Transaction Advisory Services Intern Review

Both the two first weeks and the last week were very enjoyable, in a different way. The first week I had the chance of going on socials with my sub service line (OTS) and meeting many people within the team. This could not have been a better start for the internship. The second week I was offered the amazing opportunity of flying on client-site in Aarhus, Denmark. In between, it was much calmer due to summer (external circumstance), overall enjoyed it but was given smaller tasks rather than being assigned on a project, with a team. That is what happened during the last week of my internship - harder work, but an better experience. Overall very satisfied with the 6-week internship.

At EY your opinion is really valued, even as an intern. People are open to questions, opinions, different approaches, and help you understand ways of working. EY people do not force yourself into something, but make you understand how they do it, why they do it in such a way, and the overall context and objectives.

You are given direction and people are approachable, happy to answer questions and provide support. As long as you are not insistent and overly interrupting their work, they are happy to help.

As said, first, second and last week were busy. The three weeks in between, I was trying to find work to keep busy by myself, asking resourcing to find a project. As this was unsuccessful on multiple occasions, I kept asking people around me if they needed help. Most of the time it was not the case, and when it was I helped with small tasks that were difficult to place into perspective and context, and mostly administrative.

Overall, average. While I was responsible for making PPT decks for a buyer or an internal meeting, I was not asked to make presentation or given very important tasks. Overall, helped as best I could and often exceeded expectations, but not given much responsibility nor challenged much.

The main output I identify from this internship is the experience of working in a big company as part of teams, and discussing with EY people about their experiences, and getting feedback on my performance. I know I can improve certain areas, and will strive to do so. I of course practiced my skills in Excel and PowerPoint, and improved, but I would not say I was significantly challenged. It may be because I had prior experience, which EY employees do not expect from interns and thus found the tasks relatively straight forward.

In the MLP office and more specifically in the OTS team, the work environment and atmosphere was impressive. Everyone was very focused, talented, and serious, but at the same time all EY employees (analysts, executives, directors and partners) were approachable, keen to help, share their experiences, and chat when they had a free moment. Very good balance between work and social interactions.

It started off very well, by being immediately immersed in the EY culture and administration (SIP induction, IT, division induction, ....) but my main disappointment was the resourcing team. During my whole internship I was pro-active in reaching out to people who might need help, and my best experience - the last week's project - came as a result of me reaching out to a partner. Balanced view with regards to organisation.

There is clearly a large investment made by EY in interns and the company truly sees the future of the company in the intern cohort. However, from what I understand, EY invests less in the SIP program than it used to in the past years, and we have had very few socials during summer, cross-service line. I have not met as many interns as I hoped to, as the only day we were gathered together was the first day of induction, so far. I feel knowing your peers especially within a program such as this one, and hearing about others' experiences across service lines is very important. This is my only reservation with regards to EY training and development, otherwise we have access to much of the company's resources, which is very valuable.

Very appealing, but as the end of the internship approaches I end up with more questions than answers. Holidays will help me figure it all out and make my decisions with regards to my future.

See above - I have described the social scene and my reservations in this regard in an above question. Room for improvement. Does not have to be subsidised - an EY organised event will be appealing to all interns.

London is a very expensive city, especially for someone who has no relative living in the area and must pay rent over summer. Finding an accommodation on a short-term basis in London is very difficult and expensive. I struggled and had issues with this during the internship. Luckily, I managed the situation, but it was not easy.

Again, the social scene in London is very expensive, but it is an amazing city to live in, with so many different areas, bars, restaurants, clubs one can go to. Much recommended, and as a foreigner I would not have wanted to spend my summer anywhere else in England!

There were opportunities, however I did not have a chance to seize any of them. Wish I could have gone for the 5K in New York!