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Amway: Shaping the Future Workforce 

As a global company putting people first, Amway offers rich, cross-cultural career experiences with the goal of helping individuals build better and healthier lives for themselves, their communities and their families.  

At Amway, “potential is a powerful word.” That is why the company highly values its robust summer internship program. Last summer, over 50 interns from 48 schools across nine states worked at Amway on various projects.  

“Internships at Amway serve as a vital pipeline for identifying and nurturing future talent, allowing us to evaluate potential hires in real-world scenarios,” said Reed Swift, Manager of Talent Acquisition at Amway, noting there are 167 former interns currently working at the company.  

Not only does Amway’s internship program represent an important aspect of the company’s talent pipeline, it injects fresh thinking and energy into the company. That energy and creativity can lead to new ways of doing things that improve products and processes, control costs, and create even better experiences for Amway’s Independent Business Owners (IBOs) and customers. 

Sometimes, interns have the opportunity to conduct research that not only improves the company’s products but also generates long-term environmental benefits. Nour Kanaan, a Michigan State University (MSU) student pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering, conducted a project looking at replacing microplastics found in skincare products. This work is important for Amway’s Artistry skincare line and helps ensure Amway remains compliant with stringent European guidelines.  

“Everyone here has been super helpful, providing mentoring and guidance,” Nour said. “The job market is so tough, but I think the internship experience has provided me with a competitive advantage.”  

Maria Artiga, a CalPoly Pomona student, spent the summer investigating alternative ingredients used in Amway’s Nutrilite products. Her work supported the company in enhancing transparency in ingredient labeling, thereby leading to stronger brand trust. Maria deeply appreciates her experience with Amway and how the company helped prepare her for her future career. 

“My mentor was the best I’ve ever had … she’s shattered my view of beauty in the best way possible,” said Maria. She would “definitely be open to working at Amway” if offered a role upon graduation, she said, but she is grateful for the experience Amway has provided her either way.   

Emily Richardson, a chemical engineering major at Purdue University, worked on streamlining documentation of Amway’s rigorous quality assurance process, ensuring the protocol is clear to new employees. She says these documents are often referred to as “the Bible of QA” at Amway, as they provide the guidance needed to ensure all the appropriate steps are taken to deliver the highest quality products to customers.   

“At Amway, I was treated as an equal and my work was viewed as important,” said Emily. She said she would consider coming back to work for Amway because of the people and their mission. “When they talk about core values, they really mean it.”  

Majoring in Advertising Management and Chinese at MSU, Lauren Burns was thrilled to land an internship with a company with a global reach like Amway. Her project supported the development of a global strategy for nutrition product sampling – ranked as the number one selling tool by IBOs – to help Amway products cut through the noise and grab consumer attention.  

The internship involved “a big learning curve … but a necessary one,” she said, adding that these experiences “can’t be found in a textbook.” 

Quinton Hendrickson, an Applied Engineering student at MSU, estimated his summer project would help reduce changeover times on a bottling line by 60 percent, saving the company $250,000.  

“School and work are two different things,” he said. “An internship helps you learn what you like and what you don’t like, and it helps you understand how to operate in a professional workplace.” 

For Tyler Tappin, a computer science student at Davenport University, his two summer internships at Amway were life changing.  

“At Amway, they want you to succeed and give you the resources you need,” he said. “They told me, ‘You are going to make an impact … this is how and why.’”  

And now, Tyler has a job offer awaiting him upon graduation this Spring, which will make him former intern #168 working at Amway. 

“I was very excited to receive the offer,” he said. “But my mom was even more excited!”  

As college career placement departments know very well, students who complete internships experience an increased likelihood of landing a job upon graduation. Often, they land at the company they interned at, like hundreds of former Amway interns who have gained fulltime employment with Amway over the decades. At other times, these interns end up with another employer who is happy to benefit from the skills and knowledge they acquired.  

Amway is proud to play a role in helping shape our nation’s future workforce through its annual summer internship program.