Customer and Channel Marketing Industrial Trainee Review

The work was varied and interesting and the team I was working with were fun and supportive to my goals and projects which made it rewarding and enjoyable. Learning so many new things, about a completely new industry, from everyone I was working with. As well as doing the kind of work didn’t have any experience in was always new, exciting and enjoyable.

A felt valued by my colleagues to a significant extent throughout the placement. I was put forward for challenging projects and tasks and given responsibility over significant projects. Colleagues would frequently be asking for my opinions and views during meetings which further demonstrated that they showed value in what I had to say.

I received fantastic support from my manager. She was always there to answer any questions I have. And we would regularly catch up about everything I was currently working on so she could provide support and ideas on that.

It was balanced between some boring days, some extremely busy days and then some days in between. The majority of the time I had lots of be getting on with and was never waiting to be given my next task. It was all self driven but with frequent check ins and support from my manager.

I was given significant responsibility on my placement including leading on some big projects for the team and supporting on important parts of other projects with colleagues.

The skills around effective communication, meeting deadlines, organisation, time management skills that I have developed will be taken forward. Also, project and stakeholder management are also skills that I have developed and will come in useful for the remainder of my degree and beyond.

There is a fun but hardworking atmosphere in the office. Everyone has their heads down and is working hard, because that is what we're there to do! But there was always time to have a game of table tennis at the end of the day.

Pfizer's placement scheme has been going for many years now so the on boarding was a seamless process and very straightforward. Before I joined my manager knew already which projects I was going to work on so I could jump straight in. For the first couple of months I was assessed and given more work based on how I was getting on with what I currently had so not to overload me with too much. This may vary from role to role and it is down to your manager to organise your placement.

I received so much training throughout the year. From finance to presentation skills. The highlight would have to be the Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training and project. The skills I have learnt from this and what I cant forward are very valuable. All industrial trainees get the opportunity to do one and it has real credibility when you go forward in your career.

Pfizer has a brand new graduate scheme that is currently in it's first year. There isn't a set process to go from undergraduate to graduate as it is so new. However, it is possible to apply for the graduate role and compete with the external market. With a year there as an undergraduate the prospects are positive but not certain.

Surrey is an expensive area and I lived in a nearby village/ghost town with not a lot going on!