Decision Support - WBB Finance Review

Thoroughly enjoyed my time at Pfizer, there is a great culture and work ethic alongside very friendly colleagues.

From day one we were learning the role of a full-time employee and acquired increasing responsability as our knowedlge increased.

Alongside regular 1:1s with our Managers and Senior Managers, we were given great opporunities to be involved in projects outside of our day-to-day role. Our Managers helped with structuring our goals and helping to get the most out of our placement.

There are some busier periods than others, for example, early Summer and late Autumn were the busier parts of the year. However, in quieter periods we were able to work on projects, improve our day-to-day role and learn new skills.

Responsability came as our placement progressed, after a few months we were in the role of a Full-Time Employee with aid from our Managers. With high responsability mistakes can happen, however, any mistakes made were greeted with the attitude to learn from it and grow rather than a punishment,

The training I received may not directly help me with my degree knowledge as I studied a slightly different course to my role, however, the skills I have gained can definitely be applied to any studying and working environment. The skills and habits I have picked up on my placement will be very beneficial when it comes to exams and applying for jobs after university.

During busy periods it can get quite hectic, however, everyone is still very approachable and willing to help despite the high work load. We were told from day one that there are no "stupid questions" so you are never afraid to ask for help. We had a young team, with the average age around 25/26, so there was always social events being planned and everyone was easy to get along with.

Initially it was a little unorganised, however, that was due to our joining date being in the middle of a busy period. We were put through an On-Boarding plan to upskill us on the role and get an overall view of how the business works. This was very useful as no heavy prior knowledge was required. There are teams in place to go to if you have specific questions or if you don't understand a part of the role, which made getting to grips with the job a lot quicker.

Pfizer are willing to give you all the resources you need to accomplish your goals. However, they do expect for you to express interest and push for extra tasks or opportunities you want. There are regular 1:1 meetings with your Manager and the Senior Manager to discuss how everything is going and what areas you wish to develop in.

Unfortunately, in my department they don't offer a graduate scheme or offer roles at the end of placement. However, there is a high turnover of employment and many employees are previous interns that have applied for a role back in the department. Having worked at Pfizer and gained the basic knowledge, it puts you in a great position over other peers applying for the role.

As there were over 25 Placement Students on site, we arranged a few group chats over social networks and organised nights out, meals, birthday and trips. It was very easy to make friends as there were a large group of Students that moved to Surrey with no connections in the area, so everyone was in the same situation.

For the distance we lived away from London, the prices were fair as it was never too expensive to go out or plan anything.

There was only 2 small nightclubs in my area but there were aound 6/7 bars. However, the links were london were great as it only takes 30 minutes to get into Central London.

There are running clubs during and after work, with the opportunity to join fitness classes. There are many clubs and sports around the area, depending on where you live.