Meet sales Reps and make calls on many different classes of trade.
Management had a " Cavalier Attitude" to hiring Sales Reps. One was hired before I on-boarded with the firm in Wantaugh ,L.I.
Then he was assigned to Cover Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County outside NYC. It generally took him 2 hours in the morning before he reached his first call and 2 hours at the end of the day in the evening to get home. He burned out quickly.
Management had a " Cavalier Attitude" to attending meetings on time. Often meetings were scheduled at the office for 8;30 AM and the Manager would stroll in at 10 to 10:30 AM saying it was traffic.
We all faced the same traffic.
The hardest part of the job was competing with top brands like Crest from Proctor and Gamble and Colgate. These were well established brands and had consistent advertising and marketing support on TV . Lever did not support these brands and they died on the vine and were sold to Arm & Hammer. After many new product failures Lever learned that the best way to build a #1 brand name was to BUY it and they did a great purchase of Chesborough-Ponds after I left the firm.
Selling and maintaining placement of any product line in a grocery store/chain is like going to war every day. If your products are not supported by a strong marketing program as well as well trained and staffed sales force the products will not survive over the long term as viable inventory items in the trade.
The Sales Reps that I wor
ProsBig Consumer marketing firm with Huge Marketing Budget
ConsHuge failure rate for new product introductions from the 60;s through the 70's
Working at the hair test center at Concepts in Unilever is always fun. The staff is extremely friendly and understandable. On a daily basis I have to make sure the Hair Test Center is running smooth and under control. This is done by getting the product ready for every study, coding syringes, filling syringes with product, labeling the product to hide the brand, sorting consents in order, and signing in panelist that are participating in the study into the system using iPads. I also help stylist throughout the day with questions or concerns, as well as supervising them when manager is away from the Hair Test Center.
I could say that with time I have learned how the company works and why concepts exist. I have also been able to learned from my co-workers to be a better team player and keep a positive attitude around the office. I was also able to recruit panelist over the phone, which is something I have never done before.
The job is not hard at all but if I have to point something hard about the job, I would probably say that is the the fact that sometimes people cancel their appointment or don't show for the study. The number of cancelations or no shows can stop us from completing the study by a certain deadline. Which means we have to recruit more panelist and reschedule the study for a different day.
The most enjoyable part of the job is the positive attitude everyone has, the respect, professionalism among everyone, as well as the flexible schedule.
ProsFree lunches occasionally, friendly environment, friendly co-workers, excellent management, equality, professionalism, flexible hours and no work on the weekends.
ConsTemporary position, hired by staff agency only and not by company, driving distance.
A typical day for me was a night. I worked 3rd shift, which meant starting at 11 pm on those days not scheduled for early overtime. Relieve 2nd shift operator on line, check mix remaining until shutdown and adjust with new mix accordingly. Take weights and measures on product, record on operators sheet. Assist material handler and wrapper as needed. Prepare to shut down machine at 125am. Make adjustments to product as needed. Clean up floors and remove trash to central location. Shutdown, rinse machine, molds, vats, freezers, extractors. draw CIp water and CIP freezers, vats and molds. Draw sanitizer water, remove CIP water. Clean floors.Foam floors and walls and outside and inside machines.After CIP and sanitizer removed from mold, chill to operating temperature, draw mix for startup and start machine for daily run. Run machine until 1st shift comes in to relieve. All items on paperwork needed to be filled in properly.
I learned that no two days can be the same and run without incident. Accidents can happen quickly and painfully.
The floor supervisors start out clueless and dangerous as do new handpackers. You must work safely if you want to go home with all the correct parts still working. Coworkers can be fun and cranky at the same time. Don't discount experience. Signs are there for a reason.
The hardest part of the job was keeping a good run going. Some days we had good runs with no downtime, other days we couldnot get the line to produce. KNowing your machine wa
ProsLots of exercise on stairs and lifting
Constemperature extremes and hazards including chemicals and moving machinery.
ITS A VERY INTERESTING JOB WITH A LOT OF CHALLENGES.
