Actuarial trainee Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at KPMG and have accepted their graduate role offer.

From day one, I was assigned a buddy (someone who joined the firm one year prior) and they were my main point of contact. My buddy introduced me to the entire team, invited me to lunch each day, trained me on the software and taught me the basics. He was always there to answer my questions (I had many!) and to support me. I was also assigned a performance manager who I had weekly meetings with to discuss my progress and how I was finding the programme. All of the team were very invited and inclusive, and I had the opportunity to attend many socials events during my time at the firm. There were two colleagues in particular that went above and beyond valuing my contributions. The first took an hour out of their day to give me a one to one training session and an opportunity to ask questions. The second took me for a coffee to discuss how best to prepare for my final partner interview. Both of these occasions made me feel extremely valued and supported in the team.

The weekly meetings with my performance manager were supportive, and the team also had weekly meetings to assess everyone's availability in order to distribute workload, which I found useful. My buddy supported me in all of my tasks, however there could have been more extensive training and a more structured approach to my internship as I was 'thrown in at the deep end' at times.

I was very busy for my entire duration at KPMG. I sent an initial email out to the team asking for tasks and many different colleagues approached me with potential work. This meant that I had to efficiently manage my workload. I was never too busy to take a lunch break, and I normally would only stay for around half an hour overtime on most days. The workload wasn't stressful, but it was enough to keep me occupied for the duration of the internship.

I was given some responsibility in my internship at KPMG, however I have been trusted with more responsibility at my previous internships. All of the work in the Pensions team at KPMG must be proof read and checked by an assistant manager and a senior manager. I was given several tasks with little guidance as how to approach them and received good feedback on my work, which was an indicator of some trust and responsibility.

The training that I received will be extremely useful in the future as I have accepted the job offer and will be training as an actuary as a career.

The atmosphere in the actual office was generally quiet and focused. Most of the colleagues would be engrossed in their work for the majority of the day, and only talk when working in small groups or having meetings. The lunch hour and social time after working hours however, were very lively and the team were fun and welcoming. I believe that the nature of actuarial work means that work time is focused but the team socialise a lot outside of work and always make time to sit together and relax in the canteen or at the local park at lunchtime.

I was given a two day induction in London and Birmingham which was very organised and a great way to get to know other interns. If I could make any suggestions it would be to assign interns into groups of the people in their own office, as I made friends on the first day that were working in other offices and that I wouldn't be able to see again. The induction training was quite audit and tax specific, and although there was some actuarial specific training, a lot of the time was not applicable to my line of service and I would have benefitted from more training. The internship itself had a structure and I was given lots of different tasks and progress meetings. There were additional sessions that had been organised as well, such as a volunteer day with the other interns and social events. I was given a 'passport' to fill out, stating each task, what I learnt and what skills I have gained. It may have been beneficial for the company to also ask interns to construct objectives and actively seek written feedback as I would have found this productive.

KPMG has invested a lot of personal training and development in all of the interns, especially with the induction training in London, all expenses paid for.

Extremely appealing, I have accepted the job offer.

The team has 'secret' socials every couple of months, and I was lucky enough to attend a poker evening. The team regularly visits the pub and colleagues spend time together socialising outside of work.

I was interning in Birmingham and the prices are reasonable. I didn't live in Birmingham for my internship but I believe accommodation costs are also relatively fairly priced.

The nightlife in Birmingham is excellent, lots of pubs, bars and clubs to choose from and not too expensive.

As mentioned, I attended several social events outside of work.