Marketing Executive Review

I loved my placement. Other than getting to meet a whole host of fun and interesting people it was a great opportunity to put into practice what I had learnt in my degree. Activities organised by GSK employees outside of work also allowed me to meet amazing people and share some great experiences.

I have felt valued by my colleagues since day 1. At the end of the day you have a role to play in the business and they wouldn't offer a placement position somewhere where resource would be wasted. As well as this the employees I have worked with are all really keen to support my development and provide constructive feedback when necessary.

I have been given great amounts of support and guidance from my line manager and various other stakeholders across the business. I think a real obstacle for some placement students if saying in the first place that you need support. I felt like I could be honest and reach out to my Line Manager when I needed help and this meant I received the help I needed.

On a daily business I have been kept busy. In some cases at the start of my placement this meant at times feeling although I had been swept up by a whirlwind, however through gaining further experience I am now able to prioritise the tasks I have in hand and make sure I am working as effectively as possible.

I feel although I was given the perfect amount of responsibility throughout my placement. At the beginning I had enough accountability placed on me to allow me to feel valued but as I developed so too did the amount of responsibility. I have felt this exposure to greater levels of responsibility has massively helped develop me as an employee.

As I am on placement I am yet to see how these skills benefit my studies. However I assume that they will allow me to bring a new level of focus to the projects and CW I am involved in. As well as this my leadership skills has massively developed since managing large teams of people across different countries.

The atmosphere in my office spaced is really great. It is focused, friendly and fun. At times this can mean needing to plug in headphones to get a task finished but generally you feel although you can reach out to other members of your team in the warm friendly atmosphere.

The placement scheme has been around at GSK for several years so they are well prepared in what to expect and how to make sure you get the most from your year in industry. Many of the roles are also specifically for IP students so these ensure the correct amount of accountability in order to develop.

At GSK employees are the most important asset and therefore they invest in them heavily. As industrial placement students this also means you benefit from this and to date I have been on numerous formal development courses to allow me to improve my performance, each aligning with my development plan.

There was a great social scene amongst the Industrial Placement students. As well as playing sport together several times a week we have also been on numerous nights and taken trips into central to celebrate various peoples birthdays. Everyone is keen to meet new people and this has meant finding friends and organising events has been straightforward.