TAS - Restructuring - Intern Review

Overall I have had an enjoyable year at EY. I have learnt far more than I expected to and have made great relationships with my colleagues who I hope to keep in touch with. I was lucky enough to take part in 'extra-curricular' activities such as Young Enterprise and EY Entrepreneur of the Year during my placement which only added to the great experience.

From day one I was given a lot of responsibility, around the same amount that a graduate would be given. I felt extremely valued from the start and looking back over my time, I was given more and more responsibility over the year which made me feel like a respected and valued member of the team.

Over the course of the year, I only received one bit of formal feedback during my six month review and two informal feedback discussions afterwards (one with my university placement tutor). The feedback, and therefore support and guidance, was very detailed and informative; highlighting strengths but also providing constructive criticism.

It varied from day to day. Around 90% of my placement I was kept busy with something, either case work or more administrative filing. There were some days where I had downtime and often I offered myself to help in other service lines in order to keep busy. Luckily, I was never so busy that I had to stay late. I was able to leave most things until the next day. I never felt overwhelmed by my workload.

I was given a lot of responsibility from the start. I was expected to manage my own time in order to get things done. As the year progressed I was given more responsibility, eventually writing entire progress reports and managing creditor claims myself.

The skills I learnt will definitely transfer into my studies and my future career. Unfortunately, unlike the placement students based in England, I did not go to college or take any accountancy exams. However, the basic skills, time management, networking, team work, for example, I have improved tenfold and I believe these will aid me greatly in the future.

The atmosphere in the office was great, every one in my department was extremely social and took the time to talk to you about your 'external' (out of the office) life, I feel like I was able to get to know everyone very well and they got to know me. On Friday's every one had that 'Friday feeling' was really boosted the atmosphere. On birthdays, there was always cakes bought in for everyone and celebrations (e.g. new joiners. people leaving etc.) was always met with a departmental lunch at a nearby restaurant.

The placement started with a two day induction in London with all the UK placement students, where we were given basic training (how to write professionally etc.) but nothing too specific as we were all in different service lines. Once in my regional office, it was up to the leaving placement student (he had extended his placement by three weeks) to train me up on specialist software and practices, I was provided with a 'manual' of how to do things which was invaluable throughout the year.

Unlike other placement students at EY I was not sent to college or sat any accountancy exams, which I was very disappointed with as I would have like to have sat some exams this year, so I felt like I was not 'invested' in as much as the other students. Other than the two days in London I was not provided with any more training (expect for general online training which is compulsory for all staff)

Very appealing. At the beginning of the year we were told that almost everyone is offered a graduate position once they finish university and my manager has informally told me that she would be happy if I were to come back in 2018. I hope to return and complete my training contract and become a chartered accountant.

In my region, I was one of three placement students (the other offices had more) and so there was not as many social events as I would have hoped but I was able to make friends with the first year graduates and so we attended pub quizzes etc together after work on several occasions. The Christmas party was spectacular and was well organised. In my service line we did not go for after work drinks as often as I would have liked but we did occasionally and I had a good time.

The cost of living in Belfast is extremely cheap, much cheaper than I expected. This however was reflected in the wages we received with other placement students in other offices (such as Leeds, Bristol etc. were given higher wages.) I would have liked to have seen a consistent wage for all the interns (except London of course).

The nightlife is much better than I expected. Belfast has a lot of different clubs hosting a lot of different genres so is good or anyone. Because of the two universities in Belfast there is student nights every night of the week. Like most places the prices did go up on weekends but once you get to know the area you can work out where to avoid on Saturday nights if you don't want to spend too much.

There were a lot of opportunities to get involved in. I took part in university careers fairs, I was lucky enough to take part in Young Enterprise and taught two Year 3 classes a six week course called 'My Community' in which I received excellent feedback. I also was put forward as a scribe for an interview with the directors of a company who had been nominated for EY Entrepreneur of the Year.