Professional Services Rotation Review

Deloitte are really a great company to work for - they only take on the most capable candidates and for this reason they really trust their interns with jobs of high responsibility and leave them to get on with the work that they have. You never feel that there is someone 'looking over your shoulder', yet there is always someone there to give you support and advice from detailed points about a complex project to the finer things such as how long to take for a lunch break, without ever making you feel afraid to ask.

For me, Deloitte seems one of the few companies that place their people as their priority. It's always scary entering a new office but the corporate culture means that you get regular contact with people from all levels of the corporate structure, and everyone from the newest associates to the partners are warm and eager to help you with any queries.

I was always left to organise the work that I'd been given myself, but the support and guidance that the management gave when it was needed was helpful and never reproachful.

Summer is a reasonably quiet period up in Aberdeen for Deloitte, and for this reason how busy I was varied on a daily basis. Yet, I was never in a position where I had too little to do (and if I ever was, just the mention of it would soon get me extra work...). There were days when I wouldn't be sure if I could get all of my tasks done, but with the guidance of the management and support if I was struggling to juggle tasks even the busiest periods were not hard going.

Deloitte encourage their interns to take on a lot of responsibility whilst on their placement and really trust us to be able to handle this level of responsbility, something which I had never previously experienced with any other job. It helped me get to see what the service lines were really about and increase my confidence by allowing me to push my own capabilities to the limits.

As far as French and Hispanic Studies goes - I'm not sure how much what I've experienced will help the content of what I need to know! But it has certainly helped me to develop working practices that will make my university career easier and without a doubt prepared me for a career after university in a way that I wasn't before, giving me important lessons not only in the skills involved in accounts and finance, but also teamwork, project-management and essential communication skills.

I'm not sure if my high rating for this really reflects that 'the fun never stopped' - we were at work after all! But the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly without ever being unproductive. Aberdeen is a reasonably small office and by the end of my time here I would say I could recognise almost all the office members of staff and would chat to them on a regular basis.

Deloitte put a lot of measures into place to make sure you are well looked after, having both a buddy and a champion on the scheme. Being in several different service lines over a short period of time must have meant organisation nightmares for the company, I was left with the trust of the managers working on the various different projects I was involved with, who were always eager to give me varied and interesting work which gave me a good insight into the operations at Deloitte.

Having only been here for seven weeks, already I've taken several e-courses and experienced on the job learning which has given me a good general knowledge of the workings of financial services, which coming from a non-relative degree background is pretty impressive!

I feel being on an internship at Deloitte really sets you up well for applications to their graduate scheme. At the end of the placement an interview with a partner takes place for all those who have performed reasonably well throughout their time, making the graduate recruitment process a lot easier and giving you an edge against other applicants.

During my short time here we had several social occassions, with month end drinks and several business-related meetings (often followed by a glass of wine...or two...). One of my best memories was the tax end of year, celebrated with a three course meal and drinks out after (incidently, the morning is also one of my worst memories...)

Aberdeen is not the cheapest city in Scotland, but I have certainly never had a problem affording to socialise with friends and work colleagues, and living costs are no more expensive than elsewhere in the UK outside of London.

Aberdeen does not have the most varied nightlife (especially when you've been studying here for three years!). It certainly does not have as much variety as Edinburgh or Glasgow. Having said this, there are various nightclubs and pubs offering something for everyone, a lot of them with a good student feel.

Being here for only a short amount of time, there is only so much you can get involved in. There is a football club run here that anyone can get involved in, golf competitions on the odd occasion, and the firm runs charity events on the side.