Corporate Finance Associate Review

The placement has been a fantastic opportunity to develop not only my commercial skills but also to aid my personal development. Once you are able to prove that you can do something a wide range of opportunities are presented to you in order to push you forwards even further.

My colleagues are extremely supportive and always give positive feedback when you have done a good job. They also provide really insightful and constructive feedback on areas that could be improved. The culture is fantastic whereby everyone wants you to develop and get the most out of the placement year.

My team was relatively small in Gatwick and as such I had really valuable exposure to senior management including partners and directors from all service lines. My manager has been superb at aiding my development and we have regular catch ups on what is going well and targets I can put in place to help my develop.

There are times when you are very busy with lots of tasks to do with short deadlines but there was never an insurmountable amount of work to complete. I found that the busiest times were also the most exciting times! There is always something to do and much of the responsibility lies with yourself to go out and get the work you want to do.

As my confidence and experience grew I was given more responsibility and the team were always there to support me in more challenging tasks.

I have learnt a great deal from my time with Grant Thornton and the time spent with the firm has been very rewarding. The training sessions and support available has significantly developed my presentation and interpersonal skills which will be a great help in my career looking forwards.

Within the Corporate Finance team there was a lively atmosphere and the general office atmosphere varied with the number of auditors in the office at a given time.

The firm has been running a successful placement scheme for a long period of time and the team has had many placement students in the past. There was a handover period with the previous placement student which was a really good way to learn the basics and get to know the team. I was the only placement student in the office but there were several national events throughout the year with placement students from other offices which really helped me to feel a part of the wider firm.

The company invests a great deal of time and resource to placement students. There were training courses throughout the year available for the placement students as well as the opportunity to enrol on any suitable course at the firm's dedicated training facility, a really nice country manor!

The firm's excellent culture and training schemes make them an appealing future employer.

I was the only placement student in the office but we attended events as a team throughout the year.

I lived at home during the year so was able to get an extremely competitive rental rate from my parents. I live in Brighton which is quite an expensive place to go out but the area around the office, including Crawley, isn't too pricey.

Crawley isn't the greatest place for nightlife but there are enough pubs/bars to visit and there is a club. Brighton is very good for nightlife while London is only a short train journey away.

There is an office football team who compete in a local league, while there is also a national Grant Thornton football tournament. There are networking events held regularly around Crawley which is a good way to meet other professionals in the area.