Category Manager Review

I've really enjoyed working at Danone, the atmosphere in the office is great and there's always a positive buzz in the air. There have been plenty of work events to get involved in which is great if you've not been to London much before as it really helps you get some exposure to places you wouldn't have found otherwise.

I always felt liked a valued member of the team, being invited to most important meetings even if I may not have any input - but it was still good to attend to stay in the loop and build on knowledge of the business to help you be more credible but also to stay informed. Being given jobs to do that are important also helps with this.

I was always given support, not only by my line manager, but also by his peers and their manager. If ever I had to work on something slightly outside of my usual day-to-day tasks, people were always happy to help and gave me reassurance that if I needed any support that I could go to them. Everyone is happy and willing to make time in their day to sit down with you for a few minutes if you ask for it.

Some days are very quiet but there are of course extremely busy days where I did need to work late, but I was constantly reminded that I could take the time back whenever I needed it. Plus any extra work that's put in is always recognised. Working late does sometimes mean free food/taxi home too! When you do have a lot on it can sometimes be hard to manage expectations but at Danone you do feel empowered to say to people that you have a lot on and can say to them when you will have chance to do it. Sometimes this is fine but other times they may go to someone else who can help more immediately.

To start with it's mainly about training up and becoming familiar with data tools and getting used to where important files can be found on the drive. After a few months however I started to be given important tasks that would be used in meetings with the buyer and was even given the opportunity to prepare and present an analysis to one of the buyers in person at the retailer's head office.

Having studied Physics and going into Category Management, the tasks I was performing didn't necessarily apply directly to my degree. However, the more general soft skills that I have developed during my time here are definitely going to be useful later in life. I've learned a few new things within excel also.