WHEN ITS TOO BUSSY WE WORK VERY HARD AND HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE FAST LANE PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE AND MERCHANDISED IN A RIGHT PLACE MAKING SURE THAT PRICES ARE THERE AND MAKING SURE THAT YOUR PRODUCTS ARE CLEAN AND TIDY.I HAVE LEARNED HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH CUSTOMERS,THAT U DONT JUST PACK STOCK AND IT SHOULD BE PACK IN THE WRITE PLACE WITH THEIR COMPETITORS,THE FAST SELLING PRODUCTS SHOULD HAVE MORE FACING THAN THE OTHERS REMOVE DAMAGES ,ALWAYS DO A FLOOR WALK EACH AND EVERY MORNING,HOW TO BUILD DISPLAYS,YOU HAVE TO MONITOR YOUR SPACE MAKING SURE THAT NO ONE CUTS SOME OF YOUR FACINGS,IM WORKING IN A GOOD ENVIRONMENT WHEREBY I HAVE GOOD MANAGER WHO HAVE GOOD MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND HE IS AN UNDERSTANDING PERSON AND WE WORK VERY HARD MAKING SURE THAT WE ABIDE BY THEIR RULES AND THE COMPANY RULES AS A WHOLE,IT WHEN YOU FIND OUT THAT U HAVE PACKED YOUR PRODUCTS IN YOUR SHELVES AND WHEN YOU COME BACK YOU FIND OUT THAT SOME OF THE MERCHANDISER FROM THE OTHER COMPANIES HAVE TAKEN YOUR SPACE YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FOR YOUR SPACE MAKING SURE THAT YOU GET YOUR SPACE AND PUT BACK YOUR THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE END OF THE DAY SOME OF THEM THEY EVEN STOP TALKING TO YOU BUT YOU HAVE TO HANDLE THINGS IN A GOOD WAY TO AVOID THAT,I ENJOY BUILDING DISPLAY,PROMOTING STOCK NEGOTIATING SPACE PACKING STOCK DOING PRESENTATIONS DURING STOKVEL AND COMMUNICATING WITH COMPANIES.
ProsITS A LEARNING CURVE
ConsU HAVE TO WEAR SAFETY THINGS WHEN PACKING YOUR STOCK
if it was a good group to work with would be rated A+ . But its a very unfair group I work with. Work is not evenly distributed and management doesn't want to hear it.
Unless your part of the click you get poor reviews and bad ratings I was hired to do a job not play all day. Those that get good reviews sit around literally clipping coupons 2 1/2 days per week while the rest of us get slammed with work then reprimanded for our errors.
Try to understand they never got a bad review and always got the yearly raise, you can't get bad reviews if you make no error or if you have NO WORK, (those are the employees in this group that get the good ratings the one that sit around clipping coupons and shopping and taking smoke breaks every hour on the hour and never get in trouble for being away)
So unless management changes I can't rate this department very well.
We had a fill in years ago that was wonderful but he retired you could approach him with your concerns and they weren't blasted all over the company and you weren't black balled as this management doesn't seem to realize when she tells the supervisor something even though she was told not to tell (very untrustworthy) she tells her click who tells (well you understand the telephone concept).
so good luck I hear there are many departments that are good, fun to work for in Unilever but if you try to get out of this group you get punished too. So its sad I couldn't stay with the company in another capacity. Looki
Great pay, bad hours for family life, and HORRIBLE health insurance
When I started working for Unilever, they offered great pay and amazing insurance! I had a child while working there and my insurance covered everything. I paid about $150 out of pocket thru the whole process, delivery and all. Last year they started a new "transition" insurance plan that doesn't even cover half of what it used to and this coming year we'll be fully transitioned to the new plan which is even worse! It's a hard hit to take when your family has come to rely on this. And the hours aren't great for a family/work balance. I've worked there for almost 6 years and still no opportunity to get on first shift. They even make it hard to change from one off shift to the other. Only plus about the hours is that usually overtime is voluntary and not mandatory. They do offer 10 paid vacation days for the first five years, an additional 5 days for every five years you work with them until you cap out at 20 days. You also get 3 paid personal days each year as well as paid holidays. The pay rates are great and the hardest thing about all the jobs is being able to stand on your feet for 8 hours. But once you get your feet broken in, it's a breeze. And if you know what you're doing, management pretty well leaves you alone. It's a good place to work if you're not worried about family life and your family doesn't need good health coverage.
Working for Unilever provided a fun opportunity for me to be able to adapt to work situations on the fly. A typical work day was from 8-10 hours. A lot of times I was in positions where I was out of my comfort zone. This helped me to be able to think outside the box and get a better feel for the business world. I was also able to have input on management decisions with minimal personality clashes. Also rising through ranks from line packer to Intern then Supervisor, allowed me to have a better vision of how employees could be impacted based on my actions. Through this my ability to connect with others has also been enhanced..
