Summer Intern Review

The company has set up a great system in which interns are very quickly integrated into the company. We were given the opportunity to work on important clients alongside experienced professionals. Everyone is incredibly helpful and usually very understanding that we haven't really been trained, so will do what they can to train us on the job.

Whilst everyone was incredibly helpful, this massively depended on the individuals I was working with. At the beginning of the internship, I knew very little about audit, so it was hard to feel valued. However, by the end, I felt like a valued member of the teams I was working with.

Each individual is given both a People Manager (Career Coach) and a buddy, usually a first year associate. This means that we have at least 2 contacts in the firm for whatever problems we might have. This covers most potential problems, and for any work related issues, the team will always have at least one associate who will be happy to answer questions.

This was very dependant on the client. Associates would often ensure that we would be assigned any work we were physically able to do, to aid our learning process. However, at the beginning of the period, as there was little we could do independently, there were a few days which were a little slow.

Every piece of work completed by an intern or associate is reviewed by someone higher up. This means that we can be given the responsibility of working independently, but also not need to worry too much if we're doing it wrong. This really improved my satisfaction because by the end of the internship, I was able to do a good proportion of the ground work for a basic audit.

Since I study an Accounting degree, there will obviously be a range of skills and knowledge which will aid me in my final year of university. However, most interns had not studied Accounting beforehand, and there is still an assortment of skills which they will take away with them, from time management, to building client relationships.

The office has a relaxed friendly atmosphere, which makes it quite easy to get to know fellow colleagues. The office is also quite young, as the company employs a large number of graduates straight from university and therefore there is a high number of associates (usually in their first 4 years of working at the firm) compared to the number of directors and partners, who would obviously be older.

The internship scheme has now been running for a number of years, which means that most people you work with will understand the position that you're in. The resourcing of the internship (decisions regarding which jobs you will work on) can often be less organised, with jobs being assigned last minute, simply due to the short nature of the internship and interns are generally moved around depending on the job's necessity.

After 6 weeks at the firm, I am now keeping my fingers crossed that they will offer me a graduate position. I have gotten to know the company culture in the past 6 weeks and I can see myself being quite happy here, and it would be a huge benefit to already understand the job before starting full-time.

As the Cardiff office was only a small office, there were only 2 interns per intake. I did, however, get on very well with my fellow intern and managed to make friends with the 4 interns at the next nearest office in Bristol. I look forward to hopefully starting as a Grad, where there will be many more students working alongside myself.

Cardiff is generally known as being a cheap place to live because it is a student area. There are plenty of bars and shops around the office, which often have deals on. Having studied there for 2 years, I did already understand this, but it did make my paychecks go much further!

Cardiff is known as a great student area and this, of course, means that the nightlife is great. There are bars and clubs within very close distance of the office and there is something for everyone - with classy cocktail bars, lively pubs and popular nightclubs all within walking distance.

Unfortunately, as the position was only 6 weeks, we did miss out on most of the social aspects of the company. There are usually sports teams that the associates can get involved in, and the office does monthly drinks which everyone is invited to. We were invited to monthly drinks on just one occasion, but I look forward to (hopefully) returning and making the most of the social events at PwC.