Assurance Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my summer internship at PwC. The whole internship was well organised and was clear that PwC invested a lot of time to ensure everyone has the best experience possible. Everyone I met - from the induction, to the office - were lovely and very helpful!

I felt very welcomed into PwC from the beginning. On our first day in the office we were met by our buddies who stayed with us most of the day to help us sort things out and to answer any questions about the weeks ahead! The team I was assigned to were very helpful and approachable. During the internship we had to collect feedback from colleagues we had worked with that would go towards our final meeting with recruitment. This approach allowed us to see whether your colleagues were happy and impressed with the work we had done, and if there were any areas for development.

I had the same manager for the whole internship, and worked closely with a senior associate for the full time. Both were always on hand to answer any questions, and were approachable both in person and over messenger. My senior associate gave me in-depth coaching throughout my internship, allowing me to fully understand the task at hand and reasoning behind it. If I had any queries I was always pointed in the right direction of who to speak, and how best to go about it.

For the majority of my internship I was busy everyday working between two main investment funds. Throughout the day my senior associate would assign me tasks, and keep me in the loop with any updates on the client. If things quietened down on my client, I would be reassigned onto a new client and help out where needed. This aspect was a real benefit to my experience of the internship, as it meant I was always helping someone out and getting the most out of my time.

I was given a lot of independence when completing my work, but was nice to know that my team were on hand if I had any issues with my work. Before I was left to complete a new task, my senior associate would give me a full explanation of what was to be done, and where to find certain things. As the weeks went on, my knowledge of the work I was doing improved, and was able to use previous coaching to do my work more independently. Further to this, when moving onto a different client, I could take my skills from previous work and apply them to the new one.

As I study a biological based degree at University, I will not be able to apply much of the learning I received on Audit. However, many of the skills that I developed on the internship will be very transferable to my final year at University and beyond that. This internship has developed my skills of working in a small team, with individuals of all professional levels. Further to that, my ability to socialise in a professional environment has been refined.

As the Edinburgh office uses hot-desking, it allowed for a chilled atmosphere. People tended to sit in the same area, but the seats all moved around. It was nice being able to sit next to the other interns, and be close to the senior associate on my team. The office was relatively quiet most of the time with people being away on holidays or in ICAS training.

The internship set-up was really well organised. In the weeks before starting we were emailed lots of information about what to fill out before joining, and the format of the six weeks. Our first 3 days were spent at an induction in London with every UK intern. This was a great way to start of the internship as everyone could meet in a casual environment and get to know each other before heading into our relevant offices. During these days there was lots of training, learning and social events! In the office, we could see which clients and teams we were assigned to throughout the whole time. We were each assigned a career coach, who we would have a few catch ups with geared towards the final meeting with recruitment.

I feel like the company invested a lot for my six week internship. As mentioned above, the 3 day induction in London was a great start to the internship and it showed PwC are clearly invested into the internship programme, and making the experience as good as possible. Further to this, being assigned a buddy and a career coach meant there was always someone to go to for any queries.

I have really enjoyed my time with PwC, and think they are a great company to work for!

There were 9 interns in the Edinburgh office, and we all got on very well. Most of us ate lunch together everyday - whilst some were out on client sites. We went out for drinks after work; attended a fringe show with other PwC colleagues; organised an end of internship dinner!

The cost of living in Edinburgh is quite expensive (especially during the Fringe Festival), but luckily I was living at home for the six weeks so could save on rent! As the internship ran was throughout August, it ran over the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - therefore lots is on offer for socialising!

As mentioned above, the Fringe Festival meant lots was on offer for nightlife! Lots of shows were on in the evenings, lots of pop up bars and food trucks were available.

Lots of opportunities - I played in the PwC women's netball league for a few weeks; attended a Fringe show with the Northern Audit team; attended a talk from a charity that PwC support.