Helena Mann is a Junior Medical Writer based in our London office, who joined Lynx this year as part of our 2015 Graduate intake. With a background in Biomedical Science, Helena is passionate about communicating science in an creative and accessible way.

When I left University, I thought ‘That’s it. No more societies or social clubs; time to focus on work.’ So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that, as a Lynx Graduate, I got to go to a Freshers’ week! It was all kept very secret up until the start date. All I knew was that I was going to get a T-Shirt and that I had to bring appropriate footwear as there was going to be a lot of walking (or running) involved, but it wasn’t all fun and games…

Actually, it kind of was. The days were based around workshops, with each day giving a different insight into an aspect of the company. Workshops included: Science; Strategy; Creative; Technology; and Client Services. Experts from each of the respective fields talked about their background and role within the company. Each providing interesting, informative and extremely interactive talks – there was never a dull moment. Throughout the week there were prizes galore: Champagne, Doughnuts and Lego to name a few, which were awarded for winning various tasks.

Of course we also learnt a lot about the Graduate Programme. I think it is a great way to get your career started, providing clear goals and challenges to help ease us into the working world, with targets that you can strive to meet. The added support in the first 2 years is great and it really helps with career progression. Plus, as we found out in the week, the ‘graduation’ rewards for when we complete the two years act as a nice added incentive.

Probably the highlight of the week, for me, was a combination of Tuesday and Wednesday. During these days we were split into teams, each with a range of different skill sets, and then together we worked on a pitch. On the Tuesday we focused on strategy development, and then on Wednesday it was time to get creative with it. Although there was comparatively little time, undertaking the process gave me real insight into what the company is about and how we do what we do. Plus it was a brilliant chance to get to know people from different disciplines. We pitched in an external environment, which meant that we got a taste of pitching in an unfamiliar place, and it was really interesting to see different peoples take on the brief. After the pitch came drinks and sharing our celebratory Champagne. The whole experience was interesting, captivating and everyone in my team was really committed to the project. This was definitely my favourite part of the week, although I may be slightly biased seeing as my team won 2 out of 3 of the big prizes!

The social side was good too. We went to Breakout (an escape room, which my team failed miserably to break free from, but it was still a lot of fun), competed in an EXTREMELY rewarding quiz game, and ran around Manchester like mad men answering questions in a ‘GPS challenge’. Team building and socialising was prevalent throughout the week, so we gained first hand a great insight into the Lynx culture.

Definitely a very beneficial week for everyone involved.