Virtual Insight for Summer Placement Review

It gave me a really good insight into the company. I found the purpose workshop very helpful and thought it was good that it was not completely directed towards Unilever but more where my purpose was in the career world and where I am best suited and where and how I will thrive most. Furthermore, I found the guest leadership speakers kind and approachable, welcoming any question we had at all. Their answers were in depth which was much appreciated.

I felt very valued throughout the whole virtual experience. Whenever someone wanted to ask a question, you just virtually raised your hand by pressing on the icon and then you waited your turn. When you were speaking, you were given your fair share of time and allowed to express opinion or question. This environment created allowed many people to feel comfortable in asking any question they wanted to. Furthermore, all other members showed the upmost respect for when someone was speaking.

We were emailed a timetable a few weeks prior to the virtual insight and also some in depth pre-work, which gave plenty of information to enable all members to fully understand what was going to happen and what kind of answers were expected. This allowed all to run smoothly. In the group sessions, members were allowed to work independently but the directing staff kept popping in to check and make sure all was ok and that no one was stuck or also if they had any questions at all.

The in depth information provided and time to ask questions allowed all to explore their queries or concerns with Unilever. This was particularly important in this world with COVID-19 as there is a lot of uncertainty as to how big corporate companies are moving forward and keeping up to speed with the virtual world. My degree is focused on healthcare and we don't have much information about business but there is a huge aspect with business so this allowed me to have an insight into attaining a business acumen.

There was a clear schedule as to what was happening, which was emailed to all members weeks prior to the insight. Timing was kept to, however it was flexible when needed to allow members to fully explain or gain as much as they can in terms of when questions were being asked. Furthermore, there were an adequate amount of breaks to allow people to stretch legs or have toilet breaks, especially needed in this hot weather.

The general atmosphere was very good overall. There were some very high quality speakers that came onto the chat to allow members to ask any questions they had. This was especially appreciated as a junior in the company to speak to someone very senior. Their experiences were fantastic to hear from and to understand their impact in the company. Furthermore the workshops including Purpose and Business Sustainability were very useful and fun to take part in, to show us a little bit about what the company and people are like to work for and with as well as what their approach is towards business, including how success is achieved.

The company invest a lot into you, to ensure you put a lot into the company. They have a great ethic and buddy system. This ensures that you work to your highest standard. They make sure that everyone is happy, well rested and therefore will perform highly. They showed us plenty of development strategies including how your role is flexible and that you can explore different areas of the company. This to me, is very important in maintaining you are very current.

The virtual insight allowed us all to have a sneak peak into how the company is run, including their company ethics, what the environment is like, what the employees and employers are like. As well as the company's stance on sustainability and also what you are expected to do when you are employed. This was useful as it gave us a true insight into what life may be like when employed by the company Unilever.

Many employees were present throughout the whole insight so it was useful to see and hear from many different employees and in many different functions. This gave us all a true insight into how the company works and their ethics towards global problems as well as national problems. This was very useful indeed so am very thankful.