Human Resources Summer Placement Review

I hugely enjoyed my placement with GSK. They give you genuine responsibility on important projects which you would not receive elsewhere. The company is also just a great place to work with a really welcoming culture and everyone willing to give you advice and support when needed.

Everyone that I worked with was extremely welcoming and the atmosphere was really friendly which meant you felt you could ask for help and support when you needed it. There were very very few occasions where I felt my opinion was not being asked for or valued and the majority of the time I felt I was really given the opportunity to contribute and add value to discussions in spite of my lack of experience.

My managers were brilliant (although I realise that this is not always the case), being extremely supportive and giving me the right balance of being able to work independently but also knowing that they were there to offer help and support if I asked for it. In spite of their being extremely busy people they always made the time for me and made sure that I was being stretched enough and that I had the right guidance to aid my development.

I was always pretty busy, and on the couple of occasions where I felt that I didn't have enough to do my managers were happy to find me more work when I asked. However, I do know that this was not everyone's experience but it was for the majority and I certainly always felt I had a really good balance.

A lot! I was given a lot of responsibility which at first was a bit daunting but once I got the hang of things I really felt I was being stretched but at a manageable level. Additionally the whole time I knew I had the support of my managers if I felt it was getting to be too much. I definitely feel this is one of the best things about doing a placement with GSK as you really are given the chance to work hands on with important projects and this forces you to learn a lot faster and to realise that you are capable of more than you thought.

I learned a huge amount on my placement and really developed skills that will be useful to take back to my degree and also after I graduate. Because you are really stretched and given a variety of opportunities you learn a lot in a short amount of time and develop across a number of areas e.g. a few areas I felt I developed in were my presentation skills, analytical skills, networking skills, time management, prioritising and above all confidence.

For a corporate company it is amazingly friendly and relaxed. Everyone was really welcoming and I looked forward to coming in as our floor was sociable but also professional. I think the hot seating helped as everyone moved around every day so you got the chance to chat to a variety of people which helped with networking. I do think it would be less sociable if you weren't an Industrial Placement/Summer placement and I know that other areas are less sociable, but generally the atmosphere was hugely relaxed an friendly with everyone being really approachable.

My placement was very well organised with more help and support at the beginning to allow me to get used to the office and give me a starting point, but also continued support and direction throughout my time. It was great turning up and being given particular projects and tasks to get involved in as I had some direction and structure to what I was doing the whole way through.

I think there could have been more structured learning and help to enroll on courses on the company learning portal. However, my managers were great at giving me a structured development plan and also in ensuring I felt I was learning and being stretched throughout. I think that you get out what you put in though as if you ask for feedback and opportunities to stretch yourself elsewhere in the business you were given these opportunities but there were less structured learning opportunities. However you learn a huge amount on the job so seeing how much responsibility we were given you definitely got the chance to develop whilst you were there!

Very. It is a great organisation with an amazing atmosphere and it really treats its employees well. There is also a huge amount of role flexibility and I know that most people there have been there for a long time which definitely says a lot about the company. I would love to stay with the company in future and know that they would provide brilliant development opportunities.

Yes it was extremely sociable with other industrial and summer placement students, however, any social opportunities were organised by the students themselves rather than GSK. There is an external organisation that organises events I think but this was really just getting going as I left as I was only there for 3 months. But I know for the industrial placements there is definitely a lot of opportunity to meet each other and socialise, and if there were more summer placement students this may have been the same.

I live in central London for university so my rent was extremely expensive but I know as GSK HQ is slightly further out it wasn't quite so high for those living nearby. Living/socialising costs are always going to be high in London but there are definitely perks to being so near central and lots more opportunities than you would get elsewhere. For a summer placement I think you could probably manage the expense but if you are very tight on money a year may be more difficult.

You are very near central London where obviously there is a lot of great nightlife (but very expensive) an it is a pretty easy commute into central from the area. I never went out around Brentford so not sure what the actual nightlife was like although there were a few pubs which were quite nice and not too expensive. If you are wanting to go out every night though I don't think this would be the right place to come to!

The company organised very little for summer placements or Industrial placements outside of work so anything that we did do was organised by the students. However, being so near central London there was a lot of things that we could do. I did go for a couple of company outings near the beginning of the 3 months though and know that the Industrial Placements have Christmas parties and things throughout the year.