Vacation Student - Public Sector Audit Review

The people that I met were all friendly and supportive; they made me feel welcome. I mostly enjoyed the work that was given to me, accepting that sometimes the tasks to be carried out would be a bit dull. This is inevitable as there is only limited work someone with no formal training can complete.

I was treated like a full time employee and was always thanked for the work that I had completed.

A full programme of clients to work on had been arranged for me prior to my arrival. Every task given to me was explained and the supervisor was happy to answer any questions that I had about the work.

For the most part I was given plenty of work to carry out. A couple of occasions when there wasn't any work to do, however usually if I asked there was something extra I could be given.

I was given entire sections of the audit to complete for review; including arranging and undertaking meetings with clients, and creating and completing working papers for tests. I was pleasantly surprised with the level of responsibility I was given.

Meeting with clients and also interacting with many other colleagues of varying seniority levels developed my communication skills, and I am now much more confident approaching new people. I have also been working to deliver results under pressure and using my intuition to learn quickly, both experiences that will be useful in later life.

Hard working environment with most employees working late into the evening (at the office or at home). However all of the staff were friendly, welcoming and interested in me personally.

Work at varying client sites had been pre-arranged for me and there was someone there to meet me on the first day. However I was given minimal information before the placement and had limited correspondence from the organisers during the placement.

An two day induction gave me a general overview of the company and its operations. A presentation morning was also given to give us a greater idea of the future qualification that would be gained if we were to work for the company full time. Internship was very much a learn on the job process however.

I was invited to apply for a full time position at the end of my placement, based on feedback on work carried out during the internship. I have an interview at a later date, however this was supposed to be during the placement which was slightly disappointing. Majority of people can secure a job offer after the internship.

There was nothing official organised by the company to get the internship students together, which was disappointing. However the other students were friendly and I maintained contact with a group of them.

I lived from home so this doesn't apply, however to live in London near the office would be out of most people's price range.

London night-life.

A CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) day was organised for the internship students during the placement, doing community work in a local park. I also took part in my own department's CSR day, taking over a local charity shop. I went to a department social also; other opportunities were fairly limited.