Running with the Big Dogs

By Emily Daniels

Last year, Dividends featured a College of Business student who shared her experiences working as a summer intern for e-commerce and global conglomerate Amazon, which is currently the world’s leading online retailer. This year, two of our COB students had the opportunity to work for another e-commerce giant – Chewy, Inc., an American online retail company specializing in pet food and other pet-related products. Founded in 2011, the online retail giant made its debut among Fortune 500 companies and has become a huge success despite the existence of online heavy hitters like Amazon and Walmart.com, which also sell pet products.

So what is Chewy’s key to success? They are offering a shopping experience that the others are not: 24/7 customer service in which consumers can speak to actual pet loving agents who are well versed in the products sold for a wide variety of animals and can assist customers in making the right choices for their pets’ specific needs. Additionally, Chewy offers prescription foods and medications that can be mailed or auto-shipped after sending an approval request to a pet’s veterinarian.

Millennials and Gen Z-ers have also contributed to Chewy’s success. According to a study by Wakefield Research, 76 percent of millennials said that they were more likely to splurge on a luxury item – such as gourmet treats or a custom bed – for their pets than for themselves. This is because many pet owners humanize their furry friends, treating them like first-born children.

The company itself has become an attractive place to work for the younger workforce – especially pet lovers. Chewy was named a “Top 10 Employer Brand” in Boston in both 2019 and 2020. According to Comparably.com, “Chewy’s Employer Brand is comprised of an A+ rating for Retention, an A+ rating for Office Culture and an A+ rating for Happiness.”

We recently sat down with students Jack Camilleri and Gabe Blaylock, who worked as interns for Chewy over the summer, to hear about their experiences working with the company. It was Gabe’s first internship with the company and Jack’s second.

How did you find out about the internship?

Jack: I found out about Chewy through a former member of the College of Business Ambassadors, Shea Flanagan, who now works for the company. She had interned there a year before and spoke very highly of her experience. I was really interested to see what it was like to work in an e-commerce environment, and I’ve always loved animals. Chewy naturally seemed like the perfect fit for me, and I was right! After landing the internship, I immediately fell in love with the culture and atmosphere.

Gabe: This was my first year working for Chewy. Last year, Jack told me about all the internship opportunities offered at Chewy and how much he loved working there. As a supply chain logistics (SCL) major, I had been looking for internships that would help me gain experience in that field prior to graduation. I did some more research on Chewy and learned what a hugely successful corporation it is and decided to apply, and I’m so glad I did!

Gabe Blaylock, left, shown with fellow Chewy intern Robert Gentile of Rutgers University, appreciated the opportunity to develop a network of peers from across the country.

Photo courtesy of Gabe Blaylock

What was your greatest strength in your intern role?

Jack: My greatest strength in my role was being able to see problems from a different perspective. Since I am a finance and marketing major, I was able to think outside the box and attack projects in creative ways. Using things I learned from my classes in the workplace was extremely fulfilling and helped me become a productive business analyst.

Gabe: I was able to put the skills learned in my SCL classes to the test there, since we had to have a full knowledge of software systems such as Excel, Tableau, TMI and Körber One tracking and analytics systems, as well as the skills necessary to manage an 80- to 100-man crew in a single shift.

How would you describe a typical day as a Chewy intern?

Jack: This past summer was my second year as an intern for Chewy. The first year I was part of the Customer Service team, and this year I joined the Employer Branding & Talent Acquisition for Fulfillment Centers team at the corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I would go to the office and have a quick meeting with my team to determine the top priorities for the day. My work consisted of conducting data analysis for the 13 fulfillment centers, managing expenses, updating the careers site and implementing new features. I also worked with third party vendors to create new marketing tactics. It wasn’t just all work though. I got to meet and play with new pets every day since all employees are allowed to bring their dogs to work!

Gabe: I served as an Outbound Operations Manager intern at Chewy’s first fully automated fulfillment center in Jessup, PA, where I was responsible for line flow, data analytics, employee management and safety, communication, shipping and product fulfillment. A typical day for me was to meet with our 350-man team at 6:30 a.m. to go over the target goals of the day and tasks to improve on. Next, we would run analytics on the shift from time goals to package movements and blockages to find ways to expedite the shift’s production output. Following that, we would do all mandatory shift interactions, including employee improvement trainings and manager recommendations. Then, we would run the full shift with a goal of hitting roughly 80,000 units a day and, at the end of the shift, run final analytics of the entire shift with the Head of Operations Managers.

What is the most valuable thing you learned through this experience?

Jack: The most valuable thing I learned was how to build and lead an effective team. I had an amazing manager who mentored me throughout my entire internship. I learned that regardless of how hard one individual works, nothing can be accomplished without a team. Getting real world experience is the best.

Gabe: I learned so many things throughout the internship process, but one of the most important to me was learning the value of networking. Because of the network that Mississippi State University and the College of Business provided for me, I was able to obtain an interview with Chewy. During the internship, I built so many relationships with people I worked with from all over the country who had similar career aspirations as me. Having a strong professional network is essential to your success, no matter what you do in life.

What advice would you give to other students seeking internship opportunities?

Gabe: My advice to other interns seeking an internship is to reach out to as many recruiters as possible and take every opportunity that comes your way. Even if an internship does not interest you initially, take a chance. You should do your research on every company you apply to and build up your skillset to match as many requirements as you can. I took a risk moving to Pennsylvania and was very nervous going into it, but it ended up being a great opportunity for me as well as a very rewarding experience.

Jack: APPLY, APPLY, APPLY! The worst thing you can do is to not try. Getting real world experience while you’re in school is the best thing you can get out of an internship. You get to see how you can apply what you have studied in the classroom to real business situations. Internships can also help you decide what you want – and what you don’t want – to be!

In his second summer internship with Chewy, Jack Camilleri joined the Employer Branding & Talent Acquisition for Fulfillment Centers team at corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.

Photo courtesy of Jack Camilleri