Virtual Summer Internship Review

The insight involved attending live-streamed talks as well as working on a case study. The talks were about EY as a company (e.g. diversity & inclusivity), my service line (e.g. Talent Leader Welcome for Assurance), and general subjects related to work (e.g. Working with Clients). The Case Study was related to assurance, and we worked in small groups with a mentor to guide us. We also attended panel sessions with EY employees of varying levels (partners, associates, etc.). We were not given responsibilities within the company.

The talks were helpful to develop new skills. For example, we attended an emotional intelligence talk as well as a confidence with clients talk, both of which helped develop my interpersonal skills. Talks on highest performing teams and personal brand were also helpful, in developing existing skills such as teamwork and communication skills. We also attended a presentation skills session, which was helpful in developing my presentation skills. I did not feel as though I have developed any completely new skills.

There were many talks and panels which meant that we were able to learn a lot about EY, for example through their diversity & inclusivity talk, their sustainability talk, and their health talk. We were also able to learn about the structure of the business, and the different service lines, teams and offices that the business has. From the virtual internship, you are only able to be fast-tracked to a graduate role in your given service line, it was made clear that it would be extremely difficult to switch offices/ service lines following the internship.

We learnt a lot about the company from various employees and through various talks. it was made clear that EY was very focused on its people, with diversity initiatives, charity initiatives and local community initiatives. The employees in charge of our internship and the people we met all seemed very friendly and accommodating of all our questions. However, as virtual interns we were not exposed to this general culture/atmosphere as our programme was kept separate to the rest of the company, so we did not actually get to be involved with any of these initiatives.

I enjoyed the insight as I was able to learn a lot about EY and my service line. I also enjoyed the company culture that I was I was exposed to. However, I felt that it was not really comparable to a real internship, as we were not actually working for EY, and held no responsibility within the company. We were also not exposed to many other interns, and I only repeatedly saw people in my case study group.

Yes

I would advise that they understand all of EY's values as well as the skills that EY look for in its employees, which vary in importance depending on the service line you are applying for. Make sure that you are actively trying to demonstrate these throughout the application process, specifically in your job simulation and experience day. This doesn't mean making stuff up, but rather putting forward everything you could bring to the company. Make sure that you try and be as natural as possible, despite the virtual set up, so that the recruitment team can really get to know you. I would have loved to have known this before I applied, as I was probably too focused on trying to figure out the type of person they wanted, rather than being myself.