Communications Officer Review

I have met with a range of people from grassroots to the board of directors. Out of these people 90% loves the company and is energetic to do more, go beyond their role and achieve great things. This kind of atmosphere is great if you are the same kind of person. If you are happy to go out of your comfort zone, do more than expected and you are willing to try and do things you didn't think you would - this is a great place to be.

Every time I felt I was not valued or the days seemed to get longer and longer without a genuine thank you, somebody always came along to tell me how great I was and how much they appreciate my help. I have made it my mission during my placement never to say no to anyone who asked for help so I always did and I have received great appreciation from most of the people I have helped.

At the beginning there was very little help. This was due to sudden unexpected events as well as my fault. I genuinely believe I would have had a much better first impression if I'd have followed what to company is preaching. STOP, THINK and SPEAK UP -it took me 3 months of struggle before I was willing to speak to somebody higher up. Altought I was left alone at the beginning, I was also stewing in my own solidarity. Nobody was looking to come to me and offer help but as soon as I did speak up everyone was open and ready to do what every they can. If I can give one recommendation, never be scared to speak up if something is wron. GSK follows

Very busy and I loved 95% of it. During this year I made sure I get involved in everything and anything I can, my email door was always open and I took any opportunity presented to help others out. Sometimes I loved it, sometimes it became too much BUT I would not change my approach. Placement is about learning I loved the fact that people depended on me and asked me because I was the "expert".

I was dropped into a peculiar position so I don't like to answer this question in too much detail but I was greatly responsible for a lot of things, leading big projects and events. To top things up but the sweet caramelised cherry on top, most things I had to do alone or with little help due to the nature of the role and the available SMEs (subject matter experts). Amazing experience, great responsibilities. Working for a healthcare company, you need to expect that whatever you do might result in someone not getting their medication or painkiller the next day because of you. If you can handle this thought and use it to perfect your work, keep you attention on things that matter, you will do great here. At the end of the day we are at this company to help people Do more, Feel better and live longer!!!

My degree not so much but professionally and beyond this will shine on my resume. I have gained great technical and soft skills. Most importantly the job highlighted the areas I need to go back on during my last year at university and focus on both technical and soft skills. Extra opportunity is always here at the company to attend lectures, lunch and learns, training programmes both online and in a training room. If you want to learn and expand your skills all you have to do is speak up!

Usually it's very great. Open office with people stopping to chat or talking to you. It was usually nice to talk to people who just came by for a meeting and they stopped to talk for a few minutes. I was very close to the leadership team which was great. Being close to them meant I've indirectly learned from the way they talk to their colleagues and how they like to receive information. Absolutely invaluable.

This low rate is due to the nature of the situation I was in. Unfortunately there were some never ever imagined circumstances and due to the organisational structure and other complicated factors, the organisation was not great. However, this turned into a great character building opportunity, allowing me to focus on being intuitive, stay persistent and upbeat.

As expected of being part of a big company, budgets can be tight so paid training and such would have had to have a strong case. However, the company has numerous learning profiles and opportunities to study online, occasionally take training courses provided over they year through WebX, Skype there is a great mentoring programme so over all you can learn a lot if you willing to search. Opportunities can be made they are not spoon-fed.

I love the company. As hard as it was, at the end of the day I am aiding a company who makes life saving medicine. I've never looked at company logos on medication before but it's astonishing to see how many GSK products I have used without realising and how much I've sued over the year. A close family member of mine was very ill over the year and I've spent time with him in the hospital. Obviously, now more informed about medications ,I have seen first hand that someone I grew up with was being treated with products I knew from the company. Without us, without people like me and you who is looking into joining this amazing industry, people would not have access to medication. Well the next question is why GSK? GSK is renowned for their quality and they also won several awards in the Access to Medicine Index. If I am ever given an opportunity to come back, I will not think about it twice. If I was given an opportunity here or another pharma company with GSK offering a lower wage, I would still take GSK any time, every time.

I didn't take part in much socialising due to the workload I have taken on voluntarily. The rest of the ip students were out every week sometimes more than a few times a week. So if you like socialising, there will be more than enough opportunity. There are multiple sites with always more than a couple of IPs so there will be people to hang out with. Additionally, permanent colleagues were also always open to hang out with us students.

Depends on what you like.

I am a very 50 in the body of a 20 year old. Don't drink, don't smoke and don't like clubs so nightlife is not my thing. Other students seemed to love the nightlife seeing from the pictures and the stories I was told.

From several pride events, to charity work on site and off site, to football and cricket there was everything. You can definitely find outside of working hours opportunities that might be based at the workplace or outside of it.