Intern - Strategy Group Review

by KPMG

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.2/5
  • The Role
    4.1
  • The Company
    3.7
  • The Culture
    1.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • My internship with KPMG's Strategy Group was an excellent experience - people are open and friendly, the office space is new and encourages collaboration/creative thinking, and the project work I was given was meaningful and interesting.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I really liked how at the start of my project, my manager and I went over expectations on what I would like to gain out of this internship (e.g. specific skills, network, etc.). As an intern, there was a lot I could get involved with, and the work was varied enough that it was always engaging. I was also given a lot of responsibility and autonomy in completing my assignments.

    5/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • My manager and I would have a daily meeting scheduled so that I could keep him updated with my progress and he could assign me further work or give me feedback on what I have completed. I was always free to ask for clarification or help whenever it was needed. At the end of the week, we would also schedule a feedback session on my performance so far so that I could improve/focus on certain things for the rest of my internship.

    5/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • My project was very busy - I arrived at the office at 8am and left after 11pm on most days towards the last two weeks of the internship due to our project deadline. There was even a couple of times when my team and I were working past midnight (I left at 1.30am, they worked until 4am). That being said, other interns were easily leaving at 3pm on Fridays and did not have enough work to do sometimes. Personally, the late nights did not bother me because it gave me a realistic experience of what it would be like to work in strategy consulting.

    3/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was given a lot of responsibility and autonomy to complete my work (from conducting research, preparing analyses, drawing insights from these, and creating PowerPoint slides with the appropriate messages to the client). As long as I completed my work, the team was not fussed about how I spent my day - which meant I would be free to attend networking sessions or training courses as I wanted. My manager retained oversight through daily catch-up meetings.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The skills I developed by working on the consulting project (particularly those on Excel/PowerPoint, the ability to pull out insights from raw data and convey these messages in a meaningful way to the client) will serve me very well in my professional career (9/10 rating). Training wise, I was very disappointed with the intern-specific skills sessions that was available at KPMG - for example, beginner/medium level Excel skills training would have greatly helped the other intern who were on my team that had not a lot of prior experience with the programme. My manager and I ended up spending a fair amount of time coaching them (since I had prior training from a Deloitte internship), which would have been avoided if all interns were given Excel/PowerPoint training. KPMG offered more "fluffy" training sessions like body language and how to overcome shyness, which I personally did not find useful at all (1/10 stars)

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The general atmosphere was friendly, open, and conducive to working collaboratively. There were break-out areas with pool tables, screens showing tennis matches (Wimbledon championships live) that people could go watch if they needed a break from their work. Despite this, there was still the feeling of producing high-standard, professional work. Work hard, play hard!

    5/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • I felt that my project team was very organised. However, there could certainly be overall improvements - such as more intern events (we had no socials at all, and our training sessions were lacking), earlier communication about starting dates, and getting final interview + overall internship feedback from the graduate team.

    3/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • As mentioned, training and networking sessions were sub-par compared to Deloitte. That being said, senior colleagues were definitely happy to spend some time with you to show you how to do certain things if needed.

    2/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Subsidised Canteen

    Working from home

    5/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I got an offer one week after my final partner interview.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • Interns had very little opportunities to get together in events organised by KPMG. We ended up organising our own events. Project-wise, my colleagues invited me to join them in after-work drinks, but as mentioned we usually worked late so chances to relax with colleagues were rare.

    1/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • Drinks in Canary Wharf tend to be expensive, but dinner can be expensed to the company if you're working late. I did not stay in the Canary Wharf area.

    2/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • As mentioned, I had limited opportunity to see what the nightlife was like. Most intern get-togethers tended to be drinks at one of the nearby bars, before heading off to Central London for clubbing.

    1/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • As an intern, there were limited activities. However, we did get a talk about how as a graduate, we could join diversity or interests/hobby groups (e.g. scuba-diving group, etc.)

    2/5

    Report this review

Details

Internship (1 Month+)

London

August 2015


View More Reviews

View More Jobs