Marketing Undergraduate Review

I really enjoyed my work placement at Pfizer. I felt like I was a valuable member of the team and I was given a lot of support. I never felt lost of that there wasn't someone I could go to for help. I have learnt so much from this year long placement which I wouldn't have got from university alone.

I feel like I was extremely valued by my team and felt like I was very inlcluded by everyone. I have been told I have been a lot of value to my immediate team, and I have also gotten close to my other colleagues who I do not necessarily work with on a day to day basis.

I was given the perfect amount of support and guidance by my managers. They did not throw me in the deep end but recognised that my role is extremely different from my university degree and consequently let me watch and learn before I was given the full responsibilty that I had by the end of the placement, by which I barely had to ask any questions.

How busy I was on my placement varied day to day. On some days I would have a long list of tasks to do, but on others I would have a lot more free time to focus on longer projects or my university work. I never felt too overwhelmed or bored.

I was given a good amount of responsibilty - more than I would have expected, but not enough that I felt like I had to make too many big decisions as I could always go to my manager. I would be given projects and a deadline and would have the responsibility to complete this myself without check-ups unless I requested these.

I believe that the skills developed will assist me hugely beyond my degree, as I have now had experience in marketing and experience of a huge successful company which I would not have received from a degree in Biology, but will help me in many potential jobs after university. My experience won't help me in terms of my degree subject as they are not related, however the skills I have acquired such as time management and organisation will help me.

The general atmosphere was brilliant in my office. Everybody took their job very seriously and were extremely passionate about their job and what they do, but were also great to get along with and loved to have fun and a laugh. The days the office was full would be my favourite days.

The work placement was extremely well set up. Pfizer offer the year in industry placement to around 50 people every year so the process of applying and being introduced into the job and training etc was seamless. I had a short handover with my predecessor which was really helpful and made it a lot easier for me.

I believe the company invested in me fairly heavily as I was treated like a normal colleague. I would do the same training as everyone else if it was applicable to my role. My manager would watch and comment on my development over the year through my day to day roles. We would also have some training sessions as undergraduates which were tailored for us.

I would like to have a job in my department in the future but I don't think it's very likely for the near future as there aren't many junior roles, and my current job is for undergraduates. The graduate scheme isn't as appealing for me as it is part of the business which I haven't worked in and do not think I would enjoy as much.

There was a good social scene amongst the placement students as there were a lot of us and a lot of us lived very closely together, or with eachother! The social scene wasn't amazing for the colleagues as most of us do not live near eachother so it was harder to meet up, although we did on a few occasions.

It was fairly expensive to live in Surrey and the social scene wasn't amazing. I lived an hour's train from London where the social scene was much better, but obviously the cost of socialising was very expensive in London. I still managed with my salary from my placement so I still thourughly enjoyed my year and social life!

The nightlife in Epsom was fairly poor! There is one good club and another not so good club! There are also a few bars and chains around so it isn't awful, but I would recommend going somewhere else if possible. Kingston is close and is a lot better, and London isn't too far away if you can make it back home!

There weren't that many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, as I lived in a fairly remote place. I was a member of my local gym which I would spend a lot of my free evenings in, but apart from that I'm not sure what much else there was to offer around me, unless I was going into London.