Niall Fay

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: Unilever

I believe that the increasingly competitive talent pool emerging from universities has made it even harder in recent years to secure a graduate job. Top employers are no longer just looking at what grades students get, but what first-hand experience they have picked up which would help them in the role. I thought that a year in industry would be the perfect chance for me to gain invaluable work and life skills, whilst also allowing me to understand which career path was best for me.

As an Assistant Brand Manager for Unilever, I was responsible for the financial and market performance of certain products within the Cif, Domestos and Comfort brands. Using market insights, I had to choose the correct forms of media to reach our target consumer in the most accurate and appropriate ways. A large part of my time was devoted towards managing respective marketing agencies that worked with Unilever, to execute Digital marketing plans and drive brand growth.

My time at Unilever was invaluable in helping me to understand that Marketing was the right career path for me. I was allowed to make use of marketing training to help me develop within my 12 months and the culture of the company was fantastic. The placement was incredibly challenging, but at the end of the year I really appreciated the tough tasks which were set to me from Day 1.

I really valued interacting with customers and getting face-to-face contact with buyers, in order to showcase our new products. In my time at Unilever I presented to 6 different retailers, which helped me to improve my presentation and customer-facing skills. I also worked with over 15 agencies throughout my time at the company, where I encountered a multitude of different working cultures and personalities. Despite the challenges this brought for a 20 year-old placement student, I loved immersing myself in the role and motivating our agencies to all work towards a common goal.

I have been offered a role on the UFLP (Unilever Future Leader’s Programme) and undoubtedly the skills I have learnt in this role will be tested once again, if I return to the company for the graduate scheme.