Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed the internship experience with EY, and garnered a lot of satisfaction from taking part in it. The enjoyment from the internship experience came from its uniqueness. It was the first virtual internship experience that EY had ever run, new because of the current situation regarding COVID-19, which meant that I felt that I was a part of something ground breaking. Overall, I would happily do another week as I enjoyed it that much!

I felt, from the very first hour of the very first day, that I was incredibly valued by everyone involved in the running of the internship. This includes everyone who held a talk, all the people who took time out of their busy schedules to talk to us and all of the other interns who were part of this internship. Overall, this internship was a good parameter for how valued I would be if work for EY in the future.

There were multiple occasions of direct support from the supervisors. This ranged from making sure that everyone's technology was working correctly, answering any questions that we may have had and very much valuing us as interns. One thing that really stood out to me was a one-to-one 'buddy' chat, where we had the opportunity to talk to someone a little bit further down the line than us; it was definitely a fantastic medium for guidance.

From 9.45am until 4pm, everyday, we were constantly busy. From a variety of Q&As in the mornings, which required the utmost attention to maximise learning, to working on our case study in the afternoon, amongst other interactions, I was always engaged and busy. Furthermore, the internship allowed for work to be done outside of the working hours to make sure what we are doing reflected our capabilities. So, I was very busy on a daily basis.

Although I partook in a case study with a group of other interns, this did not come with much responsibility as the case study was only theoretical. However, I must say that this was only due to the circumstances, and I am sure that were we to have been on the full internship, we would have been entrusted with a variety of responsibilities. We were trusted with our engagement with the programme, in terms of what I would get out of the week would depend on what I put in.

I can break this down into two parts. Firstly; skills. We were given talks on everything from time management to presentation skills, mindfulness to diversity. These skills go beyond work and into life and are applicable anywhere. Second; direction. It was a wonderful insight into how the professional world works, and now I have the opportunity over my final year of university to tailor my experience to suit the person I want to be once I graduate.

The atmosphere was electric. A fast pace combined with a group that was clearly highly skilled. There was an ethos of hard work from everyone involved, which I imagine originates in the fact that we all had to work hard to be able to take part in this internship. It was also a very friendly atmosphere, with everyone actively caring about others, despite the fact we were not able to meet in person. Having a good atmosphere on a virtual platform is impressive.

I was incredibly impressed with how well the internship was run, especially given the circumstances (having to be a virtual experience due to the pandemic). Every day the schedule was planned to perfection with a clear system in place to ensure the smooth running of the programme. Any problems were quickly dealt with, and the wide range of activities we were involved with ensured that it was always interesting. The people running the programme were great.

A lot of time was invested in us.

The future employment prospects within EY are, in a way, endless. This is because the company is global and covers such a large quantity of service lines that I would be able to pursue a long term career with the company. What was really good on their part was that they offered a job interview for the graduate scheme, due to the reduction in the length of the internship, as a result of the pandemic.

For this I will talk about my team I worked with throughout the internship. Unfortunately, due to the virtual aspect of the internship, we were not able to meet in person. However, there was strong camaraderie between us and we all managed to get to know each other surprisingly well. I know that usually the internship comes with a very good and rewarding social scene, where you are able to meet a diverse range of people.

Difficult to gauge due to working from home.

Unable to gauge, having worked from home.

On the usual scheme there would have been, but working from home made this difficult.