Name: Doug

Year: Senior

Major: Psychology

CFS Concentration: Business Field Studies

I am currently interning at Nielsen Perishables Group, a market research company that focuses primarily on fresh foods; the office is located in the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. For those that have heard about Nielsen, this is another side of Nielsen that is not as well known. Perishables Group was a small company that was acquired by Nielsen in 2012 and has grown considerably since its inception in 2000. The office itself is really unique, the building itself is like something out of the Second Industrial Revolution with exposed brick walls and heating ducts. The furniture in the office is very modern and contemporary; everyone who works here has tempered glass desks and a lot of updated technology at their disposal. This is in direct contrast with the Nielsen office in downtown Chicago where there is a much more corporate feel. I feel that Nielsen Perishables Group offers a very unique opportunity for an internship because of its situation. Nielsen Perishables Group is a subsidiary of Nielsen and was its own entity prior to 2012. As a result, Perishables Group still maintains a decent amount of autonomy and this allows the company to have the feel of a start-up while receiving all the benefits of working under the Nielsen corporation name.

The interview process was actually a little daunting at first. After the initial resume drop (done for you by the wonderful Karen Allen) there was a phone interview, and after the phone interview I was asked by my eventual manager to do a category review for a major supermarket chain in a large market. I was a little intimidated at first, but I’ll assume I passed that because I was then asked to come in to the office where I had 3 separate behavioral interviews with client managers and associates to see if I was a fit for a company. I was soon given an offer that I accepted.

When I walked into the office on the first day, everyone was very welcoming and analysts who were busy with their work immediately dropped what they were doing to introduce themselves to me which I felt was very reflective of the culture at Nielsen Perishables Group. I have noticed that everyone is willing to help me whenever I am struggling and this is great because I feel like I am always learning about how to do my job correctly but I am also learning about work life and Nielsen as a company. I am still getting a feel for the ins and outs of the office, but so far I am really enjoying it. I have already been through a week’s worth of training and have been assigned my first major project doing historical research and data pulls for consumer trends on produce for the past 5 years and analyzing how the trends have changed. On a lighter note, the office had a White Elephant party two weeks after Christmas, which was a great time.

I highly recommend Nielsen Perishables Group as an internship; the people are fantastic, the office is really cool, and the commute really isn’t bad. I am only in my second week on the job, but I really believe that I have learned so much already and I feel that this belief will only be reaffirmed the next two months I am here.