Research Innovation Foundation Review

My role entails managing our CMI Roster site and on a daily basis I add agencies to the site and manage peoples access. In addition, my team manages our relationships with agencies so I support my line manager by helping out with agency feedback reviews and month catch ups. My team are responsible for finding new methodologies for the wider CMI community and we often have meetings with agencies to find out about their tools. Outside of my team I am an outreach ambassador and am part of the apprentice newsletter team so often communicate with external teams about upcoming projects.

I have learnt lots of new skills working at Unilever...my IT skills have improved drastically as I was given responsibility of the CMI Roster site so had to quickly learn about how to manage a Sharepoint site. In addition I have developed my communication skills both written and verbally as I am always interacting with people of many levels in the business. I have learnt so much about innovation being in the 'Research Innovation Foundation' and am looking forward to becoming an even stronger 'innovative thinker' in the future.

I am really enjoying my programme. It has challenged me to do things I have never done before and I have not felt like 'an apprentice' once. My team treat me with equal responsibility and I am really looking forward to developing further in the future. This role has challenged me as I didn't know much about market research and innovation before starting at Unilever but I am not confident enough to go through our team's onboarding programme with new joiners.

My programme is well structured as I know I have a webinar and a classroom session every month and am given mock exam questions at both of these! I am lucky enough to have a very understanding line manager who lets me have Friday's off to focus on my 20% off the job training. The website we use for our course (One File) can be slightly confusing at first but after a few times on it, it makes sense.

I receive excellent amounts of support from my employer. Unilever is an excellent company to work for and there are so many different people I can go to if I need someone to talk to. I have a good relationship with my line manager and she is very supportive of my course and the other aspects of my role I have chosen to be a part of such as the apprentice newsletter team and being an outreach ambassador. Furthermore, I have a lovely buddy in my team who I can reach out to about anything and I have good relationships with other apprentices. My line manager understands I have coursework to do and always lets me take time out to do this if I need to.

My training provider have been good when helping me work towards my qualifications. Sometimes it has been difficult to talk to someone when my training development officer (TDO) has been sick or on leave but myself and the other Cohorts have a WhatsApp group which means most questions are answered. I have a good relationship with my TDO and know I can always give her a call if I am struggling.

My APM qualification is completely new to me and I am therefore learning in two ways, in my day to day role and also on my course. So far I haven't had one project to run by myself as I have only been here for 4 months but definitely will in the future and I know my qualification will make sure I am a strong project manager.

Yes there are lots of different activities to get involved in at my work!! There is an on-site gym, various sports teams, apprentice ambassador teams, newsletter teams and lots of other ways to network across the organisation. There are lots of events to get involved in such as a book workshop and open evenings for apprentices.

Yes

Unilever has gone above and beyond all my expectations. It is an amazing company to work for and I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to work in such an exciting environment. It is a place that honestly cares about your wellbeing and this is shown through the on-site nurse, gym, hairdressers, nail bar and the fact there is a whole team who you can talk to if you ever need to - the TTT, Time To Talk team. Even though there is a fast-paced environment I don't feel rushed or anxious...I know there is always someone to help me if I don't understand. Another thing I love about Unilever is not being made to feel like an apprentice...I am treated equally to my team members and have as much responsibility as them. In addition, I can talk to people from all levels of the business...despite being a functional organisation - people with lots of authority are just as excited for apprentices and want to give them as many opportunities as possible. There are endless opportunities at Unilever and the flexible work balance means that if I want to shadow a finance apprentice at a different office - I am more than welcome too. Unilever is a fabulous place to be and I am so lucky to start my career path here and hopefully continue for many years to come.

BE YOURSELF! I remember my assessment centre in April last year...I was so nervous being in such a huge building with so many young people and assessors that I didn't know! We started the day with a lady presenting a PowerPoint with 3 tips for the assessment day and these were be yourself, be yourself and be yourself. This stuck in my head all day and I was true to myself - I didn't try to be uber confident or pretend I knew everything there was to know about Unilever. I was honest and that's why I think I got the job. Despite not knowing everything I had prepared lots of research the week before and read it every night coming up to my assessment day! I would definitely say have a few facts in your back pocket because I think these helped me to understand the organisation and its values which meant I could answer the interview questions to the best of my ability.