Discover Day Review

I really enjoyed the insight, it was an informative experience where I got to meet some great like minded people as well as learn more about the Assurance and Tax sectors. We were given a variety of talks from different EY employees, with the first day being more focused on informing and networking whereas on the second day we had a more hands on involvement and participated in a group client exercise.

I felt really valued, we had lots of support from recent graduates as well as more senior employees who all took time to talk to us and attend a networking dinner in the evening.

A large part of the insight was focused on guiding us and informing us on what exactly it was like to have a graduate job in assurance or tax. We were given lots of opportunities to network in the two days, we had both a networking lunch and dinner and were able to discuss informally concerns with recent graduates.

Whilst the information and skills that I developed will not necessarily assist me in my degree course, it will help me when it comes to choosing future career paths. I have now have a clear understanding of what it means to work in both assurance and tax for a Big 4 accountancy firm, whereas before my insight I didn’t really understand what this meant.

The internship was very structured and we were given a clear guide before we arrived as to what to expect on both the respective days of the internship. The sessions in general ran to time and we were given a print out at the start of all the information slides so that we could see our progress through the insight scheme. However, some of the timings did change around and we finished earlier than expected on both days.

The atmosphere was really nice and relaxed. It was a fun environment and everyone was able to contribute well to the client exercise.

In terms of personal development and training, the main focus of this insight was to give us as much information as possible so that we could make an informed choice as to whether we preferred Assurance or Tax or whether a company like EY was right for us at all. In this sense it was less about training and more about increasing awareness.

The insight help me to understand what a full time role within the company would involve as it explained the company’s structure and global nature as well as introducing us to the core principles of EY as a firm. While it was difficult for EY employees to explain a typical day, it highlighted that the work they were involved in was varied.

Understanding the company culture was an aspect that many of us wanted to get from the insight and will this is often difficult to gauge in a short period of time, the insight was structured to introduce you to a wide range of different employees and so there was a good chance to get to understand the company ethos.

I am now looking to do a placement year with EY, as I liked the firm and its culture to such an extent. After a placement year I would hope to enter a career at EY, so the programme was extremely helpful in helping me to decide what to do and where I would like to do it. It also gave insights into other areas of the firm.

While the insight was not paid, travel expenses were reimbursed so this covered all my costs for the insight. We were also provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner on the first day and breakfast and lunch on the second day and accommodation was provided for those who had longer journeys.

We were given lots of opportunities to network and meet other employees of the firm throughout the insight. We had different employees give us talks about their position within the firm and then in a more informal environment, we had a networking lunch with recent graduates and a networking dinner with a range of different graduates, directors and members of the student recruitment team.

The main social event on this insight was a networking dinner on the evening of the first day. This was a relaxed way to talk to employees in a structured but informal environment. It was also a good opportunity to get to know other students who were also on the insight.

Opportunities outside of work was not really an aspect that was covered during this insight as it was much more focused on the work experience. However, some graduates discussed the more social side of the job and opportunities for travelling and working abroad within the firm were also mentioned frequently during the insight.

Yes I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend who thought that they might be interested in pursuing a career in Assurance or Tax as it is a really informative experience. It has given me a clear view of what both respective industries do and has given me confidence going forward.