How to Apply to PepsiCo

12 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 4302 open positions

Key Takeaways

  • Apply through pepsicojobs.com (corporate, professional, and global roles) or pepsifrontlinecareers.com (US frontline delivery, warehouse, sales, and merchandising roles). Create a complete Candidate Zone profile and ensure every field is filled out — incomplete profiles are deprioritized by recruiters.
  • PepsiCo uses CandidateCare (powered by Avature) as its applicant tracking system. Mirror keywords from the job description in your resume, complete all prescreen questions thoughtfully, and submit a clean single-column resume in PDF or Word format without tables, images, or headers/footers.
  • Master The PepsiCo Way — the seven leadership behaviors that frame every interview: Be Consumer Centric, Act as Owners, Focus and Get Things Done Fast, Voice Opinions Fearlessly, Raise the Bar on Talent and Diversity, Celebrate Success, and Act with Integrity. Map your STAR stories explicitly to these behaviors.
  • Prepare 8 to 10 STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) stories covering leadership, conflict resolution, ambiguity, failure, influence without authority, data-driven decisions, customer focus, and delivering results under pressure. Each story should be under three minutes and end with a quantified outcome.
  • Expect a multi-stage interview process averaging 24 days end-to-end: recruiter phone screen, one-way HireVue video interview, hiring manager interview, panel interview with three to five stakeholders, and possibly a case study or presentation. MBA leadership programs include in-person assessment centers.
  • Quantify everything. PepsiCo is a results-driven, P&L-focused company. Replace 'managed a team' with 'Led 12-person sales team to grow regional revenue 14% YoY ($8M incremental) while reducing customer churn 22%.' Numbers signal the disciplined execution PepsiCo rewards.
  • Understand the pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) strategic framework and recent business performance before any interview. Read CEO Ramon Laguarta's most recent shareholder letter, the latest pep+ progress report, and a recent earnings call transcript. Reference specific brands, divisions, and competitive dynamics.
  • PepsiCo is famous as a 'CEO factory' that develops leaders who go on to lead other Fortune 500 companies. Express interest in long-term career growth at PepsiCo, your willingness to take on stretch assignments through programs like MyDevelopment, and your appetite for cross-functional and international mobility.
  • For frontline and DSD (direct store delivery) roles, emphasize reliability, safety record, schedule flexibility, physical capability, and any DOT/CDL credentials. Pre-employment includes background check, drug screen, employment verification, and (for drivers) DOT physical and motor vehicle records review.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world, headquartered in Purchase, New York, with a global workforce of approximately 318,000 employees serving consumers in more than 200 countries and territories. Founded in 1965 through the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., PepsiCo has grown into a $91 billion revenue powerhouse whose products are consumed more than one billion times every single day. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PEP and consistently ranks among the most valuable consumer brands in the world. PepsiCo's portfolio is built around iconic brands that span beverages, convenient foods, and nutrition. On the beverage side, the company owns Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana (in select markets), Aquafina, Lipton, Bubly, Starry, and SodaStream. On the food side, Frito-Lay (a wholly owned PepsiCo subsidiary) produces Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Ruffles, Fritos, SunChips, and Stacy's Pita Chips, while Quaker Foods North America brings Quaker oats, Cap'n Crunch, Life cereal, Rice-A-Roni, and Aunt Jemima products into the family. PepsiCo holds 23 brands that each generate more than one billion dollars in annual retail sales — an extraordinary concentration of market-leading consumer franchises that few companies in any industry can match. Under Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta, who has led the company since October 2018, PepsiCo operates under the strategic framework known as 'pep+' (PepsiCo Positive) — an end-to-end transformation that places sustainability and human capital at the center of how the company creates growth and value. Pep+ is organized around three pillars: Positive Agriculture (sourcing crops and ingredients in regenerative ways), Positive Value Chain (reducing emissions, water use, and plastic waste), and Positive Choices (inspiring consumers through brands to make choices that are better for people and the planet). Culturally, PepsiCo is a performance-driven, results-oriented organization with a strong emphasis on leadership development and internal mobility. The company is famous for producing executives who go on to lead other Fortune 500 companies — PepsiCo's leadership pipeline is sometimes referred to as a 'CEO factory.' Its operating model is organized into divisions including PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), Latin America, Europe, Africa/Middle East/South Asia (AMESA), and Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand/China (APAC). Each division operates with significant autonomy while sharing global functions in research and development, supply chain, finance, human resources, and information technology.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Begin at pepsicojobs

    Begin at pepsicojobs.com, the official global PepsiCo career site. The portal organizes opportunities into three main categories: Corporate (finance, marketing, legal, HR, IT, R&D, strategy), Frontline (manufacturing, warehouse, drivers, merchandisers, sales representatives), and Internships and Early Career programs (LEAD MBA, finance leadership, supply chain leadership, R&D leadership). Use filters by function, location, and division (Frito-Lay, PepsiCo Beverages, Quaker, etc.). For US frontline roles in delivery, merchandising, and warehouse, the dedicated portal is pepsifrontlinecareers.com.

