Women in Business Internship Review

There were numerous activities throughout the week. We spent our first morning being introduced to the program and had the opportunity to listen to a newly promoted partner and how she has advanced through her career. Then, in the afternoon, we met with our 'buddy' who were associates in the firm and had the opportunity to ask them questions and get to know them better. They then gave us some tasks to complete before a mental health awareness meeting to finish off the day. The second day primarily consisted of meeting with different levels of associates/managers and learning more about the structure of the CA exams and the different grades within PwC. It was interesting to learn about the different lines of service everyone worked in and the opportunities that they have been given as a result. On the third day, the morning was spent taking to female directors and interviewing them. In the final afternoon, we were debriefed and asked to get involved in a self-reflection session.

I have developed my excel skills as I learned about new features and methods of interpreting data that I didn't know beforehand.

I never realised just how vast the audit line of service was! There are so many job types and roles within PwC, mainly split between the industry the client is in (Northern - mainly manufacturing and production companies, and AWM (Asset Wealth Management) - mainly banks, funds, pension companies etc.). This was completely new knowledge to me and it opened my eyes to the available opportunities as an auditor, ranging from client site visits to short and long-term secondments across the globe.

The company culture seems very strong; there is a real sense of camaraderie and a social network between different branches. It was refreshing to see so many young graduates and reassuring that some year groups had over 30 people joining at once so it would not be as daunting to join such a big firm. There are many groups within each branch, and as a firm as a whole, which was good as it shows there is a nice work-life balance.

I thoroughly enjoyed the virtual experience, though it would have been better in person. The team I was working with in the Glasgow audit branch were very friendly and inclusive, and it was nice to see that they had gone to university locally. If more opportunities like this were made available to 2nd year students in a 4 year course, I think many more people would be encouraged to participate in an internship such as this one.

Yes

Be prepared for a lengthy interview process! Once you apply, you will be invited to do a psychometric test which lasts a couple of hours, and from there, you will be asked to do a remote interview. This involved answering typical interview and scenario-based questions by recording your answer without there being another person on the other side. From there, there is a 5 hour assessment centre (or 'Career Focus Day') which was challenging as it involved a 30 min 1-on-1 interview with a PwC employee. The entire process took around 6 weeks.