Sandwich Year Placement Review

My placement at GSK has been amazing. My goal at the beginning was ultimately to learn as much as possible and that goal was by far exceeded at the early stages of my placement. I have really enjoyed every project that I have worked on and although there may be a few tasks every now and then that are not very exciting, the overall experience has been very good. I have become really passionate about the brand that I work on and am truly sad that I will soon be leaving and going back to university. Overall I wouldn't hesitate for one second to recommend GSK as a good company to do your placement at. You just have to be dedicated, up for a challenge and willing to work hard.

From the beginning I felt welcome as a member of the team and although it wasn't easy getting up to speed with the business I feel as if I have been thoroughly supported from day one. The atmosphere is quite relaxed and it was easy to settle in. Support from my manager has been great and I moved from working on smaller projects to now being responsible for initiatives worth hundreds of thousands of pounds - with close guidance of my manager of course. Not only do your responsibilities grow with the experience you gain while working here, you also get several opportunities to learn about completely different areas of the business as well which is invaluable. It has also been great to see that social aspects outside work are very important, with social gatherings organised by the general manager occurring frequently to bring different parts of the business together.

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There are days when I feel have to put in the extra hours to get work done, whereas there are some days when I feel like I could leave early. Overall it is a good balance and I have grown to like my job so much that I generally don't mind working overtime. But if you manage your workload efficiently you shouldn't need to stay late and I have found that when I do stay a bit later than what I am contracted to do, my bosses generally suggest that I should go home and enjoy having the evenings off.

Answered in Q2

I think gaining an insight to so many parts of the business will prove invaluable in my final year. It has been so useful seeing that practical side of things vs. sitting in a lecture theatre listening to endless theory after theory. I really think I will perform better next year than I did in my second year.

The office atmosphere always changes. On Fridays the atmosphere is generally very calm, relaxed and quiet as it is almost the weekend and not a lot of people are in. Whereas during the rest of the week the office is generally buzzing with loads of conversation and people running around. The dress code is smart casual. I always feel at ease in the office and it is acceptable to take a quick break and go and get a coffee or similar without being scrutinized as I have heard students on placements at companies feel like. There is also a sense of respect between everyone. I don't feel intimidated to approach a very senior member of management if I have an issue or query that concerns them.

This placement scheme has been running for a long time and the entire team is used to having students working with them. The induction process was a little hasty for myself because the student I was replacing was only there for a week but other than that there is nothing wrong at all with the program.

As a student you are encouraged to take part in any training that may be necessary to you. I was fully trained in all finance programs to be able to help monitor budget as well as organise and ensure payment of suppliers. I was also trained to use software provided by market research companies so that I would be able to extract any data needed on issues such as market share, competitor share and media spend etc. You also get to take part in a full two-day induction program where you learn about GSK as a whole and many aspects of the business.

There is the opportunity to apply to the graduate scheme (places offered in Pharmacy sales & marketing, finance, procurement and others) and having done a placement scheme at GSK you can fast track through the application process. The graduate schemes are very highly respected and I have spoken to graduates currently on these placements and they have given me a very good impression of the schemes. This is however extremely competitive.

There are a lot of other students on placement at GSK and we all get along very well and often go out on the weekends.

London is quite expensive for socialising, student nights are rare and living costs are quite high. There are cheaper options such as living in house shares. Although I don't think any of these reasons should deter anyone from applying to GSK. I have had a great time in London and as long as you budget appropriately you should be fine.

London nightlife is amazing, you truly spoilt for choice.

At GSK you are encouraged to take part in voluntary work and every GSK employee can take one day per year to organise a charitable event with their team (without having to use up a day of holiday.) There are also a couple sports teams available to join. Depending on your department, there is usually a Christmas party, social events when there is a new joiner or when a current employee leaves and sometimes other social events throughout the year.