Summer intern Review

I really enjoyed the experience. Everyone I came across was friendly and positive and it was a good chance to get a better feel for the company and its culture. Obviously doing it online is not the ideal situation, it is hard to get to know anyone, or to be able to be given any meaningful tasks to do, but it was clear that a lot of time and effort had gone into planning the event and I still learnt a lot about the company.

I have felt very valued by Unilever throughout the whole placement experience, in particular since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Unlike many of my friends who had their placements cancelled without much of an apology or chance to undertake an alternative, I have been very impressed by the continuous communication I have received from Unilever and by the wide range of alternatives offered - from zoom quiz nights to the chance to postpone my full placement until next summer.

There was a lot of guidance during the placement. The pre-work set meant that I felt well prepared for the situations I would encounter and the sessions were well structured. For each activity we were provided with a Unilever employee to lend a hand and there were so many chances to ask questions of current employees and placement students. It was also nice to be offered a more informal chance to meet people at the social activities.

The various workshops put on across the two days gave me plenty of opportunities to develop useful skills. I found the careers workshop useful for updating my cv and preparing for interviews and I gained valuable insights into how a business makes decisions, particularly during challenging times like these. It was a shame that we couldn't be given more meaningful tasks to complete, but I do understand that need for the placement to be online limits this.

The experience was well planned and structured and resembled the timetable we were provided with in advance exceptionally closely. The communication before the placement was frequent, friendly and helpful and obviously a lot of effort had gone in to produce a session with so many elements and involving many different members of staff. I was impressed how they coordinated so many of us and so many members of staff and I particularly enjoyed being put into break out rooms to complete some activities.

The atmosphere was on the whole very friendly, as much as can be expected from a virtual experience with people that you do not already know well. It is occasionally slightly awkward to communicate via microsoft teams but the Unilever staff tried their best to maintain a positive and friendly atmosphere - very smiley and approachable. It may have been better if there was more time spent in smaller groups as I felt like I could participate more easily in those activities.

We were provided with lots of opportunities to network with and ask questions of Unilever staff. The careers workshop provided useful cv writing tips and information and advice about different types of interviews we may encounter. We were given the opportunity to take part in purpose workshops, taking time with Unilever employees to discover what is important to us and what we want to get out of our future. It was rare to have this much time dedicated to individuals in just two days.

I learnt a lot about all of the different functions within Unilever and what I can expect from my 12 week placement next summer. I heard from employees in many of the different business functions and I found it interesting to consider some of the other functions that I had not applied for as there appears to be plenty of opportunity to try your hand at different functions within Unilever, something that really appeals to me.

Yes, it was good to meet lots of employees and to see how happy they all seemed in their jobs.

Helpful, I am definitely going to take up my placement next year.

This was not a paid placement.

Yes - see below

The networking opportunities were excellent - I met lots of different members of staff from lots of different functions and levels across Unilever. Since our placement was delayed there have been several opportunities to get to meet the other students on the summer placement, such as zoom quizzes. We were given lots of Q and A time with managers across different functions which was very interesting and insightful. There was always someone there to ask if you had a question.

Yes, several questions were asked about what you can get involved with at Unilever. There are site gyms, fitness classes and many opportunities for volunteering, whether in charities, schools or other aspects of the local community. This is important to me as I enjoy conducting outreach activities at University and so it was good to see that Unilever would be likely to support me in pursuing this further if I were to join in the future.

Yes