Junior Brand Manager Oncology Marketing Review

My placement year at Pfizer has been invaluable and life-changing. Not only has it given me opportunity to apply my pharmacological knowledge to a non lab-based role, but it has also given me a head start in developing communication, teamwork, planning and organising, time management and commercial awareness skills, all of which I know are essential for my future career. I've experienced what it's like to work within an internationally reocgnised company that has such a large positive impact on the lives of a large percentage of the population

One of the best things about working for Pfizer was how valued my colleagues made me feel. I wasn't just seen as the intern who does the jobs no one else wants to do, instead i was given true responsiblity and tasks that would alternatively be done by a very senior member of the team. My colleagues had respect for me and were always happen to answer my questions, at the same time however they very much let me get on with things and learn a lot of lessons myself

Support and guidance from my manager was there if i wanted to ask for it however it wasn't always emphasised. There were times when i felt my manager was extra busy and therefore may not have always approached me to check that i was getting on okay. Any issues that i had whilst working there however were resolved very efficiently and i felt that if i had of come under any criticism my manager would've been quick to stand by me and ensure i was okay. The relationship i had with my manager was ideal for me as i prefer to just get on with things and discover processes myself, however if i was a more dependent learner i think i may have struggled sometimes.

On average i was busy enough to fill a 9-5 day. Of course there were days with hardly anything to do and others where i was overwhelmed by my to do list. I feel there was a good balance. I would say the first month was quiet, we were left to complete compliance training and learn the basics, things then started to pick up and I was given my first big project that lasted about 5 months where i was very busy. There was then a period of a few months where i had less on before i took up another project with another colleague which i led on. This project took me right up until the very end of the year.

I was given a very large amount of responsibility during my placement and i would say this was one of the best things about my year at Pfizer. My first project was the organisation of a big meeting with a particularly large budget. My manager allocated me the project within the first 2 weeks of me arriving and i was given a briefing to outline the duties and tasks. I was then left to get on with it and i found myself building relationships with several people accross the company to complete various tasks, i thoroughly enjoyed this element. My second big project i led on entirely. When asking questions i was often encouraged to make the decision myself and therefore i was solely responsible for the outcome. Though daunting at times i think this really forced me to build on my confidence and belief in myself.

I believe the organisational, time management and communication skills will be of most benefit to me during my last year at university. I will try and incorporate my work life routine into my studies as i believe that it will allow me to be most productive. When it comes to skills i learnt specifically through my projects i believe these will be hugely beneficial to my future career. I learnt to develop contracts, produce and track budgets, manage strict pharmaceutical compliance and also how to interact with delegates from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

The atmoshpere in the office was probably the aspect of the placement that i least enjoyed. As i was part of the regional commercial team majority of my colleagues were based overseas and therefore were not in the UK office regularly. The colleagues based in the UK often travel a lot and also tend to work from home one to two days per week. As an undergraduate we weren't given the freedom to work from home therefore there were several occasions where there were only 2 or 3 of us in our section of the office. Luckily the Pfizer campus in the UK is very large so i could interact with different business units located in different areas. Additionally there were other undergraduates around that i could speak with

My initial experience with the organisation of the placement was not a good one. I submitted my initial application and attended the assesment centre where i actually did more interviews than i was told about. I didn't mind the additional interview practice however it would've been nice to be a bit more prepared. After the assesment centre i was contacted by several different people about my interviews, i was asked to do an additional 3 interviews virtually and then down at the Walton Oaks office. I was not reimbursed for my travel to the second interview. I then liasied with HR after these as it seemed like no one had really made a decision about the outcome of my interviews. To me i think there was a lack of communication between different departments that had interviewed me. There should've been a system that tracked the interviews for each student to save repeated questions and interviews. Eventually i was offered a role within a team that was not originally advertised - i was told after my interview that they wanted to offer me a place but didn't think the role i'd applied for was the best option for me. Luckily the role i ended up with i feel suits me more than any of the others i applied to however it would've been better to have more support and better communication during the application process.

Pfizer have a great industrial placement scheme for students and provide a great opportunity to learn an incredible amount in such a high class company. They offer a competitive salary and give you a chance to truly experience the working environment. Additionally, they offer courses like STEM ambassador training and yellow belt certifications - both of which are great things to put on the CV. Colleagues are willing to help us learn and show us processes that will be hugely beneficial to our future development. One way i think Pfizer could improve would be to offer better options for future employment after university. The graduate scheme is a good opportunity but is quite niche and only offered to 5 people. There is no real pathway for us to go back to Pfizer once our work is complete, particularly for me as the team i was in was very very experienced and knowledgable. I think if Pfizer increased the opportunities for graduates to enter back into the company it would benefit them massively in the future. They teach us all these skills and then lose us to competitors

Personally, i don't see many opportunities to come directly back into Pfizer. Other than the graduate scheme i think the best option for graduates is to gain experience in a smaller start up company or an agency and then from here come back into the organisation. I do see Pfizer as somewhere to come back to in the distant future.

There was a really good social scene amongst the placement students. There was something going on practically every weekend and we had regular parties that everyone was invited to. There tended to be a small divide between groups of people that lived in one area but always opportunities to come together as a big group too. I've made some great friends during my year here and i know we will keep in touch in the future.

The cost of living for me was higher than what i'm used to, however it was as expected. Rent i didn't find too expensive and it was manageable with the salary we were given. As we socialised a lot in London this was expensive but it was good to be able to get there on the train so easily. I don't think the cost of living stopped us from doing anything we wanted to do, i think we just had to plan ahead and know which weekends we were going to spend more on than others.

The nightlife in the area i worked was next to nothing. The closest place to go out was about a 35 minute taxi and we had a few nights out there as a large group of undergraduates when we could split the costs of taxis etc. We didn't find ourselves going out to clubs that much, instead we had house parties or went to pubs etc for drinks locally. This didn't really bother me as i felt we had enough going on to not need to go properly out. It was also quite a welcome break from the regular university nights out!

I didn't really get involved in that many activities outside of work. I did however take advantage of Pfizer's volunteering programme that encourages you to do a few days volunteering during the year. I did 3 days of this, a mixture of STEM days and doing projects for a local charity. As undergraduates we also organised a day where we visited a local school and helped with things like gardening and cleaning. I also joined a local netball club through a connection i had, i'm really glad i made the decision to do this as it meant i could still play netball whilst at the same time meeting a new group of people