FORESIGHT(2023): Summer Internship at HUL| Hari G|

Brief Introduction

Hey everyone. My name is Hari G, I am a 4th year undergraduate student in the Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture enrolled in its Dual Degree course. I am a boarder of the Nehru Hall of Residence. In the past, I have worked on various interns and projects related to the field of Machine Learning & Data Science.

How did you get into Hindustan Unilever Limited ? What was the selection procedure?

There are 3 stages to the selection process :

1. Google Form

2. HireVue Test

3. Interview

1. Google Form :

Once you have applied in ERP with your CV, you will get a Google Form from the company that needs to be filled. It will have 5 sections (Your Basic Info, Your Achievements, Your Hobbies, Psychometric Questions, Reviewers). The answers to the questions is given in a subjective format with word limit of 150 characters.

2. HireVue Test

Once you get past 1st round, you will be sent a test link in the name of HireVue Test. Details of the HireVue Test:

Test Duration : 15mins

Test Window : ~ 1 day

Questions : 3

Breakdown : 1 min (for question narration) + 1 min (for thinking through the solution ) + 3mins (for answering the question)

3. Interview

Once you clear the HireVue test, you will be notified about the interview. There is only 1 interview which lasts for ~30–40mins. Here questions were of 3 types : Department-related, CV-related, HR.

How to prepare for them?

1. Google Form :

With this form, they look out for your character and credibility. There is no time limit for the form. So you should take time and answer each question as best as possible. Answer each question as exhaustive as possible. Make sure your answers aligns with the company’s values (which you should go through and consider while writing your answers).

In case of reviewers, you are required to submit contact details of people who know best about you from internships such as your manager, your faculty advisors etc.,.

2. HireVue Test

Each question was from different domain. One of the questions was strategy-related, other two were more industry-related. To prepare for this test, going through the role and trying to have a general knowledge on the technologies and procedures related will help. Also, doing a bit of case study will help when it comes to strategy related questions.

3. Interview

Going through your department courses will be very necessary since the questions start from there. If your department isn’t related to the role, then refer one of the Mechanical Department courses (such as Thermodynamics / Fluid Mechanics).

For supply chain, you can go through the Supply Chain Management course slides from Industrial Engineering Department (In my case, I wasn’t questioned on these concepts)

To prepare for HR questions, refer to Divyam Sharma’s Medium articles and some general HR questions. The questions covered there were exhaustive enough. I would recommend to write answers for those questions and have it prepared in case you are not sure of your performance. Again, for these questions try to go through the job description and answer based on the requirements for the role.

Link : https://medium.com/@divyamsharma_iitkgp

During the entire interview, the aim is to ensure that the interviewer is always focused towards the answers. Therefore you should be confident in the interview and provide answers calmly and clearly.

What difficulties did you face while preparing for this Company/Profile? How did you overcome this problem?

In my case, my department and my CV (ML-oriented) is not related to the role. Therefore during my interview, I was questioned on my ability to perform well in the role. The key is to convince the interviewer that you are capable enough of molding yourself to this type of role given how you have done the same in past (with your real-life experience).

According to you, who should ideally apply for this job?

If you have a flair for management and collaborating with multiple teams is something you are interested in, then this is ideal for your role. This role isn’t more technical in terms of requirement for hard skills.

Any specific advice you want to give to the junta sitting for internships this year?

There is no set of rules for getting selected in this role as the selection process is more subjective from the start. Supply Chain Management roles primarily intake students from the Circuital / Industrial / Chemical / Mechanical Department. So if you don’t belong to these departments, then apply for this role only as backup.

Just to give a perspective, this year (2022–23), the intake of HUL has increased to 5 people from 1 person last year.

Therefore if you don’t get selected for this role, don’t worry. There are multiple other companies with other roles and good offers in subsequent days.

What are some of the major points you think would be valid to mention in your CV while targeting this profile? (any specific suggestions you would like to make?)

In Hindustan Unilever Limited, the selection program is called Unilever Leadership Internship Programme (ULIP) . For this role, internships and Position of Responsibility are valued equally. If you can justify yourself with work you have done in your internships and societies from a leadership standpoint ( such as by giving real-life examples for your communication skills) , that will be enough.