Global Insights Executive Review

My industrial placement at GSK in the global insights team has been a highly rewarding experience. Before my placement I was not fully aware of the GSK consumer healthcare business, however this year has helped to educate me and give me an insight of working life in a large multinational company.

My GSK and agency colleagues were very supportive during my placement and everyone who I reached out to was willing to help. I was given numerous opportunities to take my initiative and my opinion and feedback was valued at every turn. I was very much welcomed into my category team and certainty felt valued and respected.

The support and the guidance that I have received during my placement at GSK has been great. My managers have given me the support to grow both personally and professionally and have encouraged me to take any and all opportunities to develop. I have always felt confident in confiding in my managers and they have been great allies.

When I first joined my placement and was learning about the way things worked, I wasn't too busy, however this worked very well because I was just settling in. As I became more confident in my role and my responsibilities, I was able to take the initiative and work on different projects. As such, I did become very busy in my role and I enjoyed this feeling of being productive.

During my placement year I was given real responsibility and authority. It was great that my colleagues did value my output and that I was a team player in delivering business outcomes. The responsibility that I had very much encouraged me to work hard, but I always felt that I could rely on my managers or colleagues to support me if it came to be too much.

My industrial placement has been invaluable to my development for my degree studies and beyond. I have learnt so many skills for life and significantly, my confidence has really flourished. I have learnt many skills about communicating in a professional manor and importantly I have developed commercial awareness that I want to take forward in my career.

My office was made up of a really wonderful team and it was a lovely first experience of being in an office. My colleagues were all very friendly and willing to chat and provide advice. I really appreciated being part of a great office team and it certainly is something that I will miss when I finish my placement.

GSK worked hard to organise the placement and the assessment center was very much structured and orderly. This being said, I was actually employed through a third party organise and it was a little less organised. There was a bit of confusion about taking holiday, how to take holiday and how our pay would work. However everything was sorted out eventually.

I was able to partake in both personal and professional training at GSK, and was often invited to professional conferences where I was able to learn about a new business area and topic. I don't feel that I was treated differently from permanent numbers of staff in terms of personal training and development which is wonderful.

As GSK is such a large company there are lots of different employment prospects within the organisation, and I would feel keen to apply to these. My insight of GSK through the lens of my placement has very much made me think that GSK would be a great place to work in the future. The future leaders graduate scheme in particular is highlighted as a great opportunity.

There was a great community of placement students at my GSK sight. We were able to sit together at lunch time and hang out socially. There were also socials that were organised for us and we were able to meet in work and outside. It was a fantastic community to be part of.

I commuted from my home to work everyday rather than renting in the local area, however I am aware that the local area was quite expensive. When we did go out in the local area it was quite expensive, however on balance when you are earning you can afford these kinds of areas.

I didn't particularly explore the nightlife in the area I worked in because I commuted, however I did go out with my colleagues for Christmas meals and for the Christmas party. In these cases everyone was really up for going out and having fun, and so I really enjoyed these opportunities.

There were many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work at GSK which goes to show its diversity. I personally was able to be part of the STEM team, work as a University ambassador and help plan our eid/diwali party. All it takes is for someone to be proactive and look for these opportunities.