Collaboration Demand Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at GSK. It's been a rewarding experience full of positives, challenges and learning experiences that have contributed towards my personal and professional development. I enjoyed the nature of my job role which required helping people to work together more effectively using IT services and tools. The people were friendly and supportive, the working atmosphere was great and I was able to build an effective network and establish relationships with my colleagues and peers. GSK is certainly a place to gain practical experience for the industry you wish to work in!

I felt very valued; I was given real responsibilities and was included in key decisions, phases that would help to meet objectives and weekly team meetings. I also had the opportunity to represent my team and department on several occasions at GSK conferences and events where I raised the awareness of IT tools and services that allow employees to collaborate, communicate and connect with each other and external third parties. GSK is very open in recognising and rewarding its employees for their achievements and hard work. I was often recognised by my line manager and director for my work due to the praise I received from people I worked with. Furthermore, gratitude would be shown through dinners and team meetings.

My line manager in particular held 1:1 discussions with me every week to address any issues and concerns, discuss ambitions and goals and present opportunities of interest whilst my colleagues and peers on-site and across the globe were always free and open for giving advice and having a chat. The same goes for my University tutors and the contractors who recruited the Industrial Placement students at GSK - all were very helpful! In general, people that I met across each business unit were very welcoming in sharing their experiences to help me have a rewarding year at GSK.

This varied on the nature of the workload and day itself. At first I didn't have much to do and found myself learning a lot about the company as well as the department and team I work for. This is when a 9-5pm goes really slow but once I had adjusted and settled, the workload did increase and I started to get involved with different projects and tasks. After 6-7 months, I then became comfortable and started to seek more opportunities outside my job role and learnt how to balance requests from my customers with workload from my team and work from University. It does vary but you'll find that being busy is a good thing and helps the day to go much quicker.

Throughout the year I was given real responsibilities that ranged from: attending conferences and events to raise the awareness IT services and tools we provide, contributing towards key projects that helped to enhance customer experience and service efficiency, facilitating team meetings, providing assistance to business and organisation units that use or wish to adopt the IT services and tools that we provide and speaking to customers and stakeholders. I was also able to seek opportunities outside my job role that equally had many responsibilities. One example was when I supported the organisation and running of IT Industrial Placement Assessment Centres serving the role of a Facilitator and secondary interviewer and note-taker whilst the other, was when I volunteered to a part of charity events at GSK that involved collecting donations. monitoring several activities and stalls and welcoming guests.

Although my role wasn't as technical, I did gain exposure and learn how to use IT service and tools that are business-oriented such as: Microsoft Lync, SharePoint and Yammer. I did apply CSS, HTML and JavaScript in cases where I developed Intranet sites but most importantly I feel that it is the soft skills and work ethic that will come to use in my final year at University and beyond. I developed my ability to showcase good communication, customer service, leadership, networking, presentation and teamwork. I learnt the importance of professionalism and I've certainly improved my ability to better manage my time and plan and prioritise my workload. At GSK I was also fortunate to study for, pass and achieve the ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management which I'm sure will improve my career prospects and job opportunities.

The atmosphere in the office was great, I worked in the headquarters and colleagues and peers were always open for a social or work-related discussion. Smart-working was encouraged which meant no personal desks but at least it gives you the ability to frequently meet new people that work in your department or organisation. There were many nice and friendly people working in IT as well as the whole company which helped your day to go better and quicker - I certainly miss greeting one another in the office environment! No matter how busy we were, we always found time for a joke or two.

I felt it was very organised, the recruiters had done well to get us on board according to our preferences and complete all the necessary paperwork. We were introduced to GSK through an awareness day and once we had joined, we got the ability to meet our colleagues and team members. Fortunately, I worked for a team that had recruited many Industrial Placement students in the past. I was given an ID badge, a laptop with all the necessary access and credentials and a site tour of the headquarters. I was also given a document with hyperlinks that further explained my job role and GSK as a organisation. I was explained how to fill out my timesheet, how to use the IT services and tools that GSK use and I was introduced to Harvard ManageMentor which is an online learning and performance support resource.

As mentioned, Harvard ManageMentor was available to develop our professional skills and my line manager, colleagues and peers would work with me and be supportive in helping me to develop and become a business professional. I was also exposed and given the responsibility to initiatives and opportunities where my assistance was required, that I found interesting and would challenge me. I was also able to study for the ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management after creating a business use case proposal that stated my career ambitions, logistics of the course and reasons for wanting to study it. These reasons focused on both the value it would have for me as well as for my team, department and GSK as a organisation.

I would say they are appealing, it's been a good year and I certainly enjoyed working at GSK. I would love to return onto a graduate scheme but will keep my options open as I also wish to gain exposure and experience in a different industry. In general at GSK, I've been able to build my network and establish a range of professional and personal contacts so if an opportunity does arise, I will look to apply.

Despite placement students being spread-out across GSK, I would say there was a good social scene with many social and work-related events, parties and nights out. I met many placement students and worked with a lot of them in IT and other areas of the business. I learnt from one another and most of them became good friends of mine. When most of them had left before me, that's when I realised that the Industrial Placement students that I knew and worked with really did have a positive impact on my year at GSK.

London can be expensive but fortunately I was able to secure a placement at GSK's headquarters which is also close to my permanent residence. I only had the cost of occasional transport (one or two bus journeys) and food which varied from £3-5 a day.

Central London is known for it's nightlife and getting there is easy due to the excellent transport links. I guess because I was local, I didn't make much use of the nightlife during my time at GSK.

There were plenty of opportunities to get involved and what's important to understand is that it will gradually become available and visible throughout your placement. As mentioned, I was involved in several key projects and even got involved in activities outside my job role - one that I haven't yet mentioned is when I decorated a charity shop with peers and colleagues as part of the GSK Orange Day initiative that encourages GSK employees to give up one working day a year to volunteer with a local community project. What's important to understand is that you must be transparent and speak to your colleagues, line manager and team members regarding your ambitions and expectations. They will be able to help you and expose you to opportunities and people that will interest you!