Strategy and Operations - Summer Analyst Review

I really enjoyed the people and environments I was working in during my placement. Everyone was very sociable and welcoming, and all managed to get along well. However with regards to actual 'work' it took quite a few days for me to actually get going and being included in project work. This meant that during the first few days I was left with little to do.

The colleagues I worked closely with, I felt they valued me significantly, and would listen when I offered my opinion on certain aspects. But, other colleagues who I didn't work with as much, and didn't get to know as well, I felt as though they valued my opinion less, and didn't make the necessary time to get to know me.

I felt that I was given little support from my direct manager within the firm. If I wanted assistance or further tasks to complete, I would really have to push them with multiple emails/IMs to get a response. And when they would reply, more often than not it would be directing me to someone else to ask for work. On the other hand, the grad I was working closely with on the same project was very supportive, and was always happy to make the time to offer my guidance and support when I needed it.

During the first week of the internship I was given very little work to do. I would be given a small piece of work here or there, or told to 'read up' on the project, which is very crucial to understanding the project, but they expected this to take me multiple days. But once things started to get going, I was given more responsibilities, and towards the end of the internship I was juggling multiple pieces of work for multiple managers in different areas of the business.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility during the placement. Often being tasked with creating pieces of work that would be viewed directly by client VPs, or conducting user testing sessions myself. I felt as though the work I was doing was actually beneficial to the project, and had I not been doing it, someone more senior would have been doing so.

The direct skills I learnt had very little to do with my actual degree. However the transferable skills were very beneficial. It has given me a great understanding of work place practices which I can go on to use in the future, as well as job skills which will benefit me in future applications. I learned about the tools I used too (powerpoint, excel, taking notes, talking to clients...).

The atmosphere was very serious and professional but the team and I got along very well. Work had to be done but this did not mean that colleagues are not friendly. By the end of my internship, I got along with everyone very well and truly enjoyed to get to know everyone.

The placement was well organised overall. It offered you the chance to go out and meet new people that currently worked within the firm, whilst also giving you regular socials amongst the rest of your interns, so you could get to know the people your age better, and help you to develop future relationships.

The company gave you access to the LinkedIn learning platform, which allowed you to access thousands of seminars on all sorts of topics. But directly from the company we weren't provided with specific training over the short period we were there. If we had been there longer we would have been able to access lots of training workshops.

Overall, it was very appealing: the company in itself is very flexible and the variety of opportunities is great. Through discussions with more senior employees, I found Deloitte offers a great amount of opportunities to specialise (it is encouraged) and provides the necessary support to do so (training, project opportunities etc).

There were multiple socials organised every week ranging from team building activities to pizza making. On top of this the interns organised their own 'socials' during the week, allowing us to meet up after work on most days during the internship. This allowed you to really get to know the fellow interns, and create lasting relationships.

Being based in London, I always expected the cost of living and socialising to be very expensive. However Deloitte were given a social budget, so any social that they organised themselves was funded entirely by the company, meaning you didn't have to spend too much during the week for socials. Cost of living was high in general.

The nightlife was great - any pub around the area where I worked was filled with people coming out of working after 6, and people were very friendly. London has more than enough places where to go out - between pubs, nightclubs, restaurants... Besides the price, there should not be any reason for you not to find a place.

Deloitte has a huge network of extra curricular activities that ranged from sport teams to board game clubs. You were pushed heavily at the start to get involved in as many as possible so you could meet different people from across all service lines to get a true idea of what it is like to work at Deloitte.