Intern Review

I really enjoyed my work placement with EY, it was something that I went into with the general idea that I wanted a career in finance but without knowing much more than that. However having now finished the 6 week internship I feel like I have found the right career for me and can't wait to start as a graduate next year.

I was placed onto two different projects over the 6 week period and thus with two completely separate teams, and both teams I worked with really made me feel valued. On one project I was working with just one manager, and he involved me in all discussions surrounding the work and how to approach the next challenge which made me feel very appreciated.

I felt like I was given a good balance between personal responsibility and also learning new and valuable skills from those who were supervising me. If I ever felt like I needed help then I felt comfortable enough to go and ask a supervisor for it, and more than likely they were happy to give it. However not everyone is happy to give help all the time and so it does depend somewhat on who your supervisor is, but if your supervisor doesn't have time to help then there are plenty of other people who will be willing to help.

Throughout the internship I had a good level of work to be getting on with, there were times when I had to stay back later than usual but that is only to be expected as there were deadlines that needed meeting. Importantly there is no expectation to stay late if you have no work to do, if you have finished all your work by 5pm then you are encouraged to go home. Over the last couple of days of the internship I didn't have much to do and found myself asking people for work but apart from that Id say theres a good balance for an intern.

As an intern I was doing a lot of the work that involved crunching the numbers and doing relatively easy tasks that a manager would later review, however I was given a good level of personal responsibility such that when I was given a job I felt responsible enough for the outcome so that I felt I added value to the team.

I have been offered and accepted a graduate job in the same department (Operational Transaction Advisory) as I worked in for the internship so all of the skills that I learned will definitely be valuable going forward. Furthermore I used Microsoft Excel regularly which was a program I was only vaguely familiar with and now I feel confident using it on a further projects.

Generally speaking everybody was friendly and when we first arrived at the office everyone from the managing partner of the department down was willing to speak to us about our aspirations for the internship and was also willing to take questions. Furthermore at the summer social event for the department there was a great opportunity to get to know the team in a more social setting and that was a great experience for me. However once we'd settled in there wasn't much in the way of friendly chatting among colleagues, everybody is focused on their work and generally wont speak unless spoken to.

Overall was very well organised, the team that was set up to look after the interns were very on hand to help with anything that we needed, with issues ranging from where the printer was to wanting to change projects that you are assigned to. In this way I felt well looked after, however the way we were put on projects could have been improved - I was put on two great projects that I really enjoyed but some of the other interns in my department were left in the office for a period of time without anything to do.

A lot of time and money was invested in me and my development, I was sent out to Bristol where I was put up in an expensive hotel and worked on an interesting project which made me feel like I was valued and appreciated. Furthermore there were classes towards the end of the internship that were specific to actual training on the job with classes on financial analysis and suchlike.

I was working in Central London and so it was very expensive to go out and socialise, going for a few drinks after work would always cost a fair bit of money unless there was a superior member of staff there to cover the costs! I was fortunate enough to be able to commute in from home but for fellow interns who lived much further away and had to rent accommodation in student halls or suchlike found it very expensive.

EY as a company have many opportunities throughout the firm to get involved with, such as networks for different groups of people and sports teams. However as an intern it was quite difficult to get involved with any of these networks or teams as the internship was only 6 weeks long and for most of it I was based out on client site and so wouldn't have been much point.