Statutory Compliance (Finance) Placement Student EMEA Review

It was good! The people were so nice and the culture at GSK was very conducive, therefore making me enjoy my year in industry. There was also a lot of volunteering opportunities for placement students, which made my placement experience worthwhile. However, my expectations of tasks and responsibilities wasn't met so it made my placement year less enjoyable as I didn't pick up as much skills as I thought I would.

My colleagues were very encouraging in every task I got and also ready to help when I was stuck. When I made mistakes they were very patient with me. They were also willing to give me more workload, which made me feel like I was really part of the team.

A number of my team mates were very supportive in terms of my professional growth at GSK and were even able to provide guidance as to my future career path. I would say there's not enough support given to placement students in general, we are just attached to a team for the year. So my team were mainly responsible for my growth, I would have wished that the HR team would have regularly checked up on us in terms of our growth and how we have adjusted.

I wasn't really busy or occupied during my placement year. The tasks given were not stretching or challenging, so I was able to get them done quite quickly. There were a few times where I had a lot on my plate but overall I wasn't too occupied. I think this is down to the fact that my team was only recently established and I am the first placement student in the team

Not much responsibility was given, as most of my colleagues are tax experts or advisers. Hence, there was only so much I could do as a lot of the tasks required expertise knowledge and experience in tax. But overall I was still given a substantial amount of responsibility relating to IT related tasks and other administrative duties.

I would say the volunteering opportunities GSK offered helped me to build on my team work, confidence and capacity. This would be useful when I am back at University and in my future job. Been in the finance division also gave me an insight into tax, technology and how to relate with stakeholders, which would be useful when I am back in the working world There wasn't much training offered, except training on how to do certain tasks which is quite specific to GSK

Everyone at GSK is so nice, the atmosphere was calm and relaxing. It was also very easy to get tasks done cause everyone is quite enthusiastic and encouraging. I really liked the atmosphere and would definitely encourage GSK to maintain that atmosphere because it is very conducive for growth and learning

There was more or less no structure in terms of my placement. I was attached to a team and I assisted with tasks and was given a few responsibilities. It was clear there was no proper plan as to responsibilities or roles over the course of the year. I had to create a structure for myself.

There was no personal training or investment whatsoever. Most companies usually have a weeks training before officially starting work. This wasn't offered at GSK, you join your team straight away and assist with tasks. However, there are a few courses you can take on GSK's my learning website which can be useful in developing skills.

The conversion rate is very low, only a few placement students end up been accepted on the graduate scheme. Unlike other companies, GSK's placement students still have to be recommended by their manager, do a video interview and assessment centre before been offered a place on the graduate scheme. This for me was quite shocking as you would expect that placement students would get an advantage.

There were about a 100 plus placement students in GSK House and we had 2 site ambassadors who were responsible for planning events. So we had a lot of social events focused for placement students, which was really good. Plus a lot of the placement students share houses, so there's always something happening

London is quite expensive to live in so you may consider sharing a flat or house. You can also use spare room website where you rent a room in a house, this is usually cheaper. Socializing is not too expensive in London, there are some good cheap spots. You just need to do your research!

I was based in London so there's always something happening around. However, GSK's headquarters is based in Brentford and in Brentford there isn't much going on but London has a good nightlife in general so you can always commute to the good spots. Plus placement students always have something planned.

Yes, there were numerous volunteering opportunities for Industrial placement students. So outside of your work related role, you could always get involved in one charity or the other. There's also a women's leadership initiative network, which was really good during my time at GSK. Teams also organise activities outside work from time to time.