Internship Spotlight: Reann Bressler, General Mills

Reann Bressler BSBA ‘24 (Marketing) was a Retail Sales Intern at General Mills in Phoenix, Arizona.

What was the process for getting this internship, job, or summer experience?

I found out about this opportunity from the Eller College of Management Career Fair. I talked with the recruiters, handed them my resume, and received a call to come in for first round interviews that next day in Eller. Then, the recruiting team was very communicative with me and helpful throughout the process. They requested I join for a second round interview via zoom with a representative from the office I'd be working in (Phoenix). Within a week or so, I received a formal offer, so overall, the process was very quick.

What was your favorite part of the experience?

My favorite part of the experience was the last week of the internship, in which General Mills flew all the interns across the country to their headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota! The headquarters are massive and has so many fun parts to it like a testing kitchen, cereal bar, gift shop, Caribou Coffee shop, and more. The interns and I engaged in a Q and A with the CEO, Jeff Harmening, visit a baseball game, and have time to explore the city. It was an amazing way to end the summer.

If you worked on a big project, please describe it below:

I worked on three big projects, but my favorite project was a Post-Promotion Analysis over mid-sized cereal boxes and Yoplait core cups. I used a software that showed me every promotion that has ever been ran in the past years to compare this year's sales versus last year. I analyzed why one year did better than the other for reasons such as the imaging on the ad, pricing, page number it fell on, distribution, and more to contribute to the sales numbers. My recommendations on these ads would be used to help adapt their strategy for future promotions, and I was able to see them be implemented in stores.

What advice do you have for other students looking for a similar experience, or advice for future students to be successful?

If you are looking to find an internship like this one or any in general, I would recommend taking on leadership roles or preceptorships to show you have the ability to communicate, work technology, and are well-rounded. Any program or job is very teachable, but having a "go-getter" personality is what sets you apart from the rest of the applicants.