HR Global Talent Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 12 week placement at Unilever. I was given a lot of responsibility along with guidance and help to develop my skills and progress further at my job. I learnt a lot about the company and also about business in general and HR in particular. I would definitely recommend this internship.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues at work. I was treated as an equal and not as the new person on the team. If I did have any difficulties, there were a number of colleagues that were more than happy to help me and explain things to me in detail.

I was supported during my entire placement by management and supervisors. However, I was given a huge amount of responsibility and left to get on with things on my own, but this was very beneficial and it helped me develop more and learn a lot more quickly by doing things myself. If I had any questions, people were more than happy to support me.

At the beginning, there was a lot to learn and to talk about so I wasn’t massively busy during each day. However once my project had started, I had a lot to do and this kept me very busy for most of my internship. I was invited to different meetings to meet new people and give my input.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility and a lot of people depending on my actions so I had to ensure everything was completed correctly. If I had any questions, people would support me, but on the whole, I enjoyed having the responsibility and having to deal with it.

I have learnt so much about the business world and I think this will really help me when I go back to university and I have context to the content I am learning about. I have developed so many skills that will definitely help me beyond university also, with extensive experience within an organisation.

People in the office were very relaxed and keen to have a conversation and a laugh. It wasn’t ever too serious and you never felt like you couldn’t talk to someone or have a quick chat. It was a very nice atmosphere to work in on a daily basis in my opinion.

The placement itself was very good and I was given a good task and a lot of guidance. However, before my placement began, there was lack of communication and I was very late on finding out my location for the 12 week programme which was quite stressful. This was my only problem in the organisation of the placement.

My manager encouraged me to set my own objectives so that I could decide what I wanted to achieve from the 12 weeks. She could then help me find ways to achieve these objectives so that I got the most out of the internship and developed myself in an appropriate way.

I will definitely be applying for the Graduate Scheme at Unilever for after my final year at University. It is certainly a company that I could see myself working at in the future as there are many perks to the job and the company has a very friendly and relaxed culture that I really liked.

Many placement students organised different events during the evenings and weekends. This included meals, cocktails and even nights out in the city centre. Although most of the students were at a different office to me, I still had the opportunity to socialise with the placement students at a number of events over the summer.

I lived about 40 minutes about from where I worked, as the cost of living in Kingston is very expensive. I therefore had to pay for public transport, but socialising in London is quite expensive wherever you go. The cost didn’t really bother me, as I was earning a good wage and wanted to experience life in the city properly.

I didn’t experience the nightlife in Kingston, however I have heard there is a lot to do and there is even a nightclub next to the Unilever building!!

There were quite a few social events after work for employees that were leaving or celebrating something. Since I lived quite far away I didn’t tend to get involved in everything but there was plenty to do and most employees are keen to create an event for their team if there is a good reason!