Assistant Executive Review

I am an Assistant Executive in the Restructuring team which sits within Transaction Advisory Services. My sub-team deals with liquidations. I deal with managers, cashiers and external stakeholders including creditors, the courts and HMRC. My day-to-day role includes drafting documents required during a liquidation, and progressing liquidations to closure. I also work on other more niche types of projects in the Financial Services sector.

Previously I worked in a team which did operational restructuring. I learnt a lot about report writing. I have attended courses to improve my confidence with clients as well as specific training courses on things such as insurance and credit rating advisory. I am completing my ACA qualification and I am due to qualify in December 2018. I am given huge amounts of responsibility with clients and so I am now extremely confident dealing with them. My Microsoft Office skills have come on a lot, and I am now confident writing business emails.

I enjoy my work because every day is completely different. I have to correspond with a wide variety of stakeholders, and some can be more challenging than others. I find the culture of my team quite corporate. However, it is a small team so it still maintains a friendly aspect. I also really enjoy having a cohort of school leavers who I get on well with.

Most managers are good at giving on-the-job feedback. We have a good rewards system too. I am given large amounts of responsibility which makes me feel trusted and valued by those I work with. Where I have had issues previously, I have raised these and I really felt that I was listened to. However, there is a high level of expectation placed on us in terms of hours we should work etc. I should also add that I do feel there is still sexism in my team, but the company is trying to work to improve this. I think there is a long way to go before that is completely eradicated. However, there are some good female role models in my team.

Extremely well organised. The induction I had was a week long, with all of my cohort in a hotel in Windsor. We had training and had talks by different people from the firm. We can always attend free training during work time, we just need to sign up for it. We attend college for exam study. However, I was slightly disappointed on joining that my teammates didn't help me when I was getting to grips with some accounting basics. However, the college tutors are always available for help. The team is well structured and the school leaver scheme is very well structured.

For the first 6 exams, our training providers provided very limited levels of support. However, as the exams got harder, our tutors became more invested in us and were more available to help us with any queries we had. I enjoy going to college because, whilst being hard work, it is relaxed and a nice change of scenery from work. Tutors often give us their email address and mobile number so even if we have a question right before the exam, we might be able to contact them.

My service line has recently started focussing more on mental health, including making sure we don't burn ourselves out, and making sure we all treat each other kindly and consider each others feelings. This focus has been really well received and I think it will improve the culture. It varies from manager to manager as to whether or not they will be supportive. Generally, I find my managers supportive, but not all are. This would likely be the case at any company - you just need to find the person you can talk to.

My salary meets my living costs well. I commute from outside of London so my travel costs are high. However, the company pays for my train ticket out of my salary each month so that we do not need to have the money all at once. Daily costs of being in London are high (e.g. getting a tea around work costs about £1.80). However, I feel that my salary is enough and my costs are manageable.

There are so many things to get involved with. I have recently joined the badminton team, but I also attend insurance-specific events. There are usually a couple of charitable events to get involved with every year, or you can do your own and take time off work for it. My team often goes out for drinks or lunches, and the women also have their own events.

Yes

The experiences I have been given here are phenomenal. Having spoken to friends who work for other companies, they do not get nearly the level of responsibility that I have been given. I feel that my confidence has come on massively, and my experiences here will really help me in the future. The qualification I will receive is very prestigious and I don't worry about ever being out of work.

Research the company, and research what the specific team you're applying to does. Make sure you tell the interviewer about your extra curricular activities too, and tell them why these are relevant (e.g. Duke of Edinburgh could show that you like challenges, you're hard working etc.). If you're in an assessment centre, they will be watching how you interact with the other applicants. Don't sit there quietly - make sure they have something to judge you by. Don't be afraid to ask for a moment to think about a question if you hadn't considered it before.