Smart futures intern Review

My role on a day-to-day basis, included doing research for the real estate department in the Transaction Advisory Services. This means I had to research different properties that were being sold or bought by clients of the firm and create a detailed description to include in a report. This report was essential for clients as it allowed them to make an informed decision.

During the program, we also did a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) qualification which allowed me to gain leadership skills and manage projects confidently as we learned the importance of how a good team leader carries their team. In the process of this qualification, we also had to discuss most of our ideas to the rest of the group. This developed presentation skills as well as the ability to work in a team efficiently.

I enjoyed the program greatly as it brought together people of different cultural backgrounds as well as academic and allowed us to share our ideas and experiences within the team. The program also increased my confidence greatly as I'm able to present using different methods as well as share my ideas and opinion without hesitating.

As they gave us the experience of how one of their employees feel on a daily basis, it gave us a good insight as well as making us feel valued as we were given such great opportunities and treated as professionals. The program also meant we were given a mentor for the duration of 10 months which is great support.

The program is very well organised as we were clear about what we were going to be doing everyday and there wasn't a dull moment as there was always a task to do or network. This could also be seen as I personally feel like I have accomplished so much in three weeks and this is due to the careful planning of the coordinators that ensured we gain the most from this program.

The training provider gave a lot of support as anything we were unsure of was explained to us or one-to-one help was given to ensure everyone gained the same understanding and skill at the end of the task. This was seen during our CMI qualification as we had to complete learning logs and in order to make sure we did it well, we were given resources such as booklets from our training provider for extra support.

We had a lot of support from a wide range of people that all worked for different lines. This support was voluntarily given by many employees that all took an interest in our questions and contacted us to help us as much as possible and answer any questions. The employees at EY that delegate work to you also give a large amount of support as they are willing to answer any questions for clarity

My salary exceeded my costs by far as we were paid a fair amount as well as food expenses being covered for the majority of the day. Therefore, my only expense was the for using the London tube for the three weeks which is relatively inexpensive. I also had to pay for food for the four days at a different office.

There were opportunities such as the graduation event in which we were allowed to network and meet more people to increase the number of contacts we had in the corporate world. When we weren't working we also got to socialise with our group in the activity room that was provided for us which had table tennis and an Xbox console.

Yes

As I have an insight into the corporate world and have been presented with so many routes into getting a job in a leading firm such as EY. It shows you that there is no need to be intimidated in this sort of environment and the quicker this is realised, the more you gain from these opportunities. It also gave me a CMI qualification that is equivalent to a GCSE.

To not feel as if they're not smart enough to take on opportunities and progress within them as I realised we were all academically capable of different things but gained a lot from the program. I also advice to try not to be shy and get to know new people as you will feel more comfortable during the program and everyone is new so they're all in the same position.