Strategy Consulting Summer Internship Review

I loved Deloitte's summer vacation program! It gave me an amazing insight into the world of consulting and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the profession! The project/team I was on was great and gave me such interesting work. However there is an element of luck as to what project you are assigned and what team you are in - though most projects/teams sounded really good too.

The team I worked with were amazing, and made me feel really welcome and valued. They helped me grow and learn through out my placement, and I was sad to leave them at the end of the scheme! I was in a small team of 3, so had great exposure and support from all of them. There was no 'classic intern' work, like photocopying, the team valued and used my skills which made the internship a great experience all round.

My team were very supportive and gave me all the guidance I needed! Deloitte has strong support and guidance structure for their interns, and you can always ask for me. Outside of the team I worked with directly (who gave me at least weekly feedback as well as daily support), I had an assigned buddy (who was someone who had done the summer scheme and then landed the grad job), as well as a supervisor who tracked my progress and helped me identify and achieve my goals for the internship.

I was the intern who loved their project, so wanted to work overtime! During the days I was busy and had work to do, which in my opinion is so much better than twiddling your thumbs all day. Sometime I felt overwhelmed, but only for moments. I was in the office for 8:30am and never really left after 6:00pm. Though I do have to say I was amongst the harder working interns and my team told me to leave if I even tried to stay late.

I was given a lot of responsibility for an intern. I presented to the client, prepared powerpoint start to finish, and got to sit in on many meetings. My responsibilities increased the more the team got to know me and what I could do - after all you can't expect to be given responsibilities with out your team knowing you can handle them!

My excel skills were put through the ringer, and subsequently I got a lot better at excel which will help me a lot. More than anything else, I delved my soft skills - how to present, how to conduct yourself professionally, how to lead the client through a story to a conclusion. Those skills will all help me in my life and career (maybe not my degree).

The Deloitte office was relaxed but hard working and professional. It was open floored hot dusking which gave a nice community and relaxed atmosphere. There was also a great canteen and 'social floor' with Fifa, pingpong tables and bean bags for relaxing on. However, being a consultant, you are often on client site, so it depends on who you client is!

The internship was organised to the very last detail, I honestly don't know what else could be organised. We had 2 great scheme leads who got everything in line for us and helped us if we had any issues. The only issue was the firm had just restructured when we arrived, so the areas we applied sit in within the firm didn't actually exist anymore! They either had new names or were combined with other areas. This was a bit confusing for everyone, but we were placed in the corresponding areas.

All interns had 2 days at the beginning of the internship of consulting training, as well as an additionally morning of powerpoint story boarding training. These were really helpful, though maybe a bit basic. The continuous help and support, as well as opportunities for 'extra' expertises were great. Basically, whatever you put in you get out of this internship - if you want to get training on something go for it and ask and more than likely you get it!

I got offered the graduate scheme job with them and am so excited to start! Deloitte have great career progression, and (from what I saw and heard about) have amazing training and growth opportunities. I was there during their annual review and promotion week, and the progression within Deloitte seems to be as fast as you want/can go!

So so social! There were weekly socials with free food and alcohol. All the socials were so much fun, and often ended in karaoke. Coffees and re-hydration sachets are intern essentials. The interns all became really close and often went out together outside of organised events. They remained my mates after the internship ended, and look forward to working with them in the grad scheme!

I was working in London, so it was really expensive. The salary from Deloitte covered all my costs (as well as renting somewhere in London) though I didn't manage to save any of it! Most interns commuted in as their parents lived closer than mine, and saved the majority of their pay from the internship. Costs of living in London are HIGH.

Central London has a buzzing nightlife. There are lots of pubs, clubs, and bars. One surprise to me, was the karaoke culture at Deloitte - I mean everyone loves it! After a day of working and a work drinks there is probably an 80% chance you will end up in a karaoke bar.

There are tones of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. The internship was only 5 weeks long, and goes by so fast, so that limits your opportunities. But there were emails popping up all the time about the extra curricular stuff you could get involved with at a firm level! There were also tones of socials for the interns and events held by our scheme organisers.