Retail Marketing Undergraduate Review

My placement year at Pfizer has been extremely enjoyable. I have been actively involved on key projects and initiatives as part of our marketing plans, leading and supporting on many. I have been challenged through my year which has not only helped build my current skills but develop others. I will go back to University with so much more knowledge and so many more transferable skills.

I have felt very valued by colleagues throughout my year at Pfizer. I have been actively part of my team and included in all relevant decisions, events and meetings. The work I have done over my year was of value to the team and this was recognised by my colleagues.

My manager whilst on my placement year has been fantastic. They have encouraged me, stretched my abilities and given me guidance and support when needed. They have made sure my placement year was a useful experience by ensuring I was involved in a variety of projects and picking out initiatives which would help me gain transferable skills. They also ensured my placement year has been enjoyable and have give me the autonomy and say on the areas I wanted to get involved in.

My manager was great at making sure I was always busy but also always provided support and a safety net to ensure that if I got too busy I could always reach out. being busy has allowed me to understand how a real job in marketing works allowing me to understand some of the strains of working in a fast paced environment.

My manager ensured I built up enough confidence throughout the first 6 and then made sure I was comfortable before giving me ample responsibility. through my last 6 months at Pfizer I have lead and been actively involved in managing projects and work flows to ensure I was given the perfect balance.

The knowledge, skills and training I learnt and received over my time at Pfizer has been really critical to my success over the year. I know that the knowledge I learnt I I will be able to apply to my final year of studies and the skills I developed will come in useful in the following years to come. The year has been invaluable in giving my the opportunity to progress my self development.

The general atmosphere was very positive. All colleagues outlooks on the business were great! When things were busy everyone was dedicated to getting the work done but knew the time and the place to have fun inside and outside of work. It was a joy to work with these people.

I found the initial HR inductions a bit hectic, I think if I had a little knowledge of the first few weeks would like before starting it would have been useful. My manager was very good at organising my involvement in various projects but I am aware other people have had differing experiences

Overall at Pfizer I would say there was no one ensured personal training and development was sorted. I was very luckily in the fact my manager took an active role in ensuring this was covered by enrolling me in training programmes and pushing me out my comfort zone to develop my personal training. I know for a fact not all undergraduates had the same opportunities.

I am very interested in working for Pfizer again after my experience over my placement year. The company is constantly changing and involving into new business ventures which is really exciting. The opportunities, support and people that work at Pfizer are all really enjoyable aspects of the company. The opportunities to progress are really great including the opportunity to apply for the graduate scheme.

Yes, all undergraduates at Pfizer are very well connected inside and outside of work. Many people meet up at the weekends or after work. During work all undergraduates have organised a series of events for other undergraduates to understand each others placement roles which has been a great way to meet up socially through work.

It has been challenging living in Surrey due to the cost of living being reasonably high. It was also a challenge to find somewhere to living prior to starting my year at Pfizer, a little more assistance with this through Pfizer I think would have been useful and little less stressful before moving.

Living in Surrey means it is very quite in terms of night life but this hasn't really bothered me as the year has been more about learning and working in a professional environment. However, with London being so close there is always the option to go their and enjoy to sights of London!

Pfizer provides a number of opportunities such as Running, Cycling and Football clubs. There is also a gym on site to go to where you can meet other people. Pfizer also provides many volunteering opportunities. There are quite a number of activities to get involved in which provide the opportunity to meet up with a variety of different colleagues.