Meet Tom from IT

Why did you decide to apply for a placement at PepsiCo?

I was attracted to PepsiCo when I came here for the interview and the assessment centre day – everyone was so friendly and made me feel so comfortable (I was quite nervous on the day)! I heard about the benefits of the company and also got a chance to talk about the students who were already on placement who seemed to be really enjoying themselves!

How well do you get on with your fellow students, and how important have they been to you settling in at PepsiCo?

I sat next to Tristan, who I took over from, and had loads of help from him. I had help from someone else in the office who mentored me for the duration of my placement, so I've been quite lucky!

What does your typical day at PepsiCo involve?

I make sure all the backups for the systems run ok, and make sure they are sent offsite to an external company. I also look after Symantec and the antiviral software for the company. I've also taken on the role of 'Problem Manager' for Compute dealing with incidences and daily checks.

What's the best thing about working at PepsiCo?

Getting treated like a proper employee!

What's the worst thing about working at PepsiCo?

All the free food!

Had you heard of PepsiCo before you applied for a student placement?

No I hadn't actually. I was quite surprised at the number of brands I already knew that PepsiCo owns!

What was the application process like?

I applied to quite a few places, maybe 10 or 15? PepsiCo were definitely the fastest at getting back to me – which is really good because when you've had an interview you don't want to be waiting ages to hear back!

Have you got any advice for potential applicants for next year's student placements?

Do everything you can and take every opportunity that you can.

How would you sum up working at PepsiCo?

It's a great experience and you learn a lot. I've learned so much since I've been here!