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

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 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.

 

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: 

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!

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