Joshua Chinn – Gap Inc.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of working at Gap Inc.’s headquarters was not the projects I worked on, but rather the people I met.
San Francisco (and the Bay Area as a whole) is a hub of talent, culture, and people. In 7×7 square miles, there is an unending pool of personality, both from locals and from outsiders. I had the wonderful opportunity of working with some of those brilliant minds during my time while doing sourcing, supply chain management, and procurement at Gap.
Every day, I was greeted by a gorgeous view overlooking the San Francisco Bay, as I got to work on my sourcing research. My team was in charge of 3rd party licensing for the entire Gap Company (including BR, Athleta, and Old Navy). I was tasked on researching both online, and in person, the competitive market for fragrances for Gap. I didn’t know much about men’s colognes (nor women’s perfumes) but I quickly learned that the team is extremely prideful after winning 2014 Men’s Fragrance of the Year with Banana Republic’s Modern fragrance. I worked hand-in-hand with my manager discussing, exploring, and investigating the competitive fragrance maker market.
While my work and projects were fascinating, my favorite part of the job was getting to know the people. I had the opportunity to work on teams with undergraduate and graduate students attending top-notch schools across the country. These people were absolutely brilliant and came up with fantastic ideas.
Along the way, there were social events and happy hours I was invited to, to meet team members as well as the other interns. One of the best parts of the internship was getting to have private conversations with Art Peck (CEO), Kindley Walsh-Lawlor (Corp Social Responsibility), the CTO, CFO, Head of Gap, Head of Banana Republic, and Head of Old Navy. I got to sit down and talk with each of these people for an hour each. It was absolutely amazing getting to pick the minds of the business leaders of a multinational corporation. There was a culminating project at the end of the internship where each team of 4-5 interns presented findings to the heads of the company, where everyone showed off their skills and research.
Overall, having an internship at a well-known company and being able to talk about projects, people, and presentations have greatly benefited my application process for my senior year recruiting process. I would most definitely recommend reaching out to companies that you have a personal interest in. Getting to work with things that I use every day and have a personal passion for made going to work so much better.
