Summer Vacation Scheme Review

A good and fair insight into what Deloitte does and what professional services.

I definitely integrated well with my colleagues, everybody was really friendly and also valued your opinions, answered questions but treated you as one of the team.

Good support: my buddy always answered my questions and told me exactly what was expected from my work.

During my first rotation I was assigned to a buddy for the whole time who made sure I was always busy enough. My second rotation was a bit more disappointing since I was not assigned to anyone in particular and needed to ask around the office for work; the result was that I had too much work at some points and was really bored at others.

Roughly the same that a new joiner would get; obviously I was working on the simpler stuff but had full responsibility for what I was doing which were important bits and pieces for the various projects. I also went to various client's sites, I had to talk with the finance teams there and represent Deloitte.

I definitely learnt useful skills in teamwork, presentation and how to speak effectively with colleagues and clients. With regards to technical skills, I did learn some important aspects relating to audit and tax but I doubt these skills are very transferable if I don't end up working in the sector.

A pleasant atmosphere, my colleagues were really friendly. I was assigned to people of around my age so there was good socialization, especially when out at client's sites. There was a bunch of other summer students and scholars around in the office so always somebody to have a chat with.

The organization was seamless: from the (fantastic) induction in a Birmingham hotel to the end of the placement I always knew what was going on, what I was supposed to do, who to ask for help etc. They put lots of effort in this scheme. The only flaw was the amount of work during the rotation in the tax group.

First week was a fully payed-for induction week in Birmingham where they trained us on basic aspects of the job. They then assigned us buddies who trained and helped us on a day-to-day basis and gave us personal laptops to work with.

There's a chance to apply for a job at the end of the placement in any service line you fancy, storming through the application process. Most of the summer students then actually do get a place.

The induction week helped building new friendships and after that we went out for lunches, dinners and drinks many times.

Cambridge can be quite expensive sometimes but not too bad if you know the area!

Cambridge in the summer can be quite weird and is not famous for its nightlife. However, there are very good bars & pubs.

Not as much as I thought was offered to us. Probably could have been if I had been more pro-active, but I was staying with other friends already and we organized lots of stuff between us summer students.