Business Insight Week Review

During the Business Insight Week (BiW), I spent three days shadowing an Audit Associate at More London, learning what auditing is about and what their day-to-day jobs look like. I also learnt more about the finance industry and what PwC actually do. I was also given the opportunity to talk to people who have done the degree apprenticeship with PwC, and others who came as university graduates. At the end of the day, a member of the recruitment team at PwC gave really key talks on things such as interviews and online assessments, which I found really useful.

I did not get any qualifications per se, but I did develop my communination and networking skills a lot by talking to PwC employees and other BiW people. As I was based by Tower Bridge, I also learnt about the business-y environment and realised it was something I would want to be a part of in the future.

I loved the programme. Eventhough it was only for 5 days, I learnt about audit and assurance in the middle three days and developed my networking and presentation skills on the first and last days as we were put into groups and had to present on a topic, such as technology (which is what my group did). The company and the culture there was also very pleasant as there was a lot of diversity and all the people I met were very friendly and helpful. It exceeded my expectations because before going in I didn't kwow what we were going to do and during the week I experienced a lot of variety.

During the week, we were given laptops and company e-mails, which I thought was great as it felt like you were actually going into the workplace. The assurance team I was shadowing were very friendly and answered any questions that I had, and I liked the fact that I was treated like an employee even though I was only there for a week. On the last day, as I already mentioned, we did group presentations and talked to a PwC recruiter who gave us assessment tips and talked us through the opportunities that PwC offer after Year 13.

The BiW lasted for 5 days, and I think the first and last days were very structured as they were more with the student recruiters and not with our buddies. The middle three days - when we shadowed our buddies was a little more unstructured as we didn't know much about assurance in the first place. But, we still did something productive, such as talk to people who have taken different career paths to end up at PwC and learn a little about each sector.

For the five days there, I was told who I could call or e-mail if I had questions etc. If anything, I could have talked to my buddy and they would have been able to help me.

I was given a buddy for the three day shadowing and they were very supportive as they answered all the silly questions that I had and talked to me about their job and working in this industry. Also, I felt like all the PwC employees were friendly and would have helped you if you had asked.

Since my base office was in London, I was paid the London Living Wage for an average week. I didn't really have a lot of costs to begin with as I only paid for the tube and lunch. So I'd say that the salary was just an added bonus of the week.

On the last day, they talked about the opportunities we had to join PwC if we wanted through various different routes, such as a degree apprenticeship or as a school leaver. I found these really interesting as I am considering alternatives to the traditional university.

Yes

As far as BiW goes, it is 5 days of getting to know one of the Big Four accounting firms and understading what working in sectors such as audit and assurance means. Even if you don't get the sector you choose at the beginning (i.e. from consulting, assurance, and tax), you can ask your buddy to introduce you to someone who works in that sector so they can answer your questions. You also learn new skills that are useful in later life (e.g. interview tips and online assessments) and you develop your network.

For us, we first had to submit an online application and online assessments (eg. verbal reasoning), and if we were successful we were either called in for a group assessment or did a telephone interview. During the online application, remember to write quality and not quantity, and make sure you answer the question properly - be detailed. Before you tackle the online assessments, make sure you practise beforehand as you are timed and should therefore understand what you are being asked. I was asked to do a group interview, where we came in for one day and did a few written tasks then a group discussion and presentation. My tips for that is to make sure you TALK to the people on your table and give your opinion on the tasks they give you (making sure you don't offend anyone or their opinion). Try to listen and talk equally. For the presentation, try not to be nervous and be confident with what you have to say. Good luck!