Tax Summer Vacation Scheme Internship Review

I really enjoyed my time during SVS. I got to experience working in Corporate tax, Global Employee tax and VAT. My internship was 6 weeks at the Gatwick office. Everyone was friendly, I got know most people in the office. I had the opportunity to be involved in many different projects with a variety of people in the office.

Everyone was friendly and made an effort to get to know me. My colleagues would take time to explain projects that I was involved in and concepts that I was unsure of. I was always thanked for any work I did for a colleague and feedback was usually given.

A large amount of support given. Throughout my internship I had a 'buddy' who was a colleague which were normally in their 1st-2nd year of work at Deloitte so understood what it was like to be new. They made effort to get to know me, by taking me for coffee etc. They would answer any questions I had and would regularly check up on me to make sure I was ok/had enough work etc.

How busy I was ranged from day to day, some days busier than others. In general most days I had a good amount of work. Some days involved internal and external meetings too.

I was given interesting projects to work on and work that was beneficial to my colleagues, my work was always checked before sent to a Client.(which is understandable!) I was given responsibility when attending client meetings to dress smart and act professional.

Bearing in mind I had very little knowledge of tax before starting my internship, I learned a lot in a short space of time. I learned what it is like to work in an office environment, and improve on my analytical skills, excel skills, written communication skills and much more. I learned to work efficiently which will assist me in my final year at University. Training was received on different topics within Tax, e.g. BEPS.

The general atmosphere in the office was good, everyone got on well and made effort with each other, always being friendly and polite. Some days could be quiet as colleagues would be out the office at Client meetings or in the London office.

The internship was well organised. I spent 3 weeks in Corporate tax, 1 1/2 weeks in Global Employee tax and 1 1/2 weeks in Value Added tax. Events throughout the internship was also well organised. The only organisational issues I encountered was for my graduate scheme interview, both with organising my interview date and giving me my interview result, both took over a month. However I think I was an anomaly as all other interns interviews were organised very well.

Colleagues kindly spent a lot of time over the six weeks teaching me concepts and explaining projects I was involved in. Before and after Client meetings they would take time to explain anything I didn't understand. They were always happy to help! Our first day was an induction day which went through the software we would be using. The firm also provided training sessions for us.

This year all interns at Gatwick were offered a Graduate interview, with a likely outcome of a job offer. We got to choose which department in Tax we wanted to apply to, we also had the option to apply to a different office. I applied for Global Employee tax at Gatwick and received a job offer starting next year!

Yes! The internship started with a night away in Solihull where we got to meet all the other SVS's throughout the country, which was really fun. We had other events organised for us throughout the six weeks, including a day out in Brighton, meal outs and quiz nights! Meaning I had the opportunity to meet the interns in the Audit department, and got to get to know my colleagues outside of the office.

I live only 30 minute drive from the Gatwick office so this meant I could live at home. Office is situated in Crawley which is a relatively cheap area in Sussex.

There is not much nightlife in Crawley.

There weren't any opportunities to get involved with on my internship, however I was told of sports days which are held every year, and other community activities.