Human Resources Placement Review

My placement year taught me so much - more than I ever expected to learn before joining. It showed me what it's like to work for a large corporate firm, and meant I could network with senior stakeholders from such an early stage in my career. The fact that I could connect with other placement students made my experience even more enjoyable.

I was given real responsibility throughout my placement year and felt like a valued member of my team. I no longer feel like a student in the office, and was never made to feel as the 'intern'. My manager was great at providing feedback and always pushed me to go for challenging opportunities where she knew I would develop.

I never felt as though I couldn't ask a question at GSK. They truly care about your development and know you are there to learn, so the support was incredible. You are not expected to come in as a business professional, so asking for support is always encouraged, and you are never made to feel stupid for doing so.

My workload ebbed and flowed throughout the year, but the periods of low workload were not necessarily a negative aspect of my placement. I used this time to reach out to other teams and offer my help, and I would definitely recommend this to any future placement student. This also gave me time to network within the business. If I want more work, I could always ask my manager.

My manager and my team really trusted me to own projects, and encouraged me to challenge ideas and provide opinions. I was given as much responsibility as some of the permanent members of staff in my team, but was fully supported and never felt overwhelmed. They made sure I was ready to accept responsibility before I was given it.

My placement will not have helped me directly in terms of applied academic knowledge, but it has given me a great work ethic and driven mindset. Now that I know what I want to do and what I enjoy doing, I will work harder towards my degree to achieve that. It has also made me appreciate structure, and made me more efficient when working.

GSK House in Brentford is an amazing environment to work in - there is a gym, hairdressers, beauty salon, restaurants etc. and you are constantly surrounded by senior leaders who are willing to speak to you. This was not something that I expected. My only criticism would be the location as I would have liked to experience working in central London, but the facilities in the office make up for it.

My placement was well organised and set up, which surprised me as there are over 300 placement students in the UK. I never felt neglected and always felt like there was work to do/something to look forward to. The year went so quickly, and I think that goes to show that there was always something going on.

At GSK, you are trained mostly on the job, and about 20% formal, online training. At the beginning of my placement, my manager asked me exactly what I wanted to gain from the year, and made sure that the projects I was given were tailored to that. Also, we were encouraged to shadow in different areas of the business.

You can be recommended for the Future Leaders graduate programme once you have finished your placement with GSK. You are fast-tracked to a later stage of the application process but you are not automatically offered a place. I did really enjoy my placement year, but I'm keen to explore different businesses too.

We had a community called IP Unite (Industrial Placements Unite) which organised social events and made sure that the placement students stayed connected. There are so many placement students that it's easy to make friends and it means you can support each other along the way. I will stay in touch with my placement friends for a long time I hope!

London prices! Brentford itself is in West London so it is pricey but to be expected. This would have been more justified if we were in a more central location as there is not much to do in Brentford. The local pubs were the only place to socialise in Brentford.

Again, Brentford itself is not the most lively area. However, you could easily get the train or tube into London where there is loads going on. The closest areas to Brentford with a decent nightlife include Richmond, Clapham, Putney, Fulham. Many placement students don't live directly in Brentford anyway so it was fine.

Yes. We had volunteering opportunities for a charity called Over the Wall. We were also meant to complete Tough Mudder as a placement cohort (cancelled due to COVID), and we often went to the gym together after work. On a Friday, a few of us also went to the pub and met on weekends.