Vacation Scheme Student Review

I enjoyed the insight to a great extent. The open-plan, approachable nature of the firm meant I was able to complete a variety of work for a variety of people, which meant I was able to obtain a deeper understanding of the department in which I sat for the two weeks.

I felt extremely valued during my time with the firm. As mentioned, I was able to undertake a range of work that varied in difficulty and importance, including some tasks that were to be directly passed on to clients. To experience that level of responsibility from such an early stage was a hugely positive aspect of my time at the firm.

I received perfect guidance and support throughout my placement. My trainee buddy was simply wonderful; both in terms of giving me work to do and ensuring that I had the tools and resources to do it. My supervisor was similarly excellent. Furthermore, a number of different members of the department who gave me work tasks regularly checked up on me to ensure that I understood the work and was able to complete it.

Having completed my degree by the time I started with the firm, the skills I developed during my time will greatly assist me in my future career activities as they are directly relevant and applicable to the field within which I intend to have a career. My current goal is to become a trainee at the firm and the skills I developed during my vacation scheme will hugely help with this.

The insight was very well-structured; the initial induction day provided a vital platform of information that stood me in good stead throughout my vacation scheme. In addition, the second day comprised of me getting to know members of my team, which was a useful structure as it became easier to approach them to look for work.

The general atmosphere of the firm during my placement was fantastic. The firm prioritises approachability as one of its core values and to see this in action was a pleasure. Everyone I encountered within the firm was interested in how I was progressing and this made for a very positive experience.

My placement gave me a great flavour of what it would be like to have a full time role with the firm, and has only made me want the position of a trainee more. Sitting in the same department for the whole fortnight allowed for a deeper level of understanding, meaning I was able to engage with the firm's values in a more detailed way.

I feel that the scheme developed my understanding of the company culture and my commercial awareness to a high extent. This was largely through the opportunities with which I was provided to interact with many different departments and people, thus getting a better flavour for company life and the firm's prioritisation of commercial awareness.

This is a trickier question to answer, due to the fact that I was already very decided on my career path before my time with the firm. The only thing I can say is that my experience has made me more certain that this is the career for me, and served to demonstrate how valuable any experience with the firm is.

The firm very kindly paid us for our work during the two weeks. This was an added bonus as I would have been more than happy to experience life at the firm without payment, and serves to demonstrate the generosity of the firm in relation to its vacation scheme students.

We were given the opportunity to have a number of networking lunches with many different employees of the firm, which meant that we were not restricted to meeting only people in our department during our placement. This was excellent as it enabled us to gain a greater understanding of the firm in general.

The firm is great at maintaining a work-life balance, and this is reflected in the number of non-work activities with which employees can become involved in. We were taken on social events and I also managed to play football for the firm during my time. There are numerous sport and non-sport activities available.

Undoubtedly - anyone would be lucky to experience time with the firm and I feel privileged to have done so. The firm is extremely welcoming and strikes a wonderful work-life balance. The application process to obtain the insight that I had is tough, but anyone who is successful with it is in for a treat!