Commercial Summer Internship Review

I woke up each day genuinely happy to go to work. Every day I was met with a different challenge and I was solely responsible for managing my own time, I had the opportunity to get involved in a number of different projects. The scheme is a good way to trial the industry and I would recommend this programme to anyone thinking of applying.

My colleagues were all extremely welcoming and helpful and immediately made me feel part of the team. They took the time to get to know me and find out my strengths and weakness, which they then helped me to develop. My team would include me in additional projects they thought I might be interested in and really helped me to develop as an individual.

My line manager was very supportive and had weekly meetings with her to review my progress. I would use this time to address any queries or concerns that I might have. Additionally, my line manager ensured that I got the most out of my time on the placement and kindly arranged for me to spend some time exploring other areas of the business.

I was given the responsibility of managing my own diary and scheduling meetings. There were naturally peaks and lulls in my working day but I never felt overly stressed. There was always the right amount of work to keep me busy. On quieter days, I would arrange networking meetings so I could find out more about different aspects of the business.

I was solely responsible for delivering a project that I was set, therefore, I felt that I was given a large amount of responsibility. I created a project plan and would engage with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the project was executed on time. I was given work that made a real impact to the business and therefore I felt like a valued member of the team.

I developed a number of core skills, such as communication and time management, as well as developing new ones. GSK was focused on my development and my line manager created a personal development plan for me to follow. I feel the skills learnt here will really benefit me in my future career.

GSK is a welcoming and calm environment. The office runs on a hot desk basis and all of my colleagues were very welcoming. Due to hot desking and the open plan office, I had the opportunity to meet lots of new people and most days I was sat next to someone new.

I found the programme to be very well organised. There was a full induction at the beginning of the programme and this prepared us well for the start of the internship. Communication from the HR department before I started the internship was also good. It was clearly mapped out whom we could contact should we need help during the programme.

GlaxoSmithKlien is very invested in the development of the interns. They ran frequent training sessions for a number of different areas such as project planning. We also all had a personal development plan and a coach to help you through this. There is a end of placement review, where you receive constructive criticism on how to develop in the future.

The future employment prospects with this placement are very good. The majority of interns get fast tracked onto the Future Leaders Programme (GSK's graduation scheme). I was offered a place on the FLP and I am extremely excited to go back and work with them as they really invest in their Graduates.

All of the interns based in my office got along well and we all became quiet friendly. We had lunch together most days and arranged a special lunch out for our last week together. Although we came from varying backgrounds and universities, we all clicked very well and formed close friendships.

Being in London, I did find the cost of living high, but I had completed other internships in the City so I was expecting this. A large proportion of my salary was spent on rent and travel. The office is on the outskirts of London, rather than being Central, so luckily this did make the cost of food and drinking slightly cheaper. The salary that I received however was generous so I did not feel like I struggled to get by.

The nightlife in the surrounding area isn't particularly amazing as you are on the outskirts of London but there are a couple of pubs nearby. Most people would only stay for one or two quick drinks before heading home. However, for nights where we wanted to have more choice of places to go, it is only a short tube ride into Central London.

GSK has good sports fields and facilities located near to the office and there were a number of sports teams which anyone could get involved in. There was also a number of charity events that the interns and placement students could get involved in.