Environmental Trainee Review

Really enjoyed my placement, Pfizer is a really good company to work for. There is a lot of support for interns and events are organised throughout the year to aid our professional development. This includes events like cv workshops, interview practices and talks from senior management. Everyone I worked with was really friendly and helpful, I never felt like 'just an intern'.

My department was very small so from the first day I was treated like part of the team and was given responsibility. There was never an opportunity for me to get lost in the crowd and it meant I could also get involved with other activities such as supporting other UK sites and accompanying audits which an intern wouldn't normally do. I also received regular good feedback and was awarded several monetary awards for pieces of work.

I sat next to my supervisor so was given support and guidance constantly. However it was not overbearing, after the initial period I was left to get on with work and was given help when I asked for it. My management was also happy for me to get involved with anything I wanted to, they wanted me to have a varied experience and gain as much from my placement as I could.

The nature of my job is quite reactive, therefore on some days I was very busy and others not so. I had my project to do all year in the background though, and my supervisor was conscious of me getting bored and would invite me to meetings and encourage me to join different teams and get involved with other activities.

I was given lots of responsibility and my management also gave me lots of freedom. For example if I suggested an idea, often I would be the one to carry it forward and make it happen. This was sometimes quite daunting but greatly improved my confidence and abilities. Aa a result of this I also worked with people across most parts of the site, giving me insight into different methods of working.

The placement helped me greatly improve my soft skills, such as procedure writing, my presentation skills and my IT skills. I now have experience with our department website which is very useful. I think that I am also much more organised than before and have better time management, which should help with my final year studies!

All of the offices are open plan but the atmosphere varies from section to section. Some sections were very quiet and serious but luckily mine was busy and fun. I sat with my supervisor and a different team who were all chatty and there was always something going on. In general, most people I worked with were friendly and it was very rare that anyone was visibly stressed or annoyed.

Everything seemed to be very organised. I was the first intern they had in my department so a few times they had to talk to other managers to find things out but this never caused any problems. I also kept in contact with my supervisor over the summer (placements don't start until September) and had a phone call around a month before I started to explain what would happen on my first day and to check if I needed any help with housing etc.

The department was very supportive, if I asked for training then I was given it, even if it was external. I also participated in a lot of internal training which was not necessary for my job role but would aid my development and look good on my cv. There were also career development events such as cv workshops and interview practice for all the interns and apprentices. They even organised a photographer to take linkedin photos!

I decided fairly early on that I did not want a job in my department as it was very different to my degree (which has been a really nice break) and is quite specific. Pfizer does not offer the type of grad job that I would be looking for after I graduate unfortunately but I would definitely consider working for the company again in the future if the right job came up.

There are quite a few interns and Pfizer put us in touch before we started so we could find housemates and places to live. This meant most interns lived together in groups which meant it was all very social. As Sandwich/Ramsgate is quite far from everywhere, most people stuck around at weekends which meant there was normally a group to go out with or do things with. At work there are intern and apprentice meetings to help us mix, most of us made good friends with the apprentices who were often local and helped us get to know the area.

Canterbury is the closest student area but most lived in Ramsgate which was a pretty cheap place to live. I would strongly recommend having a car though, which does increase the cost. There is a good selection of supermarkets including aldi/lidl and drinking/going out is not expensive at all. You can also find cheap rent.

Very dependent on the night! If there is a big group of interns and apprentices then anywhere is fun as you will fill up the places. We avoided the 'clubs' by the harbour as they weren't great and preferred the free bars/pubs which stayed open late and had music/dancefloors. You can also get the last train home from Canterbury at 1am which is a nice place to go for drinks and meals. A lot of pubs in Ramsgate had live music at the weekends and pub quizzes/social events through the week.

If you have a car then you have many more options! There are loads of nice places around but are normally quite hard to get to without a car. I also joined a local netball league and there are a few gyms to choose from. There is a range of activities going on depending on what you are interested in, you just have to search for them. Living next to the beach is great for summer too, Thanet seems to have its own microclimate and is normally warm and sunny!