External Communications Undergraduate Review

A valuable and unforgettable experience that I highly recommend everyone to do a placement year if you haven't already considered yet! It is the best way to immerse yourself in an environment that is related to your degree but outside of textbook knowledge. I learnt a lot about the environment, my subject, current affairs going on in this area, the business, the pharmaceutical industry, dealing with crisis (e.g pandemic) etc. It was exciting to know that everyday I am supporting in a specific change in the company that could benefit the world. Training: I was encouraged and given full support to attend training sessions that were relevant to my role to broaden my horizons. I was also given opportunities to apply my knowledge into practice! People: I met some great friends during this placement year, as well as bieng in a wonderful team. I will for sure keep in touch with them! Self-development: you will grow a lot having been in a professional environemnt working full-time for one year, I've certainly learnt a lot and am confident that I will be able to apply skills that have been flourished and learnt from placement year into my final year of university and for future roles!

I was in a great team! We have catch up meetings twice a week and sometimes virtual "social" for team bonding (due to covid-19 we didn't meet up). For every catch up meeting, everybody was given the chance to contribute to updates, including me, so I did feel valued by my colleagues and my mentor also encouraged me to present the different learnings I had from my training sessions I went on. The team were interested and asked questions!

I had two mentors during this year due to one left for maternity leave. The support and guidance were great, and I was fully supported and encouraged to go on training sessions where I'd feel that I'd benefit from. We have catch up session every week and the fact that I was comfortable with my mentor, I was not afraid to tell them whether I felt too busy or needed more work to do, and my mentor would support my request to ensure my workload and well-being were balanced.

I think this question is difficult to answer because I've learnt that it really depends the department you are in, the mentor that you have, and the expectations that the business has in your department. I was in Corporate Affairs and it's a deparmtent that is always busy, but it was also the perfect opportunity to learn and work with many people and teams, and I often had enough on my plate!

I worked with my mentor to create a self-development plan at the beginning so I was always being given responsibilities that could improve myself and skills that I put on the list! I had opportunities when I was able to create something new and bring to the department with another placement student and our mentors, presented to the team and to work experience students and also contributed to the social media channels and monitored the UK press office. I would say I was trusted with a lot of responsibilities!

I was working heavily on my presentation skills this year and not only the presenting side changed, but also the creative side in creating the powerpoint and most importantly, my confidence in presenting. I am very grateful for the support I received!

Our team sit together opposite each other forming a rectangle, so it was always easy to have a chat! I'd say it's a professional atmosphere as it's open space so being too noisy can affect other teams and also when receiving the press office phone calls.

It was really organised from start to finish! I can tell a lot of thoughts and hardwork have been put in the organisation and I am really grateful for all the teams involved! I was given a starter checklist dedicated to placement students, and then a full folder of handover documents and equipment on the first day. There was not a day where I felt like "nobody knew what I was doing" or I felt like I was "not helping anyone" kind of feeling. My mentor was also senior in her position and an experienced individual in the team and company, her insights were especially valuable when it comes to approaching the appropriate people for tasks.

Absolute everything! I was very fortunate and I am super grateful for every single opportunity i was given. I attended at least 5 training sessions, a couple were abroad and made it especially memorable! These sessions were helpful in building my knowledge, confidence, skills. They really invested a lot in me in areas that I was keen to develop in, I couldn't have asked for more! Not only I was able to attend these training sessions, the most important thing was being given opportunities to reflect and apply the knowledge after I return from these sessions.

All placement students are automatically given a chance to apply the graduate scheme, which is an internal application, that is a great and unique opoortunity to continue at the company. Apart from that, you may also keep in touch with your team on LinkedIn to see if they are posting any new roles.

I met my friends through being in the same department floor and running club. It's an open and friendly atmosphere overall and we organised events amongst ourselves for placement students so everyone was included!

I stayed at home for my placement and commuted. In terms of socialising we would all meet in London, so travel was London priced.

We usually travel to the nearer towns like Epsom or London to socialise.

There were a variety! For example different volunteering opportunities, involving in work experience week, running events, work socials etc.