Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed this summer placement at Unilever. Unilever truly is n amazing company to work for, with a strong sense of corporate and social responsibility. Employees are genuinely passionate about their roles and the organisation, which in turn creates a fantastic working culture! Overall, an extremely enjoyable 3 months at one of the largest FMCGs in the world.

I always felt well valued by my colleagues, team members and line manager. My role included managing a number of high profile projects and for this, I received recognition from a number of senior members of the global HR team. This recognition demonstrated that the team valued my work and dedication to the projects.

Throughout my time at Unilever, I felt well supported and the structure of the programme guarantees that you are offered guidance throughout. I was appointed a mentor, who was separate to my immediate team. This meant that I was always comfortable approaching her with problems or queries. Built into the programme is a mid-placement review and an end-of-placement review, where you can seek support and guidance on how you are doing, personal development etc.

For the majority of the placement, I was fairly busy on a day to day basis. The project work I was assigned took up the majority of my time, but I also found the time to network and explore other departments. There were some days that I stayed later or arrived to the office earlier, but for the majority I was working 8:30 am – 5 pm.

As previously mentioned, I was given the opportunity to lead on a number of high profile projects. Being given this level of responsibility meant that I was exposed to a number of senior managers at VP level. This was an amazing opportunity and I was so pleased with the level of responsibility I was given.

Whilst the work I was undertaking in a Human Resources role will not directly impact on my degree (Law), I developed a vast range of transferable skills, as well as developing a more broad commercial awareness and understanding. Overall, I believe that this summer placement has given me skills that will benefit me for life.

I loved the atmosphere in the offices! Unilever places a great deal of emphasis on its open, friendly and diverse culture and this is really reflected in the atmosphere of the office! Everyone was extremely friendly and there was a really great social element. My team were social and we went for dinner/drinks on several occasions.

This programme was very well structured. Before beginning the placement, we had a welcome dinner, which was hosted by current graduates and this was a great opportunity to meet fellow interns in a more relaxed setting. During the first week, we had induction to the business before joining our teams.

Well invested in.

Employment prospects at Unilever are good, with the summer placement being a route onto the highly respected graduate programme. The company heavily invests in its graduates and there are many perks working for the company. However, you still have to undertake an assessment centre with all other applicants, even if you have successfully completed the summer placement.

Really great social scene amongst fellow employees and interns. As it was the summer, the interns would often go for drinks after work and enjoy the sunshine! Additionally, I attended a number of team dinners, which was a really great way to get to know colleagues in a more relaxed setting.

Quite high- I was based in Central London.

Really great!

So many different opportunities