Summer Intern - Advisory Review

I have quite enjoyed my time at KPMG and hope to work there in the future.

Everyone at KPMG is really welcoming and hospitable, everyone is willing to lend a helping hand or talk to you about their experiences. People are generally friendly and have good communication skills.

The internship lacks structure and doesn't feel very organised, which can leave you feeling a little lost at times. But this can be good if you have the initiative to go out there and get involved with things that interest you.

It depends on the service line you're in but also on the individual responsibility you have to stick your head out and actually ask people for work and let them know your available - sitting alone at your desk being silent achieves very little. I made sure that I spoke to my buddy if I wanted to experience new work and was sure to fend off work if I was already engaged in a busy project.

KPMG provided real opportunities to engage in work that made a real difference and added value to the project - such as trying to unpick the methodology used by a party in making claim. There was also photocopying and printing to be done as well, but this is pretty reasonable for an intern.

The internship developed some valuable skills, particularly communication skills and the firm provides lots of opportunities for interns to join graduates and managers in KPMG's regular training sessions as part of a group or individually using KPMG Business School Online.

I wouldn't say fun never stopped but wouldn't say dull. I moved around teams and in some teams it felt more tense than in others. Overall I would say quiet, but people are always open and make time available for a quick chat or a coffee in the Canary Wharf office's built-in Costa and Illy coffee shops.

The internship lacked structure or management and sometimes felt like you were a bit of a market research opportunity. However the lack of structure can sometimes be beneficial, allowing you to make opportunities happen for yourself and doing things with your own initiative.

The internship was only 6 weeks, but in terms of long term prospects the ability to earn an ACA graduate training contract out of the internship means that the firm is very much prepared in investing in its employees.

At the end of the interview all candidates are given an interview with a partner, this interview, combined with feedback from managers determine whether or not a candidate gets a graduate offer.

Probably on the worse side (terrible compared to other firms I've interned at), due to lack of social events earlier on in the placement means interns don't properly get to talk to eachother in an informal setting. The CSR event should happen in the first week to allow people to meet and bond (not in the last week). Drinks receptions or even a mid internship intern dinner should be used a bit more so interns from all service lines (not just audit and advisory) can meet and talk to one another.

London is never cheap, but the pay is decent. KPMG also provide all employees with a lunch allowance which really does make a difference!

The bars and pubs around Canary Wharf are generally too expensive and too crowded.;

There were opportunities to engage in sporting events and away days.