‘Positive energy and determination are in short supply’

The student world is awash with careers advice, most of it contradictory and confusing. To try and clarify which advice students should be paying attention to, we spoke to James Bruce of Unilever, the world’s leading fast moving consumer goods company.
Unilever own some of the world’s most famous brands, including Brn & Jerry’s, Magnum, Walls, Carte D’Or, Lynx, Dove, Sure, Vaseline, TRESemme, Cif, Demestos, Hellman’s, Lipton, Marmite, PG Tips and even Pot Noodle.
We asked James about his time at Warwick, and his career at Unilever…

You’ve been to Warwick to do presentations and more; how has campus changed since you graduated?

The heart of Warwick is still the same as when I was a student but the body has grown five or six times bigger. I think the academic buildings must also be five or six times what they were when I graduated in 1987. When I go back to the campus, I like to see what’s changed and on a recent visit, I checked out the supermarket by the union. In my day, it was a corner shop but even that has grown hugely in size. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to go into the union to see if the bars are still called Cholo, Mandela and The Elephants’ Nest but judging from the Costa Coffee outside, I would guess not.
Warwick was very political when I was there, during the time of the miners’ strike, and I remember outrageous posters from the Socialist Workers’ Party and the FCS (Federation of Conservative Students). But the political richness that may have since been lost has been replaced by a wonderful ethnic and cultural diversity on campus that is many times greater.

What are your memories of Warwick like?

All of my memories of university life are full of happiness and excitement, discovery and fun. As many do, I formed friendships at Warwick which are still amongst my best and strongest, and will be with me all my life. For me, one of the best things about university was for the first time you get to experience the full variety that life can offer and learn to view the world through your own lens – not through that of parents or teachers.
As a student, as today, my overriding driving through the campus was of the huge amount of promise and opportunity that accumulates in the people who walk these buildings and walkways. It really is so exciting. Tomorrow belongs to the students of today.

How are you finding life at Unilever?

Great: working at Unilever means that every day of my life, I make a difference – a positive one I believe – to the lives of very many people.
Let me tell you a story: I worked in China for 10 years with Unilever. My best friend while there was a commercial banker. His family and mine were camping in the interior. One day, we were walking along a road and joshing about the respective merits of banking and working for a consumer goods company for a living. He was telling me of the difference the global movement of capital had made.
He was, of course, right. But then we rounded a corner and in a stream by the roadside, were several families washing their clothes and cooking. They were using Unilever washing powder and cooking with Unilever ingredients.
We take it for granted in this country but when cleanliness and nutrition are not a given, then to be part of an organisation that puts it within reach of even the poorest people around the world makes me feel great. Think how you feel if your hair looks healthy, you smell good, your clothes feel fresh and smart and your apartment is clean. Or how you feel when you can provide family and friends with interesting and nutritious foods. These are the small actions to which Unilever contributes but which make a great big difference to the confidence of our lives.
Our mission at Unilever is to help people to look good, feel good and get more out of life. We’re ambitious in our growth targets but sustainability is at the heart of everything we do – in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, we set out our goal to double the size of our business while at the same time halving our environmental footprint and increasing our social impact. I believe that we live our mission and the world is a better place for our presence. I am part of that and get paid for being so! What more could I ask?

How did you come to work for Unilever?

As a student, I knew I wanted to work in finance as a stepping stone to having my own business one day. I was lucky enough to get job offers from banks, accountancy firms and industrial employers. Unilever’s interview was the toughest; the opportunity they offered, the best; the values and purpose of the company, the closest to my own. So I thought, “If they offer, I will accept” and offer they did!

What was your experience of the graduate scheme at Unilever?

I wanted to make a difference from day one and that’s what Unilever allowed me to do – to be immediately responsible, to fulfil an important role in a team and to contribute results from my first day on the job. This real responsibility from day one is still one of the key attractions of our Future Leaders Programme today. Working for a truly global company was also a great appeal and with Unilever, I’ve been able to experience contrasting cultures while always working for a company in which I really believed. Not to mention, the graduate scheme also allowed me to be with great people and have some fun at the same time which remains a non-negotiable for me today!

Do you remember how you felt on your first day in a graduate job?

I got dressed in the dark as I had to travel a long way and I arrived for my first day wearing a grey suit jacket and blue suit trousers! Apart from that, it was just as bewildering: I entered a world of a different language and different agendas than the world of study, rowing, politics, music and drinking which were all that I had inhabited until then.

How would you describe Unilever as a company, and a place to work, in one sentence?

Unilever is a company which makes a difference to the lives of everyday people, everywhere and which treats every employee as an individual with the capacity for great things.

What advice would you give to students making their first venture into the world of graduate recruitment?

Take time to think about the kind of person you are, what excites you, what needs you have and then be single-minded about finding a role that goes a long way to helping you to fulfil those aspirations. On a very practical level, take the graduate recruitment process seriously: in Unilever, at each stage of the process, we recruit against the five Unilever competencies (growth mindset, consumer and customer focus, bias for action, building talent and teams, accountability and responsibility), analytical thinking and business motivation. In business motivation, we are looking to understand why an individual wants to work for Unilever specifically and why they’re drawn to their chosen business area.

Any advice for those who aren’t quite sure where they’re headed yet?

Clark Brundin was the Vice Chancellor when I was making choices about post-university life. I was captain of boats and he used to come to watch us row. He and I stood chatting on the banks of the Thames one day and I told him that I had a great offer from Unilever but wondered what else might be out there. He said: “James, in life opportunities will present themselves. You can be very strategic but if it is a great opportunity and doesn’t feel wrong, just grab it and let the future take care of itself.” I have heeded his advice throughout my career and it has led me to having a great, exciting life, full of surprises and adventure while being a pretty meaningful career at the same time.

How can students find out more about working for Unilever?

We have worked hard to make our graduate recruitment and general website as informative as possible. We have also made a big effort to be on campus more frequently with roadshow events, business games and the like. If people have missed these events, there’s always our Facebook page run by graduates, for students (http://www.facebook.com/unilevergraduatesuk) or our website www.unilever.co.uk/graduates. I’d suggest students take a look at these to find out what we’re all about and see what opportunities we have on offer.

Any parting thoughts?

The world is your stage but it’s becoming a more competitive place. Understand that and decide, like in a sports tournament, in which league you want to play and the effort that is required to succeed in that league. And then go for it.
Positive energy and determination are commodities in short supply in the business world. If you have them, things look good for you.