Actuarial Intern Review

This internship was a fantastic experience, mainly in the fact that it gave me the opportunity to perform the role of a new graduate. I was never made to feel like a work experience student - I was given responsibilities beyond what I expected and this in turn made the experience more valuable and enjoyable. At the end I was offered a graduate job which made it even better!

I genuinely felt very valued by my colleagues. Once a week we had a workflow meeting which was about discussing as a team what clients each other had to work on during the coming week. I was actively involved in these meetings and each member of the team ensured that I had sufficient work to do but wasn't being overworked. I was also given the opportunity to join my colleagues on numerous social activities after work.

Upon joining the firm I was assigned a people manager. The role of this person was to be a senior member of staff who was my point of call if I had any issues which I wanted to raise and was also there to provide feedback to me throughout my internship. They were very communicative and often took me out for a coffee to talk about how I felt that I was getting on. It was really good to know that there was always someone I could go to for help.

Due to the nature of the work which I completed on my internship, there were times I had a lot of work to do and other times where I would have preferred to be more busy. However as a whole I never felt under too much pressure or too bored. For the department I was working in the summer months are the least busy and this was when I was working, however my colleagues always ensured that I was given something to do and if I had finished a piece of work I was encouraged to actively seek out another member of staff to see if they needed any help.

PwC has a really good way of distributing work throughout its employees which mean that quite junior members of staff can do challenging work. This is because work is always checked up to five times by increasingly senior people before it is eventually signed off by a senior manager. This responsibility allows you to see the things you are doing well and what could be improved upon. I occasionally got the opportunity to work directly with senior managers and directors also. By the end of my internship some of the more basic tasks I completed were checked less thoroughly which shows I was given increasingly more trust throughout.

I am yet to commence my final year of university so it is hard to say how the work I did could relate directly to my degree studies. However, it was really interesting to see how the maths that I did in some of my uni modules could be directly related to the work which I was doing on the job. There is no doubt that I really improved many of my skills on my internship such as a greater understanding of Excel. However the main skill I have gained from working is the importance of networking and maintaining a wide group of contacts.

The general atmosphere in the office was great. Clearly everyone had a job to do and there were times people stayed very late or worked alone in the quiet because they had a lot on their plate and had to get things done. However, there was never a feeling of giving the impression of working when in reality there wasn't much to do. We had a table-football table in the office and a few times a week we would have a tournament, even during working hours. Everyone was very chilled - honestly a great environment to work in.

Right from the beginning of the recruitment process to my exit interview at the end of my internship, the organisation was really brilliant. I was given lots of information throughout the year before I started and always knew where I had to be and what I had to do for the various activities which I was involved in.

At the beginning of the programme before I joined my particular office I had a three day induction away at a hotel. Here I was given official training based upon the types of jobs which I would be undertaking. This also gave me the opportunity to meet a wide variety of current employees and fellow interns. If ever I had any travel fares to a different location than my normal office, the company covered those costs too.

At the end of the programme during my exit interview I was offered a job with the company, conditional upon be acheiving a 2:1 in my degree which I gladly accepted. There were about 15 of us in the Leeds office, all of whom where offered graduate jobs.

During my initial induction there was a real key emphasis on networking and numerous meals were organised by the company which gave you the opportunity to meet a wide variety of the different interns. This was great to talk to different people about their experience with the recruitment process. When I began working there were weekly events organised, such as pub quizzes, company BBQ, exam pass celebration meals. All of these were not only fun but gave me the opportunity to talk to people who I didn't have much to do with on a day to day basis.

I worked in Leeds but continued to live in Chesterfield. I had an hour commute there and back everyday. This wasn't cheap but allowed me to live with my parents so reduced living costs.

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Due to only being part of the company for six weeks I didn't get actively involved in many activities apart from social events. However when I join the firm many of the people I worked with go running at lunchtime so I would like to do that with them. There is also a football team which I intend to join.