The hardest part of the job was working 3rd shift. Most of my mentors were on 1st shift and problems occurred that I had never encountered previously. As a result I didn't always have a safety net. Through this I learned how analyze and make better decisions with the companies best interest at hand. Also my ability learn on the fly began to strengthen as well.
Management worked well with each other. People were always vocal about problems and communication was never factor. Being younger person in the management team they often coached me along. They were quiet when I did the right things and gave constructive criticism when I would get stuck or messed up. The end result was that they allowed ample room for me to grow and let my management skills blossom.
A typical day at work would be to arrive early to change into uniform . After punching in attend a meeting for all material handlers,machine, and wrap operators to discuss issues from previous day and any issues affecting production for that day. Arriving on floor greet previous operator and check all items to make sure all items and lot numbers are correct with formula. After that walk line greeting all team members on line and make sure there are no issues with product appearance and quality. If any issues found to fix and notify management. If weights, volume, or other aspect is not right to make correct adjustments to equipment to obtain correct settings. Was in charge of flavoring and batching mix while communicating with the mix room. Weights,volume,check wear, code date, and overall appearance checked and recorded every 30 minutes. If a jam in production line was to shut down, lock out-tag out, clear, and restart.
As the machine operate was to take all responsibility to make sure product was correct. The hardest part of my job was dealing with some co workers that didn't get along. Also job is very demanding in summer have been known to work 3 months straight. My most enjoyable part was working with all the different people and how they came together as a team to get things done.
My current role provides a lot of challenges as the site is in the midst of a transition from producing Slim Fast to Ice Cream. The site will be the largest Ice Cream manufacturing facility in the world. I've learned how to make quick decisions to positively impact an ever-changing site and business dynamic without compromising quality, consumer safety and teammate safety. The most difficult part of my job is overcoming local technical skills deficiencies with highly automated manufacturing and operational equipment. The most enjoyable part of my job is being able to grow and develop employees' skills and knowledge to become the best ice cream manufacturing facility within the company and the world. I take a vested interest in developing my direct reports and indirect reports. We take pride in manufacturing happiness - no one eats ice cream and has a bad time or bad experience! I've had the opportunity to give back to my local community through various charitable donations and events while being an inspiration to those who see my success as a possibility for their future.
ProsDecision-Making Flexibility, Agile Work Environment, Compensation Plan
ConsWork Life Balance, Technical Skills Gaps, Ever-Changing Business Environment
At Unilever I was able to learn 3 accounting systems within a short period of time. I was able to utilized my previous experience in accounting.
Unilever was a great company to work for. I have learned a lot in the short 7 months that I was there. I would have like to stay on longer but company policy limits your stay. In this environment I was able to learn and master the accounting procedures. I was given the autonomy to work independently which helped me learn quicker and helped me to grow as an individual. I performed duties that were above and beyond what I was hired for. Once I master the task I wanted to learn more and I taught myself with help from several people, other aspects of the finance system they had in place. I was able to accommodate vendors with their accounting issues and resolved them. I cleaned up Unilever's 2014 unresolved issue's with several vendors. I was holding weekly meetings with vendors on current status' of their account and addressing issues to resolve. Overall it was a good experience for me. It helped me realize that I am an independent, motivated worker who can master task any at hand with minimal supervision. I loved the challenge of learning a new system.
Prosnew systems to learn, challenging work environment, company store, cafeteria, great hours
A typical working day at Unilever:-
SAFETY CHECKS
Before any work could be started Health and Safety checks had to be completed to ensure the area in which myself and my team were working was meeting standards. A check list had to be completed before any machinery was operated and I was responsible for ensuring tasks such as adjustments on lines to machinery to get them running to improve the lines overall effective efficiency (OEE). This enabled engineers to continue with other breakdowns on other lines or maintenance tasks.
OBJECTIVES
Objectives were set at the outset of each working day to ensure productivity targets were met.
PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity Targets were set at the outset of each working day, however self initiative was paramount to ensure deadlines and productivity targets were met.
What I learned:-
I learned that promoting a 'Can-Do' approach towards to tasks in hand ensured all of the above could be achieved. Having a positive outlook at the start of each day promoted productivity with team members.
I also learned that dependability was a key feature in my working day, Dependability was a quality that worked well for team members as they relied on me to get tasks done and also for the company as they could feel assured that I would work to the best of my ability and also lead a team of 6 staff to get the job done.
Co-operation and maintaining positive relationships with colleagues and supervisors was another quality which showed a wi
ProsAnnual company events i.e:- Summer Banquets, Works parties
