Economic Analyst- Transfer Pricing Review

Working at EY was an absolutely fantastic experience. I was worried about being part of such a big firm and feared that I would be given no meaningful work but I was so wrong! I was given so much interesting work, taken out to client meetings, given a mock meeting to prepare, asked to arrange socials for the team and even met a notable public figure. From start to finish I loved how engaging the work was, how friendly the people were and it made the work day a really enjoyable experience.

Although EY has many positions and senior partners, I never felt like anyone was looked down on or that experience/age had an effect on your input. This made it a very encouraging firm to join as a graduate because you know that you will always have support from your seniors and everyone is keen to help you out. No matter what you want to learn, do or teach, there will be colleagues around you at EY who will find the time to help you out and give the support that you need. A good example of this is the networks that EY have internally which allow people with similar mindsets/hobbies/lifestyles to meet up and have activities together.

The internship provides you with a buddy (usually someone with 1-3 years experience in the firm) and a councillor (often a manager level or above) who are there to support you, help you find work, and assist with any problems that you might have. The support I was given was incredible and I never felt like I was asking a pointless question or being a nuisance when I couldn't work something on Excel! The partners are all very friendly and keen to get you involved in some of the more senior/client based work which is also really useful for interns.

There seemed to be a large variety across the interns with regards to how busy they were. I was very lucky in my department that we were quite busy and also many people were on holiday so I was able to take on more work and whenever I asked, I always had several offers come my way. I think that in a company like EY, there is always work to be done and it just requires you to have the initiative to go and ask for work from as many people as you can think of. The programme is very well structured and has lots of freedom so if worst came to worst, you can always go and ask another team if they have anything you'd like to do!

I was heavily involved in a large project that was relatively new for the department, so I had the ability to provide new, out of the box thinking that was taken on board by my seniors. I was constantly being delegated with tasks that were very important (some even to be given to the client) and I was under tight deadlines which gave me a real good sense of what it is like to work for the company.

On the job experience, to me, is far better than anything you get taught at university. I had very little experience or knowledge in my department prior to working at EY but by the end of 6 weeks I realised that I had learnt so much and felt like I had come away with a completely new skill set. Time management is a key skill that I can transfer back to my degree studies as you get a real sense of how much you can accomplish in a day if you get your timing right and make yourself more efficient. The ability to problem solve as well is invaluable and it helps with getting tough work done during term time and exams.

As to expect with any real workplace, there is always the atmosphere that people are very busy and there is a lot of work to be done. With that said, everyone is always friendly and up for a chat as well as having laughs. I never felt like I was being an inconvenience by asking people for help or advice. In my team, we had a weekly 'cakes' meeting where we all used to take a 15-30minute break on Friday mornings and catch up with eachother. That was always something to look forward to and gave it a real friendly feel in the office. The drinks in the evenings were also a great way for people to let off some steam and talk about non-work related topics!

Besides our actual internship, we had 3 days of inductions before starting to help us get familiar with the company, learn some skills that we could use in the workplace and get to grips with the IT systems. This made us feel very prepared for when we started. About halfway through we did a corporate social responsibility day which required us to some tree maintenance in a local park (more fun than it sounds!) and we also had a final leaving drinks with all the other interns which was a great way to round up our 6 weeks. In the office, we had loads of contacts who could provide us with the help in case of problems, as well as having tasks given to us that we had to prepare and present as part of our internship evaluation process.

I was lucky enough to be given a graduate offer with EY and I couldn't think of anywhere better to get one! The firm is really keen to invest in you as an individual and wants to help turn you into a really employable worker. They put you through professional qualifications, give you plenty of opportunities to move around the department and offer a whole host of other benefits. Working for a Big Four company is a really valuable experience to have and is looked highly upon by other firms so if you ever wanted to leave in the future, you know that you will have the skills to climb up the career ladder and impress other companies.

As most of us were still students, there was still the mentality of London being too expensive and not wanting to pay high prices for drinks (we're used to cheap shots) but everyone was very keen to go out after work and do all sorts of activities after work (or even on the weekends). I think that a lot of people were also getting used to the working life routine so it made many people quite tired and not as social as they would normally be, but the graduates all seemed to be really sociable (as I think they're used to early starts)!!

London Bridge wasn't too outrageous but Canary Wharf was a little more uncomfortable. When you're earning a full-time salary I'm sure that this might change a little but as a student, I think it's quite hard to fork out £5+ for a pint. Cost of living in London is still outrageous but EY offer great loans (season ticket loans or general loans) that can help you out with this so it makes it far more affordable. The EY offices have subsidised canteens as well so this makes lunch time a lot cheaper than the high street and the food was usually very nice quality. The coffee is pretty good too for the price!

It's London!

EY have a host of sports teams as well as societies that do events all the time. There is such a variety of people in the company that there will be so many individuals with the same interests as yourself. Being in London allows you to get involved in so many events and to try new things- whether it be food festivals, culture festivals, sports or music events. Try as much as you possibly can as you never know what you're missing out on!