Finance Analyst Review

The past year, in GSK Finance, has been an incredible learning curve for me to develop my soft skills and it was a fantastic opportunity to learn how to work within a large corporate organisation. There were lots of opportunities to take on new challenging projects and develop my overall understanding of general GSK Finance and also develop my finance knowledge and understanding, especially as I am from a Mechanical Engineering background.

My immediate team was very welcoming and helped me to settle in quickly and in a relaxed way. There were lots of opportunities to develop good friendships and the overall atmosphere at GSK is very comfortable and friendly. My work and thoughts were always taken seriously and I always felt like a regular employee and not an "Industrial Placement Student".

Coming in from a non Finance background meant that there was going to be a big learning curve. My manager and team supported me in getting me up to speed with all the necessary background knowledge that I would require and then if I had further interest, they were always happy to explain and support my development. There was a lot of guidance and support given to me by manager in terms of professional/career development as well which proved to be incredibly useful.

On the whole, I had a lot of work to do but this provided a good opportunity for me to show my abilities and develop my skills of being able to handle and prioritise large amounts of work and this is a skill that I will certainly use again going back into university and future careers. I would not have enjoyed a job which did not require so much of me. I felt that I was an equal member of the team and supported the team with the work I was doing.

My main responsibility was to ensure timely monthly financial reporting of the GMS sites across the world. This was a good challenge which had milestones along the way to ensure that successful process improvements are made. I also had the opportunity to lead a small team of co workers in order to help support a major project. This was a really opportunity to lead a team and great for responsibility.

The soft skills that I had developed are often overlooked and not mentioned at university. These skills are often difficult to teach and require practice. This year has been a fantastic opportunity to develop those skills which will help to support me in all aspects of my life going forward. This year has also helped me to decide if I wanted a career in Finance or Engineering.

There was a good balance of work and fun in the office. I never had an issue with struggling to concentrate on work and never had any distractions. However, that is not to take away from the fact that the team were always willing to have a chat or laugh and that made it a pleasant environment to work in.

SRG, the outsourced employer provided a lot of support if needed and were very good at informing us when they were available to have face to face conversation about employment and to answer any questions we may have had. My overall role at GSK was well organised and a necessary role to the team that added value and was not created just to fill a quota.

My manager and team were very good at supporting me in developing my professional skills and trying to get the most out of me. My team helped to support me in developing my CV and further applications to the graduate scheme. My team was also very good in helping me to understand which career path I should take in terms of Engineering/Finance. I was able to go and visit a manufacturing site to see what a day in Engineering might be like.

The GSK Graduate Scheme is a fantastic opportunity to develop further as it helps to train and develop you in a well rounded individual through three one year rotations round different parts of the business. These rotations are also through different roles building on responsibility as you go through the years. Finally, the scheme also puts you through an accounting qualification which is incredibly useful for future role searches in finance.