IT Business Analyst Review

This was based in IT, but it was more on the business analysis side. Essentially it involved a lot of copying and pasting in excel. My manager did try and make it as 'enjoyable' as possible, but it is just not an area I wanted to work in. I wanted to develop technical skills which GSK cannot accommodate. The CIO himself states IT in GSK is moving to less technical and more information which means that the technically gifted workforce will be coming from offshore. Something to bear in mind if you want to start your IT/Computer Science career at GSK,

I always got positive feedback/comments from the work that I did. More towards the latter half of the year with the second team I worked with. I felt that I was doing basic and unspectacular work that didn't really require much thought processing/power but it was always hailed as 'fantastic'

My manager was my biggest fan. He always tried to promote and get me involved. Weekly one-2-ones as well as progress meetings.

It could differ very dramatically on a daily and weekly basis. My busiest week was my last. I was busy when I gave myself something to do. If I relied on my manager to delegate I would probably have had about a month out of the twelve where I was actually working.

Primarily non-critical business activities. Nice to have odd bits and pieces. When I decided to put my own personal stamp on some of the work I was given, that is when I began to get noticed at work.

I was able to do a professional nationally recognised qualification during my placement which was the lightbulb moment in making sense of what my degree actually was about

When I started, there were quite a few layoffs and introducing some 300 odd university students in favour of people who had worked there for 10 years or more made for some initial hostility. I, along with the other IP students felt that people were just there to make a living. They didn't seem to enjoy the work they did - just a way to make a means. My manager did often complain about his job despite being seemingly the happiest guy at the office.

There was no organisation/plan. It was up to my manager how much or little I did. The fact that I was bored/did little work for most of it implies the scheme needs a lot of major rework.

GSK - None whatsoever. If they had it their way I wouldn't have done any training. But my manager who was an IP student himself recognised the important of training, both professionally and via coaching.

300+ IP students across all divisions and 60 graduate roles open to both external and internal applicants. What makes it even more annoying is that despite working at GSK for a year, I am on an equal footing with external applicants and have to complete an extra step in the recruitment process! They don't seem to value or appreciate the fact that I have spent a year with the company or that I already know the GSK values when it comes to an interview or assessment centre situation.

There was - IP Unite for all things social. We tried to hold one event a month that included local sites and the bigger events involving all sites were the kickoff IP unite event in sept/oct, Christmas party in december and the end of year boat party in june. I have made some good friends out of this placement that I will definitely be keeping in contact with. And there are some people I will be glad to see the back of, but this comes with any job so I wouldn't let it ruin the experience.

I worked in the headquarters in Brentford of the lovely and scenic A4. A couple of local pubs (the globe and the weir are the best) but for socialising we usually went into central london. I'm from London so the prices didn't shock me, but people who moved to London probably thought otherwise

Brentford does not have a nightlife that does not involve Class A and B drugs - go to central London

There was something called Orange days where you get one or two paid days off work to do some volunteering. Our department didn't do one however. I did all my volunteering outside of work to have something to look forward to as work was not that entertaining.