IT Early Talent Programmes Coordinator Review

I really enjoyed working at GSK on my placement. I was in a HR role and got real responsibilities and projects to run. I really enjoyed experiencing working in a global company and developing skills that I did not have the chance to at university. I had a really good line manager and as there are many IPs at GSK it meant there was a good social aspect to the role.

I was in a small team of 2 but we worked with a wider team and also with graduates, IPs and apprentices. I felt I was given real work to do and was never treated as a student. My manager was very supportive and really helped to develop me as a person. Therefore I felt like I got a lot out of the year. There were many occasions when people I worked with had no idea that I was a placement student and assumed that I worked at GSK full time.

I worked very closely with my manager as we were a team of 2 and so sat next to her on a daily basis. This gave us the opportunity to chat regularly about aspects of our role and I could ask any questions easily.

There were different times of the year when it was more/less busy. I always had some work to do but there were times that I felt more stretched than others. I enjoyed the year a lot more when I was busiest and had my own projects and events to run.

I was given a lot of responsibility throughout my placement. As in the team there was only my manager and I, I was given a lot of work at the beginning of the year to complete. I thoroughly enjoyed having my own aspect of the role which I could manage independently as well as assisting my manager with the other parts of the role.

I study a science degree but decided to do a placement year in Human Resources. Therefore I got the chance to experience another area of the business and get a broader awareness of how a science company worked. Throughout this year I had the chance to manage projects working both independently and as part of a team and also got a lot of opportunities to present to different groups of people. I feel this improved a skill set which was never really used at university. My time management and prioritisation skills also improved as I was balacing a lot of work at some points in the year. I feel this will help me manage my dissertation and revision in final year,

GSK is a really welcoming environment. The dress code is pretty casual and so there is a more relaxed feel although you are aware its a corporate environment. The office works by 'hot desking' and so you can move around seats which makes work a bit more exciting! The office is usually very busy although there are times in the year when it gets slightly quieter. Everyone I sit near is friendly and it is a good environment to work in. I would definitely want to come back to work here.

The placement year was well managed and I felt informed of what was going on before I started the placement to the end of the placement.

I would of liked there to be more personal training and development. My manager was very supportive in developing me and so was the people I worked with. I also had the chance to establish mentors/coaches if I wanted to. However there was no formal training or courses offered which would of been a good opportunity whilst in a business as large as GSK.

There are a wide choice of graduate schemes which I would be very interested in applying to. There are also many examples of IPs who have gone back to GSK as direct entry and so there is many options to rejoin GSK. The graduates that I have spoken to are all enjoying their graduate scheme and all seem stretched in their roles with international travel.

There are many placement students and so we were all part of a community called IP Unite. Through this many social events were planned including boat party and christmas ball. Apart from organised things, I made a good group of friends with placement students in the company and so we had nights out between ourselves.

I lived at home and so did not need to pay living costs. It is expensive to go out in London in comparison to university towns but its not unreasonable.

Where the office is based, not much apart from some pubs and restaurants, but we are based 20 mins from London by train and so was easy to go into London for nights out. There are loads of places to go out in London and so much to do and as it is such a short train ride it is a good location. We went out to London a lot after work and at the weekends.