Business Insight Week Student Review

We spent 1 day working with people in each different service line within PwC; Tax, Assurance and Consulting. This involved helping out on actual project work for real clients as well as simply talking to the people that work there about their work, how they feel about it and how they got to where they are from school. Also, we had to produce and present a group presentation on a topic given to us as a kind of challenge or task to do while working here.

I learnt a lot of new social skills in talking to people in the office. It was the first time I had been exposed to so many new faces in an environment I am not used to. I think this also helped me gain a little more independence. For example, I travelled alone to the office everyday which was a whole new experience for me and will make future travel more relaxed for me.

I really enjoyed my experience with PwC because I have gained so much knowledge about what I want to do with my life. I started the week not really having any understanding of the work PwC carries out or which part of it would best suit me. Having finished the week, I now know which service line I would like to work in and the different routes I can take to get there.

The week was fairly well organised in that we were told who our buddies were going to be for each day in advance. However, on one day I felt that I was going home after work not knowing what time I was supposed to be in the next morning or where I was meeting my buddy because I had sent them a message to find out and they had not replied. Despite this, everybody is so relaxed in the office that I was able to ask the main organiser for the week and get the details. So on the whole, it was very well organised but with one or two hiccups.

I learnt so much about the PwC office culture whilst working on the Business Insight Week. I thought that everyone who worked in an office was dull and boring and lacked social skills. So when I met some of the workers I was amazed to find how friendly everybody is and despite the fact that everyone is busy getting on with work, they are all friends and share similar interests because they are all of a similar age. So I was very comfortable in this environment and was able to focus my aims to work in the office.

The work experience helped me a great deal to focus my future career path on the specific service line and ways to get into work with them. I have gained a lot of knowledge on the different apprenticeship and degree options to the extent that I now know which path I would like to take.

We were paid a very generous hourly rate for the week. To be honest, if the week had not been paid I definitely would've still done it because of the experience I got from it. It was such an outstanding experience that the money was just an added extra that I hardly even thought about.

Yes! There was lots of time dedicated to talking to people who work in the office and I have taken a few names and email addresses who I can contact in the future if I have any questions or queries. The organisers have also been in constant communication with us and were happy to help with any concerns.

Yes

For the great experience. It's hard to explain how different the office culture is to my previous belief of was it was like. You simply have to come and see it to feel it and you will be amazed how relaxed everyone is and how prepared to chat everyone is.

If you are going to apply to the Business Insight Week, I would say do not be put off by the extensive application process which you have to go through. More specifically, do not be put off by an assessment day if you do one because you get a slight taste of that relaxed office culture which makes you more able to work at your best.