Graduate Careers at Nestlé

Due to the popularity of its trainee programme, Nestlé hand picks its new hires from the crème de la crème of graduates. Most new recruits have an engineering or commerce background, with the programme spanning most divisions, from marketing to production. You can upload your CV and search for vacancies on Nestlé’s ‘Careers’ link, while the ‘Events’ tab provides a list of university career fairs the company will be visiting – so there’s no excuse for being unprepared when they drop by your town!

For those interested in working at Nestlé’s HQ and birthplace, Vevey, there are jobs, trainee programmes and expatriate schemes listed on the website. Each country’s recruitment process is different, but luckily the nice people at Nestlé have included some pointers on what to expect in any given region.

Nestlé Graduate Recruitment Info

Contact: recruitment@uk.Nestle.com

Nestlé Profile & Stats

Originally founded as an admirable attempt to reduce the rate of infant mortality, Nestlé has since grown into the world’s largest food company. Although best known for its confectionery, Nestlé’s expansive range includes everything from baby food to mineral water to Mexican food and everything in-between – thus proving beyond reasonable doubt that it’s more than just top of the chocs. Headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé sells more than one billion products every day – in fact, North Korea is the only country in the world where its products aren’t sold.

In his search for a low-cost, nutritious infant formula for women unable to breast-feed, pharmacist Henri Nestlé began experimenting with various combinations of milk, wheat flour and sugar. In Vevey, in 1867, he hit upon the mix he had been looking for, creating Farine Lactée Nestlé – the company’s first infant food. The product was subsequently marketed and its success took the Nestlé name to the farthest reaches of Europe, before arriving on US shores in 1900.

Although Nestlé began fortifying its position by acquiring condensed milk, chocolate and powdered soup companies at the outset of 20th century, it was actually its ability to adapt that kept it flourishing. Two World Wars forced Nestlé’s hand into diversifying from its mainstay products, resulting in the creation of Nescafé, the world’s first instant coffee, in 1939.

After the Second World War, in 1947, Nestlé picked up from where it had left off at the turn of the century, with the acquisition of Maggi, a European food seasonings company. British foods firm, Crosse & Blackwell, and Vittel, the French mineral water outfit, were the ‘60s additions, leading up to Nestlé’s largest era of expansion in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Carnation, Rowntree, Sunmark and Alpo are just some of the names that joined the Nestlé bandwagon during this time, adding a whole host of well-known chocs to the roster as well as a slice of the pet food market.

Reflecting the social trend towards all things healthy, Nestlé branched out into healthy tea-based beverages, in 2001 – ironically in a joint venture with the Coca Cola Company. In 2006, Nestlé bought the medical nutrition division from pharmaceutical heavyweight Novartis – experts at producing foods and nutritional supplements for those with special dietary needs and/or restrictions. But then, in a return to the sugary norm, Nestlé bought the remaining outstanding shares not purchased during the 2003 acquisition of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, thus taking control of an impressive 17.5% of the global ice cream market.