Discover EY Review

Overall, I enjoyed the insight programme greately - it provided multiple informative sessions into a career in FSO/UKI Tax and Assurance. Many people working within EY talked about their personal experiences working for the firm, what happens on a day-to-day basis and the EY culture. There was a discussion panel featuring two tax partners where we were able to ask any questions. Finally at the end, we ended the programme with a case study-esque task which helped us gain some exposure to presenting to a large group of people.

Straight from the beginning, I could feel that EY had an friendly and open atmosphere - all the people involved became quickly comfortable with each other and there was plenty of opportunities to interact with EY people ranging from recent Grad interns to senior partners. Also, at the end of the first day of the programme, we were able to have an informal dinner with more EY workers which helped enlighten us with greater information.

At any time, there were at least two or three student recruitment advisors in the room to help us with any problems/queries that we might have had. Kav and Clare were ever present within the room and were always actively engaging with people to get them more involved in the sessions. The sessions themselves had a very clear structure with concise instructions on what to do within the task.

I felt that the programme only really provided me with more useful information into the Assurance and Tax sectors and didn't particularly help with developing any skills. This might have been due to the lack of case study exercises present within the programme. Many of the skills that I had used within the exercises were not tested to a degree - I would liked to have a more challenging case study in order to learn more and develop my skills more efficiently.

The whole insight programme was incredibly well structured with each section of the programme starting and ending at roughly the time that was stated in the programme details. Having the whole programme within the same conference room minimised any hassle of people getting lost etc and the whole walk from the EY to the networking dinner was seamless.

The whole atmosphere during the insight was generally very engaging and positive - many people asked a lot of questions. Everyone was active in socialising with other people from the get go and this generally fostered a more enthusiastic environment. This is in part due to the positive attitude from Kav and Clare at the start of the session and this made sure that everyone took away a lot from the programme.

The programme provided numerous sessions and opportunities to find out what it is actually like to work day to day within the company. Workers from the Assurance and Tax branches gave presentations over their respective industries as well as what their average day looks like. Then there was a panel event including two partners where you were able to quiz them with any questions that you felt needed raising. If by any chance, you felt that you needed more info, you could always chat with them during the lunch breaks or the networking dinner itself.

I don't believe that it has completely changed on what I am planning on doing in the future but however it has shed a more positive light on an industry that I ,previously, had negative preconceptions about. By learning more about what goes on within the industry itself and what occurs during a normal week day, my view of Tax and Assurance as a whole has become more positive.

There were numerous opportunities to network with the employees of the company - during lunch and afternoon breaks, many of the employees loitered outside the conference room which provided people with an opportunity to ask them questions. Finally, there was a networking dinner and drinks at the end of Day 1 which also provided time to network with employees.

There were a number of social event opportunities ranging from meeting with employees during lunch/afternoon breaks to networking dinners. I felt that I learnt the most ,however, from the networking dinner since it gave the employees an informal environment in which they could provide a more genuine answer to some questions. Also, I learnt more about schemes outside of the workforce ie mud run that was only briefly touched upon during the insight programme.