I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year. I feel as though I've matured on a professional level, and learnt valuable lessons that can't be taught in a classroom.
My team were very supportive throughout the year. They were patient with me whilst I was still learning about the brand, and trust me with managing wide-scale projects from start to finish.
My manager always tried to provide guidance where possible, and when it was not part of their area of expertise, my manager signposted me to the relevant person to help with my query.
In the beginning of the internship, I would say that the work load was average. Towards the end, as I've been tasked with bigger projects, my work load subsequently increased as well.
As my knowledge of the brand and business increased, I was given more responsibility.
Training sessions provided by L'Oreal were very insightful, with a wide range of topics and skill sets to choose from. These learning sessions will definitely be useful for my degree.
The general atmosphere in the office is very lively and fun. It's common to go for coffee breaks during the day, but the conversation usually turns to work at some point, for a productive break.
The placement year was very organised. However, I wish the scientific and legal training sessions were scheduled earlier in the placement, as I ended up learning everything on the job before the sessions took place.
L'Oreal has a fantastic personal development and training culture, with over 100+ courses to book onto, to help further your professional expertise.
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Working from home
There are suitable options for future employment within L'Oreal, although it would be great if we were given more information such as best practices and examples from previous candidates.
We have an Intern committee who organised quarterly social events, and I attended frequent social interns events created within my division.
Hammersmith has many restaurant options, for an out of office lunch or even an after work event.
Hammersmith has a couple pubs, but you would need to travel somewhere else closer to Zone 1 for good nightlife.
There are a lot of committees/clubs in L'Oreal, and some clubs created by the Intern Committee, however I did not get involved in these.
Placement Year (10 Months+)
9th May 2019