  2. 2
    Create a Candidate Zone profile

    Create a Candidate Zone profile. The Candidate Zone is PepsiCo's unified candidate experience layer where you upload your resume, complete personal information, and manage application status across all PepsiCo divisions globally. PepsiCo's underlying applicant tracking system is CandidateCare (powered by Avature), which parses your resume into structured fields and screens for keyword alignment with the job description. Make sure your profile is complete — incomplete profiles are deprioritized in recruiter searches.

  3. 3
    Submit a tailored application

    Submit a tailored application. PepsiCo's CandidateCare ATS scores applications based on keyword relevance, completeness, and prescreen question responses. Mirror the language of the job description in your resume and answer all prescreen questions thoughtfully — single-word or generic answers signal lack of interest. For corporate roles, expect 5 to 12 prescreen questions covering work authorization, relocation flexibility, salary expectations, and motivation to join PepsiCo.

  4. 4
    Complete online assessments

    Complete online assessments. Depending on the role, PepsiCo deploys a mix of cognitive ability tests, situational judgment tests (SJTs), personality inventories, and one-way (pre-recorded) video interviews. Frontline roles often include a brief Work Styles Assessment. Corporate and analyst roles may include numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and verbal reasoning tests. MBA and early career programs frequently include a HireVue video interview with three to five behavioral questions where you record answers on your own time.

  5. 5
    Participate in recruiter and hiring manager phone screens

    Participate in recruiter and hiring manager phone screens. If your application advances, a PepsiCo Talent Acquisition partner will reach out for an initial 20 to 30 minute screen covering your background, motivation, salary expectations, and logistics. A successful recruiter screen leads to a 45 to 60 minute conversation with the hiring manager focused on functional fit, technical depth, and behavioral examples using the STAR method.

  6. 6
    Attend final round interviews

    Attend final round interviews — often a panel or assessment center. For corporate roles, the final round typically includes three to five interviews back-to-back, including the hiring manager, a skip-level leader, peer interviewers, and cross-functional stakeholders. MBA leadership programs use formal assessment centers with case studies, group exercises, and presentations. Frontline roles may include a tour of the facility, a working interview, and a final conversation with the operations leader. Expect heavy emphasis on PepsiCo's leadership behaviors and the seven elements of The PepsiCo Way.

  7. 7
    Receive an offer and complete onboarding

    Receive an offer and complete onboarding. The PepsiCo hiring process averages approximately 24 days end-to-end based on Glassdoor data across thousands of submissions. Once selected, you will receive a verbal offer from your recruiter followed by a written offer. Pre-employment requirements include background check, drug screening (mandatory for most US roles, especially DOT-regulated driver positions), employment verification, and education verification. Onboarding includes a multi-day orientation, division-specific training, and assignment of an onboarding buddy or peer mentor.


Resume Tips for PepsiCo

recommended

Quantify your business impact with hard numbers

Quantify your business impact with hard numbers. PepsiCo is a results-driven, P&L-focused organization where leaders are expected to deliver measurable outcomes. Replace vague phrases like 'managed a team' with specifics: 'Led 12-person sales team to grow regional revenue 14% YoY ($8M incremental) while reducing customer churn 22%.' For supply chain and operations roles, cite efficiency gains, cost savings, throughput improvements, safety incident reductions, and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) percentages. Numbers signal the kind of disciplined execution PepsiCo rewards.

recommended

Mirror the language of the job description for ATS keyword matching

Mirror the language of the job description for ATS keyword matching. PepsiCo's CandidateCare applicant tracking system scores applications based on keyword alignment between your resume and the requisition. If the posting calls for 'demand planning,' do not write 'forecasting.' If it asks for 'commercialization,' do not substitute 'product launch.' Read the job description three times, extract the 15 to 20 most important nouns and noun phrases, and weave them naturally into your experience bullets and skills section.

recommended

Highlight CPG (consumer packaged goods), food and beverage, retail, or DSD (dire

Highlight CPG (consumer packaged goods), food and beverage, retail, or DSD (direct store delivery) experience prominently. PepsiCo values industry-relevant context, particularly category management, trade marketing, route sales, broker management, retail execution, and brand building. If you have worked at competitors (Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Mars, Nestle, Unilever, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Kellanova, Hershey) or major retailers (Walmart, Kroger, Target, Costco, 7-Eleven, Dollar General), call out the named accounts and joint business plans you owned.

