Corsodyl - Oral Care Brand Marketing Execuive - GBI Review

Had the opportunity to learn from really talented marketers and have been given a lot of trust in carrying out projects of my own that I wouldn't have expected to be in charge of before even finishing university. I felt treated like any other colleague in terms of responsibility and accountability

My manager and wider team really believed in me and provided me with every possible opportunity to grow both professionally and as a person. They recognised my strengths and weaknesses and supported me with different projects accordingly. They always treated me with respect and often checking in to see whether I was happy with the work I was carrying out.

Regular check-ins with my manager allowed me to constantly reflect on the value of the projects I was carrying out. When needed, I would be pointed in the right direction or supported if I needed their intervention. I always felt like I could be honest to my manager and openly talk about what I was finding challenging or rewarding.

Very busy in the first half of the placement, slightly less in the second half. This is due to several team changes that took place over Christmas and lead to a shift of roles and responsibilities, which meant that I was handing out some of my projects and receiving less workload.

I was given the responsibility to carry out important marketing project with huge reach. For example, I worked on and sent live a TV ad for the brand and an Out of Home campaign around Waterloo station. I was also in charge of website content, several press releases and the execution of the wider digital brand campaign for the year.

I have strongly developed several skills that will be useful in any academic and/or professional settings such as teamwork, decisiveness, resilience, presentation skills, planning and organising and accountability. I have learned how to take a project forward from start to end and how to effectively involve the right parties at the right stages.

Very friendly and teamy atmosphere. It was easy to have nice, friendly conversations with even more senior people without feeling like they were completely unapproachable due to their job titles. I never felt intimidated by the behaviour or attitude of the leadership team and overall I felt like I had a good support system around me in case I needed support, even if personal.

Very clear roles and responsibilities and upfront explanation of what I should roughly be expecting from my year and how my workload would change according to the level of experience I would acquire. I knew exactly who I was reporting to and who I still needed to keep in the loop when working on different projects.

I was offered the opportunity to participate in every training or workshop I was interested in, without every feeling like I didn't have enough experience to be able to take part. I was often given the chance to represent my team in external marketing events and conferences on behalf of my manager or superiors. I felt like I could ask to improve my skills in a specific sector and my team would find a way to allow me to do so.

Very appealing based on my personal experience. However, I recognise the work in other business functions may be different, together with different teams. Although I recognise it is an excellent company to develop skills as a graduate, I am still unsure of whether this would be the right industry I want to develop my skills in.

Very friendly atmosphere among the placement students. we would often organise nights out and hang out together for lunch or dinner after work. We would be able to rely on each other in case we were struggling at work or in personal life. this is often a matter of luck as it depends on the people that land around you, but I felt that this year I was very lucky with the support system around me.

As for the whole of London, Brentford has similar costs for transports and social life. Pubs in the area have the same cost levels, as well as transport. Rent is equally as expensive as in the rest of London but manageable. hard to save money during the year if you want to have a good social life, but worth the experience.

Brentford isn't known for its nightlife at all. there are several pubs around the office but not much more. We would often travel into central London for proper nights out and share taxis/get on the night tube back to Brentford. You can still rent closer to Central London and travel a bit further to come to work. there is a free GSK shuttle bus from Northfield station to the office and back, every morning and afternoon.

yes, a lot of sports club. however, I still think there could have been more opportunities such as social clubs and discounts to activities in London. overall, good social life but could be optimised, such as Friday activities or GSK sponsored events.