GSK Industrial Placement Review

There were definitely ups and downs to my placement at GSK but overall I think I have come out with a positive view of both the company and my colleagues. The main issue I had was that my manager was based in a foreign country which lead to some initial teething problems.

My colleagues were extremely kind to me and even gave me both Christmas and leaving presents despite being based in another country. Most were also regularly praising me or giving me constructive criticism which I really appreciated! I have rated in 9 instead of 10 however due to the initial teething problems of not having enough work and it almost feeling like a burden at times asking for work.

In some respects I was given lots of support and guidance but in others I wasn't. There were lots of E-learnings available which were always fulfilling and taught me a lot. In terms of formal training however there wasn't a lot though. I did feel very supported by my supervisor but my manager was sometimes a bit hostile.

Due to the nature of working in a project based environment my workload tended to fluctuate between having next to nothing to do and trying to remember what brand each of the 15 projects I was working on were for. There was also a pretty solid period in the middle when I was very bored with nothing to do this wasn't the case however at the start or end.

Again in some areas I was given a lot of responsibility but in others I wasn't. For example anything that was considered boring, repetitive etc I was given almost complete responsibility for which was totally fine as I was new to it and have far less experience than the rest of my team. But other more important areas I was given very little exposure to.. This did change towards the end however and I guess is to be expected.

In terms of my degree it was quite interesting as I actually saw many of the concepts from my degree appear in the workplace. The really learning curve for me however was understanding how to act in an office environment and the more softer skills, which I hope will stay with me when I start working at different companies.

I think the office had quite a fun environment was kindof awkward at times for me though as I didn't work with anyone in the office as all my team were abroad, I must admit however most people were generally very pleasant and up for a nice chat and I certainly think if I worked with them I would have given this top marks.

As much as I have a lot of respect for the team I worked with and I think they're great people I just don't think it was organised very well and that my role shouldn't have existed. I do think they worked hard however and given that it was a new role I think progress will be made for my replacement.

They did some e-learnings and a couple of training days nothing overly special but was quite good to have. Most of my development however came from appraisals from my supervisor and also just by doing things and understanding softer office skills which are super important! I definitely think if you are super engaged however there are lots of opportunities.

I probably could have applied... I didn't want to though as I mentioned I had some negative experiences. I would also warn you that the company hire a lot of placement students (Over 300) but hardly any grads (I believe around 90) so I think generally the employment prospects I think are quite low.. For example for commercial grads in consumer there were 5 places available to current GSK employees yet 20 applied.... I did receive multiple comments from colleagues saying they thought it was a real shame I didn't apply as they would have loved me to come back and I did meet some great people!

There was plenty of stuff to get involved with both formally and informally as an IP so it defo exists if you want it. If you don't wanna be involved that's also fine too! Ultimately the experience is exactly what you want to make of it if you want to make best friends you definitely could!

I mean its London prices so its not exactly cheap, but then again it isn't massively expensive as your not exactly in the west end, as your in more of an industrial estate near Hounslow. The average price of a meal in the canteen is about £4 which is certainly cheap! Expect to pay extras for everything though i.e a naan bread, popadom etc

Theres a couple of decent pubs around the area but its not London... Brentford is an industrial estate at least 30 minutes out of central there isn't really fancy bars and clubs locally. But theres definitely a nice couple pubs and restaurants around the area. Ultimately I think it depends what you want and what your looking for.

I didn't personally get involved as I was busy doing other things outside of work. If you want to though they certainly exist I mean you could probably socialise with entirely people from the office and get involved with a wide range of clubs societies etc for anything you can possibly name a bit like at uni.