Undergraduate Community & STEM Project Manager Review

I have loved my placement at Pfizer! It has been really interesting to learn more about the pharmaceutical industry and the different careers involved. Everyone I met has been very friendly, welcoming and happy to discuss their job role or career journey if I was interested. There have also been many training opportunities for work related skills which have been useful. My manager and colleagues have been supportive whilst still giving me independence and responsibility. Even whilst working from home Pfizer has been a great company to work for, providing free yoga classes etc to encourage us to take breaks and hosting online quizzes to connect with other colleagues.

Everyone I met at Pfizer has been friendly. My manager went out of her way to make me feel welcome and included, as have the rest of the team. There are team building opportunities throughout the year which we took part in and these made you feel valued too. Colleagues listened to me in meetings and trusted me with responsibility in projects. I feel the work I have done this year contributed and helped goals and aims.

My manager has given me brilliant support throughout my placement. This has ranged from helping me have difficult conversations to giving feedback on work and projects I have completed. Feedback from colleagues is honest so really good to support you in improving for next time, but at the same time is encouraging. I relocated for my placement and my manager checked in with me to make sure that I was settling into the area as well and was happy at work. I have never felt that I had nowhere to turn for support on a particular issue. The support continued even when working from home during the pandemic.

I really enjoy being busy and having lots to do so my role suited me well. How busy I am has varied from day to day, week to week, but with flexible working I have been able to manage my hours. I was never bored within the office, but equally I was never too busy to not take breaks. My colleagues and manager always encouraged me to take breaks whenever I needed even when I was busiest. Since COVID my workload has decreased, but I still have enough work and the work feels valued.

Enough that I was leading projects and working independently, but I always felt supported by colleagues and was never left completely alone to run something I had never done before. My responsibility increased throughout the year. I felt my placement required me to take on responsibility so that I could grow and get better, but I never felt completely out of my depth. For me this was the right level of responsibility and I am sure you could adjust the role if you wanted more or less.

My job role is not directly related to my degree - I was in a project management role, studying Biomedical Science, but the skills I have learnt at Pfizer have been invaluable. I have developed basic office skills like navigating new software as well as essential skills like formal presentation skills, how to lead meetings and networking with colleagues. My organisational and time-keeping skills have improved which will be really helpful for final year at uni I am sure. I enrolled in various training sessions throughout the year which were brilliant and varied from Emotional Intelligence to communications classes to Excel.

Colleagues are friendly and smiley and welcoming. I often went for tea breaks with work friends and teammates. There are nice breakout areas with pool tables and table football at the Sandwich site which was a fun way to take breaks. Lots of people use these. There are lots of people in the Early Careers program including undergrads and apprentices who are usually younger which is nice. There is a diverse collection of colleagues and support groups such as an active LGBT+ support group.

Brilliantly organised with lots of undergrads across 3 different sites. At my site (Sandwich) there were about 30 undergrads which meant that the program was quite big and run smoothly. The HR department were helpful during recruitment and with onboarding and offboarding too. My role has been running for a number of years so my manager knew what to expect and how to help me. Pfizer communicated smoothly with the uni too which made everything easier.

Pfizer ran training programs in communications skills specifically for undergrads which were really useful. The skills developed in this group were invaluable. There are also lots of training opportunities to take part in ranging from continuous improvement to emotional intelligence to influencing skills. Also, Pfizer funded membership to some external groups to improve particular skills which would boost your professional development. My manager really encouraged me to take part in as many of these as possible.

As Pfizer is such a huge global company they are always looking for new people to join. Some people who do the undergrad program re-join the company after they graduate, but there are no guarantees. The networking opportunities you have to meet people in the business means that if you keep in touch you can find out about employment opportunities which are being advertised. Only undergrads who have done the Pfizer placement year can apply for the grad scheme which takes on 5 graduates every year.

The office I was based in was in Sandwich, a small town in east Kent. However, most placement students live in Ramsgate, a nearby seaside town or Canterbury (bit further away). Ramsgate is pretty cheap to live in and has a nice beach but the nightlife is pretty limited. It does have the UK's largest Spoons though on the seafront! Although the area is pretty cheap it is good to have a car so you can explore the area a bit more.

Not great, but Ramsgate has the UK's largest Spoons and there are a few nice small bars. There are a couple of clubs but to be honest they're not great. Canterbury has a better nightlife with a student population from 2 universities, but it is further from the office. Most placement students live in Ramsgate as there is even less in Sandwich (where the office is).

There are opportunities if you look for them, but you do have to go out and find them. In Ramsgate there is a brilliant running club called Coastal Striders which is free to join and very friendly and welcoming to runners of all abilities. There is a gym and stuff and if you like seaside walks and fish and chips you're set.