“Schwan’s Interns You Need to Know” is a new series of stories featuring some of the interns who help make Schwan’s Company and its subsidiaries a great place to work.
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| Damon Hamilton joined our team this summer as a marketing intern for Schwan's Consumer Brands, Inc. |
Hamilton returns to the classroom with real-life work experience
Sept. 5, 2018 — As the fall semester begins, many college students will be returning to their universities with value-added insights from their summer internship experiences. One of those students is Damon Hamilton, who participated as a marketing intern with our team in Schwan’s Consumer Brands, Inc.“As someone who decided to change my career to marketing, before graduation, I wanted to make sure I had experience working on marketing at a consumer packaged goods company to better understand what a career in marketing might look like,” Damon said. “The combination of on-campus recruiting, location and the culture brought me to Schwan’s for the summer.”
As a first-year MBA student at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Damon’s primary focus was the frozen-pizza category. His two projects this summer included a category assessment and analysis of mainstream frozen pizza as well as developing recommendations for best practices for pricing and merchandising.
Damon was one of several students who participated in our summer internship program. Before departing for the fall semester, he took some time to tell us about his experience and development journey.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: Tell us something about you that most people would not know.
A: Most people probably wouldn’t know that I didn’t learn to ride a bike until college.
Q: What do you like best about your work at Schwan’s?
A: I like that it’s challenging but in a familiar way. While this is my first time working in marketing, I have experience working in project management. The two have similarities in some ways. I get to work on a cross-functional team and rely on the knowledge of the subject matter experts around me to make recommendations. Everyone has been extremely helpful and willing to go out of their way to see my success.
Q: What have you learned so far this summer at Schwan’s?
A: I’ve learned a lot about the associate brand manger role as well as the skills necessary for success. I have learned about the current and future state of the mainstream frozen-pizza category. I’ve also real experience and understanding on how different marketing levers affect sales and profit.
Q: What are your thoughts on Schwan’s culture?
A: I really like the Schwan’s culture and feel that I have fit in well here. Everyone is very collaborative and willing to help each other on projects. There is also a clear vision for the future of the company, and it seems like everyone knows their role in getting there.
Q: What is your greatest take away from your internship at Schwan’s?
A: I’ve learned to ask early and often. As with any new employee, but especially as an intern, we’re not expected to know everything about the business, and we don’t really have enough time to. We have to rely on the experts around us to help guide us and provide support for our projects.
Q: What would you tell a friend considering an internship at Schwan’s?
A: I would encourage them to apply if they wanted to work in a collaborative environment where they can be challenged.
Q: What is your favorite Schwan’s product and why?
A: My favorite Schwan’s product is the Red Baron® pizza because it tastes really good, especially at its price point.
Q: How do you think that your internship will impact your future career?
A: This internship will help me decide if I want to pursue a career in marketing after graduation — which I have decided to pursue after this experience.
