Assurance - Summer Intern Review

I will admit to not knowing entirely what to expect prior to beginning my internship, but I soon realised that the job role was one that I enjoyed significantly and consequently one that I would love to have the opportunity to pursue upon leaving university. Principally, it was the opportunity to work with a variety of different clients and thus learn more and more every day that led to this internship being of such interest.

The support offered to me by all of my colleagues throughout the course of my internship was second to none. There were undoubtedly times when I was unsure of exactly I was required to be doing and I was therefore very grateful of the fact that each and every one of my colleagues would take the time to explain in as much detailed as required a particular process etc. Furthermore, generally speaking, the friendly nature of each of my colleagues made the working day much more pleasant.

The support and guidance offered by all members of each of the audit teams I worked with was second to none. In particular, despite clearly having many important roles to undertake, members of management were never too busy to offer feedback and advice. Furthermore, the reviews had with my 'People Manager' on a regular basis were a major help in improving my levels of working performance throughout my internship as much as possible.

I can honestly say that there was no moment during the course of my six week internship in which I felt as though I had nothing to do, with each day filled with a variety of different tasks to help further my learning as much as possible throughout the course of the internship. There is no doubt that at times I was extremely busy during my internship, but this only aided me in gaining as much experience as possible - consequently, at no stage did I feel that I was 'too busy' and that I was being given far too much work too complete.

Despite having been told throughout the application process that I would be given large amounts of responsibility during my internship, I was still surprised as to how much responsibility I was actually given. From the very first day of arriving at a client site, I was given the opportunity to interact with clients, as well as given my very own tasks to complete as part of the audit process. Despite the fact that such levels of responsibility led to much nervousness at first, there is no doubt that the experience and confidence-levels I gained as a result mean there is no better way to go about learning how the audit process actually works.

The levels of confidence I gained through such levels of responsibility, as well as regular interaction with clients, will no doubt be of great use in the rest of my time at university as well as my future career. Furthermore, the training I recieved whilst working at various client sites will be of great use when pursuing this career upon leaving university - in particular, the experiences I already have will help me to hit the ground running when beginning in the job role next summer.

Each and every colleague I worked with during my internship was so friendly and helpful that I never once felt uncomfortable in their presence. This led to a very happy-working environment in which everybody seemed to enjoy coming to work.

Due to the nature of the job role, it is impossible to precisly plan the whole duration of the internship. However, the large amounts of training provided and the constant efforts of administration staff to provide each of the interns with a variety of clients to work on was much appreciated. Furthermore, when on the odd occasion it was not possible to attend a client site, colleagues were always quick to organise further work for you to undertake so as to ensure continued development.

There is no doubt that the company invested both considerable time and effort in the personal development of each of the interns. This includes not only the three-day course that took place at the beginning of the internship, held at a central location so as to enable each intern to network with fellow interns from around the country, but several other training days held around the country throughout the course of the internship to further aid development (ie. with regards to IT and other vital skills needed for the job role).

I was very pleased to be offered a job at the end of my internship and enjoyed the job so greatly, both with regards to the job itself and the training and development it provdes, that I had no hesitation in accepting it.

There were many events held both between the interns in each office, as well as for all of the interns in certain regions of the country. This not only enabled each of us to learn from the experiences of others, but also enabled us to create friendships on a personal basis.

The cost of living and socialising in the Southampton region is one of the cheapest compared to other offices around the country and was thus perfectly affordable - at no stage during the course of my internship did I feel like I missed out on something due to the cost involved.

Although perhaps not as well recognised around the country, the nightlife in the region is very good and there is no doubt that a good night out can be (and was) had by all!

Although perhaps a little difficult due to the duration of the internship, there was no doubt that fellow staff members made as much effort as possible to include interns in the out-of-work activities that were taking place - this includes everything from social events to sporting fixtures. It is clear that participation in such events is strongly encouraged and consequently I look forward to taking part in them when joining as a graduate next summer.