Strategy and Consulting Undergraduate Review

I really enjoyed the placement year as it stretched me to develop my skills as a professional. I met so many people this year who were able to help me professionally and personally. My manager was fantastic at helping me to settle into the team and I always felt as though I could ask questions.

I felt very valued, they often asked me for my opinion on whatever we were working on in a project. I was able to develop my own work and give my opinion on next steps. I was also included in upward feedback to my superiors which made me feel very valued.

I had regular catch ups with my line manager (every two weeks) to go through what projects I was on and ask any questions I had. We also had all the materials that were used to develop my skills in training to hand whenever we wanted to go back and refresh our memory.

Work tended to vary throughout the year. During OFG, there was little to no work in January which made it hard to stay motivated and do work. Work then picked up in April and I would regularly be working extra hours to catch up. It never stayed at a regular pace.

I had plenty of responsibility throughout the year. I often felt as though the workload was challenging and would help me to develop skills I wanted to develop from my goals. There were times during which I wished I had been given more work, but I would often offer and my responsibilities would then grow.

I developed skills in producing Powerpoint decks and visualising ideas and large amounts of text. This was probably where my skills grew the most. I also worked heavily on a project for which I had to use Excel. I was given training beforehand and was then able to use these skills in the project.

I had a really lovely atmosphere in my office. My team is very close and we would regularly go for lunch together and go for laps around the building. We also had monthly breakfasts with the whole department which was a lovely way to catch up with those far away from my desk.

Sometimes the internship wasn't very well organised. I think that things were often organised very last minute (applications for the grad scheme, YB project) which may have been a result of OFG. I do think that this year was less organised than the last, and that everything should be laid out for the year when the new undergraduates start.

I have had quarterly reviews with my manager where she reviews my goals that I have set for myself. We go through these and then decide on what I should focus on for the following three months. It was a great opportunity to identify areas within the projects I was working on where I could develop my skills.

I am hoping to return to Pfizer to work within the team I am currently placed in. The prospects of this happening depends on the team layout and if it will change over the year, so I will also be looking elsewhere. I have found it promising that the company has invested so heavily in us and hopes we return.

There wasn't a large social scene amongst undergraduates this year, but I think that this was due to where everyone lived. The towns are very far apart and travel back at the end of the night can be expensive if done on Uber or not trustworthy if public transport were to be taken.

It was very expensive to live and socialise in the area I lived in. There wasn't an awful lot to do, so I would often have to travel either to London or elsewhere, and then anything social (drinks, activities etc) would also be very expensive. London area will always be like this though.

I always had to travel into London for any nightlife. The area in which I lived didn't have anywhere to go in the evening, so I would either travel into central London or to nearby towns that might have more going on. This would also inevitably cost money and take more time.

There were not a whole load of opportunities as the area I lived in was not very busy with things to do. I did go to a pub quiz once a week, but other than that there wasn't a lot to do. I did run a lot and there were plenty of places to go running to