Hindustan Unilever Limited - Vishal Jajodia

 

As I begin to blog about my internship at Hindustan Unilever Limited, being asked to pen down my internship experience, I struggle to choose what to talk about and what not to. At the outset, I’d like you to know that HUL makes sure you go through all kinds of experiences, and I just couldn’t ask for more.

HUL is one of the leading FMCGs in India, with most of their brands being your daily consumables. They particularly hire interns from IITs for two functions – Supply Chain and R&D. I worked under the supply chain function at the Pondicherry factory with my project being on Surf Excel bar.

The Induction and Closure

After a long wait for the first mail, the HR finally wrote to us kicking it off with small but interesting tasks to break the ice. HUL HR aces at making your transition into the corporate sector absolutely smooth and hassle-free. The 3-day induction had many such fun-filled sessions and activities that got us completely comfortable with the company and the new environment. Not to forget some really cool goodies (read Alexa) to be won here. The entire internship duration gives you a good bunch of like-minded people who turn out to be great friends with by the closure parties.

The Real Deal – The Project

A first-time factory experience coupled with the language barrier of the South was overwhelming initially and it took me a while to settle in. In the industry, it won't take employees a minute to outsmart your logical hypothesis with their experience, crushing the pride you carried thereof belonging to ‘The Institute of Eminence'. Serves as a good reality check. Everything works on proof and you could have a hard time convincing people on the point you try to make.

That being said, I really got a great amount of support from the factory team towards my project deliverables, and this was also the general feedback from all the interns who worked at different factories. I did get a lot of freedom to approach the problems the way I wanted, to the point where I could occasionally even halt or accelerate the production for my trials. The crux was always that there are 100 solutions to every factory problem so try and get the most effective one.
There was some amount of basic core chemical engineering to be applied along with lots of sweat and give-up that got me through the project. There were many self-initiated overtimes throughout which every one of us did for the love (or pressure :P) of our projects.

This internship is not really core but somewhere balances between you applying some engineering principles while learning the entire supply chain at large. Also, the way factory teams here stress upon your personal learning helps you at that. That being said, keep in mind that there’s no free lunch in this world. With the kind of massive investment the company is ready to make on a mere intern, it even expects you to deliver accordingly.

What you’ve been waiting for – The Selections

Within a few days of IAF signing, the shortlist was out and GDs were conducted on the night before the interviews. Actively participate in a couple of mock GDs if any are happening around and learn from each of them even if you screw them up. There aren’t any fundae that I have to pass on regarding interviews except that be absolutely clear about what you write on your resume and stay logical during the interviews.
Just a small tip: Have some clarity on the kind of companies you want to target and that might save you from unnecessary prep load that you invite with multiple shortlists. Remember, getting an early intern isn’t the key, but getting yourself the right one is.