A Year Not To Be Missed – Priyanka Subramaniam (L'Oreal marketing placement)

 This is a guest post from Priya, a Royal Holloway Year in Business student who is currently undertaking a Marketing placement with L'Oreal. This inspiring article is packed full of advice for students seeking placements.

A Year Not To Be Missed – Priyanka Subramaniam - My Year in Business (“YIB”) 

 

L’Oreal

§  the world’s largest cosmetics company

§  36 different brands covering skincare, makeup and haircare.

§  Represented in almost every household

 

 

The L’Oreal 2020/21 YIB Intern

Imagine being the Chosen One:

§  Shortlisted and selected to spend 12 months as an Intern;

§  Navigating the steep but exciting learning curve

§  Living and breathing marketing amongst L’Oreal and external stakeholders  

YES that’s ME.  For the past 9 months, an intern at SkinCeuticals, L’Oreal’s premium, cosmeceutical skincare brand which champions quality skincare backed by science and research. 

 

Marketing at SkinCeuticals

Marketing at L’Oreal is a cross-functional role: you get to do many things and meet diverse stakeholders.  Call me Jill of All Trades if you must but the breath of my exposure and scope of my responsibilities were phenomenal.  Having the right conversations where it matters; influencing at decision making level; collaborative networking:

§  Digital creators; Visual merchandisers; Designers; Supply chain; e-Retailers;

§  Product Launches at high end stores;

§  Photoshoots and merchandising of skincare kits;

§  Hosting of clinic account training;

§  Design and rolling out of over 30 email marketing campaigns

 

The latest skincare kits I produced and had photographed here: 

The  pre-seed box (complimentary gift sent to influencers and our accounts pre-launch) for our latest NPD which I designed here: 

Intern Culture at L’Oreal

It’s alive and kicking; many of the Brand and Division leaders were L’Oreal Intern Alumni. Interns are recognised for their value and fresh perspective. There’s nothing stereotypically ‘interny’ about my role (definitely not the filing or coffee assistant!)  Whilst the university course educates on the theory, the YIB shines a light on all things practical: you learn the soft skills to get things done; relationship building; how to balance priorities; when and how to say No; how to set boundaries; the stuff a year at university will not teach you. Fair to say that a graduate who has been through a YIB, is the better candidate – an ideal candidate even – perhaps the complete package for the discerning employer.

 L’Oreal Intern Recruitment Process

A super simple process: my CV and cover letter; 5 questions: 2 scenarios questions (STAR examples very handy), 2 generic questions: why marketing/what added value I bring and 1 scenario via video recording. 

A few weeks later, an email invitation to the Assessment Centre day at L’Oreal HO aka my future office! Instructions included what to expect during the day as well as a case study around which to build a presentation. Arrival at the Assessment Centre to discover competing candidates in suitable attire: Suited and booted Boys and Super Glam Girls.  Thank God I remembered my trusty black heels; off with the sneakers then to face a 9 to 5pm marathon: 

§  Presenting Case Study plans and ideas

§  Numerical Test (hardest one I’ve ever taken!)

§  Group work based on case study

§  Lunch (complimentary)

§  The Benchmark: Cruel and decisive shortlist - candidates sent home based on their earlier presentation or numerical test

§  I survived: to take an Attention to Detail Test - analysing data, purposely set at the end of the day to see if we still had our wits about us

§  Finally: a Competency Interview, 121 with full time L’Oreal staff to see if you’re the right fit for job role and company culture 

A very long 48 hours later (on 30^th October), I won the Intern prize - 4 weeks into year 2 at uni.

 

The Intern Experience: Verdict

No cliché intended but I really am not the same person I was 9 months ago: In terms of skills, knowledge, experience and self-awareness; I am ready to graduate and take on the (working) world.  I now know the answers to some of the previous unknowns:

§  What industry to favour post-grad

§  What job role to consider?

§  What is my motivation?

§  What leadership style is most effective?

§  Does work/life balance matter?

 

 Next steps

So, what does this mean for you?  Depends on where you are in the process:    

Student 1: Just decided I want to do the YIB programme; How do I start applying?

§     Below websites are a great place to search by job type, function, industry, location:

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/

https://www.studentjob.co.uk/internship

Or the trusty Google search - that’s actually how I found mine!

 

§  Be smart and efficient with your time – Devise a strategy: use an hour in the week to scout out 3-5 possible job roles and save these into your email. Use another hour in the week to send out your applications. 

§  Approach a range of different sized companies, don’t be afraid of applying to the bigger names - I dared and look what happened!

§  Apply for a range of functions, roles and employers – it’s competitive; increase your chances.

§  Don’t despair (even if it gets to May/June; you can bag a last-minute placement)

 

Student 2: I’ve secured my placement; they’ve invited me for an interview and assessment centre; what do I do? 

Interview

§  Research the most FAQs; practise your responses

§  Memorise a few STAR examples of experience/scenario

§  Do your homework: be aware of current affairs, industry competitors, brand history and aims

§  Present well:  as someone they’d like to work with/a good fit to company culture

§  Don’t feel pressured to say the first thing that pops into your mind, it’s okay to take time to craft your answer

§  You can’t prep for every possible question; go in with a well-rested mind

 

Assessment Centre

§  Speak up; share your ideas

§  Avoid interrupting or speaking over others

§  Listen to what others have to say

§  Commend others for good ideas

§  Learn people’s names and use them!

§  Encourage everyone to be involved and have their say

§  Participate but if you feel nervous, volunteer to be the notetaker or timekeeper

 

Final thoughts

Please don’t be shy to reach out to have a chat about YIB, MY placement, L’Oreal or applying in general – happy to help and support! 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyanka-subramaniam-23b07a155/ 

 

Thanks for hanging in there; hope this was helpful. Wishing you only the best – happy applying!