recommended

Demonstrate leadership at every career stage

Demonstrate leadership at every career stage. PepsiCo is famous for its leadership development pipeline and explicitly hires for future leadership potential, not just current capability. Even for individual contributor roles, include examples of leading through influence, mentoring junior colleagues, leading cross-functional projects, presenting to executives, and driving change without formal authority. Use action verbs like 'Led,' 'Influenced,' 'Mobilized,' 'Aligned,' and 'Championed.'

recommended

Showcase functional depth and breadth

Showcase functional depth and breadth. PepsiCo values T-shaped professionals — deep expertise in one area with the ability to operate across functions. For finance roles, balance technical accounting and FP&A skills with commercial business partnering. For marketing roles, balance brand-building creative work with analytics, ROI measurement, and revenue growth management (RGM). For supply chain roles, balance plant operations with S&OP, network design, and logistics.

recommended

Keep formatting clean, ATS-friendly, and free of graphics

Keep formatting clean, ATS-friendly, and free of graphics. CandidateCare parses resumes into structured fields, and complex layouts break the parser. Use a single-column layout, standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Times New Roman), no tables or text boxes, no headers or footers (key data placed there is often lost), no images or icons, and no graphics-heavy resume templates from sites like Canva. Submit as a PDF or Word document. Two pages maximum for most roles; one page for early career and internships.

recommended

Spotlight degrees, certifications, and continuous learning

Spotlight degrees, certifications, and continuous learning. PepsiCo invests heavily in talent development through programs like PEP U Degreed and myeducation, signaling its preference for candidates who demonstrate continuous learning. List your degree, GPA if 3.5 or higher and within 5 years of graduation, relevant certifications (CPA, CFA, PMP, Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, APICS CSCP, SHRM-CP), and recent professional development coursework. For early career applicants, include relevant coursework, GPA, honors, and leadership in clubs.

recommended

Tailor your resume to the specific PepsiCo division and function

Tailor your resume to the specific PepsiCo division and function. PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), and the international divisions each have distinct priorities. A resume tuned for a Frito-Lay supply chain role should emphasize manufacturing, warehousing, and DSD logistics; a PBNA marketing resume should emphasize beverage category dynamics, fountain/foodservice channels, and pack-price-architecture. Generic 'CPG' resumes consistently underperform tailored versions.



Interview Culture

PepsiCo interviews are rigorous, behavioral-heavy, and deeply structured around the company's leadership model known as The PepsiCo Way — a set of seven employee behaviors that define how the company operates: Be Consumer Centric, Act as Owners, Focus and Get Things Done Fast, Voice Opinions Fearlessly, Raise the Bar on Talent and Diversity, Celebrate Success, and Act with Integrity. Virtually every interview question — across every division, every level, and every function — is designed to elicit evidence of these behaviors in your past work. Candidates who internalize this framework and explicitly map their stories to these behaviors consistently outperform candidates who do not. The interview process is heavily anchored in the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). PepsiCo trains its interviewers to ask behavioral questions, take detailed notes, and score answers against a competency rubric. This means structured, specific, evidence-rich answers win — meandering, hypothetical, or principle-based answers lose. Bring at least eight to ten prepared STAR stories that span leadership, conflict resolution, ambiguity, failure, influence without authority, data-driven decision making, customer focus, and delivering results under pressure. Each story should be tight (under three minutes) and end with a quantified outcome. For corporate roles, expect a multi-stage process that typically includes a recruiter phone screen, a one-way HireVue video interview with three to five behavioral questions, a hiring manager interview, a panel of three to five interviewers (often including a skip-level leader, a peer, and a cross-functional partner), and sometimes a case study or presentation. Glassdoor data shows the average PepsiCo hiring process takes approximately 24 days, with overall difficulty rated 2.79 out of 5 (moderate) and 67.8 percent of candidates reporting a positive interview experience. Common questions include: 'Tell me about a time you aligned people around a new strategy,' 'Describe a situation when you had a conflict with a teammate and how you handled it,' and 'Tell me about a time you had to manage competing priorities or tight deadlines — how did you stay organized and what was the outcome?' For MBA leadership development programs (LEAD, supply chain leadership, marketing leadership, finance leadership, R&D leadership), the final round is an in-person assessment center at a PepsiCo campus that may include a business case study, a group exercise, individual presentations, networking dinners, and four to six back-to-back interviews. These programs are extraordinarily competitive — acceptance rates often fall below 5 percent — and recruiters are looking for clear evidence of leadership trajectory, intellectual horsepower, and cultural alignment. Strong candidates demonstrate how they have built and led teams, navigated ambiguity, and produced outsized business outcomes. For frontline roles (route sales representatives, merchandisers, warehouse workers, drivers, manufacturing technicians), interviews are more operational and focus on safety, reliability, physical capability, schedule flexibility, and customer service in retail environments. Frontline interviews may include a working interview where you ride along with a current employee or perform sample tasks. DOT-regulated driving positions require additional steps including a CDL check, motor vehicle records review, drug and alcohol testing, and DOT physical. Across all role types, PepsiCo interviewers value candidates who have done their homework — visited stores, looked at the brand portfolio, watched recent earnings calls, read the latest pep+ progress report, and can speak intelligently about specific brands, categories, or competitive dynamics.

