Analytics Analyst Review

Overall my placement was a highly enjoyable experience working amongst a fantastic team and I had the opportunity to build some great relationships with different people around the business.

I definitely felt that the work I was accountable for was of a certain value to the business but simultaneously, I felt there was more scope for recognition and acknowledgement of some of the work that I produced.

Whilst I had the freedom to get on with my day-to-day duties and responsibilities, whenever I asked for support I was provided with it. My team was very good in offering their advice and expertise wherever necessary.

The first 6-8 months of my placement I felt like I was occupied the vast majority of the time but once I really became accustomed to my role later on in the placement, there were moments where I had quite a lot of free time and at this point I felt like I needed stretching with more challenging projects.

I was responsible for all of our Analytics reporting so in that sense there was a significant amount of responsibility in so far as these reports were distributed to some very senior stakeholders and hence needed to be accurate. There were moments however, where I felt like I could be stretched further and offered more responsibility in other areas.

Skills-wise, I think that I have developed a significant amount compared to what I have accrued through being at university. I would say I have left my placement having now obtained a high proficiency in Microsoft office, particularly excel, which I spent a lot of time using. Also skills such as being able to build strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders, written and verbal communication, as well as just generally being more confident in approaching and talking to people.

Generally it was fairly upbeat with things like snack o'clock triggering some excitement amongst staff. My team was very work-focused and thus there was perhaps not as much camaraderie present compared to other teams in the office. Overall though, everyone was really friendly and talk time out to chat with you which made for a positive enjoyable environment to work in.

Very well organised - I had nearly a month of handover with the person who I subsequently replaced. This was structured and detailed and allowed me to understand exactly what tasks and responsibilities I had and needed to carry out. My managers was also extremely organised and provided very clear direction throughout the placement.

I would say that this was a key aspect of what was missing during my placement - I had very few career conversations and although there were a range of trainings made available, I feel like the personal development is left very much to you to take care of and as a placement student I think there should have been more support with constructing personal development plans etc and being offered the chance to take part in a wider variety of work processes.

Although the working environment and culture of the company was particularly enjoyable to be a part of, I think that the industry in which I worked in was not aligned to my main interest and thus I am unlikely to pursue a career in the future at the organisation.

The social scene amongst my fellow placement students was good overall. I had roughly 14 other placements students just on my floor so there were a few things organised early on in the placement but this eventually became extinguished as time passed. Having said this, there were plenty of other opportunities to socialise with placement students situated across the wider business through playing football, tennis etc.

Living in London obviously rendered the cost of living and socialising rather steep but at the same time there was lots of things to do in comparison to my hometown and even compared to my university town.

In the actual area in which I worked, the nightlife was pretty much non-existent - Brentford is not exactly renowned for possessing a vibrant nightlife culture. Despite this, there were lots of nice eateries especially in the way of Indian restaurants nearby.

GSK has its own sports ground and thereby has tennis, cricket, and football facilities all of which were free. There was also plenty of football organised away from the sports ground at nearby floodlit pitches. From a sports perspective there were lots of opportunities.