Medical Affairs Oncology Review

Really enjoyed working at Pfizer throughout the year from start to finish. The company culture makes you feel very relaxed from the beginning. There is also a large intake of interns each year so there is a great opportunity to make friends across the business. The work I completed felt worthwhile and that it would actually make a difference, as well as being suited to develop my own personal skills. I enjoyed working with all members of my cross functional team.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. After having to switch teams very early in my placement due to a manager changing roles, my new team and manager were great at accommodating me into the team. Throughout the year we completed various team building exercises too, for instance right at the beginning we went to an escape room which was great to get to know my colleagues outside of work. You are not seen as 'just an intern' you are seen as a very important member of the team and are always encouraged to give your opinions and ideas.

My manager has been excellent throughout the year. We have 1-1 meetings at least every other week where I was encouraged to talk about any concerns I had both in work or personally. She made it clear she was always a text or phone call away if needed for anything urgent. She was also great at tailoring projects that would develop my skills, as well as letting me lead on the areas that she was confident I could excel.

This really varied for me depending on what stage projects are at. I would find some weeks I'd have lots to do and what seemed like a constant flow of meetings, whereas some weeks felt much quieter. I was never expected to work out of hours to complete work, and if I ever felt too overwhelmed with the amount I had I was always encouraged to voice this and delegate to someone else if need be.

I was very happy with the responsibility and accountability I was given. I was given enough responsibility to have creative freedom in my projects, but not too much that I could get something vastly wrong. In cases where I did make mistakes, I did not fear this, but was able to use them as learning points. I think my responsibility has also grown throughout the year as I have become more confident and familiar with the work I am completing.

I think the skills I have developed such as communication and the ability to discuss complex ideas will definitely assist me in my final year of degree study. I also had to study a lot of clinical papers this year, being able to quickly find the right information will also be important in my final year of study. I have received training in the ABPI code which will help me in any future pharmaceutical roles I work in.

There was a very relaxed atmosphere. You could choose to work anywhere throughout the day e.g. in the office, in a booth, in the café, all depending on your preference. You never feel like anybody is watching/checking up on you, you can just get on with your work at your own pace. We were encouraged to use energy management techniques, such as having a break to walk around outside, or to grab a coffee every couple of hours.

From start to finish everything has been easy. I have had no problems in getting set up. The transition to working from home during the pandemic has also been seamless. Communication from the country leads of the company has always been clear all the way through to direct guidance of managers. We always had an HR contact point if we had any issues regarding things such as payroll, wellbeing etc. We had a great induction week at the start of placement to get us set up.

There were great opportunities, for example to become a STEM ambassador to encourage younger children to be interested in science. Another great training and development program I personally took part in was the lean six sigma yellow belt training. This allows you to take a process within the business, research it, and then streamline it by implementing your own ideas, and then measure the outcome. It also taught us a lot of techniques that can be used when assessing any type of process.

Very appealing. They run a graduate scheme of two years of, one in sales and one in marketing. I have also been lucky enough to have been offered to work 8 hours (1 day) flexibly per week throughout my final year of university remotely. This is a great opportunity to maintain and continue to create connections. I would love to work for Pfizer permanently in the future if an entry level job in the area I'd like to pursue was available.

Yes absolutely. With around 60 placement students at our site, we were able to have a great social scene. We'd regularly meet up outside of work, to go to the pub, go on nights out, or just to hang out with each other. It was nice at work as well for lunch you could choose to be with your team colleagues or other placement students who worked in different business units. Overall a great social scene.

Probably average for living just outside London. Rent varied from about 475-650 per month per person from what I heard through my friends.

We lived in Epsom, and it's fair to say the nightlife isn't great. But with only a 40 minute train into London, or a bus ride to Clapham, it's not too bad. There are a few decent pubs and bars in the area.

Probably not as many as I'd hoped for when working for such a big company. But as interns we set up a weekly 5 a side football session which we all loved. I think if you want to set something up there would definitely be opportunities to do so. There are plenty of local sports clubs etc in the area. There was also a really nice community feel within the work gym who set regular competitions and classes.