Allison Zweig graduated from UConn in Spring 2022 as a Marketing major with a double minor in Communication and Spanish. Allison now serves as a Research Analyst at NielsenIQ (BASES), a global information services company. Allison was introduced to NielsenIQ when Tyler Delano, a UConn alum, came into her Marketing Research class (MKTG 3260). Tyler spoke to the class about the exciting life within BASES and the company culture. “It really inspired me to hear about how fun and rewarding a career in marketing research could be.” Allison recalls; she then applied for an internship at NielsonIQ. “My interview process consisted of two different video calls where they asked me a lot of situational interview questions like ‘Tell me about a time when…’, as well as an online exam.”. Allison was able to secure an internship with NeilsonIQ for Summer 2021, and went on to receive a full-time offer for July 2022.

A typical day for Allison is surrounded by analytical work and meetings. Most of Allison’s work consists of configuring the survey information and consulting with her team on how they want to present it to the client. As an analyst, she takes full control over projects where she interprets survey results and helps formulate them into insights that NielsonIQ delivers to one of their Fortune 500 clients. Allison has worked on a lot of fun projects during her time at NielsenIQ so far, but she claims her favorite thing about this role is the people. “It sounded cheesy to always hear how everyone’s favorite thing about this company was the people, but I have met some of the best people in this role. I’ve had the most supportive managers and mentors, who not only provided career advice to me but have made me feel valued as a person.’ she states.

At UConn, Allison took advantage of all the resources available to her. She was involved in different organizations and took various positions that helped to explore my career goals. Allison also took advantage of the UConn current student and alumni network. As mentioned earlier, she was introduced to her current role from a UConn alum who came to present in one of her courses. “There are so many hidden gems at UConn that you should take advantage of before you enter the working world.”, she advises. One piece of advice Allison would offer is to conduct informational interviews where you can talk to people in roles or career paths you’re interested in. Allison says this was “one of the most beneficial things I did while looking for a role”. Not only does it show interest, but you are able to gain additional perspective and insight into various roles and companies.

As a Marketing major with a Management minor, Melanie Montalvo plans to graduate from UConn in December of 2022. Aside from her studies, Melanie is currently a Product Marketing Intern at WebMD. Melanie has been in this position since June of 2022. What attracted Melanie to her current position is the great reputation of the company. At the time, Melanie was not familiar with what Product Marketing was. After doing some of her own research, the role piqued her interests. The interview process for this role at WebMD was “fairly simple and straightforward”, in Melanie’s opinion. She had an initial phone conversation with a recruiter and then was asked to do a video interview. The interview was with the Product Marketing Manager and two other team members. The deciding factor in accepting this role was that it was a remote position. Over this past summer, Melanie also took online classes and had a side job. If she had to commute into New York City it would have been a lot more stressful for her, so she was relieved to have the remote option.

There is no typical day as a Product Marketing Intern at WebMD and Melanie is always working on different projects. She is currently overseeing all updates to any product decks which are client facing. WebMD has been modernizing their product offerings and creating new mockups. Melanie is managing this project and something similar has not been done at the company in years. A lot of this work looks like collaborating with other teams, such as project management and creative, and working with an external agency to create new templates. Melanie’s favorite professional experiences so far have been with her team. “I am constantly being supported and my work is always appreciated and acknowledged. I definitely think having such a close team creates an environment where I am comfortable asking questions and for help. It’s great that there has been trust established and my manager gives me meaningful projects to work on. I also enjoy having weekly team meetings where we discuss work but can also be lighthearted.” Melanie recalls.

Some advice Melanie would give to undergraduate students who are currently looking for internships or full-time roles would be to not be discouraged by rejections or not hearing back from positions you have applied for. “There are tens if not hundreds of applicants for each position and the reality is that you won’t hear back from most of them.” Melanie states, “I went through probably around 15-20 interviews and the more comfortable I got with interviewing, the more confident I was which led to offers. It was definitely discouraging at first, but everyone goes through it, and you eventually will land something that is meant for you. It’s okay if the only thing you get from an interview is experience and practice.”.

Anna Mecca graduated from UCONN in May of 2022 as a Marketing major with a concentration in Professional Sales Leadership. Shortly after graduation, Anna took a position to work for Smith+Nephew, a global medical technology company, as part of their Commercial Leadership Rotational Program in Advanced Wound Care Management. Anna knew she wanted to be in the med-tech space and was especially interested in a role that offered a leadership development program. Smith+Nephew provides a 2-2.5 year program that consists of completing rotations within both marketing and sales divisions of the company, ultimately setting candidates up for a Sales Associate position. Anna states, “These programs really teach you the in’s and outs of a company, before accelerating to a more complex job role. This program in my eyes really teaches you how to first crawl, then walk, and eventually run!”.

As an undergraduate, Anna was a member of the UCONN Women in Business organization and was also on the UCONN Women’s Swim Team. Anna was among 15 female athletes nationwide to be selected to join the Women in Sports Foundation Mentorship Program. She was nominated by the UCONN Athletic Department, applied for the program, and was ultimately accepted. This enabled her to meet people within the sports world and get invaluable career guidance from professionals within the industry. Anna was very persistent in using the resources UCONN provides to their students. With that being said, UCONN partners with Parker Dewey, a micro internship platform that connects students and recent college graduates to employers. Here, company’s upload small projects onto Parker Dewey and students are able to apply and get compensated for meaningful work. One day while on the platform, Anna happened upon Smith+Nephew; who had posted a project titled, ‘Sales Pitch Presentation’. She noticed the company was in the med-tech space and that if done well, the sales pitch would be used as a job audition for their first Commercial Leadership Development Program. She applied for the project, was selected, and created a sales pitch presentation which she gave to 4 members of the sales/marketing team at Smith+Nephew. After a successful pitch, Anna received a call asking to officially interview. The process was broken into 3, 30 minute interviews each led by a different person in the Sales Department. Once completed, Anna got a call back the following week with a job offer! Her favorite experiences with Smith+Nephew so far have been through ‘OJT’ (On the Job) Field Trainings. Anna fondly recalls attending an OJT in Omaha, NE where she was able to shadow a Field Sales Trainer for a week out in the field. She was able to see surgeries, meet patients with wounds that use our product, talk to podiatrists and surgeons, discuss any questions she had along the way, and gained a better understanding of how Smith+Nephew operates.

Anna’s advice to current students is to use your resources! She declares, “It is CRUCIAL that you take advantage of the resources UCONN provides during your undergraduate career and expand your knowledge. Whether that be taking a resume class, meeting with an advisor in the Career Development Office, or taking a class that might pique your interest. You never know what opportunities can present themselves when you use the resources that you have at your disposal. So while at UCONN, make sure you take the time out of your busy schedule to focus on career development. Set aside a couple hours a week to devote your time to finding what you want to do and seeing if there are any opportunities out there. Don’t be afraid to ask for help too! If you’re in class and an employer comes in to speak about their company, if you’re interested, even in the slightest, go up to them and introduce yourself! Make that first impression and get yourself out of your comfort zone. As long as you are actively trying to ‘build your brand’ at UCONN, you will have much success!”.