Assurance intern Review

It was really great from the staff at EY to still put together a programme in place of the Leading Women week, in a short time frame and in such difficult circumstances. There were many interesting insights in to the company culture at EY, although I found there was limited exposure to what an actual working day would be like. Overall the programme was enjoyable and went very quickly, however I did not find it to be a realistic view of what the job might be like.

I believe it was very difficult to feel a valuable member of the company community during this programme, in part due to its virtual nature, and partly as most events were in large groups where we were relatively anonymous. It was useful having some small group meetings with buddies and mentors to give us a platform to ask more personal questions and to share our thoughts and feelings as we went along. I believe the process could have felt more personal.

The team were on hand throughout the entire duration of the programme to solve any technical issues. I had a technical problem on one of the days and was able to get in contact immediately with one of the organisers via email, and she even offered to call me to help sort out the issue. The chat box on the online system was also being constantly manned to enable all questions to be answered fully.

Many of the workshops that were run focussed on life skills such as time management, living a healthy lifestyle, and being mindful. These are definitely useful skills which will be used throughout my degree and beyond, although they are also skills which most people would already have it seems. If you were to continue with a career at EY based on the programme offered virtually as the summer internship, I definitely think you would have a headstart over those who didn't attend such a programme.

The programme was very well thought out and delivered well, especially in the face of drastically changed circumstances. There were some technical issues which seem unavoidable, especially in a large group setting such as that which we were in, however these issues did occasionally detract from the flow of the programme, and prevented some participation to some events. However, having an agenda was very handy and the team were able to squeeze an incredible amount of sessions into a short time frame, which is much appreciated.

The atmosphere was generally inclusive and quite informal, with intermittent quizzes, check ins and icebreakers in order to facilitate this. Even in more serious situations such as meetings with partners, everybody was really friendly and light hearted, and introduced themselves before speaking about their topic. This really helped to make the program feel more personal and fun. Especially in the settings in which we went off into chatrooms with other interns, the atmosphere was like speaking with friends.

I think it would have been difficult for there to be much investment in our personal development throughout this programme, as it was only a week long and also was delivered virtually. However, there was some development of our mental and physical health, which was interesting and valuable. In terms of personal training I believe this was lacking but also would have been difficult to deliver in such circumstances. I hope that the graduate program will involve much more training.

Due to the virtual and curtailed nature of the event, many of the sessions that were run were quite general and focussed more on life skills and business skills than assurance. We were able to gain more of an insight into the job role through conversation with various staff members which helped, although I get the impression that the day to day job at EY is not very similar to the programme that we were able to follow.

All of the speakers, buddies and mentors were very positive about the company culture, and it was especially interesting hearing from those who had previously worked in different roles or even at different companies. They were able to share their insight, and my overall impression is that the company culture at EY is very inclusive and is a generally positive place to work. Hard work seems to be rewarded with greater responsibility which is valuable for career progression.

I am still very undecided about what I would like to do as I embark upon my future career, but am grateful to have been a part of this virtual experience programme so that I am able to make a more informed decision. I am saddened by the situation that I wasn't able to visit the office or work on actual projects as I believe this would have given a better insight. However, in the given circumstances the content was fairly helpful.

EY have a policy that internships should be inclusive and should not be only for those priveleged enough to be able to not work throughout the university summer holidays. As such they have rewarded our time in line with the salary that would be given to a trainee in the company, for the one week that we did the virtual experience. This is much appreciated as it enabled me to participate in the programme without so many financial concerns.

Within each day of the virtual programme there were opportunities to meet with fellow interns, as we worked together on a project to deliver a presentation on the final day. This was invaluable so that we all felt as though there were others in the same position as us, and enabled us to share our thoughts on the programme. We also had a buddy and a mentor who were staff at the company, with whom we were able to network and communicate.

We were given many opportunities to meet other people in the same situations as us, as well as those who already work in the company at various levels. We were also encouraged to build a strong LinkedIn profile and to network with people who gave presentations, or who we were working with. I look forward to continuing with such networking over the next year and hopefully in person when the restrictions lift over the next few months.

We had a session on the different networks which exist at EY such as the women's network and LGBT+ network. These sound as though applicable people would be able to network with others in a similar situation to themselves and those who were part of such groups spoke very positively about them. Furthermore there was a session about the EY foundation where we were told about the different opportunities for mentoring and volunteering outside of work.

I would certainly recommend this programme to anyone who is either doubtful about their future career or who would be interested in receiving a better insight into either big 4 culture, or the job of assurance. Especially in the absence of the ability to go into the office and experience the company for real, this has been a really valuable insight. I will certainly use the information I received this week to inform my future career decisions.