Junior Brand Manager Review

The placement working for Pfizer was an incredible experience. I experienced a wide range of projects that allowed me to explore the different areas of the business that I am most interested in. I would definitely recomend this placement as the way that is is set up allows you to have a great deal of choice in the objectives that you set for the year. It is also a very friendly working enviroment that has had Industrial Trainees for many years. Therefore Pfizer has a very well laid out process for your onboarding and throughout the placement.

With my team being at a high level in the business (a lot of the team had been at Pfizer for around 15 years), it can be hard to input into meetings, particularly at the begining of the placement when you are settling in. It is very much an enviroment (as in most companies) where you have to prove yourself to be valued.The colleagues at Pfizer are excellent at offering you the chance to prove yourself. In spite of this, the colleagues are exxcelent at giving you the opportunity to do this and always value any input you may have.

The team was spread across many different countries and involved a lot of travelling. Because of this you tend to have less contact with managers than you would in a usual placement, so you have to be ok with working autonomously. However when on-site, supervisors are excellent in assisting you with any problems or questions you may have and are great at helping you to plan your own development.

This varied very much day to day. some days you would be incredibly busy and have a lot of projects to deliver on all at once and others you would have very little to do. However the times when you have less to do are very useful to research into areas that you have less of an understanding, for example to read up on clinical trials that are affecting your market.Overall I was satisfied with the amount of work that I had.

To begin with you are not given that much responsibility. It is something you have to earn. However colleagues are very good at giving you big, long term projects that you can increase your responsibilty in over time. Now that I am nearing the end of my placement, I have been given important projects to lead on that have a much higher level of responsibility.

I think that my skills have developed greatly during my time at Pfizer. The placement has given me the opportunity to explore different areas of a corporate business as well as experience working with other companies and health care professionals. There are many training opportunites given to Industrial trainees that enhance your understanding of many different areas of the business including marketing, finance and manufacturing.

The office was fairly quiet, but with a lovely friendly atmosphere. There is a large number of people that work in the different areas of the office including a high number of industrial trainees. This is beneficial in terms of socialising but also means that the rest of the employees are very used to working with trainees and have a good understanding of why you are there. it is very much encouraged to have a good relationship with your team with many team dinners and activities.

The placement is incredibly well organised, as Pfizer has had a large number of industrial trainees for many years. There is a very clear process in place that makes the onbaording stress free. The teams also have clear roles and projects for trainees as you will do similar projects to the trainee from the previous year. I cannot fault the organisation of this placement.

The company invested very highly in my investment, despite the fact that it is unlikely that I will be able to return to Pfizer after University. I was able to complete a large variety of training courses including, marketing, finance and first aid.I was also had the opportunity to do some work experience with the agencies that we work with, as well as shadowing a sales representative to see what work in the field is like.

Colleagues work hard to get you the opportunity to return to the company, however with the team I did my placement on being such high level, there is no chance of returning to this team. However there is a graduate scheme in the UK that hires approximately 6 university graduates each year, so a select few of the industrial trainees may be able to return to Pfizer on this team.

There were many Industrial trainees working at Pfizer so there is a good social scene. There are no organised socials etc for the trainees, however if others are willing to organise events, it still can be very sociable. On your first few days you all have your induction together so you get introduced to everyone very early on. There is also a gym on site that many trainees use to socialise and a lot of people live in similar areas so can socialise in this way too.

Fairly high. The office is based in Surrey (on the outskirts of London) so the rent is not cheap. Mot places are around £500 per month. The main area to socialise in would be a trip to London as there is not that much to do in the small townt in Surrey. But there is exxcelent train services (when there isn't strikes!) that makes travelling into London very convenient.

If you travel into London it is great! However you then have to get a taxi back if you stay out late. In the Surrey towns the nightlife is fairly average, but there are lots of nice bars, pubs and resturaunts to keep you entertained in. Would not let this put you off the placement but reseach the areas and trains well if this is something important to you.

yes - there are many local sports clubs that you can join in the area that are very friendly. The towns are fairly quiet but there are lots of different areas to travel to. It is a lot easier to enjoy living in this area if you have a car. Pfizer teams generally have a few team dinners throughout the year as well.