Kraft Foods Inaugural Blog

So I heard of this great idea of keeping a blog regarding what I do each day for my internship with Kraft Foods this Summer. I think it's a great idea and will help me reflect on my time this year with the company when my time is up at the end of the summer. I have a feeling this will be a longer entry, but given that it's the inaugural, I expect it to be :)

I was supposed to start today, but we're waiting on paperwork to clear and it looks like I will be starting Wednesday (hopefully!). I've been doing work throughout the semester for Kraft at their branch in Monticello, IL (35 minutes away from Champaign), so I am looking forward to hitting the ground running very soon. So far, I've sat in on sales meetings, learned the software for keeping track of my day, networked with other Sales Representatives in the Central Illinois region, and listened to conference calls.

It's been interesting learning about SKU's, MOD's, Voids, and how I am just about the only Cubs fan on the Sales team haha.

But I'm looking to keep each post from here on out shorter, with just a recap of what I did/learned for the day as well as people I may have met. I can't wait until this Summer is underway, I have Kraft Foods down pat, and look back and read this entry and laugh haha.

Well I think that's about it for today, so I'll check out and leave a list of goals I've made for myself this Summer:

• Treat everyday of work like the first day: excited, anxious, determined, and open-minded.
• Develop a wide Professional Network and stay in touch
• Hone the professional skills I already posses
  
• Be a 'Sponge' as my Dad calls it and take it all in
• Demonstrate my leadership in the workplace and become a dependable, reliable intern
• Learn the skills a Salesman possesses and picture how that may be relevant in another field, such as Marketing. Marketing is something I would really like to be in, but I definitely find it necessary to be in Sales in order to learn the nuts-and-bolts of the Company.
• Go the extra mile
• Make a great impression
• And lastly, secure a full-time position with Kraft Foods upon Graduation.

I'm sure new goals will be added along the way, but that's the initial list!

--Ryan