Shashwat Sharma Category Head of Oral Care at Hindustan Unilever

What are the key skill sets that HUL looks for to recruit a Marketing Manager during the interview?? Are certifications necessary to support the case, if so, could you throw some light on such requisite certifications??

@Anthony - There is no formula for marketing recruitments. And we trust you on certifications. We are not looking for marketing certifications. We are definitely looking for bright, optimistic individuals, who display strong potential to be successful leaders of future.

How does your typical workday look like? @Srinivas - The interesting part is - there is hardly a typical day. Its up to you to plan it. I can describe my day as

follows - I wake up at 6, drop my kids to school bus and play squash. Then I head to office and am there by around 9. I will do some reviews on sales and business, meet key stakeholders depending on which part of business has some fire - suply chain, finance, taxation, advertisinand sales. Then typically we will work on some area of developing new avenues of brand building or future planning, which I truly love. There will be some gate keeping meetings, on big decisionsAnd, be home by 7pm, unless I am chatting with you guys. 

Hello Sir. I am from K J Somaiya Institute of Management, 2nd Year. What prospects do the rural markets hold for the Oral Care Category in India? Specifically in terms of branded oral care products and oral care products other than toothpastes and tooth creams.

@Aakash - Rural India is huge growth opportunity to be tapped. Toothpaste penetrations are low ~60%, consumptions are less than 1 usage occasion per user per 2 days. And very heavy usage of proxy like 'datun' and 'powder'. The market will simply triple, if every rural consumer uses toothpastes similar to a typical Mumbai resident

How does the transition from Sales to Marketing roles take place at HUL?

Hello Sir, Is it necessary to have a certain number of years in a sales stint to switch to marketing and what is the optimal number of years one should be in sales?

@Aditya - Rotations across stints is preferred to be 2-3 years. This allows for people to learn on the job, perform and deliver business results and leave some legacy. Sales stint is no different. We all did abot 3 years of sales, and had the best time of it.

How does the transition from Sales to Marketing roles take place at HUL? @Kriti - Sales & Marketing are two sides of the same coin. There is a seemless transition available for all

candidates in HUL. It is usually suggested to all to do both, before specializing in any one field.

MBA (2nd year- SIBM Pune) Summer & Winter internship in market research profiles but interested in Marketing communications- pref brand managenent. What steps could I take to justify my inclination considering my profile is market research oriented?

Siraj - We are not fixated on campus profiles. We are looking for all the stuff I said above, on what we look for. If you are smart, passionate for marketing, can think on your feet, and have leadership potential - we want you.

Could you please elaborate on the approach while solving a Case study, of the likes of LIME Joel - Identify and articulat ethe marketing problem you are solving well. That is the first step. Then find the

consumer insight that can help solve the issue. Get a little creative and draw a marketing plan to solve the same, focussed on the marketing problem. Don't waver too much

Could you throw some light on marketing companies prefering freshers

@srinivas - We like freshers. We like work ex. However, relevant work ex in marketing pre-campus is difficult to find, and hence everyone starts equals as Management trainee. If that is not an issue with you, it is not with us for sure

MBA (2nd year - IIM Kashipur) For IIMs where HUL doesn't visit, may I know how the students can explore the recruitment opportunities ?

@ Varun - You could apply to us once you gain one or more years of relevant work experience after your MBA degree. We do not hire off-campus into the the management training programme.

Hi Sir, I am from IIM Indore, 1st year student. Unilever acquired the UK Ren SkinCare. what is the marketing strategy and how different is it from the one adopted in India?

@Paridhi - Our strategy is to build a portfolio of brands to meet all consumer needs at different price and benefit segments. This can entail repositioning some brands, launching new ones, and sometimes acquiring them. Horses for courses, to win with the overall strategy.

hi Shashwat ! , this is gowtham from Bangalore ETSC... I have 2 yr work exp as a Production Executive(HUL) and currently handling safety in ETSC.. kindly advice which stream i should choose if i am planning to pursue MBA?

@Gowtham - Listen to your heart. Having a production background, you will get some benefit in the short term in Supply chain.

sir, what i need to do for recuirtment in HU , I am doing mba in finance and done chemical engineering @ Rahul - The Unilever Future Leaders Prog. (UFLP) hires in S&M, Finance, HR, SC and IT functions from

business schools. You could apply to any of these profiles when we visit your campus. Or you could apply to us on the HUL website under the Careers section once you have gained a year or more of relevant work exp. Since you are keen on Finance, you could apply for those profiles.. Finance roles w

Sir, May I also know how the responsibility of MT - Sales, Brand Managers is going to change over years considering the advent of analytics in this field ?

@Varun - We will need to become more nimble footed, sharper in targetting and faster in activation / innovation cycles. Also, adapt to the changing media landscape

Launching a new product in the same domain affects other products in the same domain. For eg Pepsodent and Close up are both HUL. How do you position them and what strategies do you adopt to not make them compete with each other?

@Paridhi - As long as the brands offer different benefits, and have clearly articulated diverse brand positions, a portfolio of brands actually is a blessing, and not a problem of internal competition. Pepsodent focuses on alleviating problems of moms for their kids germ protection for their tooth. Closeup is a brand for freshness seekers, built on the emotional benefits linked to Confidence.

Hello Sir, I am a 1st year student of IIFT. My question is how do you manage with marketing in rural areas with poor infrastructure and what are your views on improving the distribution channel to remote villages?

@Anirudh - Distribution beyond a level is a function of demand. So we use our scale to drive direct distribution, build strong wholesale networks, and build rural distribution channels like Shakti to distribute there. But, the end win is demand. For that we do loads of activities in rural india - like Project Bharat for sampling, Kan Khajura Tesan for media dark, dealer boards and Khushiyon ki dol

PGP (1st year) IIM Indore- FMCG sector witnesses the largest number of product releases every year, and Marketing and R&D teams play the most important role in this process. How is the trend at HUL with this aspect, does the Marketing team take lead or R&D pushes new products to the Marketing team?

Sir, a lot of applicants to HUL must have similar qualities and qualifications. Eg: 2 students who have both done well in terms of internships, marketing knowledge, leadership qualities, communication skills, etc. How then, do you select one candidate? What are one or two "X factors" HUL looks for which may favour a candidate's selection?

@Aakash - While resumes and profiles are similar, people are different when we meet them. Depth of knowledge and rigor, leadership potential and thinking on your feet are some key factors distinguishing candidates, among many others.

Hello sir, i am 1st year student at IIM I. I have 2 yrs of work ex in Dabur R&D. My question is do marketing managers in HUL get chance to involve themselves with CSR project or there is a separate team for it?

Good evening,Abhishek,NMIMS ,1 st year.Is it better to on have ground experience(Sales) first and then get into marketing or Marketing without sales experience helps you to take a new approch and bring something new on the table

IIM Shillong 1st year. Hi, what are your thoughts on the boom in the e-commerce industry? How is Unilever tackling the exodus of brilliant marketing professionals to e-commerce industry?

Hello Sir, I am first year student of IIFT. As you said that the end win is demand in rural India, my question is that how Digital Marketing can be used to boost demand & create a pull in rural India ? Or is it a tool worth implementing in rural markets or not ?

@Manjeet - With mobile phone penetrations now going ahead of any other media vehicles, digital through mobile (feature phones) is a massive tool in rural. It HAS to be central to rural demand creation.