HR Industrial Placement Review

I really enjoyed my placement at GSK as it gave me the opportunity to get real work experience in a major global company. Not only did I get great opportunities to lead on projects, starting within my first few weeks, but I also made a great network of contacts that I can keep connected with via LinkedIn.

Hugely! Throughout my placement year I ended up having a few different managers, but each manager, no matter how senior or how swamped with work, always gave me their time and allowed me to ask 'stupid' questions. The teams I worked within were also great, and it never felt hierarchical, but instead my voice was valued. Likewise with all my other colleagues in the office - they always had time for a coffee or a chat.

I was given great support and guidance by my managers and also by my mentor. I spent time with each of my managers going through my placement development plan setting and managing my objectives over the year. I don't feel I was suffocated, but instead fully supported and knew I could safely speak to my managers/mentor whenever I needed to.

Very! That's the great thing about working in such a large organisation - there's always something to do! I rarely had a day where I had little to do, but that was great as on the rare occasion I did, it was very dull. On the other end of the scale, if I did ever feel it was too much, I was supported and never felt too overwhelmed.

I was given a great deal of responsibility during my placement as when my first manager left the company, I ended up with no direct replacement for 4 months, leaving me and my managers manager to keep things running smoothly. I had a few very large projects throughout my year, but also I was responsible for keeping a lot of data safe and confidential, which is definitely a huge responsibility to have.

I think the skills I've developed will help me massively - time management, organisational skills, effectively communicating on a global scale, etc. With direct relation to my degree studies, being within the HR department and studying Psychology at University I feel it a great link and especially as I want to now continue my career within this space in Occupational Psychology.

Very friendly! I feel very lucky to have been in an office where there is not one person who seemed to bring the office down, but instead there were many individuals who consistently lifted everyone's spirits. I can only speak for my specific floor and department, but I didn't get the impression that anywhere in the building was doom and gloom.

For me, the work placement felt very organised and when I first arrived, although I had no handover time with the previous placement student due to timing issues, I was given a handover guide and a full agenda for my first week.

My managers definitely put aside time to help me with training and development, and encouraged me to network and make contacts with people in areas of the business that really interested me. The company also allowed us as placement students to complete psychometric assessments, attend and organise volunteering days, and learn tools to lead sessions to accelerate our development.

I would be happy to work for GSK in the future, however, for me I'm not sure currently where I would fit as I would like to continue my education with a Masters in Occupational Psychology. For those that are interested though, GSK offer great graduate programmes and opportunities for direct entry positions.

Definitely! I feel very lucky to have worked with and met a great group of placement students whilst at GSK. We often went out after work with each other and spent our lunch breaks together. Being in West London it wasn't far into central, which was also great for us to all go out.

I worked from home and commuted, which was expensive, but definitely not as expensive as living in the area! Unfortunately London is very expensive and when you're working on a low wage, it's not always easy to afford going out to socialise all the time. However, it doesn't always have to be expensive!

Very near to work there are a couple of pubs that are good for drinks after work, but not so good to spend a Friday night or the weekend at. But, it's not far from the tube or train station so it's easy to get to somewhere with a better nightlife e.g. Putney, Clapham, or central London.

A few.