Spring Into Deloitte Review

I absolutely enjoyed my time during the insight programme. I felt that I learnt a lot about Deloitte as a company such as the things they do, the different roles they offer and the culture at Deloitte. It was great to hear and see consistencies in the answers from employees such as how they feel valued regardless of their experience and how bonded employees are. The Case Studies that we were given was an innovative way of introducing us to the different divisions in Deloitte and how certain divisions overlap with one another, and hence highlighted the importance of collaboration and communication. There were numerous opportunities to speak 1-1 with people from Deloitte, especially during dinner at the end of the first day, where we had an employee assigned to our table, which lasted for more than 2 hours. Love the insight. Love the Programme. Love my time at Edinburgh.

I felt absolutely valued during my time at Deloitte. The insight days were well-structured and there were so many hands-on activities conducted. We had a chance to work on a business case study for about 1-2 hours, where we would have Deloitte employees from different divisions entering our room and pitching to us as to what services they are able to offer for the particular business idea in mind. After which, we got feedback as to how we performed and what areas we could have potentially considered. The dinner, which I have mentioned previously, showed that we were extremely valued during our time at the company, especially when we had employees that travelled to Edinburgh specifically for this event.

We had quite a lot of support and guidance during the case studies and how we could better performed. In my personal opinion, it was more of thinking broadly and be accepting and open to ideas when attempting cases studies. Also, there was a mock interview at the end of the second day and there was continued emphasis and tips on how we could better prepare for it before the insight day actually started, as well as on the first insight day. We received feedback from managers and experienced interviewers/recruiters during our mock interview, which we felt would be useful for our upcoming Summer Vacation Scheme's interviews.

Asking questions is definitely something that I felt I developed throughout the two insight days. It was an effective way of gathering and extracting information from employees that would help us better understand the roles that Deloitte offer, the culture and of course whether we would be a good fit for the company. Moving forward, asking questions is something that would still be applicable if we were to successfully progress onto the Summer Vacation Scheme or whichever company that we eventually end up in. Additionally, we had an emotional intelligence session, which was extremely beneficial because it thought us how behaving appropriately and managing our emotions plays an important role in building our network and establishing relationships. Lastly, I would say that the information I have received over the past few days has helped in discovering where my interest lies and whether I would be a good fit for the company (regional offices).

The insight was very well structured and well planned. We had name tags ready for us when we arrived on our first day, which I felt was fantastic because it made it easier to introduce ourselves. It was packed with numerous hands-on activities and case studies, numerous opportunities to speak with people from Deloitte and to ask questions. Frankly speaking, I am surprised and amazed at the amount of information and activities they managed to plan for a 2-day insight programme. Transportation to and from the hotel was also booked beforehand, which really made it easier to arrive at the place, especially since we had quite a large group of people (with luggages).

It was positive, energetic and exciting. Majority of us flew in or took the train the night before and we were all geared up and excited about the insight programme before it even started. Everyone was really enthusiastic about wanting to discover more about Deloitte and the opportunities they offer. It was also great to see everyone contributing during the case studies, especially since nobody likes free-riders. As time passes, we saw how some people became very passionate about specific areas and really demonstrated their interest through their actions and conversations.

We had a lot of case studies and hands-on activities, which I felt developed my way of thinking and approaching certain business cases. We also had to assimilate and filter data and news a couple of times which I felt made me more flexible in the decisions I make. We also had mock-interviews and feedback as to how we performed at the end of the programme, which I felt showed how much time and effort was invested in us. We also had a session on emotional intelligence, which I felt was a little different and unusual, but absolutely pleasant and beneficial.

It definitely helped me better understand what it would be like to have a full time role with Deloitte. We had a lot of presentations and talks by the different divisions offered in the regional offices - Tax Consulting, Risk Advisory and Audit, and we could tell that a lot of responsibilities were given even at junior or entry levels. We also had an opportunity to dine with people from Deloitte in small groups, which I really appreciated because it was different from typical networking events where you would hop from one person to another. It lasted more than 2 hours with the same person, where you really got a chance to listen to their career stories and their life decisions.

There was consistency in answers in terms of the working culture and work-life balance at Deloitte's regional offices, which I felt made me understood better how the culture is like at Deloitte. It is also different when we get an answer face-to-face as opposed to an answer from the company's website that we have an XYZ culture and we value ABC. Again, it was great talking to both partners, managers as well as entry graduates, especially since it provided a more holistic and objective view of how the working and company culture would be.

We were introduced to the 3 divisions within Deloitte - Risk Advisory, Tax Consulting and Audit. There were a lot of hands-on activities and case studies for us to better understand their day-to-day role and some of the problems they experience on the job such as new updates and legislative changes that they have to keep adapting to. We were also briefly introduced to the other 2 divisions during our first extensive Case Study - Financial Advisory and Consulting, but unfortunately, was not the main focus during the insight programme.

We were reimbursed travel expenses and we were also provided with individual accommodation as well as transportation to and from the office.

There was definitely opportunities to network and meet other employees of the company. We had the dinner event, like I mentioned earlier on. We had partners coming in to kickstart, as well as, wrap up the event, which gave us an opportunity to seek their perspectives from such a senior level. We had managers coming in to conduct our mock interviews, which provided us an opportunity to ask about their career history and network with them. Unfortunately, the people that we meet from Deloitte are restricted to people who were involved in the insight programme, but it was sufficient.

The networking and social event opportunities ranges from Q&A sessions at the end of presentations, to periods after assessing our Case Study recommendations, and also the dinner event that I have highlighted previously. Q&A was pretty much like a typical Q&A session, where if we had a particular burning question in mind, we would ask it and receive an answer for it. The Case Study was alright, although there was not much opportunity to ask about their job in particular unless we had additional time after completing what was required for our Case Study. The dinner event was the highlight of all of the networking opportunities because each table was assigned specific full-time Deloitte employees where we would get to listen to their life decisions and career history for a couple of hours.

There are plenty of social events organised in the regional offices. Dinner events, drinking nights, volunteer activities and marathons were a couple of things that employees engage themselves in. As work within the regional offices can be quite flexible depending on the department you are in, it creates plenty of opportunities for employees to engage in activities outside of work, which establishes a better work-life balance culture. There are also gaming nights, where employees would play Twister.

I would definitely recommend it to a friend, especially since it gives you a better understand of what the company does. There are also plenty of opportunities to speak and network with employees, such as the dinner event that lasted several hours and you would hardly get such an opportunity elsewhere or at typical networking events. Participating and attending such insight programmes really demonstrates interests and passion in the company and its roles, and is something that employers really look out for. Often you'll also get inside tips into the things they look out for in the later stage of the application process such as interview skills and Case Study skills, which could put you in a better position as compared to a candidate who have not attended the insight programme.