EY Smart Futures Intern Review

As an intern on the EY Smart Futures programme, I completed a range of activities each day which focused on improving my employability and learning more about the Financial Services industry. I did a lot of team tasks and group presentations, presenting to other interns as well as senior professionals at the company. I met lots of people daily from a range of different service lines within the company who were all really friendly, approachable and willing to answer any questions I had. There is no set daily activity or project you'll be sure to do, as it ranges based on your department. I was in a group of 10 for the 'business experience' week and while officially based in the Extended Assurance department, we didn't complete any 'real' work in terms of projects currently being undertaken at EY. During this week, we mainly focused on more team projects such as designing a new product, having mock interviews to develop CV/Interview skills, and spoke to a range of people within the firm. One great part was a discussion on Brexit and how this will affect EY as a company (and its clients).

I definitely learnt new skills. We were able to complete a fully-funded CMI level 2 qualification in Team Leadership which is an adult qualification, so sets us apart from our counterparts who won't have the opportunity to have this qualification. Presentation techniques were definitely developed, including my confidence to present and take part in interviews with a senior professional at the company. Team collaboration is a big part of the EY programme and so I definitely find it easier now to work with a range of people from various backgrounds to utilize each of our strengths and weaknesses. There could be more opportunity for in-depth skill session, for example we did an Excel workshop which, while very useful, only covered a few minor aspects of excel and could have been developed.

I enjoyed gaining an experience of the business world and definitely understand a lot more about professional services now than I did before, which was my main reason for joining the programme. Everyone at the company and on the programme is very friendly and helpful, especially in terms of offering advice and taking the time to personally talk to you as an individual. The culture of EY seems very inclusive, diverse, and I would definitely consider applying for a job in the future here as they offer lots of flexibility and opportunity for professional development. I've also made new friends; it's definitely good to meet people of your age with the same ideas and interests as you (but may still be from a completely different background).

EY clearly care about their Corporate and Social Responsibility and I do feel like the fact they offer work experience opportunities such as these, with lots of funding for under-privileged children, shows they want the best and brightest people, rather than those who have been handed opportunities since birth. However, it felt somewhat patronizing at times, particularly on the business experience week my group in particular weren't provided a chance to get stuck in to real work at the company, and while that may have been due to confidentiality, even small jobs like spreadsheet work would have provided a useful insight into a typical day in the life of an EY employee.

Overall, the programme is very well organized and structured with a lot of attention to detail. For example, the induction was a great opportunity to break the ice, and the fact each intern has been assigned a mentor for the next 10 months shows the company really care about our future progress and development in education and beyong. Lunch was given to us free of charge which was great, and a laptop was also provided for us to complete our CMI qualification. Having lots of mentors/facilitators every day for each activity was not only a good way to meet people and learn more about the various roles within the company, but helped with the efficiency of activities and made everything run smoothly.

There were always people on hand to ask for help which was really useful and contact details were always provided to us in case we were running late or had any problems. While I've only just met my mentor, she seems very friendly and has offered her spare time to help me with whatever I need, for example checking my Personal Statement for university applications.

The employer in general was obviously very busy as there are a lot of interns at the programme (my one in summer had around 40 interns) but still made herself available if we needed help. I personally didn't run into any problems during my time on the scheme, but I knew that if I had, there would have been people available to help. There isn't a huge amount of individual support provided, again because of the size of the group, so the mentor assignment will probably benefit a lot of the interns a huge amount who are unsure what they want to do in the future.

We were given £6.80 an our which is well above the minimum range for 17 year olds and so was very welcome. Travel costs were expensive for me personally and it would have been very useful for some help with the costs of this, however it didn't mean I was worse off for it. The fact that lunch was provided for the majority of the programme was very much appreciated, as well as the fact the CMI qualification is fully funded by the company.

The graduation event was a nice way for the programme to finish, and I believe there will be several alumni events in future so that we can all stay in touch and meet up again in the future. While there weren't specific 'company events' out, the programme was only 3 works of experience and so this wasn't necessarily needed.

Yes

If anyone wants to understand business/finance more and learn about the various opportunities that are available in the corporate world then I would definitely recommend this. I also think for anyone lacking confidence (particularly in public speaking and leadersip) this is a really great chance to improve and develop transferable skills which will make you more employable.

Definitely don't be intimidated by the whole 'business industry' thing - I've never studied business or economics and have always been interested in English and Psychology, so I was scared that I wouldn't be good enough or know anything. However, everyone on the internship is in the same boat, even those who do know a bit about economics/business and I actually realized I knew a lot more than I thought I did!