Audit Intern - Summer Internship Review

Learning the new field you are put into can be quite a struggle, as you are surrounded by many confusing concepts and processes. I often felt stressed out due to this, but the teams I have been working with over this internship really made effort to help me. They often asked how I was getting on, are really social and take an interest in you, which really makes you feel like you belong and are welcome to ask for help. You just need to accept there are things you don't understand and are not expected to yet, and feel free to ask questions and then it becomes quite fun and enjoyable.

As an intern, I felt that I was treated no differently from, and by, other employees, making me feel like a valued member of the team. Fellow colleagues were really helpful and seemed to be genuinely interested in us. We were encouraged to ask questions and to engage with other employees to get a better feel of the company.

Support and guidance was offered throughout the internships and I felt that it was easy to approach management and supervisors about personal performance and any concerns we had. I had frequent 1:1s with my line manager, who offered me a great deal of support throughout the placement, as well as weekly team meetings where I could seek support from fellow colleagues.

For the majority of the time, I was occupied with a good level of work meaning the days went by really quickly and I rarely got bored. However the down side to doing a summer placement, and I think this applies to any company, is that the office does tend to be quieter and there are less projects to get involved in. Saying that, the quieter times allowed for other activities such as networking and compulsory web learning.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility and expected to take ownership of the project that I was entrusted with. As the internship is only 4 weeks, it is difficult to be granted huge amounts of autonomy but I was satisfied with the level of responsibility that I was given.

At EY, there was a strong focus on personal development rather than simply ‘selling’ the company and this is one of the best aspects of EY's Summer Programme. All the skills that I have acquired throughout my time there will be very valuable when going through any future assessment centres. We were accompanied by advisors all the time and could chat with graduates about their experience and ask for tips.

I would be lying if I said that the atmosphere was not slightly competitive amongst the interns. Everyone was trying very hard to make a good first impression and therefore at time I did feel that there was some tension amongst the group. However, as time went on and we got to know each other better, this tension wore off. The overall atmosphere in the EY offices is professional.

I felt that the programme was very well structured and I was kept up to date with frequent emails and phone calls from the HR team. I was comfortable to go to them with any questions that I might have had. The programme followed a clear schedule and there were numerous networking events, presentations and tasks organised for us to get the most out of the placement.

Considering the short space of time that we were at the company for, I felt that we had a decent amount. We had a number of inductions at the beginning as well as web based learning throughout. Employees, graduate and senior managers all took time out of their busy schedules to talk with all of us. All of the sessions were specifically tailored to our needs as university students.

Future employment prospects with EY are good and they run a very strong and highly regarded Graduate programme, which I am currently applying for. I believe the Summer Internship will stand me in good stead for the application process.

We had lunch together most days as well as drinks after work quite regularly. We had a couple of group chats to stay connected and everyone stays in touch today. The only times this becomes difficult is when lots of the group are based on different client sites and finish work at different times! In this case it becomes a bit difficult to organise socials but we seemed to make it work!

Being based in Central London, you can expect costs to be quite high. I did find eating out and drinking to be very expensive in the local area. However, EY do provide a generous intern salary for the duration of the internship, so the higher costs can be somewhat overlooked.

The local nightlife is really good and there was a huge amount of things that we could do after work. EY even hold their own socials among other events, as well as the option for you to go out to local bars etc. after work with fellow colleagues or friends.

I was amazed by the number of networks to get involved in, which ranged from Women and LGBT networks, to Sports teams and the EY Foundation (charity partnerships). We had the opportunity to get involved with the EY Foundation but because of the short time we were at the company, I did not get the chance to get involved in anything else.