This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
It was a great year experiencing a very important area of the company. GSK gave me a lot of responsibility within the Regulatory team which exposed me to the same level of work, interactions and experiences as a full time employee at the company I felt like part of a high performing team who could help to deliver the companies values.
I was given full oversight of a particular system/database that the company uses on a global level and is essential for new product development, which meant that I was the first point of contact for not just my team on site but the global functional team. I
My managers were very supportive and were always happy to give me guidance whenever needed. I was also encouraged to talk to members of my team, other teams and functions to get any guidance or help whenever needed as it was an open learning culture, and this let me understand how we actually work with other functions.
The workload did vary a lot and it always followed a peak/trough cycle. There were times when I didn't have much to do, but also other times when the workload was very high and kept me stretched.
I was given the same level of responsibility as a regular member of the team, where I represented our function in various cross functional teams. I also had full responsibility of a core system which allowed me to work with our global colleagues.
I have definitely developed my organisation, verbal communication, presentation and interpersonal skills which are transferrable to my degree and will make the start of my career a lot easier.
The Company
Our team was very fun and we always had a laugh on team days. We sat with other functions and 'hot desked' but tended to sit with our own function, which meant I didn't always get to know or interact with other functions which would've been nice. I was also the youngest person in my team by quite a bit so there was a difference in generational attitude between me and the team, but this didn't mean it wasn't enjoyable and didn't really impact the quality of my placement.
It was slow to start as there was a lot of training to get on with in the first 2 months but after this period I was able to properly start my projects. During the training period it was very repetitive and I often didn't have enough day to day tasks but this was only during the training period. After this I had a steady workflow and was able to organise my tasks myself, with delegations from my manager/team as well.
My manager was very keen to give me opportunities to develop throughout the year, by giving me exposure to new things but also encouraging me to try new tasks and meet new people. I've done quite a few presentations through the year to develop my verbal skills which was very useful as this was a skill I was lacking at the start.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
GSK actively employs a lot of graduates and they have one of the best graduate schemes, which we were all encouraged to apply to. As it is such a large company there are a lot of different areas that one can go into and it doesn't have to be the same as the placement you had. Throughout the year I had the opportunity to see what other roles do and the ability to shadow other functions was always possible.
The Culture
As my site was quite small there were not a lot of other placement students but this meant we all became quite close throughout the year, and a few of us lived with each other as well. We did quite a lot together throughout the year and having the other IPs made the year a lot more enjoyable. With my colleagues we've had a few events throughout the year which have always been fun too, although less frequent and more formal but still enjoyable.
The area my placement was In Surrey was not the cheapest and living close to the site would not be very affordable for a lot of students. Luckily I found a well priced hosue with a few other IPs and we commuted in together, so for me the cost of living was not much more than it would've been at university.
There were a few pubs and a couple bars but not much more than that. No real clubs as far as I'm aware. We never really explored the nightlife around the site as we would just go into London instead or bigger towns closer to us such as Windsor or Guildford.
There were a few throughout the year, including bake sales and tough mudder, and some other fundraising opportunities. Unfortunately we were not able to participate in GSKs special 'Orange days' where they work in a charity, but I believe this is changing for the next cohort. There could've been some more opportunities for IPs but due to us eing classed as 'complimentary workers' we were often not allowed to participate.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Pharmaceutical
South East
July 2018