The Power of Networking & A Tri-City Exposure – Cracking the Interviews at Diageo
Never underestimate the power of networking, building relationships and keeping our LinkedIn profiles updated – this was one of the many learnings I got during my time at SP Jain which helped me reach where I am today. While pursuing my Master of Global Business (MGB) degree, I gathered the right set of technical and soft skills while also gaining the global exposure and platform to set foot in one of the best FMCG companies in the world. The Corporate Relations team at SP Jain put in tremendous effort into making sure we had the right ‘action words’ that highlighted our abilities in the best way possible. Multiple workshops were conducted to help us perfect our resume and make it impactful.
Little did I know that something as minor as commenting on a LinkedIn post would result in me receiving an interview call and would commence my challenging yet rewarding interview process at Diageo.
My interview process at Diageo went on for 4 months and with every round that went by, I felt my confidence build up. I used the STAR method that was taught to us during our Professional Readiness Program (PRP) and always had an apt reasoning and story behind every single point highlighted on my resume.
My Diageo interview process consisted of 5-6 rounds of skype interviews which included generic, technical and situational questions. This is where a lot of my classroom lessons and notes came handy – all the Student Board Rooms (SBR) and classroom activities that we participated in Brand Management and IMC were put to use. In addition to the interview rounds, the hiring process also had online assessments that had to be taken to assess if a candidate was fit for a role – while scary at first, this was also quite exciting for me. The assessment consisted of a personality test and tested candidates on their logical, quantitative, and behavioral skills. In all, the online tests took about 3 hours to complete. While the assessment tests were fun and consisted of logical puzzles, the quantitative section reminded me a lot of the CAT/GMAT paper, with several analysing bar graphs and pie charts.
To prepare for the interviews, I analysed the job description at Diageo and sought the help of the key topics covered during my Marketing classes. My internship experience also went a long way in helping me prepare for this interview. The access to the EBSCOhost and Euromonitor helped me gather information on the company and the landscape it operates in which I could leverage to quote the exact facts and figures during my interview instead of sticking to abstract statements.
At SP Jain, our classrooms were a platform and a place of opportunity for those who wished to benefit from it – I learnt a lot from my peers and faculty. During my term at Sydney, I got the opportunity to work in the very futuristic Neuromarketing Lab, wherein I trained on the software with Dr Nicholas Hamelin who helped outside the classroom hours, even though it was beyond my curriculum.
Living and studying in three international cities, I had a strong advantage in terms of understanding and observing consumption patterns at different countries first-hand. This became a good ice breaker and helped the interview seem more like a conversation rather than a one-way communication. All these experiences made me stand out as a millennial marketing student with the right aptitude, knowledge and exposure.
About the Author: Puneet Kaur
Puneet Kaur is a Master of Global Business alumnus of SP Jain School of Global Management. She is currently placed as the Assistant Manager – Sales (Premium on Premise) with Diageo in Bangalore, India.
