Corporate Finance Industrial Trainee Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed all my time working with Pfizer over the past year where all the colleagues that I have worked with have made me feel extremely welcome and have always been more than happy to efforts to check on and ensure that I was involved in a number of different projects that would help to maximise the benefit of my time here.

From the day I started my placement I was treated as any other member of the team, which going into the year was something I was worried would be an issue and was very pleased to find that it wouldn’t be. During various different meetings and discussions I have always felt happy to put forward my opinions knowing that they would be heard properly.

Throughout my year at Pfizer I have had weekly one to one’s with my manager who has proved to be extremely patient and supportive in assisting with my development. However I have also had great support from other colleagues who have also taken on semi-managerial roles in their own roles and have been happy to take the time to help me get involved in different areas of finance whilst making sure I understand how the processes work.

When I joined I was given a set of monthly/ quarterly processes which took up most of my time to begin with, but as time went on became less and less time consuming. Due to this I began to seek out more adhoc processes/projects to get involved with In order to diversify my placement experience as well as expand my skillset. I believe these adhoc tasks have been the key to making my placement a success.

I found that the responsibility that I was given varied quite drastically from process to process. Certain processes that I was heavily involved in would normally have been completed by a qualified accountant whist some of the monthly tasks that I was given to begin with were not very taxing.

The skills that I have developed over the course of my placement won’t be all that useful to my immediate degree studies however I do believe that they will prove extremely useful in my working life after university. My drastically improved Excel skills and my new knowledge of SAP systems I hope will stand me in good stead for whatever is to come after university.

The general atmosphere in the office was quiet (especially of Fridays), which for the most part was good and meant it was easy to get work done however there were times when it would have been better if there was a bit more excitement.

The placement could probably have been a bit better organised with perhaps a few more set tasks each month/ quarter in order to put less of the onus on the student when it came to seeking out new tasks and projects to work on. However it was a lesson to me at least in terms of learning where to seek out new opportunities.

In terms of personal training and development I found that most of this came from other people within the department sitting you down and talking through certain tasks without too many opportunities necessarily for professional training sessions (Although this might not have been all that applicable in most cases). However company investment in the student was one area where I saw a certain disparity from department to department where certain interns were sent on several trips across Europe for meetings/ conferences whilst others did not get any real opportunities to travel.

Unfortunately the department that I worked in does not have any entry level roles for graduates which is a shame, but I have been encouraged by colleagues to apply to certain departments which might help offer a route back into the company.

There was a great social scene amongst the other students that were employed at Pfizer especially as many of us chose to live with other placement students which meant there were lots of opportunities for various different social activities. In my team there were less opportunities due to budget constraints which was really unfortunate.

The cost of living was probably a bit more than what I am used to living in the North but I had been expecting this. We chose to live in Epsom and for the house that we were renting I believe we got a very reasonable deal for the area.

Epsom was ok for nightlife with loads of pubs and a few decent bars as well as one club which recently opened up that was actually really good. It’s also pretty easy to get into London to places like Clapham and Brixton which is a bonus.

There are plenty of different sports clubs that anyone can join throughout the year as long as you make the effort to go out and have a look for them.