This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
It was hard to adjust to working 9-5 but it was great to always have the evenings and weekends free. The environment was really nice to work in and everyone was happy to help, however, I didn't really find my individual project very interesting.
I was accepted as part of the team straight away and never treated as just a student. They often asked for my imput on things and I was involved in all the team meetings and events. My team and another often met up outside of work too.
As I was working on an individual project, I did find it a bit repetitive sometimes. I would have liked to work along side other members of my team to see exactly what they do on a day-to-day basis. However, I never had nothing to do as I could always research more or continue with my project write up.
My project was very independent so I had a lot of responsibility in creating presentations to keep everyone up to date with what I was doing. I was also responsible for creating a poster for my project for a presentation day.
My computer programming skills have improved greatly as I've had to use these everyday. Members of my team always assisted me with the coding if I had any problems, so I will now be able to use everything I've learnt in modules next year.
The Company
My office was fairly quiet compared to some but this was good for me to work in. The people were quite chatty too so there'd be general chat in the office so it wasn't dull. Everyone was really friendly and helpful.
I had my interview in January and found out that I had been offered the job the next day. Everything was very smooth and relaxed at the interview day too. The placement was well organised in general, with al the details sorted out with my university long before I started.
Flexi Time
Sports and Social Club
The Culture
There were about 30 students at my site so it was great to get to know them. We often went to the sports and social club for lunch and also socialised outside of work in the evenings and at weekends. All the students were really friendly and welcoming, and I fitted in well even though I started six months later than everyone else.
The area is fairly expensive but I was able to live at home with my parents during my placement as it was very close. This meant I was also used to the costs of socialising in this area, although I know some of the other students found it expensive.
There were often events at the sports and social club, and GSK had some events on site during the working day too - for example, there was a charity week during my time there so this involved a charity fun run, and there is also a community fun day open to employees and family - all of which we could get involved with.
Details
Computer Science
South East
June 2013