Working in Industry:

Skills and Competencies from the

Unilever Perspective

Hans-Gerd Janssen1,2

1. Unilever Research and Development Vlaardingen,

Advanced Measurement and Data Modelling
P.O. Box 114, 3130 AC Vlaardingen,
the Netherlands.

2. University of Amsterdam, Analytical-Chemistry Group,

P.O. Box 94157, 1090 GD Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Unilever R&D organisation

• 6000 employees
• 900 million Euros (2.3% turnover; 2006)
• 6 Global Research centres
• 15 Global Product Development centres
• Regional & country centres
Skills

Skills is the ability to perform difficult TECHNICAL activities.

Indicators of great skills:

- A successful PhD thesis,
- Many high quality publications,
- A great depth of work (width usually is not a real substitute !),
- Being known in the field,
- Being invited as a referee,
- Having given lots of well received (invited) presentations,
- Poster awards, etc. etc.
Competencies

Competencies are about your personal style of working, about

the softer side of being successful:

Important Competencies:
- Break-through thinking
- Practical creativity
- Passion for growth
- External orientation
- Change catalyst
- Organizational awareness
- Strategic influencing
- Empowering others
- Holding people accountable
- Team commitment and alignment
- Action not debate
 Differences Academia vs. Industry

1. Project oriented work with clear deliverables and timings (‘the 5 Ws’):
What are you going to deliver, When, Why, for Whom and What will it
cost ?
2. Usually there is a question behind a question !
3. Money and instruments might be easier to get than people.
4. Analytical chemistry is an enabler. A means, not a goal !
5. Very interesting side tracks are distractions !
6. Fit for purpose (or ‘good is good enough’). Better is the enemy of good !
7. Borrow and adapt rather than invent. So try NOT to be original !
8. If you don’t do your work for today well you will be dead tomorrow. If you
don’t do your work for tomorrow well you will be dead the day after !
9. Improved methods make old data useless.
10. Urgent questions can ruin your plans. Think in priorities and …. money.