New Business Executive Review

The (12 week) internship was a great insight into Unilever as a whole and the department in particular. The learning curve was neither too steep nor too gradual to make any period of the placement boring. By the end, the interns occupy an meaningful role in the team and have genuine responsibilities delegated to them - which made the work feel both enjoyable and important!

Each intern has a different line manager and their own specific role in a particular function - so the relationship with that manager can vary. I personally felt very valued by my manager and colleagues - and Unilever is well known for having a fantastic working culture. This proved true on various team away days, evenings out and even post-work Netball matches!

The guidance and training was great but also sufficiently 'hands-off' to feel I was working independently when I was handed different responsibilities and projects. The 'on-boarding' process is very well structured with various training sessions which effectively gives a crash course in the workings of the company so the work never feels completely new or alien. I would also mention that individuals both in and outside the team were always prepared to help, answer questions and organise a meeting.

I was generally busy as I had a workplan with set objectives outlined at the start of my placement. This meant I had several long-term projects to work towards but also daily tasks to juggle such as meetings, making brand decks and supporting my line manager. The projects were well thought out as each gave me an insight into a slightly different part of the company.

The responsibilities assigned to each intern varied as we all had separate roles and workplans. I was fortunate that my function was relatively small and new, so the work I completed felt significant. I communicated directly and independently with significant UK retailers - and overall I felt we were treated on the internship as if we were on the first/second year of the graduate scheme.

Given I had never studied business at school or university, being immersed in an environment like Unilever gives a great picture of how a product goes from manufacturing to market. I had to speak to individuals in supply chain, marketing and finance regularly to meet my various objectives - so also got a grasp of how different areas of the business interact. Even if I choose not to work at Unilever or FMCG in future, an internship of Unilever provides a crash course in the fundamentals of business which will assist anyone in any professional field.

As above, Unilever has a great reputation in the industry for its working culture. The general atmosphere could not have been better: there were team and function meetings very regularly in which people were rewarded for their achievements and there are regular work events for charity which individuals are encouraged to participate in. Interns could take advantage of the flexible working patterns and I worked from home on Fridays.

The internship was superbly organised. The onboarding process was well structured and there were regular calls throughout the internship to keep the entire process visible. The line managers had clear guidelines and it was clear that, despite our separate functions, the HR team were trying to give everyone as uniform and consistent an experience as possible. One point I would note is that some of the training sessions were near the end of the summer placement and then subsequently cancelled so were missed.

I felt the company invested heavily into the internship and training scheme. The onboarding took place over two days before the start of the internship at a hotel near the Leatherhead site (and those days were paid as full working days!) As above, a number of individuals took time both formally and informally to speak to me not only about Unilever but future careers.

The Unilever graduate scheme has a great reputation and this was reinforced by my time at the company. Speaking to individuals on the grad scheme and those beyond it have only positive things to say about the company. The number of people I met who had been at Unilever for over 5/10 years is testament to the great working culture at the company.

The social scene amongst the interns was great (from my experience of the internship at Leatherhead and around London). This was because many of the interns lived together and many were on placement years, so everyone had an interest in getting to know everyone for the long-run. There was no feeling of competitiveness between the interns, and everyone was keep to help each other meet their objectives.

I luckily lived at home, so saved hugely on accommodation. Socialising in London and even Leatherhead however was great.

The Nightlife in London is great particularly for young working professionals. The cost of a night out may be more expensive than other places, but public transport is relatively cheap (no need for taxis).

There was a number of team events, summer 'parties' and team away days. The Leatherhead office had a netball tournament between the different teams and functions which teams took surprisingly seriously! They were eager to have the interns involved and also helpfully took us back to the train station if we did not have a car.