Customer Development Graduate Scheme

What is your role and how long have you been with Unilever?

I am currently on the Customer Development graduate scheme for 3 years. In October I will be moving from my role as Assistant Brand Manager in Domestos to a Skincare Category Manager.

What inspired you to apply?

I loved Unilever’s sustainability commitments. When I was researching about Unilever, it seemed like they were very committed to their people and the planet, and this made them stand out from a lot of other corporations

What does a normal day look like for you?

At the moment, in my out of function role, I am working in marketing. I am currently planning an event to be hosted in October, so my days consist of meeting with agencies to figure out different activities we can have in the event. I have to communicate with a lot of different people to ensure that the event can go ahead. This includes; visiting locations, booking food/drinks, aligning on activities, ordering freebies, designing the branded moments. It is a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see it come to life next month!

I am also working on creating a few tiktok/short form videos, which consists of me speaking with agencies, aligning on scripts, shoot locations and storyboards.

What do you find most interesting?

As I have a background in sales, it has been very different stepping into the world of marketing, but it has been really interesting to see how a brand is crafted. There is a significant attention to detail and holistic thinking to make sure the brand is communicated in the right way globally. As I only ever worked on local markets, seeing how different markets adapt products or communications has been really cool.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt so far?

To be honest with what you don’t know! Stepping into new roles every year means you are constantly needing to learn new things. I think the most important thing is to be honest and ask questions when you don’t know something. It is the only way to learn quickly and get up to speed in a new role.

Any tips for anyone applying?

Make sure to do your research! Identify exactly why you are applying for Unilever and that specific function. It will help in later stages of the application process when we want to understand your purpose and what drives you. Take a look at the Unilever website or Unilever Careers Instagram page to find out more about working at Unilever, and how you can fit in to the business.