Audit Vacation Scheme Review

The internship was a really rewarding and enjoyable experience because there were many opportunities to learn, build relationships and actually do work that are of value. Although many people say working in audit is tedious, at KPMG, there was always something exciting to look forward to, and hours didn't seem as long because I was surrounded by colleagues who were very friendly and welcoming. Work became more interesting too as there was always another challenge after I finally mastered something.

None of the people I met at KPMG were patronising just because I was an intern. They put trust in my work and my skills, which was really important for me. People who were more senior than me (even partners) were always respectful and everyone there seemed very easy-going! There were many socials, including those specially held for the interns!

The 'buddy' system at KPMG made it very easy to adjust to KPMG life as you could always ask any question to your buddy. When working, even though sometimes I felt as I was disturbing my colleagues with questions, they were always very kind and tried to be as thoughtful as possible when explaining. I could always ask for help whenever I wanted to.

I was given complete responsibility for the work I was assigned to - so I got to decide if I needed to speak to clients, or ask for more info from them! Despite being trusted with such big responsibilities, I could always ask my colleagues for help when in need, so there was not too much pressure.

As I am studying a related degree to the internship, I feel this internship has given me valuable practical knowledge and experience. I have developed many of my (soft) skills throughout the internship because I was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone. I have become more confident in what I do and know, and more professional, which would be very important for my future career.

The atmosphere was very relaxed - even when partners or seniors are around, we could always talk and joke around as we normally would if they were not present. Some of the teams I was on had more fun during lunch time, but generally it was never tense or scary.

There was an induction on the first day in Birmingham, and another the next day at the home office, then I was on client sites until the end of the internship! There was the Away Day and the Office summer party while I was there, which was really great as I got to see people not just at work and have fun. I was also given feedback by my performance manager - which was helpful as I could reflect on what and how I had been doing - before I had my final interview shortly after. It was structured really well, especially if you're looking to be offered a graduate position.

As long as you performed well during the internship, there was a high chance that interns would be offered a final interview and the graduate position. Make sure to ask feedback on your performance from your colleagues as this would be useful for the final interview and help you identify areas to improve. My final interview was also very relaxed and was more of a chat about my time there and my career aspirations.

There were not many interns in our office but everyone was really friendly and helpful! We have our Facebook group where we can ask each other about social events, work, interview advice and so on. The only negative was probably not being able to see them so often (only a couple of times in 6 weeks) because everyone was on different jobs and thus different places.