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Any degree discipline is accepted for most roles; however, a degree in chemistry, engineering, biology, physical or food science, or another relevant technical discipline is required for the research and development scheme.
While not a requirement, subjects such as business administration, engineering, logistics, maths or science are particularly welcomed for the supply chain management scheme.
Applicants to the China programme should preferably be fluent in Mandarin, and have previous experience of Chinese culture. As with UK-based programmes, any degree type is accepted for any area other than R&D, which requires a relevant discipline.
Any degree type is accepted for the Asia, Middle East, Africa and Russia programme, with the exception of placements in Thailand, for which a Masters degree is required.
The company looks for graduates who can demonstrate an ability to lead. In its own words, its desired leadership skills include:
Orla Meade, graduate attraction specialist at Unilever talks about the recruitment process at Unilever and explains more about the competencies they seek, and how they assess them.
The company accepts applications on a rolling basis and usually opens the recruitment scheme in July/August (for graduate jobs starting in the following September). All graduates and students in their final year of university are able to apply for the programme.
Applying to Unilever involves:
The application form is less daunting than it initially seems.
In total, the recruitment process can take between three and six months depending on when candidates apply.
Unlike some application forms, the questions for Unilever are all on one page, which can make it look quite daunting. In reality though, the information required is similar to many other graduate application forms. Once the online application form has been submitted Unilever aims to get back to graduates within four weeks.
The application form is made up of the following sections and questions:
After the online application form has been submitted, applicants must complete online psychometric tests.
TIP: There are two elements that you can show in this. Firstly, some ingenuity with the brief context of your idea, and then your persuasive skills in front of a particular audience. This is essentially like project work, pitching an idea to clients - so think about your example in a business context, even if it was not in a business scenario itself.
TIP: This will tell Unilever what you consider to be a big issue - whether it's something outside of your comfort zone, or a significant fault in a project - and whether you are someone who is not afraid to ask for help. Who you ask for help from is always interesting - do you always go to someone in management, or do you involve other members of your team, or even just someone you happen to know who could have the answer.
TIP: This could be anything from seeing a chance to appeal to a new group of people with a marketing idea in a university society, to getting votes for a position you've held, to getting an internship with a particular career goal in mind. No one of these is better than another. The answer is really about how you went about achieving your end goal, whether there were any obstacles in your way that you had to work around or adapt your idea to, and how much impetus you can show in getting the whole process moving and progressing.
Candidates can demonstrate they match our competencies by giving us examples at each stage of the recruitment process – application form, telephone interview and assessment centre.
A mindset for growth can be in evidence where you changed something to make it better, be it in a sports team or work experience you’ve had.
Focusing upon the consumer occurs by thinking about your audience and changing what you do to meet their needs – for example, when tailoring an event to ensure it meets its audience’s needs.
Orla Meade, graduate attraction specialist for Unilever
Graduate roles
Summer placements
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There are two interviews in the Unilever application process. The first is the telephone interview and the second is the individual interview at the selection day.
The telephone interview should last approximately 45 minutes and is mainly made up of competency-based questions. Answers should be tailored to cover Unilever’s key competencies (as detailed in the competencies and qualifications section).
Orla Meade, graduate attraction specialist for Unilever UK and Ireland, explains how to make sure your answer covers everything: 'When answering questions, be sure to use the STAR method. With each question, think about the S – Situation (set the scene); T – Task (what did you need to do?); A – Action (what did you actually do); and R – Result (what the outcome was, whether good or bad) of that situation. This will ensure we receive a full answer for each question.'
Part of the assessment day is an individual competency-based interview. Interviews are typically held with one manager from the sector applicants have applied to. Unilever recommends that candidates should try to think of different examples to those they included on their application form or telephone interview.
The rest of the assessment centre (also referred to as a 'selection day') consists of the following:
The assessment days are held throughout the recruitment process, usually at the Unilever offices in Surrey or London.
The key is to give varied answers and to try not to repeat answers used on the application form. Interviewers might probe applicants on any examples they give, so applicants should be prepared to go into detail about specific situations. Think of examples from every area of your life and not just within your academic studies or work experience. And let the interviewer know what you have achieved. In your answers, make sure that you refer to 'I' (what you did) and not 'we' (what a team/group have done).
Orla Meade, graduate attraction specialist for Unilever
Unilever refers to its assessment centre as a ‘selection day’ or ‘selection event’. The name may be different, but it includes all the usual elements that you would expect at a graduate assessment centre. All such events are run in Leatherhead, in Surrey. Assessment days begin in January, and could go on for many months, depending upon how many places are filled as more applicants come in. The Unilever selection day consists of:
Each assessment day is specific to an area of the business, with something like six candidates at each. In other words, candidates at each assessment centre have all applied to the same stream. It’s reasonable to assume that the case study will relate to the relevant area of the business, as Unilever will want to see how graduate and intern candidates respond to the sort of information that might come their way in their future roles.
Candidates at your assessment centre will all be applying for the same stream.
Unilever is very swift at replying to candidates after the selection day. The company claims to reply with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to all candidates within a day, with accompanying feedback for all. There are no set numbers for how many pass an assessment centre – it’s entirely possible that everyone at your assessment centre could get a job, or none.
The interview consists of pretty standard competency based questions, and will be carried out by a line manager from that area of the business. Whether it’s a graduate or intern interview, applicants need to know as much as possible about the relevant area of the business, and should keep examples of the competencies Unilever is looking for in mind. There is further useful information about what to expect in the interviews section of this Insight.
The presentation is an individual assessment, whereas the group discussion is used to measure your capabilities in a team scenario. The group discussion exercise is likely to be based on the content of the case study.
Candidates give their presentations to a different line manager to the one who interviewed them. It is not currently clear whether the presentation is linked to the case study, or is entirely separate.
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