HR Industrial Placement Student Review

My placement year at GSK has been amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better role, location or team and I have enjoyed every moment of it. The projects I have been working on are a great match for my interests and skillsets and I have also had the opportunity to develop new skills.

I felt really valued by my colleagues right from the first day. GSK places a huge importance on early talent opportunities and therefore students on their programmes are always respected, valued and trusted . This is shown by the fact that we are given real responsibility and opportunities to make a difference.

I had a huge amount of support from my manager but also from colleagues within my team. I had weekly meetings with my manager where we would discuss what I was working on and catch up on my progress. I also had monthly meetings dedicated to tracking my development where I could set goals and my manager would offer support and advice on how I could reach them.

I was fortunate enough that my role kept me busy throughout the year as there were always new projects and events to be working on. There were times when I was extremely busy and times where work was slower however the balance between the two worked really well for me.

I was given a lot of responsibility whilst on placement. This naturally increased throughout the year which was great as I didn't feel overwhelmed too early in my placement. In times when I was given higher levels of responsibility I always had the support of my line manager if needed which helped me push myself out of my comfort zone.

The skills I developed will be hugely beneficial to my future career such as teamwork, communication and confidence. I have also learned a lot about how business operate, particularly the department I am working in, which I hope will be transferable to my studies in my final year of university.

In my placement year I was based at GSK House which is their global headquarters and the atmosphere was amazing. They really live by their values which made it a very friendly and supportive place to work which I think can sometimes be hard to find in such large global corporations.

My placement was really well organised. GSK employ over 300 industrial placement students each year so they really know what they're doing! I had set projects throughout the year which I felt had been planned really well and they ensured I was really getting the most out of my years experience.

I couldn't have asked for more in terms of development. I sat down with my manager at the start of the year and outlined the key areas I wanted to develop whilst on placement. We would then work together to find ways of doing this such as shadowing new areas, working on specific projects or networking with other employees. We then had monthly meetings dedicated to tracking my development which I really valued and it was great to see the improvements I was making in such a short period of time.

GSK is definitely somewhere I would love to work in the future and being such a large global company they have a lot of opportunities available. Being on the placement year you also get the chance to fast track part of the graduate scheme application process which is a great opportunity!

There was a great social scene in the team I was working with with a real mix of age groups which I really enjoyed as it was a really different experience compared to being at university. There were always events that were run for placement students by a network called IP Unite who were also placement students themselves. These events ranged from taco nights, meeting at bars and a boat party on the Thames!

I was based in London so the cost of living was high however that's to be expected that it is reflected in the salaries. Although the cost of living and socialising was high I never felt like I couldn't afford to go anywhere so I wouldn't consider it a negative!

I was based in Brentford in West London where there isn't too much nightlife however there's some really great pubs. It's also really close to areas such as Hammersmith and Clapham which have a great nightlife. There is also a station in Brentford that takes you straight into Waterloo so you're never very far from the centre of London!

There were so many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. I volunteered at the WellChild Awards which was amazing (even got to brush shoulders with Prince Harry and Meghan). I also had to opportunity to volunteer at an Over the Wall camp for a week with siblings of children who suffer from serious health conditions which was one of the highlights of my year.