Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship with S&W. I was given enough work to keep me busy during the day but not too much that I was having to work excessive hours. It's really nice working at S&W as there are lots of people of similar ages who have all gone through the internship/grad scheme stage of life and they are all willing to offer advice.

I was given accounts to prepare on my own and it was my sole responsibility to ensure they were completed and handed to a senior member to be reviewed. This responsibility makes you feel that you are adding something to the firm and not taking up one of your colleagues times. Although everyone is willing to help with any questions you have.

The internship started off with a introduction where we set out our aims for the 6 weeks. After 4 weeks into the internship we met with the Graduate recruitment officer to chat about how we were finding the internship and to discuss any concerns we were having. All work that is complete is reviewed and a partner will sit down with you to go through what you have done.

I was given enough work to keep me busy from 9 to 5:30 on most days. However, there is no one checking up on you to make sure you have enough work so it was my responsibility to make sure that I made the most of my time. If I had completed my accounts and was waiting on them to come back from review I could always ask a colleague if I could help them with anything - be warned they'll give you invoice scanning!

I was given as much responsibility as someone who is an employee of S&W. My work load was understandably less than a 2nd or 3rd year grad but I was doing the same type of work as they were. The manager assigned to the accounts would expect me to sit down and talk through what I had done and email the client if there was anything missing.

As a 3rd year chemistry student I didn't really learn anything that will help me in my degree next year. However, I did hone my eye for detail which will hopefully help me in whatever career I eventually choose. Furthermore if I do choose a career in accounting, the skills and knowledge I have gained will give me something to talk about in interviews and show that I have taken a positive step to learning about this industry.

The general atmosphere was very relaxed. People tend to get on with their work and then have breaks to chat. Friday is also a dress down day which gives the office a really relaxed feel. You will soon find that someone in the office shares a hobby with you or is in to similar things and they are more than happy to chat about anything.

I felt the internship was very well organised. We had an induction day at the start of the internship to give us all an overview of the company and accounting, Unfortunately the final internship review was cancelled as we had had feedback throughout the internship.It would have been nice to see the other people on the internship who were working in different offices to find out how their 6 weeks had been. Hopefully this is something S&W will include in future internship schemes.

Unfortunately as I live 20 minutes away from Salisbury I had to drive to work everyday. This was cheap and easy to do (easily covered by wages) but meant any socialising involving alcohol was not possible. This would be a major benefit of working in London. However, the sporting side of the Salisbury firm is far better than the other branches. There is a S&W cricket team (The Wildcats) and 5-a-side football team from the Salisbury office and unofficial sport meet ups are regular too.

Absolutely dreadful. Salisbury is not a place you go to for a great night out. The other S&W offices (Bristol, London and Southampton) will most definitely have better nightlifes but this is more a reflection on Salisbury as a city not S&W as a firm. If you like cheesy music and spoons, you'll like Salisbury.