Business Insight Week Review

The programme I was on with PwC was the 'Business Insight Week'. On day 1 I was in the Birmingham office, with all the other students on the programme. Days 2-4 were spent in the office of our choice, typically the one closest to home (for me, Hull). Day 5 was spent in a regional office (for me, Leeds) with some of the other students. Day 1 was an induction day; this gave you a chance to meet other students on the programme. There were ice breakers (as there always is) but mainly we worked in teams to complete different tasks relating to the different work areas PwC has. Domino's was provided for lunch. They also provide you with a laptop to work on through the week and help you set it up during the afternoon. On days 2-4, you work in 1 or 2 departments e.g. assurance or tax, but this will depend on the office you’re in. I got assigned some tasks that where aimed at demonstrating different types of work that PwC do, for example finding related parties. I also got to talk to or interview a lot of different employees of PwC; personally I found this extremely useful. I gained a lot of information from talking to employees, which you can’t necessarily find out from reading up on the business, such as the different opportunities you have once working for PwC, e.g. working abroad or moving departments. Day 5 was a group project, completed in 2 teams of 5. We were given a client and had to complete tasks in order to work towards a recommendation, for us the recommendation was the next programme the client should offer. This, for me at least, was actually really fun.

The week definitely helps you develop existing skills but I think also helps you learn new skills. In my opinion, the skill that improves the most is communication, in the sense that you become more aware of communicating with different types of people, communicating in a team and just communicating with new people. Introducing yourself to new people definitely becomes easier as you have to do it from day 1. General work etiquette is a big one too. E.g. when getting yourself a drink, remembering to ask everyone else if they'd like one.

It was a great experience that felt genuinely useful and worth all the time I spent on it. It'll look awesome on my CV. Everyone I encountered was friendly and couldn't have been more helpful! There's a wide range of people working at PwC, from all different backgrounds, which makes the culture amazing. It completely excelled my expectations.

Considering I was only there for a week, I felt very valued. Everyone was really respectful and made sure you were involved. I never felt excluded. PwC is very good at recognising the fact that although we may only be students we are potentially future employees and deserve to be treat like it. I honestly expected some prejudice about not wanting to go to Uni but in the eyes of PwC everyone is equally valued, as long as you work hard.

Very organised. There was an induction. Every student got assigned a 'Buddy' who was a point of contact in you office. Your Buddy looked after you for days 2-4, made sure you had things to do, got the answers you needed etc. There was a lot of support with every step of the week. Lots of contacts in case of questions. Everyone was really well informed about what would be expected and what the week was going to consist of etc. Can't fault the organisation.

Technically as it's work experience there is no training provider. However the support for everything during the week was amazing.

PwC offered lots of support, in varying ways. There was support for IT, for day to day tasks etc. They have an excellent attitude towards supporting you and take an active role.

The pay for the week was more than satisfactory. We got paid in line with the 'Living Wage'. Also, expenses could be claimed back on travel to the offices that where NOT you're chosen one. E.g. I was in Hull but had to go to Birmingham and Leeds on the 1st and last day. So travel to those was reimbursed but not to Hull.

As it was only a week, there wasn't really chance to experience this first hand. However, from talking to employees of PwC, I found out there are lots of social events and charity events.

Yes

Because they are a brilliant company who pride themselves on making sure their employees and clients are happy, they offer great opportunities to get into work and once you're in work. The also offer a competitive salary with a really good benefits system! It's generally just really hard to fault them ...

Take every opportunity you get given. Be yourself, be honest, use your real life experiences (no matter how silly they may sound). Research! Research! Research! You'll find most of what you need on PwC's website. Relax! It probably won't be as bad as you think.