Discover EY - Women in Business Review

The overall experience was quite good and I really enjoyed talking to people in various divisions. Being a women focused program, there were lots of opportunities to interact with female employees working in top positions within the firm, which I found refreshing and inspiring.

Before I came for the program, I had heard of EY’s “people focus”, and I was happy to know that they truly do focus on the best interests of their employees. There was a lot of emphasis on the way they encourage diversity and team work through the program.

We were sorted into tables for all the presentations and were assigned a table head, who was an employee of the company. Our table head was absolutely fantastic and really helpful through the time we were with EY.

We received a lot of valuable feedback on working in a team and our presentation skills, which I found useful. We also had a mock assessment centre exercise which was a good experience as we’ll be attending those in the future and having an idea of what to expect helps.

Something that really reflects EY’s focus on their people is how well structured their program was. We received a number of frequent breaks (even though they were short) which made sure we did not feel worn out at any point of time and encouraged engagement. This helped me stay focused and gave me the time to absorb the information given.

I found EY’s atmosphere quite relaxed which made me enjoy the insight more.

The experience that I received while preparing for presentations was useful and the tips I received on groupwork and how to stand out at assessment centres will be helpful throughout my application procedures for next summer.

Due the time constraints, there weren’t as many opportunities to meet people across all of EY’s divisions and while we did speak to a lot of employees mainly from Tax and Assurance, the ones that I spoke to didn’t elaborate as much as I would’ve liked on the day to day work they do.

Attending the event definitely helped me understand EY’s people nature and gave me the opportunity to interact with employees.

Before coming to EY, I wasn’t fully aware of all the service lines they offer and this insight was a learning experience for me as I found out they offer a division that I’m interested in working in. This will help me make better career decisions.

Travel was booked through EY’s travel partner, so I only had to fill out a form with my details and the train timings I wanted (I don’t stay in London). Accommodation was provided by them as well.

Due to the large number of people on the program, one on one networking opportunities were few. They did have a short session where we moved from table to table (5 mins at each table) but the time provided was extremely limited. I understand why they couldn’t do a proper networking event since there were so many of us, but maybe extending the time for the next networking insight would help.

The people were very friendly and I found it easy to talk to everyone; while we didn’t receive any specific, extensive networking opportunities, I did have the opportunity to talk to people in between breaks which personally helped me out. This also helped me find out more about the field I’m interested in.

EY is really keen on having its employees engaged in activities outside of work; their Women’s Network really appealed to me and I spoke to several people who actively work with charities on a regular basis and organise events with EY promoting diversity, equality and various other values that they believe in.

This was definitely an excellent chance for me to get to know people in the company, find out about their values and understand more about the various career options that they offer. This experience definitely taught me a lot and I look forward to applying for a summer internship this year.