What PepsiCo Looks For

  • Demonstrated results and a bias for action. PepsiCo is a high-performance culture that rewards leaders who deliver measurable outcomes quickly. The PepsiCo Way explicitly includes 'Focus and Get Things Done Fast.' Candidates who can cite specific, quantified business impact — revenue growth, cost savings, market share gains, productivity improvements, safety incident reductions — consistently outperform candidates who speak in generalities or about effort rather than outcomes.
  • Consumer-centric mindset and category knowledge. As a CPG leader, PepsiCo expects candidates to think first about the consumer and shopper. Strong candidates demonstrate understanding of consumer trends (better-for-you snacking, functional beverages, plant-based, premiumization), shopper behavior across channels (grocery, mass, club, convenience, foodservice, e-commerce), and PepsiCo's specific brand positioning relative to competitors like Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Mars, and Kellanova.
  • Leadership potential and the ability to develop others. PepsiCo invests heavily in leadership development and is famous for producing executives who lead other Fortune 500 companies. Even for individual contributor roles, the company hires for leadership trajectory. Demonstrate examples of leading through influence, mentoring junior colleagues, building diverse teams, giving and receiving feedback constructively, and developing people who later got promoted because of your coaching.
  • Comfort with ambiguity and ability to operate in matrix structures. PepsiCo is a global organization with complex matrix reporting across divisions, functions, and geographies. Candidates must be able to navigate ambiguity, build coalitions across functional silos, influence stakeholders without formal authority, and drive decisions when not all data is available. Cite specific examples of operating in matrix or cross-functional environments.
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion as a core value. PepsiCo's pep+ framework and The PepsiCo Way explicitly elevate 'Raise the Bar on Talent and Diversity' as a leadership behavior. The company has clear public commitments to gender parity in management, racial equity, supplier diversity, and inclusive marketing. Candidates who can speak to creating inclusive teams, championing underrepresented talent, and contributing to belonging consistently signal cultural alignment.
  • Sustainability and pep+ alignment. Under CEO Ramon Laguarta, sustainability is not a side initiative — it is the organizing strategy of the company. Familiarity with the pep+ framework (Positive Agriculture, Positive Value Chain, Positive Choices) and PepsiCo's specific commitments (regenerative agriculture across 7 million acres by 2030, net-zero emissions by 2040, 100 percent recyclable/compostable/biodegradable packaging by 2025) signals serious preparation.
  • Integrity and ethical decision making. 'Act with Integrity' is one of the seven elements of The PepsiCo Way, and the company's Global Code of Conduct is rigorously enforced. Interviewers may ask about times you faced ethical pressure, disagreed with a leader's direction, or made a decision that was right but unpopular. Strong answers demonstrate moral courage paired with professionalism — not self-righteousness.
  • For frontline and operations roles: reliability, safety mindset, and physical capability. Frontline PepsiCo roles include lifting cases of beverages (often 40-50 lbs repeatedly), early-morning starts, route sales execution at hundreds of retail stops per week, and operating in fast-paced manufacturing environments. Hiring managers prioritize candidates with verifiable steady employment, clean safety records, valid driver's licenses (CDL Class A or B for many delivery roles), and demonstrated punctuality.

