Junior Brand Manager Review

I really did enjoy my placement year with Pfizer, it gave me a real sense of what it is like to work in industry and whether this is something I would like to do in the future. A 12 month placement is a great amount of time to really get stuck in and make a difference.

This is something which was really important to me before I started my placement. I do feel valued by my colleagues and they trust me with varied projects and responsibility. I feel like they value my opinion in meetings and take on board things I say. This really makes me feel valued by the team. Having said that, it does vary depending on the region on the colleague. For example, at a European level (where I work) I feel a lot more valued than at a Global level.

My manager has been extremely supportive throughout my whole placement year and has been there for anything I need, both professional and personal. This is what made me feel comfortable straight away and fit into my role quickly. Anything I needed to ask about a project, she was there for her guidance, even if she was not directly involved with the project.

Fairly busy! Most of the time we are really busy. but there are times where a lot of projects come to an end at the same time and things go quite for a bit.

A lot of responsibility. I was given as much responsibility as anybody else in the team at some points. This has given me a great experience of 'the working life'. The good thing about the responsibility I was given is that it was all on different scales, so I could be leading one project and just helping out a bit on others.

The skills and training I received I will use for life. Pfizer were great at putting my on various training courses and making sure that I was exercising a range of skills. This range from communication, team work, digital and presenting.

Generally, there is a great atmosphere in the office, everybody is very friendly and helpful. Nobody acts too seriously but still gets their work done. Understandably, at different times of the year this can change slightly. So if there is a particularly stressful and hectic period in the office the atmosphere is a little more tense than usual.

In my department, this was the first year that we enrolled a placement student so the organisation could have been better but this is understandable. In terms of the whole Pfizer Industrial Placement Scheme this was organised well.

Most opportunities that came up I was enrolled on if I wanted to take part. This was a really great part of my placement year and has given me skills I can use in any future job, whether that is inside or outside of Pfizer. If there was a training course that both myself and my manager thought would be beneficial to attend, there was no hesitation.

Within my department, unfortunately there are no entry level jobs so this will not be an opportunity for me. However, Pfizer have just started a Graduate Scheme which is exciting.

The social scene amongst colleagues was fairly limited due to location of the office. There were a few social events between the placement students but because people live all over the place this is hard. It was also difficult because not all placement students started at the same time in the year, with some starting in June and some in September. If we had all started at the same time, it would have been good to organise an event on the first day to make friends.

The cost of living was not too expensive. Less than central London but still more than other towns across the southeast. Where I live is 20 minutes drive from the office but in Zone 6 in London so does cost more than other towns that other placement students are living in.

There is not much nightlife around the office, there are a few pubs around a 5 minute drive away though.

In terms of work organised activities, these were limited.