Vacation Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation scheme in the KPMG London office, even though it only lasted four weeks. I was quite surprised by the amount I learnt, especially about Audit as a career and the skills required in a working environment. Also everyone I met during my time there, employees and interns alike, were very friendly and helpful.

Even though I was just a vacation student, I was given a fair amount of work which was useful for the team so I felt valued. They trusted me since the importance of the tasks increased as time went by, and I also received valuable feedback from them after completing each piece of work.

Everyone I met during the vacation scheme were extremely kind and supportive, and my supervisor was more than happy to provide help whenever I needed it. Since I am not from an accounting background, my supervisor was quite willing to explain the concepts required for the work I was doing. I was definitely given enough support and not left struggling with work that I did not understand.

Since I am doing a science degree, most of the theory I learnt will not be relevant to my degree studies. However, the training I received and the skills I developed will definitely be useful for my career later on, for example working in a team in a work environment.

Overall, the vacation scheme was well organised. We had an induction training on the first day, but there might have been a slight miscommunication since people on my team thought we had received job related training (they were very willing to help out whenever I needed though so that was alright). Although I only saw most of the interns during our first day training, a social event was organised on our last day which gave us the chance to mingle with each other.

While most interns were at their respective client’s office for at least a week of two during our vacation scheme, I was based at the KPMG office for the whole of my time there. However, the office has a really nice atmosphere, since it is open plan and all employees sit together. Employees are also generally very friendly so it was a great way to meet new people.

On the first day of the internship, we were introduced to the online training resources. Apart from the compulsory training modules we had to complete, there were also other sessions we could take if we were interested. For example, I had no accounting knowledge prior to the vacation scheme, so I utilised one of the accounting modules to give myself some background- though my supervisor did make sure to explain everything clearly before each task which as helpful.

The vacation scheme was definitely helpful in terms of gaining an insight into a full time career. Apart from giving me a glimpse into the actual work in Audit from the tasks I was given, I also had plenty of chances to speak to the employees about what it was like working there. Of course, since it was off-peak over summer, I did not experience what it would be like during the busier periods in the year.

The company culture was emphasised a lot during induction, but having experienced it first hand I would say I definitely understood it a lot more afterwards.

After the vacation scheme, I was quite certain that I would like to go into Audit as a graduate.

The salary was adequate, and we were given a lunch allowance each day to buy lunch in the office. I was never out on client site, but from what I know the other interns also got to claim back the expenses for their lunches and if travelling was required, the travelling expenses.

There was a networking session after induction on the first day, and nothing else for networking organised as part of the scheme. However, there was definitely plenty of opportunities for meeting other people around the office. My buddy (we were each assigned a buddy to help and guide us) informed me on some informal lunchtime talks, and I did meet some other employees through that.

Networking was mentioned above. One social event was organised at the end of the vacation scheme for the interns, which was a good chance to get to know the others (it seemed a little late during our time there to do this though).

Did not find out too much about this, apart from the informal talks that are hosted in the office.

I would definitely recommend this vacation scheme (genuinely enjoyed it a lot!)