I pretty much went into hiding since January because I was devoting 99% of my free time to finding a summer internship. I applied to 18 companies, and I had seven interviews (some were two-part interviews). I decided this week to accept my offer from Unilever to assist their marketing efforts this summer in their Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey office.

If you aren’t familiar with the company, they are the firm behind personal care brands such as: All, Axe, Caress, Dove, Degree, Q-Tips, Slim-Fast, Snuggle, Suave, and Vaseline… and they are also behind food brands such as: Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyer’s, Country Crock, Good Humor, Hellman’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Klondike, Lipton, Popsicle, Skippy, and Wishbone. I do not yet know which brand I will be working on, but I’m excited just to have the chance.

Frankly, I’m amazed that they gave me the offer. As a former software developer, it is not easy to convince an interviewer that I want to go into consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing. Thanks in part to the conversational format of the Unilever interview, I think I was able to get across my genuine interest in working for them, so I’m extremely glad it worked out. I will not disappoint them this summer!