Purchasing and Procurement Analyst Review

The work placement was really beneficial because you get real responsibility early on. This makes the job more enjoyable because you feel like you are making an impact with what you do because you can see directly how your work impacts the wider business. Unilever is also a really fun place to work with a chilled environment.

I was amazed by how valued I felt in the team and around the office. I expected to go and have to earn my place in the team to get respected however everyone treats you with respect and listens to what you have to say. You don't feel like a placement student at all because no one treats you like one!

You are given a line manager from day one who sits with you all day in the same area of the office. They are happy to help show you how things work as well as more formal training. However, the most obvious thing to me was how happy everyone across the team was to help you if your manager was busy or wasn't around.

I was generally reasonably busy however some days were quieter and some days were more busy. There's always extra things you can get involved with if you feel like you don't have much to do and equally if you feel like you have too much work there is always someone around to lend a hand. Unilever employees don't tend to work later than 6pm so it's not like you're ever overworked.

A lot! I turned up expecting to be doing a bit of admin and a lot of tea rounds and was staggered by how much responsibility Unilever give placement students. At first it was a bit overwhelming but once you get used to it it becomes the best learning experience you could get.

I think the skills I developed will help me massively. Even skills such as excel are critical in big businesses and before I started I could not do anything very technical at all. Furthermore, you gain a lot of networking skills because you're constantly working with internal and external people. Whilst a lot of the training was Unilever specific I think it will be easy to adapt what I have learnt to other companies.

The office is lovely. It's a very casual office and feels like a really friendly environment to work in. There is a gym on site and you can go down at lunch time or after work or whenever you want really which is nice because if you're busy in the evening you can fit it in at other times. The environment is very modern and adaptable which makes work much more flexible and rewarding.

Very well organised. We had a really informative induction week and have had events throughout the year so we can see how everyone is getting on. All the assessment is made clear from the beginning so you know what you are working towards as they set out standards of leadership for you to demonstrate during your time at Unilever.

You are able to attend lots of training sessions throughout the year by signing up on the online training manual. This allows you to attend things outside your normal job role and explore other areas of the business. Much of the training is given by external personnel but they still allow placement students to attend which is great because you can learn about things outside of unilever too.

Very appealing. Unilever's Future Leaders Programme (grad scheme) offers many opportunities across the business but is very competitive to get a place on. You do rotations during your 3 years with Unilever so you can see other parts of the business. It's such a lovely place to work so securing 3 years with the business isn't a bad start.

Not massively. I worked in the Leatherhead office so socialising was quite difficult as it's in the middle of nowhere with no pubs/bars etc in walking distance. Events were organised but it was always difficult to find a time when everyone could attend because people tended to go away for the weekend and make evening plans. There are some events organised among IPs but I went on more nights out with my team.

I lived nearer London than Surrey so this was obviously expensive however Surrey isn't much cheaper and therefore I'd say it was very expensive to live here. About £700/month just for rent and bills. Commuting was also very expensive and Unilever don't pay for this. It's a fun area to live but definitely isn't good if you're looking for a value option.

The Leatherhead office is quite out in the sticks so socialising was quite difficult as it's in the middle of nowhere with no pubs/bars etc in walking distance. You can always arrange nights out in London and meet with friends from work but it is more difficult to go for work drinks than it would be if you worked in a London based office where you can walk to the pub after work.

Yeah lots. Unilever employees do a lot of volunteering so you can get involved with various schemes such as movement to work and young enterprise among others. This means you can take time away from your day job and get involved with things that interest you. The business are generally happy to support any extra curricular activities.