Frequently Asked Questions

What ATS does PepsiCo use?
PepsiCo uses CandidateCare (powered by Avature) as its applicant tracking system, with the candidate-facing experience branded as the Candidate Zone on pepsicojobs.com. The ATS parses resumes into structured fields, scores applications against keyword matches with the job description, and routes candidates through prescreen questions, assessments, and recruiter review. To optimize for CandidateCare, use a single-column resume in PDF or Word format, mirror the job description's terminology, avoid tables and graphics, and complete every field of your Candidate Zone profile.
How long does the PepsiCo hiring process take?
The PepsiCo hiring process takes approximately 24 days on average from application to offer, based on Glassdoor data spanning more than 3,300 candidate submissions across all job titles. Frontline roles tend to move faster (one to three weeks), while corporate professional roles average three to six weeks, and MBA leadership development programs can extend to two to three months due to assessment center scheduling. Expect a recruiter screen, hiring manager interview, panel interview, and pre-employment background check before receiving an offer.
What is The PepsiCo Way?
The PepsiCo Way is the company's leadership framework, consisting of seven employee behaviors that define how PepsiCo operates: (1) Be Consumer Centric, (2) Act as Owners, (3) Focus and Get Things Done Fast, (4) Voice Opinions Fearlessly, (5) Raise the Bar on Talent and Diversity, (6) Celebrate Success, and (7) Act with Integrity. These behaviors are embedded in performance reviews, the annual employee survey, and the interview rubric. Candidates who can map STAR-method stories explicitly to these behaviors significantly outperform candidates who do not reference the framework.
What kinds of assessments does PepsiCo use?
PepsiCo deploys a mix of online assessments depending on the role: cognitive ability tests (numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, verbal reasoning) for analyst and corporate roles, situational judgment tests (SJTs) and personality inventories for most professional positions, a Work Styles Assessment for frontline roles, and one-way HireVue video interviews with three to five behavioral questions for many corporate and early career roles. MBA leadership programs may include case studies and group exercises during in-person assessment centers.
Does PepsiCo hire entry-level and early career candidates?
Yes, extensively. PepsiCo runs several flagship leadership development programs including LEAD (the MBA program), the Finance Leadership Development Program, Supply Chain Leadership Program, R&D Leadership Program, Marketing Leadership Program, and Sales Leadership Program. Internships are available for undergraduates and graduate students across functions. Frontline roles routinely hire candidates with no prior CPG experience. The early career career page at pepsicojobs.com lists current openings, application deadlines, and program descriptions.
What benefits does PepsiCo offer employees?
PepsiCo offers a comprehensive benefits package that varies by country and role but typically includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with company match, paid time off and holidays, parental leave, life and disability insurance, an Employee Assistance Program with mental health support, on-site wellness centers and fitness subsidies at major sites, the myeducation program (US-based employees can access 80+ fully funded upskilling programs from reputable schools), the PEP U Degreed AI-powered learning platform, MyDevelopment broadening assignments, employee discount programs, and the Smiles recognition platform for celebrating PepsiCo Way behaviors.
What is pep+ (PepsiCo Positive)?
pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) is PepsiCo's end-to-end strategic transformation framework launched in 2021, which places sustainability and human capital at the center of how the company creates value. Pep+ is organized around three pillars: Positive Agriculture (regenerative farming practices on 7 million acres by 2030), Positive Value Chain (net-zero emissions by 2040, 100 percent recyclable/compostable/biodegradable packaging by 2025, water positive operations), and Positive Choices (evolving the brand portfolio to include more nutritious options and reduce sugar, sodium, and saturated fat). Familiarity with pep+ is essential for any serious PepsiCo interview.
What are PepsiCo's main divisions and brands?
PepsiCo operates through seven divisions: PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA — Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Aquafina, Bubly, Starry, Lipton), Frito-Lay North America (FLNA — Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Ruffles, Fritos, SunChips, Stacy's), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA — Quaker oats, Cap'n Crunch, Life cereal, Rice-A-Roni), Latin America, Europe, Africa/Middle East/South Asia (AMESA), and Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand/China (APAC). The company holds 23 brands that each generate over one billion dollars in annual retail sales.
How should I prepare for a PepsiCo interview?
Prepare by: (1) studying The PepsiCo Way and mapping your STAR stories to all seven behaviors, (2) reading the most recent annual report, pep+ progress report, and CEO shareholder letter from Ramon Laguarta, (3) listening to the most recent quarterly earnings call to understand current business priorities and challenges, (4) researching the specific division and brands relevant to your role, (5) preparing 8 to 10 quantified STAR stories covering leadership, conflict, ambiguity, failure, influence, and results, (6) preparing thoughtful questions about the team, role expectations, success metrics, and growth opportunities, and (7) visiting a few retail stores to observe PepsiCo brand execution firsthand.
Does PepsiCo drug test new hires?
Yes. PepsiCo conducts pre-employment drug screening for the vast majority of US-based positions. For DOT-regulated driving positions (which include many delivery and route sales roles), testing is mandated by federal regulation and includes ongoing random testing throughout employment. Background checks, employment verification, education verification, and (for drivers) motor vehicle records review and DOT physical exams are also standard components of pre-employment screening. International policies vary by country and local regulation.

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