Consulting Analyst Review

My role as a BrightStart in Consulting has been incredibly varied. I have worked on three different project since joining Deloitte across both public and private sector. Consistently throughout my projects I have been responsible for project management tasks on a daily basis, which has often included maintaining a Project Tracker document. This has given me considerable responsibility and a sense of purpose in the teams I have worked with. In addition to this, I have gradually been granted increased responsibility and now contribute, and sometimes own, client deliverables where I am able to input my opinions and gain important knowledge.

I have learnt an abundance of new skills, on both a professional and knowledge basis, but also have been able to develop my soft skills, including developing my communication and team working skills in particular. I have also had the opportunity to study for, and passed, the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting. When joining Deloitte we were provided with an amazing induction scheme which provided us with the core skills required for a successful career at Deloitte, which was incredibly valuable.

I am extremely happy that I chose a career with Deloitte on the BrightStart programme. It has given me a route into an amazing career that I did not know existed while at school. The people and culture make the firm so great for me as I am made to feel included and welcomed and feel supported to ask questions, but I am also treated as a professional and do not feel inferior just because I did not choose the University route.

I am consistently made to feel valued by my team through feedback and also being given a reward through the firm's reward process for my commitment and hard work in creating a client deliverable. As mentioned, I do not feel as though I am any less valuable as a resource than a Graduate is coming from University, and that is something that I really value in my career. In addition, I have been granted increasing responsibility as my time as progressed and I can really see the value I am bringing to the team, which in turn makes me feel like a valued team member.

My project day-to-day work has been extremely well structured and I have continuously been on a project so I have been able to keep my utilisation rate high. However, the BrightStart Scheme itself has seen a few teething problems with my intake being the first year to undertake the Junior Management Consultant Apprenticeship government-approved scheme. It seems that this has been mainly due to the training provider not communicating key information to us as a group, which has meant that the End Point Assessment stage of the Apprenticeship has been somewhat disorganised and left us confused as to what is required of us. Also, it seems that there is not a structure in place for what we progress on to after the JMC scheme is completed. However, I hope that this will allow for the scheme to be better organised for future year groups as our year has provided a test run for the JMC going forward.

BPP as a training provider were excellent in their teaching of the CIMA modules for our CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting, and I was able to pass three out of the four modules in my first attempt, and the final module in my second attempt. However, BPP have been less than competent in their dealing with problems when we approached our End Point Assessment, as the guidance we were provided by the End Point Assessment Assessor Organisation conflicted greatly with the guidance provided to us by BPP. This led to considerable confusion and caused the EPA deadlines to be delayed and for our year group to be confused with what was required of us. Now this has been cleared up, I hope for future year groups undertaking the JMC Apprenticeship Scheme that the communication between us and BPP as our training provider will improve, and that requirements of the EPA are made clear.

My Coach has been an invaluable support figure to me, and has continually helped me especially with completing the End Point Assessment stage of the JMC Apprenticeship scheme. In addition, my capability group Deans have been amazing at helping me with general problems and finding project roles throughout my time at Deloitte. However, I feel that there could have been more guidance provided to us by the Apprenticeship coordination team when I came to completing JMC work outside of our project work.

The BrightStart salary somewhat meets my costs. However, that is only because I am still living at home with my parents, and I would never be able to afford to move into London on the current BrightStart salary. In addition, I believe there should be more transparency around the BrightStart salary between Competencies across the firm (Audit, Tax, Financial Advisory, Consulting) as there seem to be discrepancies between the BrightStart salary across the same grade but between different Competencies. I also believe that the BrightStart salary should line up more with the salary offered to Graduates from University after our second year as that would be equivalent to incoming as a Graduate, and would validate the advertising of the BrightStart scheme as a career route that is just as valid as going to University.

The socials provided by Deloitte are unbelievable and far exceeded by expectations. The monthly Analyst First Friday enables the BrightStarts to integrate with the wider Analyst group and provide an opportunity to meet up with our peers when we are spread out across different project day-to-day. I have not taken up the opportunity to join any Deloitte teams yet, but this is mainly due to the fact that I do not live in London and have a long commute of over an hour, therefore cannot commit myself to attending on a regular basis. However, the continuous socials enable me to keep in touch with my network and form new connections.

Yes

The Deloitte BrightStart scheme offers an opportunity to work for a professional company without having to taking the University route, but while still being able to start an amazing career. I really like that Deloitte seems to make everything seem possible, and the opportunities available to me are endless.

I would say to anyone applying to the Deloitte BrightStart Scheme that personality is the key attribute that matters in the interview process. Deloitte want individuals who are able to collaborate as a team and also think innovatively. The application process and assessment days are more of an activity to find out about you as a person, rather than a test, and I found that being considerate of the brief you are given is more important that appearing to be the loudest person in the room.