Consultant Review

Overall I really enjoyed my placement. I would wholeheartedly recommend every student who has the opportunity to do one should, as you get very good insight into the world of work. As with any work, there were some days that I found less interesting, or tasks I found frustrating, but in general the work was engaging, interesting and challenging. As with any consultancy, we are primarily a people business and so I think it is important to remember that your experience can be greatly influenced by the people you meet and the people for whom you work. Whilst some of this is truly down to luck, actively participating in networking opportunities and getting to know others on your projects can (and did) pay dividends.

As an industrial placement student, you are treated almost exactly as a first year graduate analyst. You have full access to the learning catalogue and you are welcome to arrange time away from project (within reason) with your project manager to take up these opportunities. On projects, you are treated as one of the team and are primarily given tasks dependent on your skills and abilities rather than your grade. Within days on my first project I realised I had become the expert within the team on one aspect of the analysis we were performing and very quickly I was providing briefings to our engagement director regarding some of the key findings.

During my placement I was also required to produce a dissertation for my university which required a considerable investment of time. Whilst I had to be considerate of the needs of the business (after all they pay you a salary), I found Deloitte to be open to making time for my report. On client work, I received the same level of support as any other team member. This included making time for personal development feedback and objective setting with my manager in addition to regular informal coaching catchups.

As with all consulting projects, workload tends to have peaks and dips. Whilst time management mitigates this to some extent, it is impossible to control for the demanding client making last minute requests that must be accommodated. In general I never had nothing to do in a day, but sometimes there would be periods of less work whilst waiting for projects to formerly commence or for client decisions to be received.

As mentioned, Deloitte provides its industrial placement students with a similar level of training as its first year graduate analysts. Consequently, it also places similar expectations on industrial placements students and gives them the same level of responsibility. During my placement I was customer facing from the outset, and very quickly given responsibility for chairing certain project meetings and conducting client interviews. As I was able to demonstrate my ability in these initial meetings I was increasingly entrusted with larger aspects of the work.

The skills you learn on placement are directly relevant to future role both with the firm and other similar graduate jobs at other organisations. You have access to our full learning catalogue whilst you are here which is amazing when you are straight out of university. The general consulting skillset is one of the most valuable commercial skillsets, in my opinion, and they are skills that are typically difficult to learn outside of the corporate environment. By submerging you into the culture, work and community sides of consulting, the placement really does provide a comprehensive experience –you will not be making the tea.

Deloitte operates 5 hot desk office environments across our London campus. Whilst the ‘feel’ between floors varies slightly, in general this is a professional working space. The office is well supplied and does that have that ‘corporate’ feel. Our digital office is more ‘google’ and suits some but personally I find a comfortable chair and a big screen preferable to very artistic looking furniture which is incredibly uncomfortable after a prolonged period.

There is a dedicated recruitment website for industrial placements. Once you have received an offer, you are assigned a buddy who will provide informal coaching and serve as an initial point of contact for you once you’ve joined the firm. Our scheduling team, who also look after the rest of us, are heavily involved in managing and co-ordinating your placement once you are here. There is less structure around supporting any report or dissertation you may be required to produce, but this support will be available if you ask.

As an industrial placement student you have access to the full learning and development catalogue. All industrial placement students are formally trained as soon as they join and there are opportunities to undertake further training and even some qualifications throughout the year. The quality of the training is generally excellent and is an excellent way to build out your network further across the firm.

Very appealing. Deloitte is one of the big four consulting firms and has an extremely impressive client portfolio. At the end of the internship you are invited to attend a partner interview where, dependent on your performance during your placement, you are often offered a graduate job the same day. Deloitte is continuing to grow as an organisation in its traditional services but there has also some interesting diversification of services recently (e.g. cyber, analytics) that open up even more possibilities when considering longer term career.

There is a strong community amongst past and present industrial placement students. In addition to the usual newsletters and other similar communications, a number of socials and drinks are regularly organised throughout the year for IPs to get together and share their experiences. Of course, being virtually indistinguishable from the first year analysts, means that you also attend all the analyst socials and community events.

In London the cost of living is not cheap. Whilst your placement salary reflects this (assuming you join our London office) you should be aware that a pint here typically costs £4.50 - £5 and dinner at a restaurant will not come to less than £20 per person. The other big cost here (aside from the eye-watering rent - £600 - £800 per month is not abnormal) is travel. A zones 1-2 travel card with tfl will cost you around £120 per month however, you should apply to tfl for an 18+ oyster card as you will technically be a student in London and therefore eligible for discount which drops the monthly charge to nearer £85 per month.

As you are based in London (at least your home office will be) the nightlife is fantastic. The breadth of bars in London is simply incredible and there literally is something for everyone. Just one quick point to note – a lot of bars in London have recently started introducing an over 21s policy so always worth checking before booking / turning up. Expect to pay £10 -15 and upwards for entry in central London.

Yes. Whilst Deloitte doesn’t have quite as many clubs and societies as university, there are still many opportunities to get involved sailing, with gym classes, football, tennis, badminton, theatre/drama etc. The intranet is your best starting point for this. There are also diversity networks (e.g. Christian, Jewish etc.) in addition to the very popular ‘Cheese and Wine’ diversity network.