Discover EY Review

I really enjoyed this insight event. I liked how it was structured for the Assurance and Tax departments and how there was a range of activities, from listening to speeches to taking part in an interactive 'client exercise'. It also changed my opinion of which service line to apply for when applying for an internship next summer. The first day was full of information to take in from employers and the second was more interactive.

I felt that everyone who was there at the event wanted to be there and invest there time in us, from current graduates to managing partners. They were always on hand to tell us about their experiences, and help us answer any queries or questions may have for them. There was also a mix of opportunities to speak to them - from a more formal Q&A session to a more informal networking dinner.

I felt that I received a lot of valuable guidance. When I was there, a lot of advice was given to me and all the questions I had were successfully answered. It was a great opportunity to meet new people and expand my network for future.

I significantly developed skills such as team working, presentation skills, networking, problem solving and improving my analytical mindset. We had the chance to develop these especially during the second day when we participated in a group exercise and presentation, which was informally assessed.

A few weeks prior to the insight, we were sent a joining booklet which clearly outlined what we would be doing over the 2 days and this was clearly followed during the programme. There was a variety of talks, panel sessions and activities to get involved in to help us gain a deep insight into both EY and what a career in professional services involves.

The atmosphere was very comfortable, it felt professional yet relaxed. Everyone there was extremely friendly, both participants and members of staff. My initial nerves vanished extremely quickly! We had set tables which changed each day which allowed us to get to know a good amount of people, and at dinner we had two members of staff on our table who were extremely friendly and easy to network with.

I felt that EY invested in us to a large extent, they had a number of senior members of staff come in to speak to us and answer our questions, including partners and directors. They also created an excellent group task for us to get involved with and got members of staff (two managers I believe) to judge us on it and announce the winning group.

As we did no work shadowing we could not directly understand what it would be like to have a full time role, however the insights the employers gave us and their answers to the questions they were asked helped us gain a good understanding of what a career may entail - however, it seemed there was no typical structure to their job, which came off as a positive thing.

I think they did a good job at helping us understand the company culture considering we only spent two days there. Some employees emphasised why the company culture led them to choose to work at EY as opposed to other Big 4 firms and I gained a strong sense that the firm was very much a 'people' firm.

It was very valuable, as it was one of the first time I'd had any exposure to the financial services industry it was very useful in explaining to me what a career may entail, the different options I could go down in this industry, and the different options I could choose now I have completed the Discover EY insight. I have decided to take my application further and will apply for an EY Internship.

We were not paid for this experience but we were reimbursed travel expenses to get to Canary Wharf. Furthermore, as I live over 2 hours away EY put me up in a nearby Travelodge for the night. We were also provided with a generous breakfast and lunch on both days, and on the first night we were all taken out for a 3 course meal with drinks.

Yes there were plenty of opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of EY. There were networking lunches on both days with internal employees and dinner on the first night we could network with both internal and external employees from different divisions.

During lunches and dinner.

There was little detail about this, but an employee briefly mentioned the societies and clubs you could get involved in at EY. It may have been helpful to see what other opportunities EY encourages outside of the work environment.

Definitely if they were interested.