Summer Analyst - Strategy and Operations Review

There were times when I didn't have enough to do, especially at the beginning, but that quickly changed as members of my team got used to having me around and started giving me more and more tasks. In general, though, I had a really good time at Deloitte.

My colleagues were friendly and supportive during work, and gave regular constructive feedback. This atmosphere, alongside the high profile nature of the work allocated, led to a feeling of being a valued member of the team, whose commitment and contributions were seen as important. In more social settings, colleagues continued to be friendly and interested, and would often strike up conversation, irrespective of the difference in seniority, allowing for a friendly atmosphere to be maintained both inside and outside the office.

There was always someone willing to answer any questions I had, and anyone, from analysts all the way up to partners wanted to teach me something. I never felt uncomfortable asking for clarification, and everyone was very helpful and understanding.

There were definitely quite a few days, especially at the beginning, where I could have done with more work (in which case I'd just make rounds around the office asking people if they had anything I could help out with). There were a few days when I had a little too much to do, but there weren't too many of them. Over the 6 weeks I was there, I only had to stay late once.

I was given tasks that I managed by myself and only reported back with the results. They were things that matched my knowledge and skill level, but I was given complete responsibility over them.

I came to the internship in Strategy Consulting from a different degree background, and with minimal real world practical experience of the world of consultancy; the internship has very much rectified that lack of experience. My two months provided me with a wide variety of both hard and soft skills, including more advanced knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint features, the logical steps required to produce a strategy, and the various ways to present information to a client.

The atmosphere in my team was brilliant. The team welcomed me, and everyone was absolutely lovely to me, and I felt like I was one of them really quickly. We have even gone out for lunch to welcome me to the team. Of course, the general atmosphere is that of working hard and delivering results to the clients, but people are always willing to help each other and no one felt uncomfortable admitting they didn't now something.

Could be much better organised. I was assigned a champion who only met with me once. I also had a buddy, who was always at hand. We were meant to have a meeting halfway through with HR, but that never happened. The internship could have benefitted from a bit more structure. There were also only two socials for interns.

I felt the company invested a fair amount of money in me, mostly through informal, peer-to-peer learning, as a lot of the time quite senior members of the team spent their time on teaching me new things. It was in effect 6 weeks of learning that I was compensated for.

They are very appealing, and I have chosen to accept a graduate position in the Indirect Tax Advisory department. Deloitte invests a lot in the development of their employees and the perks are really good, so I am looking forward to joining the firm next year.

We only had 2 socials formally organised by the company, which was a nice occasion to socialise with students who were doing their internships in different departments. I generally socialised from other Tax interns - we would have lunch or drinks together.

I did my internship in London, which is a very expensive city, so the costs of living and socialising are very hard. I study in London, so I simply stayed in my term-time accommodation, but for those who study in other places it was quite a big expense.

The nightlife in the area I worked was very limited, but most placement students don't live in the direct vicinity of the workplace. In the area that I lived the nightlife was very active, being only a short tube journey away from central London and also having lots to do in the local area, such as bars and clubs.

I personally have got involved in lots of activities outside of work, joining a local football team, going to a local church and being involved in many of the events that they were running. However, I do think that this is more down to the individual than what is available, given that you only have few months with which to be a part of it. There were lots of opportunities available though.