Charlotte Taylor BSc Biomedical Sciences, 2015

During my studies at Southampton, I had a year’s industrial placement at GSK in Brentford. I chose to be based in Human Resources as I wanted the experience of working in a completely different area, rather than research. I worked in IT Early Talent where I assisted with the recruitment and programme management of graduates, placement students and apprentices, liaising with colleagues in the US and Singapore. I had a great year and was able to learn and develop new skills as well as discover what kind of career I wanted in the future.

I would recommend other students to do placement years or summer internships during their degree as I felt I developed new and existing skills during the year and had real-life industry experience when applying for roles after my degree.

Even though I wasn’t working in a scientific environment, I was able to use my analytical and mathematical skills during the year in different ways.

When I was there, I applied for the GSK graduate scheme and was awarded a place. I’ll start in September in procurement and will have the opportunity to have rotations in other departments. Before then, I’m a GSK ambassador on campus supporting the company’s recruitment and informing students of the opportunities at GSK as well as sharing my experiences working for a major pharmaceutical company.