Vacation Student Review

I really enjoyed getting an insight into the company culture, and how included I was as a vacation student - i.e. I was invited to the annual office ball and participated in other weekly office social occasions. The entire office was incredibly friendly and helpful which was great - even more so than I expected - so I really loved this aspect of the placement. Some of the work I was given was really interesting while some of it was a bit dull, but that is the nature of the job I think. I unfortunately didn't get to visit a client site but this was just due to logistical reasons, not for the want of trying - so would have been even better had this been possible.

The entire team and office I worked with was incredibly friendly and several colleagues actively took it upon themselves to set more stuff up for me to help me get the most out of the four weeks, which was great. The work I produced was utilised fully, which definitely made it feel like what I'd done was valued.

Support was there for me throughout the placement, however I probably could have done more to make the most of it as often I was happy just working on my own on the tasks I'd been given. I definitely feel like if I'd wanted more support that it was there for me, but I found I didn't actually need that much. The support I did get or request was generally really helpful.

I'm not sure if the skills specific to accountancy I developed will be that useful for me, as I am not currently planning on a career in the industry. However, it was helpful to experience a professional working office environment and develop my communication skills such as taking meeting minutes, writing professional emails etc - as these are all transferable to practically any office environment. I'm not sure if anything I learned will be of particular benefit to my degree studies, but it has helped me to shape my future career decisions slightly.

The first few days were really well structured, with the Values day and then another induction at my home office. After that, I had quite a lot of say in what work I did, what engagements I wanted to work on and what experiences I wanted to have which was really nice - so whilst it wasn't particularly structured, that was definitely a benefit as the flexibility allowed me to get what I wanted out of it, rather than doing stuff I was less interested in for four weeks.

The atmosphere was great, as the entire office was really welcoming. I was able to participate in all of the team social events, as well as having lunch every day with my colleagues. People also went out of their way to arrange certain experiences for me or to make time to chat to me about their roles/responsibilities, and enable me to find out more about other areas of the business, which was really great.

A good amount - they essentially treated me like a normal employee with all of the benefits and investment in you that entails, which was great. I had opportunities to do additional training and learn about areas that interested me most.

As I spent a great deal of my time on one particular engagement I got a good insight into the whole process which was great - I definitely got a good grasp of how an audit would progress and what people do day to day. I also got to speak a lot to more senior colleagues which was nice, as it helped me understand the sort of stuff I may be doing further down the line if I joined full time. The only downside was not getting to visit a client site and carry out fieldwork, as this would have been useful to experience as it is a large part of the job.

I learned loads about the company values, typical career progression, benefits offered, working culture etc, and so definitely came away feeling like I had a good grasp of the company culture. I definitely noticed how friendly everyone is at KPMG which was something that stood out to me in particular in this regard.

Whilst I have definitely enjoyed the program, it has made me realise I probably don't want to work in accountancy (at least, not immediately after finishing University). It has however increased my interest in a career in some of the other areas KPMG work in, having spoken to people working in these areas. Therefore in this regard, it has been helpful in shaping my future career plans.

I received a pro-rata salary for the placement, and was also reimbursed for expenses. The salary may not have been as much as I have seen for other internships, but definitely worked out higher than a typical summer job I would probably have been doing otherwise, so I have absolutely no complaints in this regard! Expenses were reimbursed quickly (twice a month) and the expenses system was easy to use also.

I was able to chat to employees from several different areas of the firm - essentially any area I had an interest in, someone would be there to talk to me about it. I was also able to work with senior employees such as a Director and get to know them, which was a great experience. I have definitely made some good contacts for my future career and expanded my network.

I was invited to one of the office's biggest social events, the yearly office ball, as well as social activities such as cricket and a pub quiz among others. The social aspect was great and made an impression on me. Through these kind of events networking opportunities came about naturally.

Yes - was invited to several social events and learned lots about opportunities for travel, networking, corporate responsibility, volunteering etc. There are more opportunities than I ever realised before the placement!

For someone interested in or considering a career with a big 4 firm (or in accounting or an area of risk management), absolutely. I'm not certain if I would recommend it to someone who has no interest in these career options, purely because the firm run the program in order to recruit those who do well full time so it may not be as useful for someone who does not want a career in the industry.