management, clear-cut communication and people skills were definitely some of the attributes that I picked up through my internship. These skills are not often taught in university, so it's something that you have to learn through experience.

As someone who had little to no prior knowledge about the FMCG industry, I thought they provided a good insight into the FMCG industry especially when it came to the guest speakers we had. It's not often you have someone such as the CEO of foodstuffs come in to share his own experience about the industry. It was also interesting learning about the scale and impact of the FMCG industry as it is an industry that is overlooked by most people.

Definitely apply! You'll be surprised at the vast number of disciplinary roles that this industry offers. Whether you are interested in HR, marketing, property, or IT, this programme has a lot to offer for your respective roles. It's an exciting industry to work in and you definitely won't regret the experience of working at one of these companies. And best of all you'll get the opportunity to meet a whole bunch of new people from both your internship and the other interns that are a part of the programme.