Performance and Marketing Executive Review

I really enjoyed my work placement this year, I was able to learn about the pharma business and all the different functions that exist e.g. finance, marketing, legal, compliance. As ViiV Healthcare is majority owned by GSK, it also gave me exposure to GSK and the business processes. This year has allowed me to learn a great deal to contribute towards my future career.

I did not feel like I was on a placement year. From the very beginning and throughout my placement, I was given a great deal of responsibility. It was clear that there was someone working in another team that was in a role equivalent to mine, however they were permanent staff. This made me feel valued, I was also given all the opportunities my colleagues were given.

My manager was great; she really helped me develop this year as a person and within the business. We had regular performance reviews throughout the year so we could identify where my weaknesses were and how to go about turning them into strengths. She also helped me make my CV look more attractive by suggesting areas that needed more work.

I was busy on most days which was great! Every morning I had a list of things to do throughout the day. Some days were very hectic when I had to complete my work alongside meetings but the week can easily balance out and there is time to complete my work. I was never bored and if I was, I was able to speak to my manager and see what other tasks I can take on.

I was given a great deal of responsibility. Being part of my team, we naturally have a management role where we are in contact with around 26 countries. Knowing what role each person in your team has and how much support we provide our countries, you come to realise without your help, it would be a great struggle for the countries to achieve their goals.

I have learnt so many skills this year and improved on many more. I have not only developed business skills but I have also grown as a person and can now use my new skills in finishing my degree and my future career. All the skills I learn this year/were able to develop are vital in a business environment and can be applied during work or even in my personal life.

The atmosphere was great, everyone was very friendly. We had an open plan seating arrangement in the office so you could move around and sit next to new people in different business areas. One day you could be sitting with the Finance guys and the next, sat with legal and compliance. The atmosphere was great and allowed you to meet new people, make new connections and get to know people better.

The overall work placement was well organised. As there was only a small number of industrial placement students working at ViiV Healthcare, the processes were well known. Each manager was different in the way they organised their student and gave them work. Saying that, we all enjoyed our placements and learnt a great deal of life lessons so the placement and its organisation worked very well!

The company did invest time in my personal training and development. I was able to attend workshops where they taught us different management skills, how to manage your workload, how to challenge and develop skills as a person, etc. I was also able to listen into different webinars where expert speakers were able to explain the importance of communication, what it means to have a positive mindset and how to stay above the line.

Speaking to people who work for ViiV Healthcare, there is a lot of opportunity to move within the business into different functions. There are internship and graduate opportunities, both of which you can enter the company as an employee. Once an employee, there is opportunity for development into higher grades in different countries, in different business functions.

There was an internship society that was run by the placement students. The society ran social events for all placement students to attend, some of the events were subsidised by GSK/ViiV. Within ViiV Healthcare, there was great spirit amongst colleagues and social events on Thursday were regularly organised for all to attend. The social scene was great with people organising events regularly.

The cost of living and socialising was very high. We were based in West London, which made living very expensive. Despite this, it was a great experience living in London and there are places you can live for a decent price. Houses to rent around work were cheaper than living closer to London with some placement students living for cheap. For socialising, there are many events in London every weekend that are free or cheap.

In the area around work, the nightlife isn't great. There are lots of great pubs you can go to after work for a quick drink with colleagues. However, if you want to get out, you need to go to central London or surrounding areas. Getting to central London is easy, either by tube or train so this isn't a problem at all! There is so much to do in London during the night and the transport links to West London are great.

There were many opportunities to get involved in outside of work. GSK organised a fun run which was great to be a part of. During the run, there were volunteering opportunities for Save the Children in partnership with GSK. There were a lot of volunteering opportunities that we (as placement students) were encouraged to go on. Some students went to a nearby school and helped interview the year 11 students.