L'Oreal Men Expert Intern Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year at L'Oreal and it definitely exceeded my expectations! The company culture, people, and environment makes L'Oreal an amazing place to work and develop your skills. They placed me into the perfect role that matched my strengths and personality. I actually requested this role in my assessment centre, and they listened!

An intern at L'Oreal is so much more than the name implies. You really are needed by your team to perform and deliver results; thereby making you feel needed and valued. My colleagues are always happy to give feedback which helped a lot!

I was very fortunate to get the manager that I did because she did everything in her power to make sure I fulfilled my potential. She never made me feel stupid for asking loads of questions (there were a lot of them) and also never took credit for my work.

There is a lot of work that comes with this job, but it is also tied to your drive and willingness to work. The more you show your ambition, the more (better) work you will get that gets you recognised by more senior people in the business.

I was very lucky with my role which entailed a great deal of responsibility as we were a very small team. My main responsibility stemmed from being project lead on a multi-million £ operation, seeing it through from start to finish.

I now have a much more hands-on understanding of the business world and have a much better feel for numbers. Each role at L'Oreal is so multi-functional; as a marketing intern, I was constantly exposed to finance, supply and the commercial teams.

L'Oreal lives by work hard, play hard. Everyone is always down for a laugh or a chat. You really feel like you can go up to anyone without feeling too intimidated. Nevertheless, there can be the off time where everyone is super stressed.

From placing you into a role that suits you, to organising socials and training, the organisation really made integration into the company very easy. They ensure that there is a strong intern community and are always there to help when you need help.

There is a lot of training offered to interns. Some can be very generic e.g. how to transition into a corporate environment. Some can be more specific such as Photoshop seminars or seminars on how to collect and read data on our intern databases.

There are some great options for those who wish to continue their career with L'Oreal. You also get the feeling that talent retention is a priority for L'Oreal so it definitely goes both ways. You apply for future careers during your placement and find out whether you were successful before you leave.

This was probably one of the most surprising parts of my time at L'Oreal. I genuinely made friends for life and I would do things with them after work 2-3 times week or on weekends! The company also does very well to organise social events for the wider divisions.

It's no secret that living in London is very expensive. L'Oreal is relatively centrally located in Hammersmith which means the housing is not exactly cheap. However, if you manage your money well, you can get by and still have loads of fun.

Nightlife in Hammersmith is fun, but when in London, you tend not to restrict yourself to one area! We were always switching up locations.

L'Oreal places a lot of emphasis on opportunities outside of work. This can range from charity work (we did the Yorkshire 3 peaks and working with Movember) to social events or sports teams (there are intern football and netball teams).