Business Consulting Summer Intern Review

Overall I found the experience to be thoroughly enjoyable. Each day was different and we had the chance to engage with EY employees. We also had the opportunity to join live learning events to help develop our skills in the workplace. The internship allowed us to work in small groups, giving us an opportunity to meet other interns and also practice group presentations with feedback from a current employee. Although the experience was just a week I was still able to network and get to know those going through the same experience.

From day one the team made all of us feel welcomed. Although there were a few technical difficulties, the team helped us all through and made sure that everyone was happy and engaged in the programme. I particularly enjoyed the ice breakers with the team as this allowed us to get to know those running the event on a more personal level. Throughout the week the team kept checking in with us to make sure we were all ok.

The student recruitment team gave us a lot of support throughout the week whether it was with a technical issue or something else. When doing the case study it was really valuable to be given the opportunity to speak to a mentor (a current employee) on whether we were heading in the right direction and to see how EY tackle these presenting opportunities. We were also given support when delivering the presentations where we were given feedback at the end to help us develop these skills further.

Everyday there was a packed schedule, whilst still allowing us to have breaks from our laptops. The day would start at 9.45am for registration and tech tests, whilst officially commencing at 10am. Lunch each day would vary but usually fell between 12-1pm. This allowed us to keep up our concentration levels during the sessions. The sessions would vary between talks, Q n As, learning sessions and case study groups. I particularly enjoyed how busy we were kept and how interactive the sessions were enabling us to keep engaged.

Due to it being a week virtual experience, there was not as much individual responsibility. We were given our own case study which we were able to develop and make our own whilst working in teams. This part of the experience was particularly enjoyable as it was very interactive and you got to know more of your peers. However, other than the case study there were not many other opportunities to take on more responsibility.

The online learning will definitely help in my future studies particularly next term where there will be more working from home. Furthermore, by being given a chance to work in a team, and online, I can transfer the skills learnt to group projects at uni and when I finally enter the workplace. EY also gave us an opportunity to develop our presentation and time management skills which I think will be particularly useful entering my final year at university and in future jobs.

The general atmosphere within each teams chat was very positive and motivating. Those giving the talks were highly engaging and we were given the opportunity to ask a lot of questions. EY also encouraged us to add anyone we met on Linkedin to ask any more questions we may have and grow our network. I was nervous to join a virtual internship but they made me feel very comfortable asking questions online through the chat function or audio.

You could tell a lot of organisation had gone into the weeks work experience. Every talk ran on time with enough time for questions at the end. They also organised breaks in each day to allow us to have a break from the desk and the laptop which helped keep us engaged.

There was a lot of training and skill development sessions which were highly valuable. As it was online it is difficult to make every session particularly relevant to the individual, however I do think that everyone could learn something from each session. The company also made sure we knew what to do for the first day and what we could expect before joining.

I would love to be given the opportunity to carry on my career at EY. The experience was thoroughly enjoyable and insightful giving me a glimpse at what it would be like to work for them.