Junior Brand Manager Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement with Pfizer; I felt I was given incredible opportunities to build on skills that I had already started to develop and the placement really stretched me and enabled me to achieve things that I never thought I would. I was given far more responsibility than I thought I would and although this scared me initially, I felt it has really helped me develop as an individual, whilst also improving my confidence.

Initially, I did not feel that valued as it took me a long time until I felt I knew what I was doing and could actually be an asset to the team. In the first few months, I felt more of a burden than a help! However as I began to learn more and take on more responsibility, I felt the team really began to appreciate me. I am not towards the end of my placement and numerous team members have commented that they will really miss me and my contribution and that they are nervous for when I leave. this has been really nice to hear.

I felt I could have done with a bit more guidance at times. I am confident with managing my own time and work, so this was not a problem. However, at times on my main project, I could have really done with some more support and just more contact with my supervisor. Due to high traveling demands and also a heavy work load, I felt that she couldn't dedicate as much time to my as she possibly would have liked. She had to cancel or push-back our catch ups quite often. however saying this, when I did speak with her, she offered useful advice and support.

I was pretty busy on a daily basis. My main project took up a large proportion of my time and during the busiest few months of this, I would actually say I was quite snowed under with work and had to take some home occasionally. This was simply to do with the heavy workload of my main project and the responsibility that I had. Sometimes, I would receive around 100 emails a day and so my time at work was non-stop. However I generally really enjoyed this and loved being busy, again feeling like a proper member of the team and not 'just an intern'. After my main project was complete, things were much calmer and I was still busy but not to quite an extent.

I felt like I was trusted with a lot of responsibility, far more than I thought I would. I was left to manage my own project which was a very large, key deliverable for the year. I delivered this to quite a large extent on my own, getting support internally when I needed it. Although this was stressful at times, it did give me a real buzz and a true insight into what it would be like working for this sort of company. Equally, the sense of pride ands accomplishment once it was complete was huge and made the hard work worthwhile.

Time management has definitely approved and my work ethic has probably increased even more. These will help with my final year of studies. I really think the main skills I have built on will help me beyond university and in the work place. I feel I have developed my project management skills hugely, as well as my communication abilities and interpersonal skills. I have worked with people from all over the world and my confidence has greatly improved. Equally, I have a much better understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, which is really valuable. These skills are all transferable and so will be incredibly useful in any workplace in the future.

I did not feel the atmosphere in my office was great. We hot desk which I personally do not like as you cannot personalise it and you do not feel a real sense of belonging. Equally, there were almost walls up around each working area and so a physical barrier to the person next to you! I felt that almost restricted communication and they were trying to dissuade people from talking, so not to be disruptive. I felt like I couldn't have open conversations in the office for fear of disturbing people. Email communication was prioritised and I feel that talking is sometimes more efficient! In addition, many people worked from home on Fridays and sometimes other days. this meant that on some days, very few people came in. Except the interns were not allowed to work from home on Fridays and I sometimes struggled with the lack of human contact - sometimes, it would only be myself and 4 or 5 other people!

I feel generally, it was set up and organised well. I was given an induction when I arrived and my workload was reviewed every now and again and new projects assigned to me. My team had clearly thought about the projects I could work on and planned this out and I was really grateful for this.

I felt they did prioritise this and incorporated personal development into my plan. Initially, I did not have much time for this as my main project had to be a priority. however once this was completed, my supervisor encouraged me to take on other opportunities, such as shadowing other teams within Pfizer or spending a day with an agency that I had worked with. I was also able to attend Yellow Belt training which I found really valuable.

They have integrated a grad scheme for this year, which means future employment is now more promising. Apart from this, I do not think there are many graduate entry jobs at Pfizer, as you really need more experience before you come back. I would consider applying for the grad scheme however.

Yes I believe there was a good social scene as Pfizer employs lots if interns. We did come from quite a large area so didn't always live that close to one another, which sometimes meant meeting up was a little tricky. However generally, I really enjoyed the social element and have met some people that will be friends for life. Pfizer however did not have any involvement on this and we organised things completely ourselves. It would be nice if they organised something, even if it was fortnightly drinks or something.

I actually chose to live at home and commuted by car. Pfizer offers a car share scheme, where you receive a £5 voucher for every person you take to work. I luckily met an intern who lived very close to me, so we shared the drive. This contributed go my petrol so meant commuting was even cheaper. We did have to socialise in London mainly however, which is expensive.

Pfizer is in Surrey and quite far out of London, therefore local nightlife was not great. However, you can get to London fairly easily, which obviously means a good night life.

No not really- you can explore volunteering opportunities and some teams organise the odd external activity but I didn't feel there was much on offer.