Marketing Industrial Trainee Review

I have really enjoyed my placement year, I have been given real responsibility and been able to see all aspects of brand management throughout the year and have been put on many project teams. I have also been able to work alongside other business departments in the organisation, widening my experience of the business further.

I felt very valued, I was given real responsibility and led some larger brand projects nearer the end of my placement. I wasn't treated like an intern and I became the first point of contact for the brand I was mostly working on. In meetings colleagues made an attempt to ask my opinion.

I had regular 1:1 meetings weekly with my manager to check in on progress and to either introduce a new project or provide guidance on ones currently being worked on. My manager was also happy for me to ask for support guidance as I went along.

I became busier throughout the placement and sometimes very busy! Workload does change throughout as sometimes there are lots of projects and deadlines and sometimes there is less activity going on. At times there was some juggling to be done, but my manager kept an eye on workload to make sure I wasn't too busy daily.

My responsibility increased throughout my placement but I had real responsibility from the first week. I have managed a large brand project for the year I've been at Pfizer with more responsibility as I went on. I also have been able to make my decisions and to have a go at tasks and project and then seek support if needed.

I have developed many skills, including presentation, communication, brand management, project management, time management and problem solving. All of these skills will assist in my final year of study by providing real examples to my studies and managing my workload. Beyond, the skills are all relevant to a brand management role in the future and I have also experienced an entire year of a brand so I understand the brand planning process.

Everyone is really friendly and gets on well. Often departments do mix and as we work across teams it does help the general atmosphere. The office is a happy place!

During my time at Pfizer, it has been well set up, access/equipment etc had been organised ready for arrival so I could get started on my first day. However, the placement wasn't as well set up before I started as the scheme runs across the whole of Pfizer UK and wasn't as well co-ordinated. However a team of interns and managers have worked with HR this year to make improvements for the next years which will definitely make this easier.

I had frequent training throughout the year, both internally and externally to ensure we were continually developing. We had intern training sessions and also wider department training and I was included in these as any other employee. The organisation did invest time in me.

I would be interested to go back to the organisation as I feel I have been valued and have thoroughly enjoyed my time, however the organisation does not have a graduate scheme so future employment would depend on availability of roles.

Often we would organise socials between around 20 of us and would often go to local areas or into London.

Surrey and London is an expensive area therefore the cost of living and socialising is higher!

In London it is good, in the local areas, there are less options, however there are nice bars. Often we would have work events.

Yes, there are some after work events held by my department, like pub quizzes, sports day etc and then there are also lots in the local area and with other interns.