HR Assistant Review

My placement at the company was very enjoyable. I learnt a lot in a short space of time in this fast past and challenging environment, but at the same time always felt supported. I always looked forward to going into the office each morning and it was overall a great placement!

From day one, I was given real responsibility with my own projects and clients to manage. As I got more confident in my role, I was given more responsibility and challenging tasks. Due to this, I felt valued by my colleagues and not just simply an ‘’intern’’, instead a valued colleague who could be trusted with projects.

I was given guidance and support from my supervisors, although I would have liked more one on one support from my line manager. My team supported me in absence of this and when I needed help and support, it was on hand. However, I was also challenges to find solutions to my problems, which was a good learning experience.

Overall, I was sufficiently busy on a day to day basis. At times, however, I struggled to find things to do and conversely there were time where I was extremely busy. This in turn, created situations that then felt stressful, however, from this I learnt good time management skills. For the most part, there was a good balance.

From the start of my placement, I felt that I was given real responsibility and had the opportunity to manage a number of high profile projects. At no point was I simply ‘’shadowing’’, instead, I felt that my role was valued by my colleagues and the work that I was doing was making a real impact.

I learnt an invaluable amount during my placement at Unilever. The main skills that I developed were self-confidence, time management and strong oral and written communication skills. All the skills that I learnt during this placement are easily transferable and will set me up for an career path or future job role that I apply to.

Overall, there was a very positive atmosphere in the office, everyone being very welcoming and willing to help. It is not an intimidating environment in the slightest and I felt that I easily settled in. However, due to the size of the company, it does at times feel slightly impersonal.

As a long standing internship programme, it is very well set and structured. There was a strong introduction session and good communication prior to starting. Furthermore, there are a number of structured training sessions and appraisals throughout. However, communication about future opportunities, bonuses and finishing dates can be out of sync. Overall, a well organised programme.

There is some personal development and training session available, usually IT skills based. However, most of the personal development was at the discretion of one’s line manager and team, so this varies throughout the programme. It would be good to see more formal personal training across the board to ensure everyone gets the same opportunity.

Future employment prospects are appealing, mainly due to the benefits awarded to Unilever employees. There are a wide range of benefits available to employees ranging from opportunities to work abroad to flexible working. There is a strong graduate programme on offer that fast tracks graduates to management positions within 3 years. However, there are a very limited number of graduate positions available from the internship programme due to the competitive nature of the programme.

There was a strong social scene amongst fellow placement students, lunching together most days. We would on occasion socialise in the evenings with meals and drinks after work. Amongst my team there was some socialising, usually on a special occasion such as someone’s birthday or upon leaving. Overall, there is a good social scene at Unilever.

The cost of socialising was very expensive, with the office being based in one of the most expensive areas of London. However, there were a number of bars and pubs that offered a good happy hour, but don’t expect a cheap night out! Food was similarly expensively priced.

There is a good night life in the area with a number of pubs and bars within walking distance, that were busy and vibrant after work.

There was a huge range of activities to get involved in outside of work. This includes a wide range of free gym classes, sports teams, instrument bands, choirs and volunteering opportunities. There is a large emphasis placed on work-life balance at Unilever, so it is very easy to get involved in activities outside of working duties.