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Informational Interview Report

Diane Barbosa
Dr. Mirrer
COMM 3533-Social Media





















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Introduction and Background Information


(From left, Jaime Stein and Stephanie Araujo)

I was fortunate to interview two professionals for my informational report. Jaime
Stein is the Manager of Public Relations and Media Relations at Unilever. She hold a
Bachelors in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology from Emory University. She
also hold a J.D. from the Brooklyn Law School. Stein manages all external
communication at Unilever. She handles all crisis work and deals with reporters
whenever there is a change in the company. Stein also manages Unilever's social
media. She focuses on using Twitter to connect with the company's audience by
posting corporate information and announcements.


@UnileverUSA
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https://twitter.com/unileverusa

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Stephanie Araujo is the Manager of Employee Engagement and Community
Relations at Unilever. She holds a Bachelors in Communications and Journalism
from Rowan University and a Masters in Marketing from Montclair University.
Araujo previously worked at PVH, a fashion retail company based in New York City.
Araujo has experience in Marketing, Product Development and Corporate
Communications. She has worked in manufacturing, legal and fashion retail prior to
working at Unilever. Araujo inspires 13,000 Unilever Employees to give back to the
community and volunteer. She supports both global and local non-profit
organizations. Save The Children, UNICEF and World Food Program are the top
global organizations that Unilever supports. Feeding America and the Boys and Girls
Club are two of the main local organizations that Unilever supports.


The Unilever Foundation
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Stephanie Araujo is such an intelligent hardworking professional. She is very
passionate about her work and is devoted to making a difference. Aside from her
extraordinary knowledge and work ethic, she has such a strong and personable
personality. She is always ready to lend and hand and help someone in need. She is a
great role model and an excellent representation of a professional, which is why I
chose to interview her.

I contacted Stephanie Araujo via the telephone and asked if I could interview her for
a report that I had to complete for my Social Media class and she was delighted to
have an interview with me. She invited me to come in to the office for a face to face
meeting. She was also kind enough to ask Jaime Stein to talk to me as well.




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www.unileverusa.com/aboutus/foundation
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Interview Questions
What are the greatest rewards of your work?
"Getting paid to give back. Inspiring 13,000 Unilever employees to give back by
volunteering." Stephanie Araujo
"Getting to see projects you work on come to line. Getting to see people's
reactions and get Unilever's presence out there." Jaime Stein
What are the greatest frustrations? How do you deal with them?
"Unilever is a massive global company and there are many restrictions that it is
difficult to get things done. You have to do research, be persistent, and keep
asking until you get the right answer. If you know what you are doing is right
then do it or nothing gets done." Stephanie Araujo
How is social media used at Unilever? What is your opinion about Unilever using
social media to connect with consumers?

"Social Media is used as another avenue to communicate to stakeholders. All
brands have a Facebook, it is used as a promotional tool. When you are a
company with so many brands, they each have their own identity" Stephanie
Araujo

What kind of education or specialized training would best prepare me for this field?
"A degree in Business and Communications is great. As much corporate
experience and in as many different fields as possible." Stephanie Araujo
"A writing background is nice to have, a PR background and on the job
training. Be willing to spend long hours and do crazy work to gain experience."
Jaime Stein
Discussion
I discovered that in order to be competitive in the business world, you need a
Masters. Since I already have Marketing and Communications under my belt, I was
told that Finance would be a good area for me to get my Masters in. I also learned
about Chatter, an internal social media site which is the best way to communicate
within your company.
I figured that a Masters was important, so by hearing it from a professional made it
that more important. I also was aware that Unilever owned all these different
brands but it was interesting to see how they incorporated them all together but
also made them stand out as individuals.
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It was nice to see how much Unilever not only cared about their customers but they
also cared about their employees as well. I also enjoyed seeing how much they give
back to non-profit organizations. As Stephanie Araujo and I were talking, she said a
few words to me that were so true.
"The only way to move up is to work hard and be passionate about what you do."
Stephanie Araujo
Seeing that each brand had an individual Facebook page allowed the brands to get
the attention they deserved, it also made it easier to promote the brands. Twitter is
used to share corporate information and announcements with the audience. Social
Media is used positively to connect with their audience locally and globally.
Conclusion
The interview helped me not only to understand the use of social media for a Public
Relations position but it helped me see how many companies use social media to
support their brand and engage with their audience.
The interview was an incredible experience. Being able to see the corporate office
and how employees worked together was very interesting to watch. It was a very
modern office, there is a store, gym, cafeteria, and so much more to see.
The interview was very helpful, I was given such positive feedback and Stephanie
Araujo as well as Jaime Stein were so kind and helpful that it made my time at
Unilever even better. It was such an incredible experience.
At this time I don't think I would do anything differently. I got such positive
feedback and I was so fortunate to be able to get a tour of one of the biggest
companies out there. I am satisfied with how the interview went.








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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME


Diane Barbosa <barbodia@kean.edu> Fri, May 9, 2014 at 5:00PM
To: Stephanie Araujo <stephanie5841@yahoo.com>
Dear Stephanie,

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with me.
I greatly appreciated you showing me around Unilever and giving me such
beneficial advice. I intend to share your advice with my classmates and
professors at Kean University. I look forward to applying your suggestions to my
own career after graduation.

Again, thank you for everything!

Sincerely,

Diane Barbosa

Kean University


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Name__________Diane Barbosa _____________ Date_______May 10, 2014_________